8. Chapter 8
OLIVER
I should have fired Nigel yesterday and renounced Min-Joon as my best friend; the two of them are complete pricks. How dare they manipulate me into doing what they want?
It was supposed to be the other way around.
After wasting another two hours listening to those two trying to convince me to hire this Luna woman and why it was the right thing to do, I, of course, got more sleep than an owl, tossing and turning like a dog trying to get comfortable because I felt unsettled knowing that woman was going to be in my safe space, knowing where I live.
A woman I couldn’t stand.
It just made my stomach churn, although what hurt more was waking up this morning and not having Theo greet me like he always does by cannonballing me out of my sleep, then asking me what’s for breakfast. Instead, he wakes up and stays in his bedroom until I call him down, eats half a slice of jam on toast, then goes back into his room to put his school uniform on.
He does allow me to help him put his coat on and into his car seat, but apart from that, it was total silence. It didn’t seem right that the spoiled brat was getting what he wanted when I picked him up after my afternoon meeting, but here we were.
My suffering on the matter was moot, something I’d have to accept until later on. Once we reached his school, Theo did say goodbye to me and hug me during drop-off, which does make my day a little brighter, but the problem remains. He might be ready to see Luna again, but I definitely wasn’t.
“She graduated with honours, is known to be a great cook, and she can speak three languages: English, Korean, and Spanish. She is biracial and well-cultured, so we shouldn’t have a problem if Theo ever slips back into his native tongue.
” These words linger in my head from the few things Nigel mentioned last night.
I chose to ignore Min-Joon asking if she was single, to which Nigel replied with TBD - to be determined.
I can’t stand either of them and tried to push them and a certain curly-haired brunette out of my mind on my way to work. Arriving on time, I had back-to-back meetings right until I headed back to pick up Theo for 1 pm.
Once I reached the lift and ignored the usual whispers as I rode to the fortieth floor, Nigel met me as the doors opened, and we had a five-minute briefing beforehand.
I was exhausted and only semi-prepared, but if anything, I was always professional.
I took a small deep breath before stepping into the meeting with my head held high.
Let’s get this over with.
****
A few hours and four cups of black coffee later, the urge to pass out and sleep for the next ten years occurred while Theo and I made it home. We were running late, and the new nanny would be here any minute for her trial day, that is, if she was planning to show up on time.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she showed up late just to spite me. Which would also be the perfect opportunity to get rid of her for good…Now I was praying she’d show up late.
Theo had no clue why I showed up to collect him after lunch; he asked about a thousand times why, but I wasn’t ready to tell him yet. I’m so tired; the majority of my energy was used to making sure I got us both home in one piece. It was nice that he was back to talking to me again, though.
I tell him it’s a surprise, and he will find out what when we get home.
But now that we were at home, the questions only got more and more intense, although it was nice to see Theo returning to his usual bubbly self, practically jumping out of his coat, and repeating the words.
“What’s the surprise, what’s the surprise?” over and over again. I cave, telling him that someone was coming to visit. He was just in the middle of asking who when the Ring doorbell rang.
I snap my wristwatch to check the time.
Unbelievable.
She’s right on time.
I let Theo stand in front of me when opening the door.
“LUNA!!” Theo screams at the top of his lungs, flying past me and latching his arms tightly around her neck.
She was already crouching on the floor as if she already knew he was going to hug her.
The fact that she was touching him made my skin crawl, but I stood back and acted unbothered, well apart from the deadly glare she and I are currently sharing.
“Theo! It’s so good to see you again,” she sings with excitement, but I hear it as sarcasm. I watch her pick him up along with the backpack and tote bag she has on her shoulder, so they aren’t in the doorway, making it easier for me to close the door.
How dare she be considerate,
“I didn’t think I was going to see you again; I missed you,” Theo whines, pulling away from the hug to give her a big smile, a smile I hadn’t seen in almost twenty-four hours, but she got it right off the bat, for Christ’s sake, I’m the one who’s been raising him, whilst he only met her yesterday, why was he exaggerating so much.
“Well, that’s exactly why I’m here! I could feel how much you missed me, because I missed you too, and I did make you a promise, didn’t I?” she asks, matching Theo’s grin as he leads her down the hall.
Oh please.
She was only fulfilling her stupid promise because I’m allowing her to, even if it was just for a day.
“I knew it!” Theo giggles as the two of them share some kind of hidden language as if they hadn’t only met yesterday for no longer than a few minutes.
“And I did everything you said, too. I listened to everything Ollie told me to do.” Theo says proudly, patting his little chest. Luna’s eyes grew wider, and so did her smile, which I oddly thought combined with a death glare directed at me should have made her look creepy, like the Joker.
But instead made her look pret-never mind.
“You did?” she replies far too enthusiastically.
“Good job, honey; I’m so proud of you!” she adds, rubbing his cheeks that were growing rosier by the second; sadly, I couldn’t see the appeal.
When Luna finally straightens up and turns to unload her tote bag on the kitchen counter, as if she lives here, I turn to follow them when Theo comes crashing into my legs and hugs them so tightly, he locks me in with his tiny hands, clasping them around the back of my legs.
“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, Ollie! I promise, I’ll be good for Luna; I double, triple promise!” he beams, looking up at me with glowing eyes and the biggest smile. The very same that made the crack in my icy heart a little bigger.
“You’re welcome, bud. I’m afraid that’s a promise I might hold you to, but Luna is only here for the day. We’re gonna see where things go first before anything permanent.” I explain carefully, but judging by his nod and need to get back to Luna’s side, he didn’t hear a single word.
I follow him to find Luna in the kitchen, putting away the contents of her tote bag as she judges what was in my fridge.
Standing in the archway, I was about to ask her what the hell she thinks she’s doing, infiltrating someone else’s kitchen, but then she turned around, and it knocked the words out of my mouth.
Watching her close the fridge door with her hip, her shoulder-length curls bounce as she turns her head, her bright smile fills the room, and her dark chocolate brown eyes sparkle in the kitchen lighting.
It was the first time I’d got a proper look at her since she walked in. Wearing a pastel yellow turtleneck with blue ripped jeans looped with a black belt that hung far too tightly to her hourglass hips.
Making my way down her frame, the second thing I notice is that she has removed her shoes. Something she must have done whilst removing her coat, but it only occurred to me now, looking at the white frilly socks and baby pink house slippers with a cartoon egg on them, on her little feet.
Slippers, yet another thing I didn’t notice. I hated having this woman in my house; my observational skills were all out of whack.
She beams down at Theo, who’s complimenting her slippers, when she turns to me, snapping me out of my gaze, praying she hadn’t noticed me staring at her for the last minute and a half.
The last thing I should do is give this woman the satisfaction of knowing I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I step into the kitchen fully, holding my head high with the clear of my throat.
“I have some work to do, so I will leave the two of you to get acquainted. I will be in my office if you need me, and I’ll be back to relieve you at five-thirty.” I nod.
“Thank you, Mr Walters. I’ve got it from here.” She replies with a smile; I’m 85% sure it was fake. Nevertheless, I turn towards my office, and at the same time, Theo grabs her hand and pulls her towards the living room.
I could hear Theo asking if she could show him the magic trick again as he turned on the Nintendo Switch, and Luna replied with, “Of course, but first, why don’t we change out of your school uniform first and then we can play?”
I’ve never run to my desk before in my life, like I did at that moment. Fucking hell, I stubbed my toe on the corner of my desk in the process.
I had half a mind to storm out and kick the perverted woman out of my house, but I settled for firing up my computer and turning on the surveillance system I had in the living room. It was on the same wall as the TV, so I wasn’t able to see what was playing on the TV, but I could hear everything.
Thank God, Theo wasn’t under this siren’s spell; his shy nature remained.
“Okay! Wait here, please.” He says politely, That’s my boy. He bolts up the stairs as fast as he can to change his clothes. I, however, kept my eyes on the stranger in my house.
I trust Theo would be okay to change his clothes without help, but I didn’t trust the one who just snooped in my fridge.