6

“Hi, Jess.” He greeted his best friend’s wife.

“Hi, best man!” Jessica’s teasing voice came through, making Adam smile. He was the best man during her wedding with his best friend, Oliver, so that has been his nickname since then. 

“Hope you’re good?” 

“Yeah, thanks. Ollie told me about you needing a nanny. Fortunately, I got one for you.” 

“Thank you so much, Jess,” Adam said immediately. 

Jessica smiled. She could hear the relief in his voice. 

“You’re welcome. I spoke to a friend whose cousin owns a nanny agency. Fortunately, they had someone available but the salary is higher than the usual”

“That’s not a problem. I’m willing to pay anything.” Adam interrupted.

“You don’t need to worry about her ability. She has good recommendations from her past employers. She’s one of the best staff in the agency and the reason you got this lucky is that her past employers are relocating to another country. So you have nothing to worry about. Your children are in safe hands.” 

“I honestly didn’t want to get involved because of Tessie’s history of maltreating your domestic staff but Ollie promised me that such will never repeat itself.”

“Yes, Jess. That’s a promise from me to you guys. I’ve warned Tessie. When will She begin work?”

“Today. She should be getting ready to leave for your place by now. I’ve gone through the agency’s sample contract and it’s fair enough. The nanny will come along with the original contracts for you. There’s usually a strict procedure as to how things are done but it's this flexible because of my friend.” Jessica said.

“I understand, Jess. Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate,”

“You’re welcome. I have to get back to work now. Let me know if you need anything.” 

“Sure, thanks.” Adam ended the call.”

.......................................

“Are you leaving for work, Daddy?” Calvin asked with a sad face the moment Adam returned and sat beside him.

“No, why do you ask?”

“You promised you were going to spend the day with me. I thought you were about to break your promise.” 

With a small sad smile on Adam’s face, he slowly caressed his son’s cheek. “No, buddy, I’ll be spending the day with you and your sister.”

“I also know that I haven’t been spending much time with you and Anna. I’m sorry about that. Work can be very demanding but I promise to create time for you all.”

“You will come home early to play with us?” Calvin asked with a wide smile. Adam didn’t fail to notice the glint of happiness in his son’s eyes and that left him guilty. He couldn’t help but think that he and Tessie deserved nothing but hatred from their children because they’ve been nothing but shitty parents who were hardly there for them. 

Due to Adam’s position in the company, the bulk of the work was always on him and knowing he wouldn’t always be there for his kids, he had always ensured to get them a caring nanny. 

“Yes, my love. As long as I’m not away on a business trip, I’ll make sure I come back from work on time to play with you and Anna.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Calvin hugged him. 

Adam smiled, returning the hug. 

“Jessica has gotten you and your sister a new nanny.” Adam said to his son the moment they pulled away from the hug. 

“Will she be nice like Martha? Will She love me and Anna?” The little boy asked hopefully. 

“I have a feeling She will be nice since Jessica is the one who got her for us. And I really hope she treats you and Anna well. She will be joining us in a few hours. We will observe her for a few days and you will tell me what you think about her. If you like her, we will keep her and if you don’t, we will get someone else.” 

Calvin nodded. 

“Can I have more juice, please?” Calvin asked, giving his Dad a puppy dog look.

................................

LATER IN THE EVENING

Adam was in the living room spending some quality time with his kids when the sound of the doorbell came through. Making sure Anna was well guarded where She was seated, Adam excused himself, then went to answer the door. 

Sleeves froze the moment he came face to face with the person on the other side. For the first couple of seconds, he forgot how to breathe as he did nothing but stare in disbelief.