“Whoa.” She was silent for a minute and then let out a short laugh. “You really blew my mind here, Ada. Wow.”

  “I know.”

  “Are you worried about them finding out?”

  “Of course, I am. I don’t want to lose them. Or the kids. I love them.” I gasped. “I mean I love the kids.”

  “Wow, Ada. You’ve got it bad.” She hesitated and I could practically feel her struggling with what she wanted to say. “Just be careful giving them your heart, Ada. Men like them, men like the father in my house…they don’t really ever let outsiders in. You’ll never be part of their family. Not really.”

  Her words cut deep but I knew she wasn’t trying to hurt me. I cleared my throat and then let out a deep sigh. “What if they’re not like that?”

  “What if they are?”

  Milo pulled away from me and scrunched up his face. I could tell he was about to start crying. “Shit. I have to go, Jules. Milo’s waking up cranky. Thanks for letting me gush, Jules. I really appreciate you. Even if you just gave me the reality check that I probably needed.”

  “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You’re a nice person, Ada.” She said goodbye and we both hung up.

  “Hey, buddy. What’s wrong?” I picked Milo up and held him to my chest. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

  He leaned back and then vomited all over my chest. Instantly he was wide awake and crying. “Aya!”

  I gagged but managed to keep my own sickness down as I stood up and rushed us to the closest bathroom. Milo wouldn’t let me put him down so I could get us both out of our dirty clothes so I had no choice but to step into the shower with him, both of us fully clothed. I rinsed us both off as best as I could and felt my panic rise as Milo’s little body burned hot against mine.

  He continued to cry and shiver against me before throwing up again. I got out and wrapped him in several towels before running with him to Joe’s office. His wails hit an impressive pitch as I threw open Joe’s door. He was on the phone but he hung up as soon as he saw us.

  “He’s sick. Can you call Jud down here? Do we need to take him to the doctor? He threw up.”

  Joe called Jud down over the intercom and then dialed someone on his cell phone. “Dr. Morgan? Milo’s sick. Can you come now?”

  I stroked the back of Milo’s head and outwardly panicked to Joe once he was off the phone. “I didn’t realize how hot he’d gotten. I was on the phone while he napped. He was fine before. I should’ve been paying attention. I should’ve-”

  “He’s probably fine, Ada. Kids get sick and throw up all the time.” He came over to us and smiled down at Milo. “Did you throw up on Ada? Sure smells like you did.”

  I frowned. “It’s fine. How long until the doctor gets here?”

  “Fifteen minutes. Maybe twenty.” He brushed my curls out of my face. “It’s okay, Ada. Milo’s going to be fine.”

  “Fifteen minutes?” I could feel Milo’s body burning up against mine and started to really panic. “Maybe we should just drive to the hospital? He’s really burning up. He threw up twice, Joe. Would it be faster if we just drove him? Do we have a thermometer here? I’ve never seen one. Is it in the first aid kit? Should we give him something now? What do kids take?”

  Jud came in behind me and took in the situation with wide eyes before scooping Milo into his own embrace. He felt his head and frowned. “You called Dr. Morgan?”

  “He’ll be here in fifteen.” Joe ran his hand through my hair and bent his head until we were eye to eye. “Breathe, Ada. Kids get sick. You’ve been a nanny for years. Have none of your other kids ever gotten sick?”

  “He got sick a lot as a baby, Ada. He probably just caught a bug. Dr. Morgan is amazing with him, though, so you can relax.” He saw me tug at my hair and winced. “Or at least try to.”

  “Why don’t you go shower while we wait on Dr. Morgan?” Joe’s nose scrunched and his upper lip curled. “He really got you.”

  I bit my lip and moved away from them, giving them some space from my stink. “I’ll just wait over here. I’ll feel better once Dr. Morgan says he’s okay.”

  “Jud, you should call Stella and give her a heads up.” Joe sighed. “You remember how much she freaked out last time Dr. Morgan came to check on Milo and no one called her.”

  “I’ll call her after he leaves.” Jud looked over at me as he gently rocked Milo in his arms. “Milo’s mom. She’s touring with her band right now.”

  We’d briefly talked about Milo’s mom before but I couldn’t remember anything he’d told me right then. I wrapped my arms around myself and chewed on my lip. I hated seeing Milo sick and not knowing what to do. I realized all at once that I was not equipped to be a nanny and I’d never felt like more of a fake.

  52

  ***Ada***

  Dr. Morgan came and went. Milo just had some sort of bug. The doctor gave him medicine to break the fever and told Jud what medicine to pick up from the store to help with Milo’s stomach ache. Milo had already calmed down so much before the doctor left and after, he fell asleep in Jud’s arms. I volunteered to go to the store and even managed to drive myself since the guys were distracted when I left.

  Being in my own car was strange after being driven around and chauffeured in limos. It was a stark reminder of who I really was. I couldn’t break the overwhelming feeling of guilt. A real nanny would’ve been able to help Milo right away without freaking out. I was a fraud. I’d never even considered that the kids could possibly suffer because of my lies.

  That same guilt ate at me and kept me in Milo’s room at his side throughout the whole night. The guys came and checked on us but they eventually left. Even Jud left to sleep after sitting next to me for hours. He’d begged me to lay down with him but I just couldn’t.

  When I heard Alex and Avery calling for me early the next morning, I already knew what it was. I called Jud into Milo’s room and then I hurried into the twins’ room with the over the counter medicine I’d picked up the day before. Sure enough, they were both throwing up and worse. I changed sheets and got rid of soiled clothing while the boys took turns in their bathroom. I was in the middle of giving them medicine when I heard Kendall groaning from the hallway.

  “Ada?”

  I closed my eyes and took a breath before diving into the day from hell. I cleaned up messes that were horrific and ran between the kids’ rooms, making sure they each had everything they needed. Sara, the housekeeper, only came on certain days and the kids got sick on her off day. On one of the many times Collin peeked in the twins, he suggested I leave the mess for Sara and I’d nearly lost it. He was standing far enough away that he couldn’t smell everything I was smelling. If I left it for Sara, they’d have to burn the whole house down to get rid of the smell.

  I felt hopeful when Milo showed signs of improvement after lunch. That meant that whatever had gone around was probably only a twenty-four hour bug. The older kids were still miserable but I was able to get everyone in the twins’ play room that afternoon. I set up a movie for them to watch and took a break to splash cold water in my face. What I saw looking back at me wasn’t great.

  The moment I saw the green tint to my skin, I felt the sickness I’d been fighting off. Rushing to the toilet, I threw up violently and swore. I didn’t have the time to get sick. The kids needed me. The guys were all going out to an event that night and I was going to be alone with the kids. In an effort to fight off what I was feeling I downed half a bottle of Pepto and went back to the kids.

  It was beyond obvious to me within a few hours, though, that I wasn’t going to be in good enough shape to take care of anyone. The guys found me sweating and holding back vomit while trying to change the movie for the kids. I could barely stand up straight but I was doing my best.

  “Alright, this isn’t going to work.” Jud shrugged out of his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of a toy box. “I’m going to stay here and take care of this. You two go without me.”

  I swayed as I turned too fast to argue with Jud. “No, no. I can handle this. You go to your party.”

  “Jesus. Maybe we should all cancel…” Joe sighed. “Fuck. Okay. I’ll go. I’ll make an appearance and-”

  “We’re both giving speeches.” Collin looked at Jud. “Are you sure? We could probably call someone in to help.”

  “There’s no time. I’ve got this. You two go. I didn’t want to go anyway. We all know I’d rather be cleaning up puke than mingling with that crowd.”

  I shook my head and had to brace myself against the wall to keep from falling. “I can call my friend. She’s a nanny next door. She can come.”

  “I’m staying.” Jud grasped my arms and slowly led me to the low-slung couch that Kendall was curled up on. “Sit down and try not to spread your germs around too much.”

  Joe walked over and kissed the top of Kendall’s head before doing the same to me. “Feel better. We won’t be gone too long.”

  Collin lifted his hand in a wave from the doorway. “Joe is braver than I am. I’m not good at throwing up.”

  I waved him off and rested my head on the arm of the couch. “Sure. Of course.”

  Jud sighed. “You were just going to run yourself to death up here by yourself. How long have you been feeling sick?”

  I waved him away. “It’s time for the kids’ medicine again. I’m just going to sit right here and close my eyes for a minute. I’ll feel better in just a minute.”

  “Call Dr. Morgan back here for her.” Joe’s gruff voice sounded worried as I curled up on the couch. “Text us if there’s anything we need to pick up before we come home.”

  “Will do.” Jud spoke from next to me. “I called Stella. Should I call Ken and Mandy about their sick child?”

  Collin snorted. “Not unless you want to interrupt their week long sex party. We can take care of her.”

  I gagged and tripped over myself as I tried to make it to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if it was the stomach bug or the idea of my parents at a sex party that nearly wiped me out that time.

  53

  ***Joe***

  I checked my watch as discreetly as I could and looked across the ball room at Collin. We’d arrived less than twenty minutes earlier but I was ready to go already. Just a few weeks earlier I’d been excited about the campaign party for Carlos Cortez. He was a friend and the right guy for the Senate position and I’d been ready for what his win would mean for the Carrington businesses. Even when I had more money that I’d ever be able to spend, I was never comfortable with it. Growing up piss poor had guaranteed that I would always feel like we needed more. Electing Carlos meant more.

  My heart wasn’t in it, though, not when the kids and Ada were home sick. I wanted to be home with them, making sure they were okay. I’d texted Jud ten minutes earlier for an update but he hadn’t responded so I was feeling antsy.

  I’d had a strange feeling since getting out of the limo that something bad was coming. The hair on the back of my neck was on end and my gut wanted us to get the fuck out of there. We both had speeches to make for Carlos, though, so we couldn’t rush home. I told myself I was just feeling the start of whatever the rest of the house had caught. I put on a good face and talked to the people I needed to and silently hoped I wasn’t spreading a stomach bug to everyone.

  Another ten minutes passed without a text back from Jud and I was about to slip out to call him when Collin appeared at my side and gripped my arm. My stomach sank when I saw the look on his face. My gut had been right, but I didn’t know about what until he opened his mouth.

  “A story just leaked. Some nobody reporter wrote a story about us.” Collin saw me start to shrug and tightened his grip on my arm. “About Ada and us. There are fucking pictures and quotes from an inside source, apparently.”

  The room faded to nothing behind Collin. I immediately searched my brain to try and make sense of what he was saying. “How? It has to be bullshit. No one knows about our relationship except the three of us and Ada. Mandy and Ken don’t even know the full details.”

  Collin shoved his phone into my chest. “Look. A friend at the Gazette sent me a link. In the time it took me to walk from the other side of the room, it’s already gotten ten thousand more views, Joe.”

  I gripped his phone and looked at what was sure to crush any chance of Carlos Cortez winning his race. His largest backers were involved in an illicit affair with their young nanny. He was an outsider, running against an old school politician who ran on old-school family morals. We’d just killed his big for office. Staring back up at me were grainy photographs that depicted various acts with Ada. There I was pinning her to the garage wall. There was the already published photo of Collin kissing her. There were long range shots through the windows of our house that weren’t great quality but it wasn’t hard to make out Ada’s naked body in my office.

  Fury uncurled itself from my stomach and stretched out to fill my entire being. “Who took these?”

  Collin scrolled down on the article and nodded to it. “Look again.”

  Under the pictures was an article about our lack of morals and our perversion but hidden in the article were quotes that turned my fury sour. “No.”

  “How else would this shit have gotten out?” Collin’s voice shook with anger. “We’ve got to get the fuck out of here.”

  I agreed. I looked up to find Carlos in the crowd and realized that the room hadn’t just gone silent in my rage over the article. It was actually hushed. People in the ball room whispered quietly to each other while staring at us. It was instantly clear that the article had hit and hit hard. I found Carlos and when his gaze met mine, it was dark. He knew as well as I did that we’d just ruined his career. He couldn’t be attached to a scandal and beat the man running against him.

  “Let’s go.”

  I ignored the looks we got as we left. On a personal level, they didn’t matter. I didn’t give a fuck what they thought about me. Their opinions mattered when it came to the business, though. The future plans I had came crashing own around me as I slid into the back of our limo and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the mini bar.

  Collin read aloud from the article while I tossed back the bottle. “‘A source close to Ms. Walton told this reporter that she’s been intimate with all three of the Carrington brothers. Photographs prove at least some of that statement to be true. Ms. Walton also told our source that she took the job under false pretenses to get back at the Carrington brothers for getting her fired from her previous job.’ When the fuck did we get someone fired? This is all bullshit. Right?”

  I grabbed his phone and continued reading, just to have words like ‘monster’ and ‘bad fathers’ jump out at me. The words were so spot on to what Ada had said to my face. “Call the nanny agency.”

  “I already tried. Much the same way they told the reporter they weren’t available for comment, they pretty much told me the same thing.” He took the whiskey from me and chugged from it. “This is bullshit. She wouldn’t.”

  I tossed his phone back to him and pulled mine out. Notifications were growing even as I stared at the screen. So many people in the Carrington Corp were trying desperately to reach me but I ignored them and dialed my assistant. Before she could answer properly I was barking orders at her. “Get me the personal number for the owner of the nanny service we used last.”

  It only took Betty three minutes to send it to me. It took another two calls and five minutes for the owner to answer.

  “Mr. Carrington, I-”

  “What was the name of the nanny you sent us?”

  He stammered and then grew silent. When he spoke again, his tone was worried. “I’m very sorry, sir. We received a call from a woman identifying herself as your assistant the day before our nanny was to arrive at your estate telling us to cancel the contract. We don’t have a nanny working for your family.”

  I was quiet as my reality shifted and hardened.

  “We’d be more than happy to help you and your family, Mr. Carrington. I am so incredibly sorry about this mix-up. All future contracts would-”

  I hung up and turned to Collin. “Hear that?”

  His face was red as he nodded. “She lied to us. If she’s not a nanny, who the fuck is she?”

  Another text came in from my assistant and I opened it to see a complete dossier on Ada Walton. As I read her history, a small twinge of a memory played through my mind. Until Ada had showed up at our house, we’d eaten breakfast at a diner called Henry’s once a week. According to the report I was reading, Ada had been a waitress there. I could almost make out Ada’s curls in my memory of the diner but I wasn’t sure.

  I closed the message and looked up the number for Henry’s. When no one answered the line, I directed our driver to take us there.

  “Henry’s?” Collin held up his phone. “The diner they’re talking about is Henry’s? When did we get someone fired from Henry’s?”

  “I don’t know but we’re going to find out. I want to know everything before we confront her.”

  54

  ***Joe***

  “Oh! Mr. Carrington. We haven’t seen you in quite some time. We were just about to close but we’ll stay open for you.” Henry was a short man with a shiny head and beady eyes that never quite met mine.

  “I’m not here to eat.”

  Collin stepped inside after me and looked around. “Did Ada Walton work here?”

  The man’s face reddened. “Yes, sir. But I fired her after that horrible business with the hair.”

 

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