“Wow!” Nina gasps, as she leans down to peer out of the car. “Is this it?”
I nod, reaching across to give her hand a squeeze. “It sure is,” I reply. “What do you think of it? Our new home?”
She stares for a moment, clearly just as shocked as I’m that we are actually here, actually doing this. “It’s....big,” she replies, and I laugh.
Understatement of the century.
“Mhm,” I agree, as the gates slide open in front of us, and the driver takes us up the driveway and towards the steps that lead to the front door. A water feature sits just outside, a man grappling a serpent carved in marble that spews water from its open mouth. Whoever lives here, they must have a serious amount of money to their name—not that it should have surprised me, given the pay packet that I was getting for my newfound job.
And the NDA probably meant something, too.
The driver pulls open the door and gestures for me to get out, and I do as I’m told, slipping out of the vehicle and catching my breath as I stand there and gaze up at the towering building before us. With two large spires that reach up to the sky on either side, it looks like something out of a fairytale, and I wonder, briefly, just what kind of beast lives in there that he called on me to take care of his son for him.
Snap out of it, Cara.I’m letting my head get the better of me, and I need to keep it as professional as possible.
“The security guards inside will show you to your new quarters,” the driver tells me, as he leads me up the steps, pushing open the door so that Nina and I can go inside.
I try to take in what he is saying, but the sight of the entry hall is enough to stun me into silence for a moment. It’s this great, sprawling space, immaculate dark wood flooring and wall panels gleaming under the golden light as far as I can see, onlyinterrupted by a few paintings and sculptures that line the walls. A huge staircase leads off to the floor above, carpeted with deep red that looks like it belongs more in some European palace than a house on the outskirts of Chicago.
“Um, thank you,” I mumble, as Nina slips behind my legs, clearly a little nervous at the enormity of everything we are looking at right now. The most I’ve ever had to my name since she came along is an apartment on the East side, hardly the most glamorous place to raise a child, but this...Thismight actually be exactly what she needs.
A man I assume to be a security guard approaches us, greeting me with a nod. He extends his hand to mine.
“Viktor,” he introduces himself. “I’m the head of security here. This way, please.” He speaks with a slight accent that I cannot place immediately, but I brush off my curiosity as I follow him.
All the stuff from my old apartment has been packed up and put into storage for the time being, since one of the details of the contract was to leave behind everything. They’d said they would provide all that we could possibly need here, and I guess I’m just going to have to trust them on that.
I brush that thought aside as Viktor keys in a code to a keypad that sits next to a large wooden door. There is a hiss of hydraulics, and a moment later, the door pulls back, to reveal a corridor that is lined with a few sculptures like the one I saw outside—snakes in marble, curling up towards the ceiling, their mouths open and their fangs practically glistening with venom.
What kind of person owns this place?
“You’ll be staying here,” Viktor continues, as he pushes open a door that leads to a small apartment-like area. “There’s akitchen, though Marsha will provide most of your meals so you shouldn’t have to cook much. Two bedrooms, there, and there. And a small living space here...”
I follow him into the living room, where my eyes widen once more.Small?This is what passes for small in a place like this?
A large television dominates one side of the wall, and an enormous couch sits in the middle of the room, next to a coffee table that I can already tell will be perfect for all the board games that Nina likes to play. I feel a pang in my chest when I think of how many we have left back in the storage locker, but I brush it off. T
his is for the best, for both of us.
“Maxim stays across the hall,” he continues, gesturing towards the area where the little boy I’ll be taking care of will be living.
My heart skips a beat.God, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep up with this.
I know that I swore up and down on my application I knew exactly what I was doing with a little boy, but honestly, I’ven’t nannied for more than a few hours at a time before this. I’ven’t even met this kid, and it’s hard not to worry that I’ll find some way to screw up this opportunity...
“Of course,” I reply, realizing that I’ve just been standing there in silence. “Uh, we have today to get settled in before work starts though, right?”
Viktor nods. “And the Pakhan will be down to meet you tomorrow,” he replies.
I wrinkle my nose, confused. “The Pakhan...?”
He clears his throat. “The head of the household. Maxim’s father,” he explains.
“Okay, thank you,” I reply, as I draw Nina to me, letting her lean against my legs so she can steady herself. As much of a change as all of this is for me, it’s triple that for her. She’s only known one way of life for so long, and that’s the one the two of us shared in those tiny apartments I called home for so long. She’s never complained, never once brought up the fact that all of her friends from kindergarten have actual homes to live in instead of studio apartments, but as she gets older, I can’t help but wonder just how much of a gulf it puts between her and the people around her to feel that kind of difference.
“Your security pass is on the counter,” he continues. “And the code to the keypad changes daily, you’ll need to scan the code on your pass to get it every morning.”
“Every day?” I reply, incredulous. I mean, I guess I can see why someone like this would want to keep a close handle on everything in their life, but changing the code day in and day out seems kind of...excessive, to say the least.
