The Nanny

Chapter 8

With Tina's arrival for the weekend, Queen was a completely wreck. She'd spent the week performing her duties as the nanny, cooked and cleaned when Mallory wasn't available and got the boys to bed without hassle every night. She'd even been successfully avoiding Kyrie at all costs after the camping trip to maintain a more professional relationship, which proved to be better for them both. He returned to working longer shifts, and she was finally doing the duties asked of her in the employee contract. Her efforts had also paid off because Kyrie suggested that she invite Tina over for the weekend to enjoy the pool in the backyard and the rest of the grounds. Knowing that Tina didn't do well with children, Queen was sure to discuss the rules of the house every night over the phone before the big day.

When five in the evening finally hit, Norris answered a call at the gate. Queen already knew it was her friend, and she suddenly grew nervous as the decade old Civic pulled up through the driveway. Queen opened the front door to let Tina in, but she wasn't expecting the loud rattling of the car's engine to deafen the whole house. The familiar sound made her smile nonetheless, and she ran out to hug her friend. Tina squealed with excitement, looking up at the house in awe as she unloaded her weekend bag from the backseat.

"This is crazy!" she exclaimed to her friend.

Queen nodded to agree. "Kyrie and the boys went out to see a movie to give you time to settle in. I'll give you a quick tour before they're back."

"Did I mention that your boss is amazing?" Tina ran into the house and dropped her bag in the foyer, spinning around to see every inch of the ceiling above her and the grand staircase. "Where's your room?"

Queen pointed to the stairs and grabbed Tina's bag, leading her up the staircase and down the hall where her bedroom door remained open. "You'll sleep here with me for the weekend."

"This bedroom is as big as your apartment," Tina said, admiring the cool tone hue of the walls, decorative floral art work and centered king bed. "Okay, what do you need this huge bed for?"

Queen shrugged. "Maybe all the bedrooms have this."

"Or maybe the boss is hoping to put yours to use," she said to Queen, suggestively raising her brows. "So, tell me. Is it as big as you imagined?"

Queen grimaced in disgust and dropped Tina's bag on her bed. "First of all, that's my boss you're talking about. And second, he's getting married."

Tina gasped. When she realized that it was louder than either one of them expected, she covered her mouth and ran to the door to shut it. "Why haven't you been keeping me posted?"

Queen rolled her eyes, uninterested in the conversation that her friend was trying to engage in. "Do you want to see the hot tub or not?"

"The hot tub can wait." Tina threw herself onto the bed and propped up on an elbow, looking back at Queen expectantly. "Tell me, Q. Tell me everything right now."

She sighed, looked at her closed door and then back at Tina. "His fiancée showed up, and I overheard them talking."

"You overheard them or you were eavesdropping?"

Queen bit into her lip before responding to the question. "I intentionally overheard them. Lucinda really loves him. He must love her back for her to have a ring, right?"

"Lucinda Kline?" Tina asked, her eyes wide.

"I have no idea."

"I've heard of her. She's the daughter of some guy who owns a multi-billion dollar tech company. I think it's called Gateway or something." Tina typed something on her phone and showed it to Queen. "This is her, right?"