Beauty and the Billionaire

Chapter 3

Mrs Kimberly reached out to hug her granddaughter. The seven year old settled in her grandmother's bear hug as the woman sat back down on her chair and her secretary excused herself.

Mrs Kimberly finally turned to Claire. "Do you have kids?" She asked her.

The question took Claire by surprise. She had no idea her interview had started. "Um, no," Claire said.

"How do I know you can take care of a child then?" Mrs Kimberly asked.

"I work well with children," Claire said then. "Though I did marketing in college, I had done a few babysitting jobs before in high school . Your granddaughter will be in safe hands."

"She had better be," Mrs Kimberly said. "This period is not easy for her. The rest of the family will be too busy to look after her so I'm hoping you know what you're doing."

"Of course ma'am," Claire responded.

"Your friend who works as my accountant gave me a glowing recommendation about you," Mrs Kimberly said. "I'm willing to work with you on her words, but if you give me reason to regret it, you're out."

"I understand," Claire said.

"I like you already," Mrs Kimberly said. She turned to the seven-year-old seated beside her. "Look at her. She is such a cutie. Take good care of her."

Claire turned to the little girl standing beside her grandmother and regarding her curiously. She had to admit the little girl looked so cute and docile. Her job should be easy, she thought. She snapped her attention back to Mrs Kimberly.

"You will have the job. I'll ask my personal assistant to bring you a list of do's and don't's with taking care of her as well as the list of her allergies," Mrs Kimberly said.

There's a list, Claire thought, but did not say anything.

"Excuse me," Mrs Kimberly said as her phone began to buzz. "I'll be right back."

She stepped out of her chair and to the glass-bordered balcony as she began to speak to the caller on the other end.

All was quiet in the office again. Claire counted seconds as she waited. The little girl she would be babysitting entertained herself by rifling though the little backpack she carried and spilling its content on a thick, black, Persian rug. Claire almost forgot about the man in the room until she lifted her head from watching the little child and her gaze met his.

His gaze was intent on her and she couldn't pull away.

"We meet again," he said quietly. "I hope you remember me, because I do, you."

"Hello there," Claire replied weakly. "I had no idea you would be here."

"Clearly. Apparently, you couldn't evade me like you did at the lot," he replied.

Claire bit her lips guiltily. "Look, about that day… I was drunk and angry and I did and said a lot of things I kinda regret-"

"-As you should -"

Claire's gaze thinned to slits. She knew she was only being civil because he was related to her direct boss- and was her boss by extension- but it was annoying how he assumed the position of being morally right.

"You were at fault too," Claire said. "You acted indifferent and unrepentant, like you didn't care, when you knew that your driver was clearly at fault-"

"-That is because I do not care, darling. I couldn't care less about two drunk women creating a scene and delaying a trip I had to make," he replied. "You must have felt special getting in an encounter with me. Else, you should have licked your wounds and gone your way."

Claire looked utterly appalled. She couldn't believe that even after she had played the part of the bigger person and apologized, he was still as conceited and nasty as the other day.

"I consider it a blunder for someone like you to say you can care for a child," the man continued. "I doubt you would be eligible for this position. I should let my mother know my thoughts…" He watched the expression on Claire's face- though she tried to hide it, she was anxious. "But you need this job," the man continued. "You still have to pay for my windscreen you broke. Goodluck."

Claire shook in annoyance on her seat. The man turned his attention to his phone until Mrs Kimberly was done with her call and back in the office, oblivious to what had ensured.

She sat at her seat and turned to Claire to continue their earlier discussion.

The man stood up then. "I'll be heading for the office," he announced to his mother. "I'll see you later."

"Jayden, What do you think about the babysitter I'm planning to employ for Amy?" Mrs Kimberly asked. "You think she can handle her?"

Jayden turned briefly to Claire. Claire held her breath, dreading his response. "She's fine for the job," Jayden said.

Mrs Kimberly smiled. "Bye my dear," she replied.

"Bye uncle Jaden." The little girl raised her head to watch her uncle.

Claire watched the man peck his niece on her forehead and then turn to leave. He did not look in Claire's direction even as she watched him. He let her keep the job afterall, unlike what Claire had thought.

She was able to breathe better as he made his way out of the office.

"So," Mrs Kimberly said when Jayden was gone. "Payments."

She pulled out three sheets of paper held with a staple and gave it to Claire. Claire took it from her.

"You'll be her babysitter from now until a period of about three months and we may deicde to extend it after that if need be. You will report to the housekeeper every morning and sign out at eight pm. For this period of time, the amount at the end of the contract will be your pay, distributed equally each month. Take a look at the amount and tell me if it works for you and then you can start work tomorrow," Mrs Kimberly said.

Claire read through the document, her eyes skimming certain parts. The document talked about what her job pertained to, her duties and the warrants for a breach of the agreement. Claire's eyes reached the remuneration amount area and she let out a low gasp.

"Yes, please," she said.

She was warming up to this babysitting job already.