Nanny for the Alien Lord by Tammy Walsh

Tauas

I couldn’t keepmy eyes off Belle all morning.

The previous night seemed like a dream.

What had begun as a nightmare slowly turned into one of the greatest nights of my life.

I got an insight into her psyche, her fears and concerns, and it only served to draw us closer together.

It was hard to bear the idea that me helping her with Abbie was difficult for her to accept simply because no one had ever shown that type of kindness to her before.

She was tough and strong, but underneath it all, she was vulnerable.

After all, she had been protecting her sister alone all these years and without any assistance from me.

In her, I saw a woman I wanted to spend my life with.

Elken loved her too, and with Daynnis showing up in two days, I found it sad to imagine Elken without Belle to take care of her.

Right now, Belle was braiding her hair while her sister worked the stove and cooked something delicious.

I cradled my coffee and enjoyed the simple breakfast scene.

This was what I had always wanted, I realized.

A family for me and Elken.

A real mother and not the strict headmistress-type figure she had in Daynnis.

In Abbie, Elken would have a doting aunt.

This was what the purpose of working so hard had all been for.

To support a family like this.

It was something money couldn’t buy and could only be developed over time.

Right then, I made my decision.

I knew what I needed to do.

I had to make Belle want to stay with us and keep our new family together.

I liked Abbie and sensed she had a grudging acceptance of me.

No male could ever be good enough for her younger sister but maybe she could put up with me.

Abbie turned off the stove and brought the pans over to the breakfast table.

“Let me give you a hand with that,” I said.

I took them from her and deposited the eggs, bacon, and toast onto separate plates.

Belle placed a plate in front of each of us.

We didn’t stand on ceremony and dug in, enjoying the scrumptious breakfast.

I never once glanced at my watch to check the time and see if I’d be late for work.

I already knew I’d be late.

It didn’t matter.

I didn’t want to miss this moment.

I would have gladly missed every meeting I had planned for the rest of the day if necessary.

The main topic of conversation was the event we’d all be taking part in this afternoon:

“Iatell’s going to show me her Warehouse studio!” Abbie said.

Belle wore a worried expression.

“You don’t have to go out of the house if you don’t want. Iatell said you don’t have to.”

“Are you kidding?” Abbie said. “Nobody hardly ever gets to visit the Warehouse! Nobody! Her inviting me is like… like… the king inviting me into his throne room! You don’t turn down an offer like that!”

Her example came across as a little overblown to me, but she seemed to equate the two events in her mind.

“Can I showing them my dress?” Elken said.

Abbie gawked at her.

“Are you kidding? Your dress is the real reason she invited us! But you have to be careful…”

She leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially.

“I think they want to steal your dress designs!”

Elken gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth in shock.

“I no wearing!”

Abbie threw back her head and roared with laughter.

“Clever girl. It’s a good idea to protect your best ideas!”

Elken furrowed her brow with thought.

“Daddy say good ideas are always stol… stol…”

“Stolen,” I completed. “It’s true. There hasn’t been a new idea in forever.”

“Which is why hooking up with your nanny is the very best idea there is!” Abbie said.

I shared a look with Belle, surprised she shared our little late-night events—even with Abbie.

Belle shook her head.

“I didn’t tell her a thing! She guessed!”

“What she guess?” Elken said.

The three of us exchanged a look, no one quite sure what to say to Elken.

“That your father had an inappropriate relationship with your nanny…” Abbie said.

Elken didn’t understand what “inappropriate” meant, so she took her startled cue from our expressions.

“That’s right!” Abbie said. “Your father’s been messing around with dear old Daynnis!”

I metBelle at the front door.

“I’m off to work,” I announced.

She checked over her shoulders, making sure no one was watching, before planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Have a nice day at work.”

I imagined her bidding me farewell every day when I went to work, and it was the very picture of happiness.

I glanced over her shoulder and acted shy.

She followed my glance but before she could turn around, I sprung on her, burying my lips on her neck.

She laughed and slapped me on the arm.

“Don’t! Elken will see us!”

“Let her. The sooner she sees us, the sooner I can do this all the time.”

I reached down and grabbed a handful of her ass.

Belle grabbed my hand and pulled it up to her waist.

“There will be no groping in front of Elken whether she knows about us or not, Bub!”

“Spoilsport.”

Belle grinned and kissed me on the lips.

It was soft and sensual and I sensed the emotion she put into it.

I kissed her back just as firmly.

No tongues, no passion, just pure love.

I smiled into her eyes.

“Be ready by one. I’ll come by and pick you guys up.”

“That might not be necessary,” Belle said. “Abbie never goes outside. She always intends to but changes her mind at the last second.”

“Okay. Well, let me know either way. I’ll be here unless I hear otherwise.”

Belle nodded.

I waved goodbye and climbed into the shuttlecraft.

Another day to look forward to.

Freas wasfrazzled when I finally showed up—half an hour late—and ushered me toward the main meeting room.

I was far too relaxed to be much concerned with keeping someone waiting.

“It’s Uzik,” Freas hissed. “The media mogul. He’s not happy you canceled his order.”

My happiness dried up and was immediately replaced with revulsion at the thought of what he might have done to Belle if I hadn’t been there at the ball.

“He’s in there now?” I said, handing her my briefcase.

“And fuming,” Freas added.

“Then I’m glad I was late. I won’t reverse my order, no matter what he threatens.”

“You could leave a terrible black mark on the company’s reputation. The board won’t be happy.”

“So be it,” I growled.

I slammed my palm against the door and marched into the main meeting room.

Uzik paused his frantic pacing at the head of the room and turned his great fat girth toward me.

His face was curled with rage.

On either side of the table, a dozen Yixx lawyers sat in sharp suits.

Uzik jabbed a fat finger at me.

“Just who the hell do you think you are?” he spat. “A contract is a sacred bond! You can’t change your mind just because you feel like it! If you don’t reverse your decision, I’ll make sure everyone knows your word is worth nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing! I’ll destroy your company and grind it into the ground beneath my heel. Imagine twenty-four-hour coverage of your company’s reputation being dragged through the mud! I’ll destroy it piece by piece!”

He ground his teeth in a sadistic grin showing just how much he enjoyed the idea of that.

I calmly approached the head of the table.

I removed my jacket and hung it on the back of my chair.

“Well?” Uzik said, leaning forward and bracing his weight on his knuckles. “My lawyers are ready to sue you into the next millennium. If you don’t give me what I bought and paid for, I’ll destroy you!”

I took a seat and calmly looked over at him.

Uzik maintained his scowl, but due to his weight was unable to stand for long.

He fell back into his chair and dabbed at his sweaty brow with a handkerchief.

“Trust me, friend,” he said. “We all make mistakes. I don’t know why you did this, and I don’t care. You will reverse your decision or I will get your board to remove you from your position.”

Could he do it?

Did he have that kind of power and influence?

Probably.

But would he do it?

That was the important question.

The answer?

I doubted it.

“You said you don’t care why I canceled your order,” I said. “That’s a very unwise decision. How can you threaten someone without knowing their motivation for what they do? The reason I did it is for the same reason you won’t threaten my company, won’t blast it over the airwaves, won’t grind it into the dust.”

Uzik sneered at me.

“And why is that, I wonder?”

“Because of your nature. Here’s the reason I’m doing this: You tried to take advantage of a human female at the Choer New Year’s Eve Ball. You tried, but I stopped you. If I hadn’t, who knows what might have happened. Everyone’s afraid of you, Uzik, everyone but me. I’m not scared because you have no hold over me, no sway whatsoever. I’m the one with the whip hand in this situation, not you.”

I stood up and rounded the table, my eyes drilling into his like laser beams, and ignored his suited lawyers around the table.

They might as well have not existed.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you would have taken it further if you could have. That got me to thinking. Maybe you’ve done something like that before. I instructed some private investigators to look into your past, to find other victims you’ve taken advantage of over the years. I was unsurprised there were many. Some are even high-profile celebrities that you helped create. In fact, there are a couple you still abuse.”

If Uzik had a shred of decency, he might have looked cowed with me saying this in front of his lawyers.

Instead, he only glared back at me.

“They won’t say a thing. I own them!”

“Do you?” I said. “There have been many over the years and you haven’t treated any of them with the respect they deserve. Some have already given us testimony to what you did to them. Indeed, some set up cameras to record it. And handed me the evidence.”

For the first time since I entered the room, Uzik hesitated.

“I’m sure we can come to some arrangement—”

“You have many enemies, Uzik, many powerful enemies too. They run other media organizations just as large as yours. All it would take for me to bring you down is send them the evidence I have and unleash the witnesses.”

“No one will believe them!” Uzik said. “They’re washed up! Nothings!”

His top lip glistened with sweat.

The sweat of a guilty man.

He wiped at it.

“At least one will,” I said. “Then how long before more come forward? How long before your company’s the one ground into the dirt? How long before your board throws you out?”

I let the question sink in.

I turned, satisfied I’d scared the hell out of him.

The only thing a powerful man feared was losing the power he’d spent a lifetime accumulating.

I returned to my end of the desk and took a seat.

“That is why I’m confident I will not reverse my decision. You will use the money we returned to you to pay compensation to those you’ve abused. You will reinstate their careers. Failing to do so will result in the release of evidence. If you try to take me down, I can assure you, I will take you down just as easily. Good day.”

I marched out of the room and headed to my office.

Man, did that feel good!

I walked as if on a cloud.

Finally, my life was turning in the direction I wanted it to.

My work, my family.

It was all coming together.

But a thread hung loose and it was about to be pulled.