8. Brakkus
Brakkus
Iglanced at the clock on my computer and realized it was dinnertime. When I opened the door to my study and stepped into the hall, the scent of roasted chilies and melted cheese wafted through the house.
My stomach rumbled, and I licked my lips, ready for a delicious meal. On the way through the living room, I passed Lola. She had her purse and sweater and was headed to the door.
“I made something special tonight,” she said with a smile. “I hope you like it.”
“Smells delicious,” I said.
“Have a good night. Your plate is on the kitchen table.”
I told her goodnight and headed into the kitchen. Hannah was seated on one side of the table with Otto in his high chair at the head. A plate of chiles rellenos was waiting for me across from Hannah.
I’d made it a point to eat separately from her since she started working here. Dinner was the time of day that Brielle used to flirt with me the most. And I was determined not to allow a repeat of that.
I grumbled to myself. Otto was scooping food into his mouth with his own hands, looking like he was in heaven.
My boy hadn’t been eating well. And after the visit to the healer, I knew exactly why.
I should have caught it before. And now he was behind in his growth.
I wanted to sit with my son tonight, nanny or not.
Grumbling, I sat at my place and picked up my fork. I could always tell her to go to her room. This was my house. If I wanted to sit at my own table in my own kitchen, I was within my rights to excuse her. I took a bite of the fried, stuffed chili and groaned. Lola was a magician in the kitchen.
“It’s so good,” Hannah said, noting my approval. She took a bite herself. Otto smashed cheese into his face, squealing with pleasure.
Sending her away at this point felt like it would ruin the moment. Just for tonight, I’d sit with the nanny. It would give me the opportunity to figure out her angle.
The trip to Breakstone today had only made her seem like exactly the type Brielle had pretended to be.
Caring, attentive, conscientious. She caught Otto’s tusk issue and asked to talk to his healer before it even registered to me.
She hadn’t tried to make me out to be an inept father or to aggrandize herself.
But I had a feeling something was coming. And I’d be ready when it did.
I took another bite of dinner and realized I was famished.
The three of us sat at the table after a long day in the car, stuffing our faces.
As an orc, this was one of the primary ways we bonded.
Which made me give Hannah the side eye. Was she counting on me opening up to her while filling my stomach? There was no way of knowing.
I finished my plate and got up to dish up a second serving. When I sat back down at the table, I noticed a notification on my phone. I picked it up and read it. Trey was informing me that the mockups for the rebrand for Brute Fuel protein powder were available for me to review.
I picked it up and opened the email. I scrolled through the label mockups.
We’d settled on the new tagline, FEED THE BEAST WITHIN last month.
There were several color variations, placements, and font choices.
Each one had the new brand logo with my snarling face in several colors, acid green, gunmetal gray, and blood red.
There were also mockups for the flavor variations. We’d decided to change the names to sound more aggressive and had settled on Skull-Cracker Chocolate, Tusk-Punch Vanilla, and Strawberry Slaughter.
I took another bite of my dinner and smirked at the designs. I’d have to look closely at the variations in the morning to make my final decision, but the first look was giving me a good internal chuckle.
I knew Brute Squad was tacky and kind of dumb. Every M.A.U.L. fighter knew the entire league was a tongue-in-cheek joke. But I’d helped build it, and I felt no shame for giving the people what they wanted.
I turned the phone around and slid it across the table to Hannah.
“We just got some mockups for our new protein powder design. What do you think?”
I wanted to know how she’d react. Would she lie and gush about it? Would she pretend my wealth and fame didn’t mean anything? Would she recoil at the over-the-top image of The Brute roaring in the logo?
She wiped her hands and picked up the phone and began scrolling through the images, still chewing on her last bite.
“Wow,” she said. “These are cool. You know what? Now I know where I recognize you from. We had a tub of Brute Fuel in the nurse’s station at the hospital.”
“What do you think of the comps?”
“I don’t know a lot about graphic design. But I like the flavor names. Particularly Strawberry Slaughter. The nurses at my old hospital would love that.”
She handed the phone back, and Otto smacked his tray with one hand and grunted.
“Do you want more?” she asked.
He grunted again in answer and she chuckled at his apparent growing appetite. “This is a really good sign.” She stood and dished him up another serving, making sure it was toddler-ready.
She sat back down and continued eating. Otto growled and shoved chiles rellenos into his face double-fisted. Hannah giggled. Otto snorted. And I laughed.
The sound of it coming out of my mouth shocked me. I had to stop myself from covering my mouth. My eyes went wide and I pursed my lips, staring at Hannah. She was oblivious, looking at Otto with a big grin on her lips.
What was this woman doing to me? I hadn’t laughed like that in months. Not since… I sighed, not wanting to think about it.
This must be part of her angle, getting me comfortable with this sweet little family moment. She’s playing the long game. Using perfume that makes my toes tingle. I can smell her scent over the spices and cheese of the chiles rellenos.
Brielle’s con had nothing on Hannah. She was an obvious flirt. She touched my arm and batted her eyelashes. Cooed over Otto and leaned over to reveal the curve of her breasts. All while selling photos of my son to the tabloids.
Hannah, on the other hand, was acting like the perfect caregiver.
So humble and kind. So attentive to my son’s needs.
She even arranged for an appointment with the healer.
And her scent was messing with my brain.
I was going to prove she was a charlatan, one way or another.
All I needed was proof. She was way too good so far.
I had nothing concrete to accuse her of.
“Well, that was good,” I said, standing from the table. I needed to get the hell away from this woman.
I’d hired her to care for my son, but I almost didn’t trust her to do it. No one was that good. Not without ulterior motives.
I went to the fridge and grabbed a beer from a local Austin artisan brewery.
“It was,” Hannah said, beginning to clear the table. She took the plates to the sink, passing me just inches away. The scent of her wafted into my nose and circled around my brain like a noose.
She started to rinse the dishes while I popped the cap on my beer. Cooking and cleaning were Lola’s job. No one expected Hannah to do it. Just more proof that she was too good to be true.
“I need some air,” I said, stepping around the island. “Good night.”
“Night, Brakkus,” she said behind me as I made my way outside. I slid open the glass door onto the patio and took a long swig of beer.
It was dark outside and the heat of the day still clung to the ground. The pool lights made the water glow blue in the darkness. Past the patio, the hillside sloped downward into cedar and grassland.
The crickets were sawing away as I stepped to the edge of the patio and rested my elbows on the stucco fence.
I took a deep inhale through my nose, drinking in the night air. When I let it out, I tipped back the beer and took a long swig.
The warm wind blew over my face, and an owl hooted down in the valley. I had to ask myself what I was doing with this woman in my house. If I really believed she was another con artist, I should just fire her and go back to caring for my son myself.
I had to admit, she was good for him. At least that’s what it seemed. She’d figured out why he wasn’t eating, and he was thawing from his deep freeze more each day she was here.
She hadn’t once made me feel like a failure as a father for not catching these things. Even at the healer’s. She could have pretended she was indispensable, but she didn’t.
The truth was, I needed the help. Otto needed a professional. And if I was to believe Austin Family Caregivers and her references, she was an experienced nurse.
I needed to hire someone to look into her past, closely, to put my suspicions to rest. I’d called her last position before her interview, but that wasn’t enough. I’d have Trey find me a private investigator in the morning. I wanted to know everything about this woman. Dirty laundry and all.
I turned around and watched Hannah through the kitchen window. She was lifting Otto out of his high chair and rocking him in her arms. He looked well fed and happy, smiling and clinging to her shirt.
She kissed the top of his head and left the kitchen. I saw her cross through the living room and then disappear down the hall. Gritting my teeth, I turned back to the view of the valley. I wasn’t going to let this woman with her enticing scent and caring ways lull me into a false sense of security.
“I’m going to find your angle, Hannah Brooks. I won’t let myself be conned again.”