Good. I hit send. They were all white lies anyway.
Ella
Two hours later, I got an email requesting me to attend an interview. The wording gave no clue about the potential employer, other than a name. Luke Meyers and a work email address. Excitedly, I quickly penned back a reply. The following day would be awesome.
Just as I hit send, my cell phone vibrated from the table. I reached for it and smiled when I saw the caller. My best friend, Ruby.
“Don’t tell me the slave driver has left,” I said referring to Ruby’s boss, a workaholic woman who owned the beauty salon where she worked.
Her laughter crackled through the phone. “No chance. I’m between clients.”
Ruby was a makeup artist and one of the few people I knew who really loved her job. And she was really good at it. When I got married, I was having her do my face.
“Anything new?” she asked, referring to my jobless situation.
I sighed deeply. “None. Not one. Anyway, I might have found a temporary situation.” I told her about the nanny position I had applied for.
“God Ella, what do you know about kids? I want to be supportive and all, but a nanny?” She ended the question with a laugh.
I threw my shoulders back. “I’ll have you know that I do have experience with my sister’s kids.”
Ruby went silent for a few seconds. “Is that all of your experience? Watching your sister’s kids whom you see once a year?”
“Well, I kinda made up some stuff,” I admitted.
“You didn’t!” she gasped.
“I did, but I figure it isn’t exactly rocket science. I mean, I saw Mary Poppins and there must be a bunch of books on the subject. I’m going to read until my eyes bleed.”
“I don’t know. I still think you should wait for a more suitable job,” she said doubtfully.
“At this point, Rubes, I’ll take anything. Rent was due two days ago, and my bank account is crying.”
“Hey, stop being so proud and let me lend you some money,” she offered softly. “It’s not a big deal and I do have plenty.”
Ruby was a saver, unlike me. I spent it as quickly as I made it, but this experience of being so close to homelessness had taught me a big fat lesson. After this, I intended to start religiously saving at least twenty percent of what I earned. But first, I needed to start earning. “No, it’s okay. That’s another slippery slope I don’t want to get on. I’ll be fine.” I refused to take advantage of my best friend’s kindness.
We chatted some more, then Ruby had to go in a hurry. Her boss had passed by and gave her the beginnings of the evil eye. I laughed as I disconnected the call. Just by being herself, Ruby always managed to cheer me up even when my circumstances were dire like they were now.
I spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out what nannies wore. In my mind, I thought of nannies in nurse like blue uniforms, but since I owned nothing like that, I decided to be myself. With that problem solved, I went online and started my research on Reddit. I found a nanny sub-Reddit and began my introduction to being a nanny there.
Okay, there did appear to be the existence of kids from hell and parents from deeper hell, but generally, I felt I could handle it. I downloaded a PDF and a book on being a super nanny and waded through both. I actually learned a lot from the book and started to feel really confident about my decision.
Ella
The following day found me in an Uber on Cotton Hollow Street, which turned out to be a suburb for the rich. It wasn’t far from the city but it seemed like a different world. Tree lined winding streets and houses set so far back, that you only got a peek of them through the gigantic trees.
I swallowed hard when the car came to a stop in front of a pair of massive gates. Before I could get out and press the intercom, the gates swung open noiselessly.
As the car drove through, I looked around at a house surrounded by old mature trees and a lawn which would not look out of place in a golf course. I sat unmoving as I debated whether to go ahead with my scatter-brained idea of pretending to be an experienced nanny.
The longer the drive extended, the more I became convinced that this had been a stupid idea. The worst I’d ever had. I wanted to tell the Uber driver to turn around, but the thought of facing the landlord with no money kept my mouth shut. I blinked rapidly and stared ahead at the mansion.
“Planning to get out any time this year?” the driver asked sarcastically.
The car had come to a stop. Before I could formulate a reply, one of the huge, double doors swung open, and the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on stepped out. The first thing I noticed was his height. Definitely over six feet. He wore a white t-shirt that clung to him and showed off his abs.
“Fuck,” I said, apparently not quite under my breath, judging from the chuckle coming from the driver’s seat.
I took a deep breath. Showtime! I opened the door and slipped out.
Running hands down my dress, I plastered a big ass smile on my face and sashayed up those steps. “Hi,” I said, and struck out my hand.
Then my eyes met
