CHAPTER 2

"Yes, I would have taken it up, but you know me—I'm not good with kids. But you came to my mind the moment I saw it. You up for it?" Anna explained.

Zeno couldn't believe his eyes and ears.

Would he take the job? Hell yes. He knew Anna loved money; if it hadn't involved children, he was certain she wouldn't have thought of him.

"Thanks, Anna! I owe you one." He drew Anna into his arms in a friendly hug, kissing the top of her head.

"Come on, stop it. We're family; don't forget that," Anna said, hiding her blushed cheeks against his chest.

"I owe you one, for real," he promised.

"Fine, I'll let you know what I want in return later. Now, go bag that money before someone else does," Anna told him with a smile.

"Bye!" Zeno mounted his power bike and zoomed off.

Anna was glad for Zeno, but, at the same time, she felt sorry for him. He had no idea who he was happily going to work for.

Honestly, the nanny part wasn't what had scared her off; it was the name of the employer she saw below the ad...

The destination was quite far; Zeno had to ride into the center of the city to find the house, or rather... the mansion.

He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to freely drive his bike towards such a heavily guarded gate.

He wondered why the owner of the mansion needed so many guards; was he a drug lord or something?

"Stop!" A guard in a black outfit with a black facemask raised his hand, signaling him to stop halfway to the gate.

Zeno killed his engine and walked towards the guard; he hoped he was at the right address; if not... shit was about to go down.

"State your business here," the guard said, cocking his gun as Zeno approached him.

"I'm here for the manny job," Zeno said, holding his phone's screen up to show the guard the ad that led him here.

"A manny?" the guard asked.

"Yes. Well, it's supposed to be a nanny, but since I'm a man, I guess I'm to be called a manny," Zeno explained cautiously.

The guard didn't reply; he only looked at him for a long time, then moved away from him to speak into the earphone in his ear.

"Come!" He beckoned Zeno.

"Hands up," the guard commanded.

Zeno complied, allowing himself to get thoroughly searched from head to toe.

"All clear," the guard spoke to the person at the other end of the earpiece.

"Go in." The guard pressed a button on a small remote he fished from his pocket and the gate slid open.

"Take your bike with you," the guard said.

Zeno returned to his bike and drove it into the huge compound.

"Come," a man said to him as he got off his bike.

He was a middle-aged man, dressed like a butler.

Zeno silently followed him up the long stairs. Reaching the door, Zeno heard a female voice out of nowhere.

"Welcome, Butler Nicole. For security reasons, please identify the stranger with you."

"My name is Zeno," Zeno answered before the butler could; he knew he hadn't provided the man with his name yet, and he wanted to help out.

"I'm sorry, access denied. Voice is unrecognized," the voice replied.

"Do not speak, or we won't be let in," Butler Nicole chastised.

Zeno felt ridiculed by a smart-home robot. He felt stupid. The owner of this house must be bastardly loaded.

"Siri, this is Zeno, Ken's manny. He will attune with you once we're in," Butler Nicole explained.

"Okay, access granted. Welcome, Zeno," Siri replied.

The huge door smoothly slid open, and the lights automatically turned on as they stepped inside.

Zeno followed Butler Nicole into a three-way hallway and then took the straight path, the lights bouncing off the shiny surfaces of the floor and walls.

They entered a huge living room, and he noticed staircases at each end of the living room that led upstairs.

Everything was in gray and black: the plush sofa, the giant television, the walls; only the center table was made with crystal-clear glass.

Zeno felt out of place.

A second later, a little boy angrily walked down the stairs.

"Who's this now, Nicole?" Ken asked displeasingly, pouting and folding his little arms across his chest.

"This is Zeno; he's going to be the one taking care of you till your father returns," Butler Nicole explained to the pouting boy.

"I don't want him! I want a woman! He looks dangerous," Ken refuted.

Butler Nicole was speechless; Ken had been the one to dismiss all the previous female nannies, saying they treated him badly when they were alone.

"Ken, dear, trust me; I'll be the first to dismiss him if he maltreats you. But your father wants you properly taken care of. Don't you want to make Daddy happy?" Butler Nicole tried to convince the boy.

Ken was quiet, silently thinking about what the butler had said.

He wanted to make his father happy; he wanted to please his father, who was always in a foul mood. He made his decision.

"Fine! He stays till Daddy is back!" Ken announced and ran upstairs, vanishing into a passage.

All this while, Zeno stood at a spot, listening to their debate; he thanked God for making the stubborn "boss baby" accept him.

"You, come," Butler Nicole said and walked into the dining room.

He placed an Apple laptop on the table, and after collecting the necessary data from Zeno, he successfully added him as a member of the smart home.

"From now on, you can ask Siri to help you with anything in the house. Follow me," Butler Nicole said.

Zeno started thinking that maybe following the butler around was what he came to do. He'd been doing it since he stepped into the compound.

He followed him up the stairs that Ken had gone through earlier.

"This is your room, just beside Ken's room; it's easy to reach him that way," Butler Nicole said.

"Try it," he said.

"Huh?" Zeno asked, lost.

"Try asking Siri to open your door," Butler Nicole explained.

"Oh, okay. Siri, open my door," Zeno said, rubbing his thumb across the screen of his phone out of habit.

"Okay, Zeno. Opening your door." And just like that, the door opened.

Zeno was awed; he wished his parents and Nana were all here; they would tease him about hitting the jackpot and all.

"You're hired, young man. Good luck; feel at home, but the top floor is out of bounds. Understand?" Butler Nicole emphasized.

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Zeno said.

They didn't need to worry; his only business in this mansion was that little fireball. It would be so much fun taming him.

Inside his room was the most comfortable-looking space he'd ever seen. Even though the bed wasn't king-sized, it was still sizable enough to fit two people; the gray bed linen looked so tempting for his weak and worn-out body.

The wardrobe was large, and so was the television. He started to wonder if they really needed a nanny or if they just wanted to pay someone to come and experience the luxury of the mansion.

This was the most luxurious house he'd seen in his entire life. His family wasn't poor; they had an average home with three bedrooms, and sometimes, he slept in the same room with his Nana.

His Nana—thinking about her snapped him out of his dream state.

It was time he got to work.

Just when he wanted to turn and walk away from the door, he heard a soft notification. He looked around and saw a glowing tablet sitting on the bedside table.

He moved over and took it in his hands; a message reminder was blinking at him. He tapped it and the message was displayed; it read: It's time for Ken's warm milk.

He placed the tablet back on the table and walked out of the room. He went downstairs and stood in the living room. He needed to find the kitchen.

"Hey, Siri, turn the kitchen lights on," he said, hoping Siri wasn't asleep yet.

"Okay, Zeno. Kitchen lights turned on," Siri said.

Zeno felt stupid; he could have just guessed it. It was right behind the dining area.

The white chandelier made the already classy kitchen look like where Gordon Ramsay would hold a show.

Sophisticated in every way.

He went around the shiny black kitchen counter and took out a mug.

He opened the two-door fridge, took out a carton of milk, and poured some into the mug.

He put it into the microwave, and when it was warm enough—the desired temperature—he took it out and went up to Ken's room.

"KNOCK! KNOCK!"

Zeno knocked, but there was no response.

"KNOCK! KNOCK!"

He knocked again, but still no response.

It was 9:58 p.m., and the boy must have fallen asleep.