The Nanny

Chapter 1

Beyoncé had whined and moaned about the whole thing for three days. She didn't want to be a live-in nanny for three stupid months to some elite, mega-rich Houston family, but when her mother told her how much the family was planning to pay, she knew, despite the fact that she didn't even like children that much, no matter how good she was with them, it was an opportunity she couldn't afford to pass up. It was enough money for her to attend at least three semesters at almost any of the state universities, so begrudgingly, Beyoncé picked up the phone and made a call to accept the job.

The Maraj and whatever-her-husband's-last-name-was home was practically a mansion, and Beyoncé understood now how the family could pay so much money for a live-in nanny for the summer. Knocking quietly on the maroon front door, she realized that she should ring the doorbell instead.

Several moments later, a petite, well-dressed black haired beauty likely in her mid to late 20s answered the door, swinging it wide open.

"Beyoncé, hello!" the woman greeted cheerfully, reaching out her hand to shake the young brunette's.

Beyoncé readjusted the large duffle bag on her shoulder and then stuck out her hand. The older woman's, she noted, was warm and soft, her grip firm but still ladylike. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

"Come in! Let me show you to your bedroom and then I can give you a tour of the house. The children are currently taking naps, so we'll need to be quiet walking by their rooms," the doctor explained.

"Yeah, sure. Lead the way." She stepped inside and Onika shut the door quietly behind her before turning and heading toward the large staircase on the other side of the foyer. "This place is just...wow."
Onika shot her a smile back over her shoulder. "Thank you. I'm quite fond of the space as well."

As the two ascended the stairs, Beyoncé couldn't help but notice how tight the woman's skirt was, seeing as her line of sight was directly at her backside. Embarrassed at such a thought, she quickly glanced down and tried instead to focus on not tripping over her own feet going up the steps.

When they approached the top, Onika turned right and walked past two doors on the left and a door on the right, appearing to head straight toward an opened door at the end of the corridor.

"The doors on the left are the children's rooms, which are connected by a bathroom," the older woman whispered. "The door on the right is, as of now, their playroom, and this one, here," she said, while walking through the doorway, "is your room. You have your own bathroom. I hope everything in here is to your liking, and if not, please let me know."

Beyoncé looked around, mouth wide open in shock at the grandiose personal space, before tentatively placing her bag on the floor next to the foot of the four post queen sized bed. "Jesus. This is bigger than mine and my little sisters' bedroom combined! And I don't even have to share a bathroom with anyone!"

Closing the door so as not to disturb the children, Onika looked hopeful at Beyoncé's incredulous reaction as the turned toward the younger woman. "Does that mean it'll suit you?"

"Suit me?" Beyoncé turned back around to face her host. "I could live here forever and not mind."

"Wonderful, then," Onika beamed. "Would you like to explore the bathroom before we head into the rest of the house?"

Grinning, Beyoncé turned around toward the bathroom door and opened it tentatively. As she pushed the door open, her jaw dropped again. "There's a clawfoot tub," she whispered in awe. She didn't hear the older woman approach and stand behind her, so when Onika spoke, Beyoncé startled a bit, whirling around to face her.

"Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I sneak in here to take a long, hot bath," Onika told her in a stage whisper. "My husband insisted on a large garden tub with jets for the master bath, but there is simply something, mm," she hummed, "majestic, I suppose, about soaking your cares away in a clawfoot tub."