“Sorry, my meeting ran late.”
She twists her hands together. “What if we pick the wrong person? What if Noah doesn’t like her? What if she’s a serial killer?”
Part of me wants to laugh at her anxiety. If she’s this concerned, we can cancel this and she can stay home. But I don’t laugh. I take her fears seriously. Walking over to her, I grab her hands in mine.
“Baby, relax. Take a deep breath for me.” She follows my command by taking a deep breath and letting it out.
“Better?” I ask.
She nods.
“Good. We aren’t going to pick the wrong nanny. All these women come highly rated. And before any of them would get a chance to hurt my son, you know they would be dead and buried in an unmarked grave.”
Her eyes widen before lowering. The only good thing that came out of the Horseman sending her that video is that she now knows the truth about me. When I was around her and my son, I kept the face mask on. The mask of the kind, gentle, meek husband. I will always be kind and gentle with those two, but now she gets to see what else I can be.
“I guess you’re right.”
I want to pull her closer to me and kiss those luscious lips I fantasize about. But I already know just holding her hands in mine was pushing it with her.
Letting her hands go, I step back. “I know I’m right. Now come on, let’s get this started. Unless,” I pause. “You no longer want to go back to work?”
Her brow lifts and her lips pinch. “You wish,” she teases.
I smirk as I escort her to the leather sofa in my office. Not long after we take our seats, the first nanny walks in.
We go through the first few ladies quickly. All of them are qualified, but they aren’t the ones I hired.
Now, Ms. Rose sits across from us. She looks to be in her mid-fifties and has a very calming presence. She makes direct eye contact with both of us, unlike a few of the women who seemed to focus only on me. Ms. Rose places most of her attention on Tiffany. Which is understandable and what I prefer.
“And it says here you worked with an organization called Daughters of Egypt?” Tiffany asks, reading the resume Ms. Rose provided. “Can you tell me a little about that?”
Ms. Rose smiles warmly. “Yes. Daughters of Egypt is an outreach program. We train young girls how to navigate the world by training them in the arts, sciences, and all other aspects of education. We teach young women there are more options than what society deems as women’s roles.”
I can tell by the smile on my wife’s face she loves that response. It was Rose’s suggestion to have an interview. She said it would make Tiffany more comfortable with the situation. Knowing what I know about the DOE, there was never another option for anyone else to watch my son. Plus, she came highly recommended by Nathaniel.
“Well, do you have any questions for us?” Tiffany asks.
Rose smiles. “What are some of your fears about a nanny? I know anytime a mother leaves her child in the care of others, itcan be scary. Tell me, what can I do to help relieve some of that stress?”
Damn, Rose is good at this. If I hadn’t already hired her, that question alone would make me.
Tiffany lets out a deep breath as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
“Wow. First, thank you for asking that. Honestly, I don’t have any fears. Not really.”
“Then what has your stomach in knots?” Ms. Rose must be reading something I can’t see.
Raking my gaze over my wife, I see the small details. At first, all I could see when looking at her was how beautiful she was. She is still gorgeous, but looking closer I can pick up a few signs of concern. Her fingers are twisting around the fabric at the waist of her dress. Her shoulders are tight and raised, and her lip is between her teeth.
Tiffany hesitates, looking down at her fingers. Rose smiles and places a hand on her knee.
“When I decided to go back to work after my oldest son was born, I felt horrible. It felt like I was abandoning my child for someone else to raise. I felt guilty, like I was less of a mom.”
Those brown eyes I love so much look back up into Ms. Rose’s face. “How did you get over that feeling?”
Wisely, I keep my mouth shut. There is a side of me that wants to jump in and solve this issue with Tiffany by telling her not to go back to work. She didn’t need that fucking job. But what Salv said early comes back to mind.
The woman just started doing the job she loves right before Noah came. It’s not hard to believe she wants to go back to work.
