Nanny for the Alien Lord by Tammy Walsh

Tauas

Things had gonefrom bad to worse since I woke up that morning.

I got up a full two hours earlier than usual.

I felt a little groggy and rough around the edges due to the cocktails I consumed the night before.

I must have drunk more than I realized as I could barely move my head without my hangover cracking me about the head.

I took a shower, had a slice of plain toast for breakfast, and hit Daynnis’s list.

I moved through each of her recommendations one by one, meeting answering services in half the cases.

I was pleasantly surprised to respond personally to the other half.

It was still early, and to find them up and about already was a huge relief.

But what else did I expect?

If they were anything like Daynnis, they would be more professional in their duties than anyone I had ever met.

They each listened to my problem politely but declined my offer.

They were unable to take up the position at such short notice.

Still, they were helpful in suggesting other recommendations which I hastily jotted down.

As I worked through this second list, I began to notice the recommendations overlapping.

I received return phone calls from each of the nannies I’d left messages for, but they too were unable to take up the position.

Finally, not realizing how much time had passed, Elken approached the entrance to my office rubbing her tired eyes and yawning.

“Where’s Daynnis?” she said.

Finally, it came the moment I’d been dreading.

How did I explain the situation to a three-year-old?

“She’s not here,” I said.

Elken stared after me, snapping awake.

“She left me?”

Her tired eyes brimmed with approaching tears.

It hurt that she was afraid of being abandoned.

“Her mom went to hospital,” I said. “Daynnis will take care of her for a couple of weeks, that’s all.”

“A couple weeks?”

At her age, she had no idea what a week was.

But she did know it wasn’t right now, and that was all she needed to know.

I scooped her up in my arms and hugged her close.

“Everything’s going to be okay. I’m looking for someone to watch over you now. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine!”

Hugging her brought my watch within glancing range.

I was shocked at how late it was.

I needed to hurry if I wanted to get to work on time.

I pulled back to look Elken in the face.

“She won’t be gone long. Until then, I’m going to find you a new nanny.”

None of my words registered with her except for:

“New nanny?” she said, eyes narrowing. “But I no want new nanny! I want Daynnis!”

I leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead but she stepped back.

“I no want new nanny!”

“It’s only for a little while. I promise. Daynnis will be back soon. Okay?”

Elken’s face had already begun to turn red at her approaching tantrum.

Soon, she would erupt, and then there would be no turning back.

How did I disable this bomb?

How did I interrupt it?

I know!

I slapped myself across the face.

She loved it as a baby.

And three years old isn’t that far from being a baby.

Was it?

My action surprised her and she stared at my cheek for a moment, then her big eyes flicked up to mine, and then back down to my cheek again.

She burst into laughter.

Phew, I thought. That’s a relief.

“Now, Daddy needs to get ready for work and I need you to—”

Slap!

Elken had a surprisingly strong arm.

I felt the blood rush to the surface from her tiny palm print on my cheek.

“Elken, we need to—”

Slap!

She laughed uproariously.

I sighed and carried her into the bathroom, keeping her within slapping distance the entire way.

“As I was saying, there’s no nanny to take care of you while I’m at work, so you’re going to have to come with me.”

Slap!

“Smack the boss, that’s it,” I said. “You’re getting the hang of being an employee already.”

This day was just getting better and better…

Combing Elken’shair and getting her washed and dressed was harder than I thought.

Daynnis clearly did things a certain way—a way that Elken refused to be flexible about.

Thankfully, she knew her routine off by heart and was on hand to give me non-verbal instructions.

She pointed with her tiny hand at the comb.

“Comb.”

I ran it through her hair.

She screwed up her face, no doubt it was a little rougher than she was used to.

Then she pointed at the makeup.

“Makeup.”

I looked from the little box of powder to Elken’s chubby cheeks.

“You wear makeup?”

This was news to me.

“Rug,” she said, which I translated into ‘rouge.’ “Cheeks.”

She made a popping noise with her lips.

“Do we have to do this today?” I said. “How about we skip the makeup for one day?”

“Rug!”

I opened the little box of makeup and saw it was just a child’s toy.

No doubt she’d seen someone put it on and decided she wanted to feel more like a grown-up.

I added a little to her cheeks.

“More,” she said.

It’s invisible,I thought. How do I add more?

I did as she asked.

She checked herself in the mirror and then nodded.

“I’m princess!”

I couldn’t help breaking into a grin.

“That’s right. You’re a princess. A beautiful little princess.”

She climbed off her stool and waddled over to the wardrobe.

No way she could reach the handle, so I opened it for her.

Time slipped like water through my fingers.

There was no way I was getting to work on time.

I sent a quick message to my personal assistant:

GOING TO BE LATE.

PUSH BACK MEETINGS.

I was growing frustrated but I reigned myself in, knowing I would only regret it if I riled up Elken.

“Pink!” she giggled.

Every dress she owned was pink…

I sighed and pointed at them each in turn.

“This one?”

When we finally arrived atwork, I placed Elken on the sofa in my office and arranged her toys on the long coffee table in front of her.

Elken got to work immediately, digging out her favorite puzzle, and began putting it together.

Thank God for Daynnis and her strict schedules each week!

But I couldn’t do this every morning, as much as I enjoyed spending time with her.

I had a business to run.

A knock came at the door and Freas, my personal assistant, leaned against the doorway.

She was small for a Yixx and scrawny to boot.

She had mousey brown hair that barely reached her eyes and never wore anything smarter than the jeans and plaid shirt she wore now.

“So, you finally decided to show your face,” she said.

I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t start. I’ve already had a hell of a morning.”

“Hell!” Elken said before smacking a hand over her mouth in surprise.

Freas moved to Elken and tickled her belly.

“Any luck finding a new nanny yet?”

“Not yet,” I said. “They’re all busy. There’s one left, and she hasn’t replied to my message yet.”

My communicator rang.

Freas brushed Elken’s hair and kissed her, cooing over her the way everyone did whenever anyone came in contact with her.

I answered the call.

“Is that Mr. Choer?” a demure voice said on the other end of the line.

“Speaking.”

“I received your message this morning. You sounded quite frantic.”

“My nanny had to leave suddenly for personal reasons. I’ve been calling around, looking for a temporary replacement but I’m not having much luck. The hours are from eight in the morning until six in the evening. I need someone to look after my three-year-old daughter for the next two weeks or so.”

“I’m afraid I’m not free those times, but I have some recommendations of people who might be.”

She reeled off a list of names and I crossed them off the master list I’d already compiled.

She didn’t list a single new name.

“That’s great,” I said. “Thank you.”

I ended the call and slumped into my desk chair.

“No luck, I take it,” Freas said.

I didn’t dignify her with a response.

Elken continued contentedly putting the puzzle pieces together.

“Every nanny in the city is fully employed,” I said. “I don’t even really need a nanny. Just someone who can babysit Elken for a couple of weeks. Someone I know I can trust.”

My gaze drifted over to Freas and a lightning bolt struck.

“Don’t even think about it!” Freas said, getting to her feet.

“Come on! Do this for me! I’ll give you twice your usual rate!”

“Not interested!”

“Three times!”

She pursed her lips, on the verge of giving in.

“Nah.”

“Four times…?”

“I’m not going to be your babysitter, no matter how much you offer me. Unless… you have a brand new shuttlecraft sitting around that you’re not using…?”

I considered how I could pass it off as a company expense but knew only chaos lay that way.

If one PA got a complimentary shuttlecraft as part of their employment contract, they would all want one.

“I can’t!” I said.

“I can’t either.”

Freas folded her arms, enjoying the role reversal far too much for my liking.

Finally, being the kind soul she was, she sighed.

“All right, look. I can watch over her for today.”

“Yes! Thank you! You won’t regret this!”

“Only for today to give you time to find someone. I have a lot of work I should be doing and I expect to be paid overtime to catch up. Triple pay.”

“Fine, fine,” I said, relieved I had at least some time to find a replacement.

I checked my watch.

“When’s my first meeting?”

“In ten minutes.”

“Can it be canceled?”

“It’s a meeting with the launch team.”

I grimaced.

I daren’t miss it or it’d be considered dereliction of duty.

I began to pace.

I did all my best thinking when I paced.

I had to think of a solution to this problem.

That was my job, after all.

Coming up with solutions to problems.

I needed a nanny.

No, a childcarer…

And I only needed someone for the next two weeks.

But I didn’t know any childcarers…

Then, a faint glow like an internal alarm clock buzzed in my skull.

Childcarer…

Now, where had I heard that before?

I must have heard it many times over the years, but why was it burning a hole in my skull right now?

Then it hit me.

Belle!

She said she worked in a kindergarten!

And she said something about her visa ending soon?

No, or was it her contract?

It couldn’t just be a coincidence, could it?

“What is it?” Freas said.

“What?”

“You’ve got a funny look on your face.”

“I just had an idea.”

“Oh. That’s why I’ve never seen it before.”

“Shut up and note this down!”

I didn’t know Belle’s full name or where she lived, though I assumed it must be in or around the city somewhere.

Freas returned with a notebook and pen.

“Get in contact with all the employment agencies in the city. Tell them I’m looking for a nanny.”

“By the sound of it, you’ve already exhausted a large number of them. What makes you think you’re going to find one that’s available at such short notice?”

“Because there might be someone available. First, she should be human.”

“Human? Are you sure you want to narrow the potential pool like this?”

“Human,” I repeated.

Freas shook her head and made a note.

“Human. You got it.”

“About the age of twenty-five to thirty. Let’s say twenty-three to thirty, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“Just… in case! And she should be about… I don’t know. How tall are you?”

“Five feet five.”

“Five feet six. Or seven. Hm… But that might be with heels… Let’s say five feet to six feet.”

Freas rolled her eyes.

“That’ll really nail the search results down.”

I ignored her.

“She should have dark hair and brown eyes.”

“What does that have to do with how well she can look after kids?”

I shrugged.

“Personal preference. I know what Elken will respond to.”

“I’m not sure she’s the one that’ll respond to it…” Freas muttered under her breath. “Anything else?”

I thought over Belle’s appearance but couldn’t think of what else to add.

Kissable lips?

A figure to die for?

An ass that won’t quit?

I doubted those details would get me very far…

“No,” I said.

I frowned.

“Do you think it’s specific enough?”

“With these specs, I think you’d be lucky to find anyone. But I’ll check.”

“Do it.”

Freas approached the door.

“Wait!” I said abruptly, making her jump.

“Yes?”

“I thought of something else.”

“What? Nail color? Political preferences?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” I growled.

“Then what?”

I cleared my throat.

“Her name should be Belle.”

Freas just stared at me.

“Try not to… read anything into it,” I said. “Thanks!”

Freas frowned as she shut the door behind herself, casting wary glances through the glass at me.

I leaned back in the chair and smiled at the thought of seeing Belle again.

I shouldn’t have felt this giddy with excitement, but there was no denying it.

I was as excited to see her as I was at finding a solution to my problem.

The fact they both occurred at the same time and within the same person only made it all the better.