CYRUS
“I want you to put a tail on Miss Bruns, our nanny,” I answered. “I want to make sure she’s safe and guarded as well.”
Caleb appeared surprised by that. Tilting his head, he studied me for several long moments. There was a gleam in his eye that I didn’t like.
“What?” I growled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“This new nanny…is she cute?”
I glared at him. “Not funny.”
“Not trying to be funny.” He smirked, his eyes dancing with mirth at my obvious annoyance. “Just curious. You seem rather protective of her.”
“Of course I am,” I said. “She’s taking care of my niece. I don’t want anything to happen to either of them.”
“Makes sense.” Caleb shrugged, that stupid grin still on his face. “But you seem to be a bit worked up about her. Tell me about her, buddy. Come on. Don’t hold back.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” I replied sharply. “She’s my nanny. That’s it. That’s all. She takes care of Megan and is good at her job. I don’t want her to regret working here.”
I tried to make myself believe all that, but the words tasted like ash on my tongue. Caleb was right, I was worked up over Miss Bruns. I didn’t want to be, but the thought of Ralph even getting near her had me on the razor’s edge of rage. Even if I didn’t want to like her, she was under my employ. Under my protection. Nobody touched what was mine.
Caleb chuckled. “Okay, fine. So, you won’t mind if I meet her, then? You never know. She and I might hit it off.”
“Not going to happen,” I snapped. “She’s none of your business apart from protecting her. Got it? I don’t want to hear from her that you’re bothering her. I don’t need a harassment claim on my hands.”
To my utmost irritation, Caleb let out a burst of laughter. “Oh, I see. You got it bad, don’t you?”
“What are you talking about?” I was growing exasperated with him. As much as I trusted Caleb, he was also one of the few people who knew exactly how to push my buttons and piss me off. We’d met in college. He’d been there on scholarship, and I’d gotten in on my name alone. However, even though we’d come from completely different backgrounds, we’d gotten along disturbingly well. We’d grown close…though now I was wondering if we’d maybe grown too close. I didn’t always like just how well he knew me and how he didn’t have any fear toward me like my other employees had. It made him hard to manage, but I trusted him completely. There was no one more loyal to me than Caleb.
“You like her, don’t you?” Caleb teased. “I’ve never seen you so worked up over a woman like this before.”
“I’m not worked up.” I didn’t like what he was insinuating, even if I had to admit to myself that he was somewhat right. “Focus up and do your job, all right? That’s all I need from you regarding Miss Bruns. Nothing else.”
Releasing a long, exaggerated sigh, he replied, “You’re no fun. All right. I’ll be good, and I’ll get a detail on her and Megan right away.”
“Good,” I grumbled. “And do whatever you have to and find Ralph. I don’t want him traumatizing Megan any more than he already has.”
“You got it,” Caleb nodding, his tone growing more serious. “I won’t let anything happen to that little girl. You have my word. Do you want me to bring the police in on this?”
“Not yet,” I sighed. “I don’t want to risk Megan being taken because the courts don’t think we can keep her safe. I want us to handle this ourselves for now.”
“Sure thing,” Caleb nodded.
“Good.” I knew Caleb would keep his word. He hated Ralph nearly as much as I did. Kate had been like a sister to him as well, and he’d been devastated when she’d died. He was always asking me how Megan was doing, and he’d even stopped over to visit her a couple of times. She’d been shy and closed off with him, as she’d been with everyone but Miss Bruns, but Caleb hadn’t been deterred from winning her affections. Every time he came to see her, he’d bring her some kind of treat, basically attempting to bribe her into liking him.
I actually thought it was working. She was a little less quiet around him each time she saw him.
At that moment, though, what mattered most to me was that I could trust him and he would move heaven and earth for Megan.
Sitting back in my chair, I let out a long breath, feeling a bit better knowing Megan and Miss Bruns would be protected. That Caleb was on the job.
Now, we just needed to find Ralph. I wouldn’t feel completely at ease until that bastard was behind bars at last and never able to darken my family’s doorstep again.
Chapter 15
SADIE
We made it to the weekend, but I was still shaken up by the incident with Megan’s dad. She seemed all right, but I kept a close eye on her to make sure she wasn’t struggling with any anxiety or fear like I was.
There were moments when I would catch her staring off into space, apparently lost in thought. I’d ask her what she was thinking about, and she’d give me an odd look and insist that she wasn’t thinking of anything. I didn’t believe her, but I didn’t push the issue either. I didn’t want her to feel pressure to process things she wasn’t equipped to process.
Still, I wanted to help her. I wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be okay…though I didn’t know how I could do that. I was just her nanny, after all. I wasn’t her mother or aunt. What could I say to her that would possibly make her feel better?
What could I say to assure her that her father wouldn’t harm her? I couldn’t even be certain that was true, and I didn’t want to lie to her.
I hated to admit it, but I was out of my depth with this situation. I felt as though I were walking on eggshells, scared that I’d say something wrong to her and make things so much worse.
Perhaps I could do something to distract her instead of giving her advice and assurance I wasn’t sure was true or valid? If I went that route, though, I’d need to think of something big to distract her with. Something she could lose herself in for hours.
On Saturday, I made up my mind that we needed to do something fun to get our minds off of everything. With an idea in mind, I marched to Mr. Grave’s office, knowing he’d be there. The man was a workaholic like I’d never seen before.
The door was slightly ajar, so I knocked as I pushed it open further and stepped into the room. Mr. Grave looked up from his computer and appeared surprised to see me.
“Miss Bruns,” he declared. “What is it?”
I sighed, choosing to ignore the zing of annoyance that shot through me. What a rude greeting. He was really so terrible at just saying hello.
“I was wondering if I could take Megan out for the day,” I said, keeping my tone pleasant. It was going to be an uphill battle, and I knew it wasn’t going to do me any good to piss him off from the get-go.
He frowned. “You want to take her out? Where?”
“I’d like to take her to the zoo,” I answered. “Is that okay?”
“I don’t think so,” he said with a shake of his head. “Not with Ralph out there…”
“We’ll be safe,” I replied. “We’ve got bodyguards now, right? They’ll be with us. And it’d be good for Megan to get out of the house. She’s only been to school and this house for the past few days. It’ll be good for her to go out and do something fun.”
He appeared hesitant, but he didn’t outright tell me no again.
“How’s she doing?” he asked in a soft tone.
I was taken aback by his gentle question, but I answered, “I think she’s all right, but seeing her dad really shook her. She was so quiet and cut-off that day, Mr. Grave. I’ll admit, it scared me.”
He sat back in his chair and clenched his jaw. I watched the emotions play across his face. Anger, frustration, regret, guilt…I could only imagine what he was thinking. What he was struggling with. Though he was an arrogant, cold man in most cases, I knew he cared deeply for Megan. He was a little awkward around her, but I knew that was only because he wasn’t used to spending time with kids. He loved her and wanted what was best for her. He might not always know what that was, but he tried, and that was all anyone could really do.
I supposed he couldn’t be all that bad if he had such a soft spot for his niece…but it was still pretty uncomfortable standing there with him, making a request of him. If I wanted him to say yes, I had to do my best to keep my mouth from get out of my control.
“You really think a trip to the zoo will help her?” he asked at length.
I nodded. “Yes, I do. It’ll be really good for her, I promise.”
He was thoughtful for several long moments, and I waited for his answer in breathless anticipation. I was ready to fight for this outing if I had to. If I needed to go toe-to-toe with him to make it happen, I’d do it. I hoped it didn’t come to that, because I wanted things to be as calm and harmonious for Megan’s sake as possible.
Meeting my gaze, he finally said, “All right, I’ll say yes…under one condition.”