“It felt good to stay busy.” Meredith poured in a layer of veggies.
“By the way, I sent my friend Kristen a text before I came out about the nanny job. Apparently, someone told her about it, andshe has the name and phone number. She said if we called right away, you could get an appointment today. Otherwise, you’d have to wait about a week.”
“Great, but I don’t have a phone.” She turned the edges of the omelet carefully.
“No worries. I already called. I spoke to a man with a British accent. He must work for the family. They’re staying at the Ritz-Carlton—one of the poshest hotels in Vienna, by the way. You have an appointment at eleven. I wrote down the suite number.”
“That was quick work. I’m impressed. Thanks so much.” She slid the omelet onto a plate and took it to Carrie. “Voila.”
“Wow, that looks amazing. Now I’m tempted to forget the nanny job and just ask you to stay here.” Carrie laughed as she picked up her fork. “Unfortunately, I can’t afford to pay you, and you really need to make some dough fast.”
“Not to mention that living like sardines would get old.” Meredith returned to the stove to cook her own omelet. “And I never expected you to let me stay on. I just hope I can nail this nanny position. It sounds perfect. There must be dozens of applicants.”
“If you ask me, whoever gets you for a nanny will be lucky, Meri.”
“But what about references?” Meredith felt a wave of panic as she poured in the veggies. “And I don’t even have ID. They may think I’m here illegally.”
“I can explain it all to them.”
“I sure hope so.” But Meredith felt slightly hopeless as she cooked the second omelet. Really, why would anyone hire a perfect stranger with no references and no ID to care for their children? It sounded ridiculous. Just the same, she shot up a prayer as she cooked.Please, Lord, if it’s your will, let it happen. Give me a miracle.
After breakfast, Meredith cleaned up as best she could with the donated items Carrie had supplied. She’d claimed they were just things she had spares of or had been collected from hotels during her travels, but Meredith suspected her host simply was generous. She’d put them all into a string purse and given it to Meredith, who was sad to admit that besides the clothes on her back, it was all she had to call her own.
Carrie drove them downtown in her little electric car, getting there early enough to secure parking and get into the fancy hotel lobby before eleven. Meredith was a bundle of nerves.
“Do I look okay?” she asked. Carrie had insisted Meredith borrow a linen blazer to wear over her summery cotton dress that, although she’d pressed it this morning, still felt pretty casual for an interview. But the blazer helped. And her sandals, which she’d gotten new for the trip, still looked decent. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like a street urchin as she stood in the luxurious lobby.
“You look just fine.” Carrie smiled. “Just hold your head high. And hope the mother of the kids won’t be intimidated by a young pretty girl. You know some people think old grannies are preferable for nannies.” She chuckled. “I’m a poet.”
Meredith smiled. “Thanks for the pep talk. What now?”
“To the elevators,” Carrie proclaimed, leading the way. They followed a well-dressed couple into the elevator, where no one spoke. After the couple exited on their floor, the elevator continued up and Meredith was almost sick to her stomach.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered.
“Of course, you can.”
“I’ve been living in a rural country for two years. I feel like I’ve just entered lifestyles of the rich and famous, and I’m an alien here.”
“They’re all just people like you. They put on their trousers one leg at a time.” The doors opened, and Carrie linked her armwith Meredith’s. “Come on, girlfriend. At the very least you’ll get a sneak peek into some high society.”
“Right…” Meredith remembered the advice to hold up her head, so as Carrie knocked on the door, she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and reminded herself of what her dad used to tell her.“Princess, you really are a princess because you’re the daughter of the King of the Universe.”
A man wearing a dark suit and tie opened the door. “Good day?”
Carrie smiled and introduced them, announcing their appointment, and he opened the door wider to let them in. Meredith tried not to drop her jaw at the size of the suite. It looked like a full-blown house. Certainly it was bigger than the one she’d shared with her dad while she’d grown up. Everything in the room where the man dressed in the dark suit led them was upholstered in shades of creamy white. Not terribly practical with children, but then again, she didn’t see any children. Or any signs of children. And the room was silent. He motioned for them to have a seat, promising that someone would be right with them, and then he left.
“There don’t seem to be any kids here,” she whispered to Carrie. “Are you sure this is the right place?”
“The man seemed to expect us.”
“I know…but I guess I’m having flashbacks to how I was conned yesterday. You know, scammers pretending to be rich folk in order to take advantage.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen.”
For some reason Meredith trusted this woman. Maybe it was because she worked for the US Consulate. At least she said she did, but as they sat there waiting, Meredith wondered…how could she know for sure? Of course, she was just being paranoid and hyper-vigilant after yesterday’s ordeal. Good grief, Carrieand Faith had taken her into the apartment. For all they knew, she could’ve been a crook.
Trust could be such a slippery thing.
