Nanny

50

Kate

"That's Braxton!" I said.

"How did he get here?" Adam asked. "That's not his helicopter."

The paparazzi swarmed from the front yard to the back, intercepting Braxton and his bodyguard Nelson while they were still in the soccer field. The crowd surrounded them and shoved microphones in the billionaire's face.

"What's he saying?" I asked on the back porch. "I can't hear anything, but he stopped to talk to them."

Miranda turned on the TV in the living room. "Here!"

Adam, Mathias, and I all crowded around the TV as Miranda cranked up the volume. The view was from one of the cameramen in front of Braxton, and the headline said, "BILLIONAIRE ADDRESSES BOMBSHELL ACCUSATIONS."

"...intending to make an announcement later today, but now is as good a time as any," Braxton was saying. His black hair was being ruffled by the nearby helicopter rotors, but otherwise he looked like he was ready to go onto one of the nightly talk shows. "Earlier today, the New York Daily News released a story about my love life. A story with very personal details involving myself and several people under my employ at Nash Capital."

"He's going to deny it all," I whispered. "He's going to say it's a lie."

But what he said next almost knocked me off my feet.

"I'm here to tell you the allegations are true," he said. "

Miranda, Adam, and Mathias all gasped. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"I've been having a romantic relationship with Kate Renfroe, the woman in the story. It's no secret. But what is secret, or at least not published before now, is that she is also in a relationship with two others. My personal assistant Adam Sizemore, and the Nash Capital personal trainer, Mathias Fischer. None of this is secret to us. All four of us are aware of what is going on, and all parties consent to the relationships. Kate Renfroe isn't playing us. She's a wonderful woman who the three of us are lucky to share."

"You've been sharing the nanny?" one of the reporters asked.

Braxton turned to him. "Kate Renfroe is more than just the nanny. She's teaching my children German, Spanish, and Japanese. She's taught me so much, too. She's a member of the family."

"So not only is the story true," another reporter asked, "but you're okay with it?"

Braxton smiled. "Not only are we okay with it, we prefer it that way. That's the relationship we're in, and anyone who judges us can kiss my ass."

He waved away the remaining questions and walked forward. Nelson cleared a path through the crowd until they reached the backyard. Then they hurried inside, locked the door behind them, and closed the blinds.

Braxton smiled at me, then turned to Adam. "You stole my helicopter."

"I borrowed it."

"Getting another helicopter on such short notice was a pain in the ass, you know."

"It'll be easier when you find a new personal assistant," Adam said. "I'm quitting."

"I read your note. We'll talk about that later." He turned to me. "Hi, Kate."

"Hello."

"Is there somewhere we can speak privately? Away from the windows and cameras?"

"The basement is this way."

I led them toward the basement door. As we went downstairs I heard a bit of conversation between Miranda and Nelson.

"I saw you giving those reporters a piece of your mind," Nelson said.