know that, right?"
"No. She was trying to play me. Big difference."
"Not if you're in here, pleading her case."
Chase laughed. "That's not why I’m here."
Yeah, right. "It's not?"
"For your information," he said, "I'm here to tell you what the new nanny did."
Suddenly, I was all ears. "Cami? What'd she do?"
"The way I hear it, she gave Veronica a good ass-chewing. And more."
I sank back into my chair and stared across the desk. "You're joking."
"No joke," Chase said. "Just listen. Veronica goes to Willow's school, thinking she'll wander up and say hi—"
"Wait. Why would she do that?"
"Because," Chase said, "she wants her old job back."
That wasn't gonna happen. "Is she nuts?"
Chase smiled. "Hell yeah, she's nuts."
"In case you don't know," I said, "that's not a mark in her favor."
"Yeah, well…I guess it depends on what you're doing."
Knowing Chase, he'd done plenty. I replied, "So I hear."
Chase reached up to tug at his collar. "Anyway, the way Veronica sees it, it's been a few months, so she figures you're due to fire the next nanny."
Nope.
Not a chance.
It had been only a week since Cami and I had talked in the kitchen. And yeah, she was still making me crazy, but that didn't mean she was going anywhere, not if I could help it.
To Chase, I replied, "Is that so?"
"Sure," he said. "Personally, I thought she showed initiative."
"Veronica?" I gave him a hard look. "No. She showed you her ass. Big difference."
"Not just her ass," Chase said. "Did I mention she wasn't wearing a bra?"
"No."
"Well, the thing is—"
"I don't wanna hear it," I said. "Tell me what happened at the school."
"Alright," Chase said looking decidedly disgruntled. "So, you know how the parents walk up and get the kids, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, when the new nanny –"
"Cami."
Chase brightened. "Yeah. Cami the Nanny. It has a nice ring, doesn't it?"
It did. But hell if I'd admit it. "Go on," I said.
"So they're at the nanny-mobile, and–"
"The what?"
"The thing the nanny drives – that orange SUV."
It wasn't a "nanny-mobile." It was the vehicle Cami drove to make sure Willow safely arrived wherever she needed to go. It was also what Cami drove whenever she had an errand of her own.
It was a basic company vehicle, not too fast and exceptionally safe. I'd had it painted orange so it would be easy to spot in a pinch.
The funny thing was, Cami looked cute as hell driving it.
She didn't look like a nanny. She looked like a college co-ed or the girl next door, the one you couldn’t stop thinking about, no matter how hard you tried.
Lately, I'd been thinking about her a lot. It was a problem. Even worse, she wasn't living next door. She was living in my house.
It was making me nuts.
Chase was still talking. "So Veronica catches up with Willow and Cami as they're getting into the nanny-mobile. And she explains to Cami that she's living nearby and wanted to say 'hi' to Willow, you know for old time's sake."
I didn't like where this was going. "And Cami let her?"
"Yeah, for maybe two minutes."
"What do you mean?"
"This is where it gets good," Chase said. "So, after a minute or two, Cami tells Veronica that they're running late, and she cuts the visit short."
I frowned. "Not short enough."
"Not the way Veronica tells it," Chase said. "Anyway, Cami gets Willow settled in the back seat, all calm and friendly like the three of them are best buddies. But as soon the door shuts behind her—"
"You mean Willow."
"Right. Cami and Veronica are still outside."
I could almost see it. "Go on."
"So Cami pulls Veronica aside – behind the vehicle, where Willow can't see – and she tells Veronica that if she ever bothers Willow again, she'll have her hiney hauled away, pronto."
I paused. "Hiney?"
"It's another word for 'ass.'"
"I know what 'hiney' means."
"Are you sure?" Chase said. "Because you look confused."
I wasn't confused. I was unsettled, even more so when Chase went on to tell me that somewhere along the way, Cami called Veronica a "lunk-blaster" and kicked her in the shin.
I waited several beats before asking, "Why the shin?"
"Hell if I know," Chase said. "Why the lunk-blaster? What the fuck is that, anyway?"
Now it was my turn to say it. "Hell if I know."
"Well, it wasn't a compliment."
No shit, Sherlock. "What gave it away?" I said. "The kick?"
"According to Veronica, there wasn't just kicking." Chase grinned. "There was slapping, too."
What the hell? "Who slapped who?"
"Does it matter?" He was still grinning. "Man, I would've loved to see that."
Not me.
Not with Cami