The Nanny

Chapter 10

The second I step in the door I smell Marie's awful perfume and immediately want to turn around and run. Pressing my lips tight and wrinkling my nose, I shut the door and make a beeline for my room.

"Nanny, come here." I hear Marie say, and I freeze mid step. My stomach sinks as I turn around and walk into the living room to see her perched on a chair. She's wearing all white this time, her red lipstick making her mouth look like a gash on her face. I'm instantly annoyed.

"My name is Emily, not nanny." I say evenly, coming to a stop at the edge of the room.

"Whatever." She says dismissively, rolling her eyes. "I heard you were rude to my assistant. Next time that happens, I'll fire you. Dismissed." She sounds almost bored as she says this, going back to her phone as soon as she's done.

"Excuse me?!" I'm shocked and filled with anger at her dismissiveness and audacity. She looks up with mild surprise at my tone and I feel myself begin to speak before I can stop. "I wasn't rude to your assistant, I just didn't know why a strange woman I have never seen before was holding Lia, in a park in the middle of the night, when she was supposed to have been with you. If you had actually spent the day with her instead of handing her off like a pet then the interaction never would have happened. Also, I don't work for you, I work for Declan, and until the day you are actually married to him that won't change." I feel the anger practically dripping off of me and watch rage take over her features.

"Listen here you little bitch-" She says as she stands and begins to walk over to me. However almost immediately Declan walks into the room from the hallway and Marie freezes before quickly making herself look upset and beginning to sniffle. "Declan! Your nanny is being so horrible to me, you have to fire her!" She practically wails, rushing to grab his arm.

Declan sighs and pulls his arm away as she approaches, stopping her in her tracks. "I was on a call but hung up when I heard you two. Marie, Emily is right, what happened wasn't okay and that's why I had you come over today in the first place, to talk about it. But if I hear you threaten Emily again with being fired, I'll have to ask you to leave. She's my employee and is to be respected."

I can't help but to feel a smug smile appear on my face as I watch Marie's face drop the more Declan addresses her, however my smile disappears the second he turns to me as well.

"And Emily, it's not your place to talk to Marie like that. While she was in the wrong, it's not your job to call her out on it, it's mine. I don't want to hear you speak to her like that again." I feel my heart drop and tears threaten to show at his icy tone before steeling myself and pushing them down.

"Yes sir." I say flatly, maintaining eye contact with him. He nods his head in the direction of the hall and I take the hint, spinning around on my heel and rushing down.

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My alarm goes off at 6pm and I push myself up from my bed, rubbing my eyes angrily. I had cried with frustration the second I had gotten to my room, and eventually fell asleep. I can't believe Declan did that. I shake my head, trying to ignore my thoughts as I stand and fix my clothes. How is he going to kiss me and then act like suddenly I'm the one being unprofessional?

I slip out of my room and rush out of the apartment, not knowing if Declan and Marie are still there and desperately wanting to avoid them, but also excited to see Lia. My first day without her had been far too eventful and I couldn't wait to hear all about her day and forget about mine.

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After reenactments of what had to have been almost her entire day, I regretfully put Lia to sleep and set about cleaning up the dishes from dinner. Lia had been so tired from her first day of school that she hadn't stayed up much past the meal, and I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Declan hadn't shown up for dinner and she had been upset she couldn't tell him about her day too. I feel annoyance bubble up towards Declan and begin scrubbing the dishes harder.

Before long I'm almost done cleaning, with only a few dishes left to rinse before putting in the dishwasher, when the front door opens and Declan comes in. My eyes shoot up and I can't help but to notice how good he looks today. He smiles at me slightly and I feel myself go to smile as well before remembering everything that happened and frowning instead.

Declan mirrors my frown as he walks over and leans against the counter next to me. "How was Lia's first day?" He asks.

"She loved it. She made lots of new friends and had a ton of fun." I respond, and I hear the genuine pleasure in my voice over her being happy as I tell him.

He smiles at the news, "That's good, I'm happy to hear it." he pauses for a moment before continuing. "I think you and I need to have a little talk though."

I gulp and nod my head, "When?" Is this about what happened with Marie? The kiss? Lia? Am I getting fired?

Declan frowns slightly at my question before sighing and responding, "Now."