Marvel Gang (2)

GRACE

Fiona got off the stool and walked towards the exit. “It is almost three o’clock, Ruby should be on her way now.” I stood up and followed her. And when she stopped walking and raised a finger in mid-air, I stopped as well. But I didn’t raise my finger.

“Ruby’s father will be back around seven pm so you have to stay till then. But make sure that you resume early tomorrow. You need to be here by seven AM. If you can come earlier, that would be nice.”

“Thank you, Fiona.”

Our walking resumed and as we reached the grand living room, the front door opened and a little girl appeared.

She fully walked into the room, and my entire face lit up with a huge smile.

The little girl was very pretty. Donned in a black gown top that carried a pink flower in its centre and blue leggings, the girl made noise with her flip-flops as she ran towards Fiona.

“There is my baby.” Fiona hugged her to her bosom, almost burying the girl with her love and... her chest. When she dropped her, Ruby faced me. Her eyes were honey-like, and her purely black hair dropped in a way that made the roundness of her face pop.

After a brief eye contact, Ruby faced Fiona who was now taking off the girl’s backpack.

“Is she my new nanny?” Her voice was as it should be...like a child’s. It just was not so high-pitched like some girls tended to have.

“Yes, Ruby. Say Hello.”

She stretched out her tiny hand at me. “Hi. I am Ruby. You?” I noticed that she had a little lisp. It barely overpowered her speech, so it was not noticeable.

“Grace.” Your babysitter. Not a nanny.

“You are pretty.” She batted her lashes furiously, her face exposing deep dimples as she smiled.

“Thank you, Ruby. You are also pretty.”

“Do you want to go look at my toys? I have an Iron Man action figure.”

My, my. I was expecting some Barbie gang, but this is good.

I struck a dramatic pose. “Don’t tell me, you are a Marvel fan too?”

She jumped happily and smiled again. Damn, she is pretty. One can only imagine how good-looking her parents are. Come to think of it, there are no family pictures around.

“I am!” Ruby wasn’t acting as though I was some stranger, which I was. “I love The Hulk!”

“That is great. Shall we go upstairs and take a look at those action figures?” Fiona and I shared a smile and she gave me thumbs-up.

Ruby grabbed my hand, her little fingers hardly covering a quarter of mine. “Let’s go, Grace. We can even watch Thor too if you want.”

“I would love to.” I laughed loudly as she somewhat dragged me up the stairs.

She was a nice kid for sure. And I should totally enjoy this new job.

********

It was already past seven and Ruby’s father was yet to arrive. Ruby and I were in the living room, watching some children-approved YouTube videos. Fiona was still around and was making dinner in the kitchen.

As I pondered on how my night would be, a sound from the entrance door tore our eyes from the laptop.

“Daddy!” Ruby got up and rushed to the door, hugging the man before he could even enter.

“Hey, Ruby. How are you?”

I straightened my posture as I waited for him to come in. His voice sounded like the one over the phone and even though his attitude back then annoyed me a bit, I decided to be cool. He is my employer after all.

“I am fine, Daddy. I got a new nanny.” Babysitter. Say, babysitter. It is not so hard to say that.

“And she is very pretty.” The way she elaborately talked, you would think I was Priyanka Chopra.

“Nice. Let’s go in.”

I decided to walk closer to the door as it would be rude if my employer was the one having to walk towards me. As I reached the single-level step that led to the living room if you were coming from outside, I stopped.

I looked up from my shoe which I was checking to see if it had a stain from when Ruby painted.

And as soon as my eyes met Ruby’s father’s, my jaw slightly dropped.

Mr. Powers, the hot man I was getting married to in my head, was standing in front of me, his daughter settled in his arms while she wore a smile as though she had just won the lottery. He put her down and walked towards me. When he stopped just a few metres from the edge of the stairs, his blueish eyes looked down at me.

“Miss Sands. I heard you came early today.” Oh my God, his voice. It was so deep yet soft. “Good. Maintain that pace and you will have your job for a while.”

After serenading my ears with the calmness of his voice, Mr. Powers pocketed his hands into his suit trousers, which as I pointed out before, he wore handsomely. “I trust Fiona has put you through,” he said.

Not able to trust my mouth, I nodded, biting the insides of my lips as I clamped them shut. “Alright.”

And he walked away, his shoes climbing the steps gracefully while his scent left a trail.

I facepalmed myself and groaned inwardly.

How will I survive this?

How will I survive this job when my boss is a freaking hot, sexy, handsome man? How will I successfully babysit the daughter of the man I almost got married to in my imagination?

Oh, my poor hormones! It seems you guys have a tough fight ahead.

“Grace...” I dropped my hands from my face and gave Ruby a nice smile.

“Ruby, I have to go. I need to get as much rest as I can right now.”

“What? You are not staying for dinner?” Fiona suddenly appeared.

“No, Fiona. As you know I have to be up early tomorrow.” Drunk me is not going to be happy about that! But whatever! I have to be decent!

I thought in my head, saying the statements in a sing-song manner.

“I wish you were living with us. I can’t wait to see you again!” Ruby said and I walked to her after I grabbed my bag from Fiona who reached for it before I could.

“Ruby, I will be back tomorrow and maybe we can check out that pool you talked about.”

“Okay.” Her pout was sad but I appreciated that she liked me already. “Goodnight, Grace.”

My smile was genuine as I greeted back, “Goodnight, Ruby.”

My feet were about to move when an iPhone ringtone filled the room. I opened my bag to check if it was mine, but Fiona stopped me as she said, “Oh, that’s my phone. It is probably my son Kyle that’s calling.”

I felt my head swirl. Fiona must have noticed some physical change in my face when she raised her head from her already muted phone. “Darling, are you fine? You look rather pale.”

“I... I need to go now.” I managed to say. “Goodnight, Fiona. Have a nice journey.”

“Night. Sleep well.” I smiled and walked out of the room. Without pausing, I rushed to the elevator, punched my destination, and let out the breath I was keeping in.

Then, I thought, ‘What has Kyle done to me?’