The Nanny

The Gala

A/N: You guys have been so great! Thank you for your patience again, I'm absolutely loving writing this!

Grace and Jace had left together, taking Max with them to drop him off at school and leaving Sophie to her own devices. She spent the first part of her day cleaning, throwing clothes in the laundry and organizing Max's toy room. She moved through the rest of the house and by noon, she had made her way into the kitchen. After wiping down all of the surfaces, she went to make a grilled chicken salad. Finding some fresh watermelon and strawberries, she added some to her plate before stepping back to her room and changing into a bathing suit. Ezzy had packed a bag for her the night before and Mr. Mike had gone to pick it up.

She had a bikini on and a towel wrapped around her waist as she made her way back to the kitchen, ready to grab her plate and head out to the pool for lunch with a view. As she entered the kitchen, she heard the front door open and Jace's voice echoed off the marble floors.

"Yes, I understand what rides on that deal, but if you think I'm able to control everything, you're being unrealistic." A pause from Jace as she heard his footsteps draw closer. Sophie panicked, snatching up her plate and dashing out of the kitchen right as Jace rounded the corner.

"Hey, give me a second. Sophie?" Jace must have heard her bare feet against the floor but she continued the dash back to her room, not turning around.

Sophie came to realize that Jace was home for longer than just lunch. With the pool now out of the question, she finished her late lunch in her room and changed into capri leggings and a crop top tank. Sophie wanted to make one more attempt at spending time outside of her room, so after peaking her head out of her door and listening for a couple of minutes, she began to wander the halls, letting her mind do the same.

She had put herself in this opulent yet uncomfortable circumstance. Agreeing to nanny and move in with a guy within three days of meeting him? Oh, her momma was gonna skin her alive if she found out. She should say she regretted kissing him but she didn't, really. She enjoyed every moment of his hands on her waist and lips on her neck.

"You need to keep your eyes and ears on them." Jaces' voice echoed in the hall, "I know we just signed a deal with them but I still don't trust them." A brief pause. "I know, but I'm not the one who pushed the deal."

Sophie felt like she was invading upon something she shouldn't hear, but as she made a move to turn around, her hip hit a pedestal holding a plant, causing it to bump against the wall."

"Let me call you back." Jace spoke to the mystery person on the phone. "Sophie, I know that's you. Quit hiding from me and come talk."

Her body felt frozen on the spot, but she willed her feet to move, heading far down the hall, and out to the side yard that held a sitting area and fire place. It was only accessible through one area of the home or the back yard, so she felt pretty secure in the little corner. She sat on the couch and curled her feet beneath her, enjoying the cooler temperature in the shade and debating about whether she should go back and talk to him. After a moment, she decided she wasn't ready for that talk yet and pulled out her phone for some aimless social media scrolling.

It was nearing three o'clock so Sophie decided to sneak around the back of the house and find the chauffeur, Mr. Dan, to go pick Max up from school.

She found him in his car in the driveway reading a magazine, so she gently knocked on the window as to not scare him. He did jump a little, but a broad smile crossed his face when he saw her.

"I was hoping to come with you to pick up Max." she explained.

Mr. Dan nodded, unlocking the door and letting her climb in the back. "You caught me just in time, I was about to leave." he said, turning around to look at her.