The Billionaire's Nanny

Chapter 8

After savoring the beauty of the room, I put my clothes in the closet, took a bath, and put on some fresh clothes. I called Celine to let her know I had arrived safely, before heading downstairs as Mia had asked.

As I stepped out of the elevator, I could hear the loud excited voices of Aiden and Abigail, coming from the other side of the hallway. It was my first day and I would still need a few days to be able to find my way without getting lost.

Following the sound, I walked down to the source and was led to one of the largest kitchens I had ever seen. The space between the island in the middle and the refrigerator alone was enough to fit my entire kitchen back at home.

On the counter, Aiden and Abigal sat, each of them dressed in blue and pink aprons respectively, and a large white toque hat each. They looked really funny and I could not help but smile as I watched them argue about who helped Mia make dinner most. Mia was standing at the counter next to a bowl Mac and cheese, with a tray of chicken nuggets in her hand. Another woman who I had never met before stood next to the kids on the counter pouring a mixture into a cupcake pan.

"Aunt Mia," Abigail whined, "Aiden said I didn't help make dinner."

"Aiden, you know that's not true," Mia said as she put the tray in the oven.

"But I read the recipe for you aunt," Aiden frowned, holding up a piece of paper in his small hand.

"I read too," Abigail added, also frowning, and crossing her hand across her chest.

I leaned on the door, as I watched them go back and forth about all the things they helped do. I was sure, none of them had noticed my presence yet until Mia turned to join them on the Island. When she saw me, she just smiled and continued to where the kids sat.

"Well I think you both did a great job helping me make dinner, and for that, I have a surprise for you."

"Suprise?" they yelled in excitement.

"Yes sweetie, but first, I want you to close your eyes. Can you do that for me?" she asked as she brushed Abigail's hair from her face.

They nodded happily and did as Mia said, putting their hands over their eyes. She beckoned to me from the door to come over, and I walked in to join her on the island.

"Okay kids, you can open your eyes after you count one to three."

"Okay," they said in unison, "1...2...3..." they counted and uncovered their eyes.

"You came back," Abigail said cheerfully, at the same time Aiden said "it's you," They both giggled happily as they saw what the surprise was. And I could not help but smile too.

"Yes," I replied to both their questions as they hugged me.

"So you're going to be our nanny now?" Abigail asked almost jumping off the island in excitement.

"Yes Abby, she's going to be our nanny," Aiden said before I could reply. "right?" he looked at me with wide expectant eyes.

I looked at Mia, and she gave me a reassuring smile to go on. "That's right, I'm going to be your nanny now."

Another wave of excitement passed them as I said I was going to be their nanny. Followed by a wave of questions.

"Will you look at my new dollhouse?"

"Do you want to see my lab?"

"Will we build another Dollhouse?"

They rattled off the questions one by one until Mia intervened. "Okay kids, don't you think we should let Chris settle in for the evening, and tomorrow she can do all of those things with you."

"Okay," they said almost sounding disappointed.

"I can read a bedtime story for you when it's bedtime," I said trying to boost their spirit. It worked because as I made the suggestion, their beaming smiles returned to their faces.

"Now that is settled," Mia said turning to the woman at the counter making cupcakes. She had not said a word since I walked in, but she offered a small smile every time I caught her gaze. "Emma, this is Chirs, the new nanny for the kids." she gestured to me.

"Nice to meet you, Chris," she said with a shy smile. "I'm the head housekeeper and the house manager here. If you need anything, please feel free to let me know."

"Thank you, Emma," I replied with a smile too.

Mia finished making dinner and Emma went out to set the table as she served the meals. I got up from the island stool where I was listening to Aiden and Abigail talk about their favorite cartoon and joined Mia at the counter.

"Can I help you with anything?" I asked.

"Not here, you can help me get the kids ready for dinner."

"Okay."

"Who's hungry?" I asked as I walked back to the island.

"I am.." they squealed excitedly in unison.

"Chris, do you know why our tummies grubble when we are hungry?" Aiden asked while I took the apron off him. It took me a minute to realize he was saying grumble.

"No, tell me." As I took off their chef clothes, they told me about the digestive system and about a kids show where they learned it from, I think it was something called Dr. Ben or Benno. Something like that. I listened intently asking a few questions as they spoke, and I could tell they liked having someone to tell the new things they learned.

A few minutes later we were all at the table having dinner. Dinner was fun with Aiden and Abigail taking turns to tell me about the taste buds. They were both very smart kids and I was more than happy to listen to them rattle off what they learned to me.

Everyone was at the table, except for Lucas. I looked around curiously to see if he was coming, but there was no sign of him. As if on cue, Mia smiled and said, "he has to work late, so he won't be home yet."

"Oh okay," I nodded tersely.

"Don't worry, you'd get used to it. Sometimes he has to finish a lot of work at the office." Mia said as she served some salad into Abigail's plate. She made a face to show that she did not like the salad, but took a few bites though.

After dinner and a cupcake dessert, I gave the kids my phone to watch Peppa pig, I could already tell it was their favorite, while I helped Emma clean up. Mia left to make a call.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I'll take care of it." Emma said as I picked up the plate. She looked like a woman in her 40's with a round face and big eyes. I could tell that she was cheerful but shy as she hardly met my eye when she spoke.

"I know, I want to help." she allowed me to clear the table with her and take the plates to the dishes, but after that, she was insistent on doing the rest of the chores by herself.

"Okay," I said in defeat. I was not used to people cleaning up after me, and I was not sure I could get used to having someone clean up after me. It might take some time but I was going to convince her to let me help more often. "The cupcakes were really good," I said as I wiped my hands with the napkin.

"Thank you, dear, I learned the recipe from my mother." she loaded the dishwasher as she spoke.

"That's nice, would you like to teach me sometime." Maybe if we worked together, she would be more comfortable with me.  

Her eyes brightened as she smiled. "I'd be happy to."

"I look forward to it." I put the napkin back in its place and said goodnight to her, before going back to join the kids.

We watched Peppa pig for a few more minutes till it was 7 pm. I took the phone back, then we went to their bedroom for their bath and bedtime.

Since they were still kids, they both shared a room and the first thing I noticed when I walked in, was that they had enough toys to start a toy company. They had even more toys and teddies in here than in their playroom, which was just opposite the bedroom. Also, the room was large with two four-poster beds next to each other, and a bedstand in between. 

There was a large bookshelf filled to the top with colorful books. And a reading table with two chairs. Pictures of Aiden and Abigail hung all around the room and the room was painted in warm, happy colors.  

It looked like a room for a little princess and prince, with the color matching both male and female preferences. But I could not blame them for being a little spoiled. Aside from the fact that their father was a literal billionaire, they were such darlings that anyone would want to spoil them. 

I supervised them as they brushed their teeth and gave them both a bath, before putting them to bed. Every step was tentative since it was my first day as their nanny and I was not sure how to go about their bath time and bedtime routine. Thankfully, they were both very supportive, by telling me what Mia would usually do, so I was not completely clueless.

Mia strolled in as I went to the closet to pick out 2 pairs of matching pj's for both of them. Aiden and Abigail both sat on their beds waiting for me while talking about the cartoon we had just watched.

"I can see we're having fun kids," Mia said, smiling as she entered the room.

The kids nodded happily and I returned with the pj's. I plopped down to put them on the kids, and Mia took one pair to help me.

"I'm sorry for leaving like that, I had to take that call," she said as she held the PJ pants for Aiden.

"You don't have to be, I'm here to take care of them and I'm happy to." So far, the kids have been good, and although it was not my official first day, I did not mind taking care of them.

"I'm glad to hear that. Lucas called to say he'll be home soon, please see him in his office when he arrives."

"Daddy will be home soon?" Abigail squealed almost knocking me off my balance.

"Yes, Abby. So let's get dressed quickly so he can read you a story when he gets back."

"But Chris was going to read for us," Aiden said, looking at me expectantly.

"I'll be here to read for you every other day," I promised, "we should let daddy read for you today, okay?"

"You'll be here every day?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll be here every day."

"Yay," they both jumped happily.

After getting ready for bed, Mia had them pick their toys off the floor and clean their room before it was time to sleep. It was impressive to see them do so without complaining and I was happy to see that Mia made sure they were not spoilt brats like many other rich kids. Mia was keen on teaching them manners and I had to give her that.

Mia left the room to get something done, while I joined them to clean their room with my back facing the door. The room door opened and at first, I thought it was Mia, but from the excited squeals from the kids, I realized who it was.

"Daddy!" they cried excitedly as they ran and jumped into his waiting arms.

He lifted them up with both hands effortlessly, with the biggest smile on his face. Now I was starting to understand what he needed those large muscles for. Their excited screams and peals of laughter rang throughout the room as he nuzzled both their necks and ears, making vibrating sounds.

When he finally stopped they wrapped their small hands around him as he walked to the upholstery on the other side of the room. He sat down and put them on both sides of his lap.

"We missed you, daddy," Abby started, she was the first to lean on her father's sturdy chest, and for a split second, I wished that was me.

"I missed you too, my little angels," Lucas said running one hand through Abby's hair while the other was wrapped around Aiden. I had never seen him this happy, even when I told him I would be accepting the job, he was not this happy. And I realized that only his kids were able to fill him with so much joy. Maybe he was not so bad after all.

I was still on the floor picking up the toys, and I was sure he had not noticed me there yet.

"So tell me, how was your day?" he asked.

"Chris came back," Abby said at the same time Aiden said, "Chris is here."

He stiffened immediately they said my name and looked around until his eyes met mine on the floor. "She is," he said not taking his eyes off me.

"Good evening Mr. Lucas," I said with a weak smile.

"Hi, Chris," he said and quickly turned his attention back to the kids.

"And we helped aunt Mia make mac and cheese," Abby said proudly.

"And we also had cupcakes." Aiden added, "and Chris let us watch Peppa pig on her phone."

I watched with amusement as they went up and down about how they spent their day, what new things they did, and what they did at school. Lucas listened to them intently, but I did not miss the way his eyes roamed to my face from time to time.

They kept talking until I finished cleaning up the room and making their beds. Abigail had already yawned more than once and when she yawned the last time, Lucas decided it was time for bed.

"Okay, kids, I think it's time for us to go to bed," he said lifting them up again. He carefully put each of them in their beds and they lay down without a fuss.

"Daddy, will you read us a story?" Aiden asked sleepily.

"Of course, I will," he said, as he reached for the storybooks on the nightstand in between the beds. "Which do you want us to read tonight?" 

"The one about the prince," Abby said.

"No, we read that last time, I want the one about the stars," Aiden argued. 

They went on and on about which story to read until Lucas finally chose one that they both seemed to like. 

"I'll give you guys a minute," I said and walked to the bed to say good night to the kids. 

"Goodnight!" they echoed back and I turned to leave the room.

"Please, wait for me in my office downstairs," Lucas said before picking up the book the kids had chosen.

"Okay," I nodded tersely and left the room.