One Big Happy Family

Chapter 20: Creating the Perfect Nanny

Upon returning to Bartholy Manor, Drogo ran upstairs to his bedroom. He closed the door and jumped onto the bed, a grin on his face.  He was sure his idea was doable.  Now, all he had to do was come up with a good plan.

"I'll have to write down some useful information for Sabrina to study," he thought to himself as he made a mental list of Lorie's likes and dislikes.  "I'll also have to buy her a new wardrobe... suitable for a nanny.  And... of course, she'll need a new name."

The rest of the day, Drogo stayed locked in his room, working on his project.  He was startled by a knock on the door sometime late in the afternoon.

"Who is it?"  Drogo asked warily, as he set down his pen and paper.

"Nicolae," his brother answered.  "May I come in?"

Drogo rushed to hide the evidence under his pillow.  He then took a deep breath and said:  "Sure.  Come on in."

Nicolae opened the door and poked his head around it, tentatively.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.  Why do you ask?"  Drogo raised both eyebrows.

"Because... this morning you were so... out of sorts," Nicolae replied.  He then proceeded to step all the way inside.  "And you've been cooped up in here for hours."  His steel grey eyes scanned Drogo from top to bottom, and then searched the room discreetly.

"I'm fine," Drogo said nonchalantly.  "You were right.  A long run in the woods helped improve my mood... quite a bit."  He put on his friendliest smile.  "But thanks for asking."

Nicolae stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do next.

"Have a seat," Drogo invited him.

Nicolae plopped down in a chair.  He sighed and ran a hand through his long chestnut locks.  "What are we going to do about the whole nanny situation?"

Drogo realized this was his cue to start implementing his brilliant plan.  He tilted his head to one side, pretending to be pensive.  "There are still three candidates left on our list.  So... I guess... we should just wait and see how that goes."

Nicolae arched a dark eyebrow.  "Just wait and see?  That doesn't sound like you..."

Drogo rubbed his chin.  "You know what?  I'm tired of allowing that little brat to get to me every single time... So... I'm just gonna go with the flow," he gazed at Nicolae as though he could care less.

Eventually, Nicolae nodded in agreement.  "Yeah... I'm getting sick of it myself..."

"I think Lorie is using the situation to see just how far she can push us and get away with it," Drogo added, pointing with his index finger in the air.  "But I, for one, won't play her game anymore."

Nicolae tapped his fingertips on the chair's armrest, lost in thought.  After a while, he looked back at his brother and spoke:  "I tend to agree with you... I don't want to be Lorie's puppet any longer."

"Good," Drogo replied.  "So let's just set up the interviews and let the little imp do what she does best... defy us.  Only this time, we'll act like we don't care."

"Or better yet, we truly won't care," Nicolae remarked.  "Because we're doing all of this for her.  She should be grateful to us."

"Damn straight," Drogo agreed.

"Very well... I'll go downstairs and make the arrangements.  When should I schedule them for?"  Nicolae stood up while speaking.

"The sooner, the better," Drogo replied.