Billionaire's Inheritance Bride(8)

Marie reread the small ad one more time, trying to figure out if it was  legitimate. It seemed strange that someone would pay half a million  dollars for a nanny. "I never thought of myself as the nanny type … "  Marie grumbled to herself. She loved kids, but living with a family?  What did her appearance have to do with this? It seemed strange.

It's a half a mil though she thought. It would sure beat waiting ***

"Next!" Adam shouted, shooing away the blonde that had been sitting  across from him. He glanced over at his lawyer with an irritated look on  his face. "This is going nowhere. All of these girls are complete  idiots. They have no idea what they're talking about and none of them  would take good care of Lacey." Adam grumbled, already irritated by the  fact that he had been stuck in this dingy function hall all day.

The lawyer loosened the tie around his neck. "I'm sure you'll find  someone soon. There are quite a number of women waiting." He gulped, a  thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead. "If you don't go through  with this, you run the risk of losing Lacey." He added. Adam gritted his  teeth and turned around, now facing the vacant seat before him. "Next!"  He called once more. The door opened slowly and Marie walked in. She  was wearing a crisp, white summer dress. It had a white and yellow daisy  pattern with a sweetheart neckline that showed off her chest.         

     



 

Marie's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she laid eyes on Adam  Tucker for the first time. He was wearing an expensive suit. On his  wrist was a high-end Rolex, studded with diamonds. He was the most  handsome man she had every seen in her life. His deep-set eyes, the hard  line of his jaw. Marie had no idea that she was looking at the best  pitcher in the national baseball league. Everything about him was  intoxicating and Marie felt like she might be unable to look away. "May I  sit?" She finally managed to say, doing her best to keep herself  presentable in front of her potential new employer.

"Of course. Have a seat." Adam waved his hand forward. Marie nodded and  batted her eyelashes, hiding her hazel eyes for a moment. Adam watched  her. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Marie Laurie."

"And where are you from, Marie?"

"Originally, I'm from the D.C. area, but I recently moved to New York to  become an actress," Marie answered confidently, a proud smile on her  face. There was something about the way he looked at her that unnerved  her.

Adam nodded, unimpressed. "An actress, huh?" He looked down at her  resume. Her record was spotty at best. She hadn't been able to secure a  proper job in months, and all her previous employments had been  terminated. Adam was ready to let her go, when something sparked his  interest. She had marked her experience with children as one of her  skill sets.

"It says here that you're good with children. Can you elaborate?"

"Oh! Well, I just love kids." Marie answered with a smile. "While I was  in high school, I used to volunteer for the local Big Brothers Big  Sisters organization. I had a little sister of my own. Her name was  Penelope. She was the cutest little thing. We used to go out and go  bowling or have a girls' night at home where I did her hair and painted  her nails. It was a lot of fun." Marie smiled brightly as she remembered  the time she had spent with the little girl. If she hadn't been an  actor, Marie would have been a teacher.



"That's very noble of you," Adam smiled, suddenly impressed. He grabbed a  photograph from his pile of papers and slid it over to her. "This is my  daughter, Lacey. My wife recently passed away and I don't want her to  grow up without a mother." Adam explained.

Marie picked up the photo and looked at the beaming little girl. In the  picture, her two front teeth were missing and her hair was done in twin  ponytails. She looked very happy. "She's beautiful. I'm sorry about your  loss," she added. She was surprised that a man as brash as Adam cared  so deeply for this little girl. "I'd love to meet her sometime."

Adam nodded, offering a smile. Marie's love for children was enough to  convince him that she would be perfect. He felt that Lacey would love  her. "I'll keep in touch." Adam tipped his head in her direction.



Marie bit her lip, hesitantly getting up. The photograph was still in  her hand. She was about to hand it back to Adam when it slipped between  her fingers and fluttered to the ground. Instantly, both Adam and Marie  leaned over to get it. In the process, they bumped heads. Neither of  them moved as their breaths tangled together. Marie found herself  staring into Adam's dark, beautiful eyes, her heart suddenly thundering  in her chest.

Adam's lawyer cleared his throat behind them. Adam sighed and turned,  feeling the tension. "I apologize." He whispered in her direction before  offering her his hand. "If you'll follow me." He said coolly, leading  her to the door.

Marie was hesitant to leave. She had the feeling that she had not made a  good impression after all. Adam's expression remained cold and distant,  making her nervous. Outside, a group of young women all waited  patiently for their turn.

Back inside, Adam's face softened a bit. "She's the one." He proclaimed,  sitting back in his seat. He leaned back and looked at his lawyer. "Did  you see her? Her experience with children has been the best so far.  None of these other girls even came close."

"But, keep in mind that she's an actress. This type of career path  doesn't seem stable enough to satisfy the judge. . Maybe you should  reconsider." The lawyer pointed out tentatively.         

     



 

"She's the one." Adam declared. "I want you to call her and schedule an  appointment for her to meet Lacey. If she does well, then I'll have her  sign the contract." With that, Adam left the room.

***

"Are you ready, pumpkin?" Adam called out from his bedroom. His luxury  high-rise apartment was well furnished with new, modern furniture.  Classic, expensive paintings hung on the wall, adding some flair to the  otherwise, beige walls. "Lacey?" He called out again when he got no  response.

"I'm coming daddy!" A small, sweet voice suddenly squeaked. Adam heard a  rush of footsteps coming his way. When he looked down his little girl  was already standing in front of him.

"You're getting faster and faster every day. I'm going to have a track star on my hands soon."

Lacey shook her head. "No! I like tennis better!" She rocked on her heels and smiled.

"Of course. Remind me to buy you that new racket you keep asking for."  He rested a hand on her head, careful not to mess up her hair. "Are you  ready to go to the park?"

Lacey nodded eagerly. "Yeah, but who are we going with?" You said  someone was going to be joining us?" The little girl inquired, tilting  her head to the side. He knew how excited she'd been all week for this  trip.

"You'll see. I think you'll like her."

"She?" Lacey sounded confused. "Who?" She insisted.

"It's a surprise." Adam chuckled at his daughter's eagerness. Hopefully,  she would be just as eager when she finally met Marie for the first  time. "But we need to hurry up or we'll keep her waiting," Adam warned,  placing a hand on her back and ushering her toward the front door.

***

Adam's eyes landed on Marie, sitting on a park bench. Her long,  strawberry blonde hair fluttered in the wind. He watched as various  late-summer blossoms cascaded from the trees, fluttering toward her. His  breath caught in his throat as he realized, just how beautiful she  truly was. All around them large, budding trees sprung up in bundles. It  was a truly beautiful day.

As they got closer her, Marie turned her head, locking eyes with the  Adam. Adam was excited after a long time. As excited as he was when he  threw his first pitch. After a moment, he was able to get his bearings,  and he cleared his throat. "Marie. I'm so glad you could make it." Adam  offered her a bright smile. Lacey glanced up at the tall woman with a  shy expression on her face. She quickly hid behind her father's legs.  Adam tried to step forward, but Lacey wouldn't budge. Leaning down, he  attempted to pry her off his leg.

"Am I really that scary? I haven't even played the witch in Wizard of Oz  yet." Lacey peeked out from behind her father. Her eyes were wide,  observing. "But let me guess, you like Dorothy better than the Wicked  Witch of the West?" Marie tilted her head, her hair falling over her  shoulders.



"How did you know?" Lacey asked, her voice soft and her large, brown eyes bright with curiosity.

Marie pointed down to the little girl's feet. "Well, you're wearing ruby  red slippers of course!" Marie laughed and soon enough, Lacey joined  in. To Adam's surprise, she grabbed the woman's hand, and held it  tightly.