her to agree to anything so easily. I had to learn Xari’s tricks.
“Alright, Miss Lucas…”
“Call me Xari. Miss Lucas makes me feel old and I’m not.”
She wasn’t old at all. In fact, she was new. Probably still wet behind the ears.
“I’ll call you Miss Lucas.”
“Do you call Navy that too? Wouldn’t it get confusing?”
“He calls her Navy, so I don’t know why he wants to call you by your last name,” Frankie shrugged.
Wow, my own kid snitched on me gladly for the new nanny. Well, possible new nanny. She had to make it past the one-month mark to be official. I was sticking to that no matter how happy Frankie seemed to be with her.
“So, I’m the one you’re discriminating against. Cool.” Xari muttered something else under her breath. Something that sounded like it was in another language. My ears burned and I wanted to demand that she tell me what the fuck she said but it would have been unprofessional so I swallowed the words and forced a smile.
“Nobody is discriminating against you, Miss Lucas. We’ll see you tomorrow at seven sharp.”
“In the morning?” Xari’s expressive eyes grew wider before she reigned in her shock. “I mean, yes, of course. I’ll be there at seven,” she muttered through gritted teeth. Something told me she barely rolled out of bed before ten on most days.
What the hell was I getting myself into with this girl? She’d better make one hell of an impression on me over the next thirty days.
…
When I woke up the next morning, I heard music playing in Frankie’s room. I forgot what having her live with me meant. I forgot about the giggling on the phone, loud music, dramatic outbursts, and constant power struggles. I had to adjust quickly. Hopefully, having Xari around would help calm the tornado that was a preteen girl.
I pulled my sleep-laden body out of bed and looked at my nightstand. An empty bottle of Jameson blurred the numbers on my clock. To my left, my laptop was still open but the screen was black. I must have fallen asleep writing. I’d have to go back and check my novel for mistakes. I slid my hands down my face then trudged down the hall. The sun hadn’t even risen in the sky yet. I prepared my best Dad speech then opened Frankie’s bedroom door.
Frankie was sprawled out on her bed. One earbud in, one out. The white cord that used to be plugged into her phone was dangling off the side of her full-sized bed and her Bluetooth speaker was pumping music.
When she shifted positions in her sleep, the cord must have come out and the speaker ended up pairing to the phone as a result. I shook my head and paused the song before groaning.
“No more falling asleep with music on, Frankie. Come on. Get up.” I shook her leg and she whined before curling into the fetal position and burying her head under the comforter. “Okay, I want you up and in the shower by the time I’m done with my workout. Don’t forget Miss Lucas comes by in an hour.”
I went to my room and tossed on a gray Nike shirt and black Nike shorts, hung a towel around my neck, and headed to the in-home gym downstairs.
I had to start my mornings with a workout or else my head wouldn’t be clear, I had a ton of meetings and appearances. Today would be the day I needed Xari to pull through if she was serious about being Frankie’s nanny. She would have to pick her up from school, feed her, help her with homework, and hang out with her until I got off.
I hit the weights heavy and let my mind run wild. The first thing I thought about was the way Xari Lucas looked in that black and white dress yesterday. Goddamn. Something so distracting shouldn’t come in such a pretty package.
When I finished my last set of deadlifts, my phone rang, stopping the Notorious BIG song that pumped through the speakers. I wiped the sweat from my face and answered the call once I saw my father’s name flash across the screen. I had to be in my right mind to speak to him. I didn’t have the type of father I could carry on mindless conversations with. Every conversation with Warren Freeman had to be calculated.
“Hey, Dad,” I said pushing out a whoosh of air from my lungs. I sat on the weight bench with