The mate of his nanny

Chapter 94: Favorite Girls

Moana

A few days passed after that. I had a hard time getting over what Edrick said to me in my room that night: that he couldn't stop thinking about me. Was that true? Why, then, did he try to sleep with another woman? If he really couldn't stop thinking about me in the same way that I couldn't stop thinking about him, why couldn't we just admit our feelings to one another and be done with it? Even if we couldn't be public with our relationship, part of me still wanted to see if we could make it work in a private setting.

Eventually, the day of the banquet came. While there was still a large part of me that just wanted to make an excuse to not go and hide in the penthouse instead, I knew that I had to be there for Ella.
On the morning of the banquet, I came out of my room to find that Selina had already prepared a large breakfast for Ella and me. Ella was already sitting at the table, happily shoveling pancakes into her mouth, while Selina poured my coffee for me.

"Wow," I said as I approached, temporarily forgetting my anxiety about the banquet. "This is nice, Selina. Thank you."

Selina nodded. "You've both got a long day ahead of you, so I wanted to make sure you have a good breakfast. Take a seat."

I smiled and sat across from Ella. A plate of pancakes, bacon, and fresh fruit sat in front of me. Selina finished pouring my coffee, which I sipped gratefully before starting to dig into my breakfast.

"Now," Selina said, wiping her hands on her apron and then retrieving her small datebook from her apron pocket, "let's see..." She opened the datebook, slipping her glasses onto her nose and reading for a moment. "Ella, you'll be getting your hair done at eleven... And Moana, you'll have your own hair and makeup stylist coming at noon."

My eyes widened just as I was about to take a bite of my pancake. I lowered the fork, furrowing my brow. "That must be a mistake," I said with a chuckle. "I don't have a stylist for these sorts of things."

Selina only shrugged and stuffed her datebook back in her pocket. "Mr. Morgan booked one for you," she said.

I was astonished. Edrick really booked a hair and makeup stylist for me? He'd never done that before for either of the events we went to, and never even mentioned it. I couldn't help but wonder if he was just trying to butter me up by doing this, but I had to admit that there was a little part of me that secretly hoped that he was trying to doll me up because he was going to announce my pregnancy to his family at the banquet.

But, no. That would be ridiculous; I knew that he wouldn't be telling the rest of his family for quite a while. After all, according to him, his father could potentially do something to the baby this early on in the pregnancy. Even just the thought of it made me hold my belly protectively.

Either way, I didn't put up a fuss. I finished eating, then gave Ella her bath and got her ready for her appointment, which she wasn't particularly excited for. Ella, however, was a good girl as always and didn't put up a fuss either, and was as polite as can be to the stylist when she finally arrived.

Not long after they began to do her hair for the banquet, my own stylist arrived: an older, well-dressed man by the name of Tyrus. As he stepped out of the elevator, I was shocked by his impeccable style and perfect hair. He even wore a bit of gold eyeshadow that made his brown eyes pop out.

"You must be Moana," he said, walking up to me with a smile and holding out his hand. "I'm Tyrus."

"Nice to meet you," I replied.

"Can I offer you some tea, Tyrus?" Selina asked, seemingly already familiar with the man. Tyrus shook his head.

"No, thank you, Selina," he said with a smile, then looked back at me. "We've got quite the afternoon ahead of us."

I was still taken aback as Tyrus led me to my room, where he sat me down in front of my vanity and laid out his hair and makeup supplies. For the next three hours - yes, three - Tyrus and I chatted while he trimmed and styled my hair and did my makeup. It was fascinating watching how expertly he curled and styled my hair, and how perfectly he did my makeup to give me a natural look while still having a bit of sophistication. He gave me a similar glittery gold eyeshadow to his own, which brought out the green in my eyes and the red in my hair in a way that I'd never seen before. When he was finished, I was shocked by my own reflection.

"Well?" he asked, holding a mirror up so I could see the back of my hair. "What do you think?"

I shook my head in disbelief as I ran my hands over my incredibly soft hair and leaned forward in my seat to look at the impeccable makeup he did. "It's..."

"It's beautiful!" a tiny voice suddenly called from the doorway. Tyrus and I both looked up to see Ella standing there with her hair done as well and a big grin on her face. She ran up to me and bounced up and down excitedly on her toes. "You look so pretty, Moana!"

I couldn't help but blush at Ella's reaction, and Tyrus chuckled as he packed up his supplies.

"Really," I said as I walked him back to the elevator a few minutes later, "you did a great job. Thank you so much."

"Oh, it's nothing," Tyrus replied with a warm smile.

"A friend of Edrick's is a friend of mine."

"You know Edrick well?" I asked.

Tyrus shrugged. "We knew each other in college," he said, "before I came out to my parents and decided to run off and enroll in cosmetology school. If you can believe it, I was a business major back then. Yuck."

I laughed as I pictured a younger Tyrus and a younger Edrick being acquaintances in college. In fact, as I said goodbye to Tyrus and watched the elevator doors close, I couldn't stop imagining what Edrick was like in college; to think of him as a bright-eyed young man with big dreams for the future made me smile. But at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if going to school to become the next WereCorp CEO was his own dream, or if it was his father's dream.

...

That evening, Selina helped Ella get ready for the banquet while Amy and Lily helped me. I wore the silk dress that Edrick picked out for me at the mall, and although it felt a little dirty now knowing that he almost slept with another woman on the same day that he bought it for me, I couldn't help but feel beautiful as I looked in the mirror. Even Amy and Lily couldn't stop fawning over the quality of the dress, and kept feeling the fabric between their fingers. I promised that they could try the new dresses on in my room sometime, just for fun, and they seemed excited by that idea.

When I was finished, I finally stepped out of my room and into the living room, where Edrick was waiting. I felt almost like the lady of the house, and when Edrick's eyes slid over me and his face almost went a little pale, I temporarily forgot that I really was just the nanny.

Ella came out along with me and took my hand, grinning up at me.

"Well, daddy?" she asked, twirling around to show off her skirt. "How do we look?"

The Alpha billionaire smiled a warm, sweet smile.
"There's my favorite girls," he said.