"Happy Christmas!"
The guy rolls his striking blue eyes at me and storms into his house.
"He doesn't really like Christmas."
I turn to the blond hair and blue eyed girl standing by the stairs and smile.
"Well, I'm going to show him it's not all th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Snowflakes doing cartwheels through the air, cab drivers yelling and cursing at each other, lights flashing and children gazing at toys through windows, how could you not love Christmas?
I smile at Mark-the-security guard as I walk into the grand apartment building.
Now, a little bit about myself. I'm 17 years old, kind of in college (it's complicated), and currently work as a nanny/babysitter for a very wealthy family named the Hasslehoff's.
The Hasslehoff's are great. They have a little girl named Emily who just yearns for someone to play with. Even though they only have one child, they work like mad.
Emily Hasslehoff: 6 years old, homeschooled by moi, and the most darling little girl you could ever wish for.
Selina Hasslehoff: an ex-model who doesn't bother hiding her beauty. Had her own line of cosmetics and an very big influencer in the world of fashion, also has her own line of wedding dresses.
Bill Hasslehoff: a very nice man. Works very hard to make sure his wife and child have the best life they can. He owns a toy franchise called Bill's Toy Chest. It has many locations across America.
I knock on the door, signaling my arrival back from the drugstore with a bag in my hand.
Emily Hasslehoff opens the door wide and gives me a toothy smile. "You're back!"
"I was only gone for a little bit," I laugh.
Mrs. Hasslehoff appears from the kitchen. "Hello! I've been called to the office for a custom order. No telling how long it'll take. Emily really wanted to make gingerbread," she says as her heels clack against the floor. "Goodbye, darling!"
Mrs. Hasslehoff grabs her clutch and coat, then closes the door behind her.
"So, can we make gingerbread now?"
Emily hangs onto my leg as I set my bag dwon near the entrance.
"Of course we can. I went to Macy's yesterday, and guess what I got?" Emily's face breaks into the most adorable smile as I pull a sack out with brown paper inside.
"My Christmas ornament!" She exclaims.
She pulls the dark gingerbread with glitter and fake gumdrops from my hand.
"Do you like it?" I ask even though I already know the answer.
"Of course I do!" Emily beams at me and runs over to their Christmas tree and delicatly places the ornament on the tree.
I meander over to the couch and plop down on it, looking at the New York skyline.
"Can we make cookies now?" Emily whines.
"Sure," I laugh, scooping her up in my arms.
Emily squeals and squirms in my arms.
I set her down and she runs to get her apron off the hooks hanging next to mine.
Knock knock knock.
"Hold on Em, I've got to see who's at the door."
I grasp the gold handle and pull the front door open.
I frown at the girl standing in front of me. She can't be much older than 16, but she is a beauty. Curly blond hair cascdes down her shoulders and her striking blue eyes draw your attention. "Um, hi?"
The girl laughs and extends her hand. "Hello, I'm Sadie Alexander. I live right across the hall," she explains with a slight British accent.
I shake her hand and peer over her shoulder at the boxes in the hall. "New to New York?"
She nods eagerly. "We just moved over here from England. My brother must be inside, Mother told him to come with us, but he didn't. He's very grouchy."
"Who is it?" Emily calls form the kitchen.
Sadie peers over my shoulder eagerly. "You have a little girl? How sweet!"
Emily hears this and laughs. She's very intellingent for only 6 years old. "She's not my mommy! My mommy had to leave to go back to work, she's just my nanny."
"I'm not just your nanny!" I whisper, "I'm your best friend!"
Emily giggles and sticks her hand out to Sadie. "My name is Emily Hasslehoff. I'm 6 years old. My mommy is Selina Hasslehoff and my daddy is Bill Hasslehoff. I live at-"
I cut her off. "That's how her mom told her she should introduce herself. We're working on it. We don't really want her giving her address to strangers."
Sadie laughs at the both of us. "Well, I should probably get going. I still need to unpack my stuff, then Mother said we could go to Macy's and pick out some new Christmas ornaments for the tree. Quite a few were damaged in the commute between London and New York."
I nod as if I know the struggle.
"Can I see your house?" Emily asks.
"Oh Emily! You can't just invite yourself over to someone elses house! Beside," I turn back to Sadie, "we wouldn't want to intrude."
Sadie flashes me a smile with perfectly straight and blinding white teeth. She bends down to Emily's height. "Tell you what, after we get all settled in, you can come over and we can find something to do." Emily nods excitedly as Sadie straightens back out. "I never caught your name," she remarks.
"Annie. Annie Buttler."
Sadie smiles before returning back to her penthouse.
I close the door and hear Emily whine, "Can we please make gingerbread cookies now?"
I laugh at her and tie on my apron. "Gingerbread it is!" ⭐️ /|\
