ristan sat down with Nadia at the dining room table. She had a small plate of waffles, toast, and eggs on her plate. He smiled as she ate a piece of bacon and hummed a nursery rhyme he would sing to her before bed.

"Nadia, I have some good news," he said, pouring syrup over his own waffles.

"What is it, Daddy?" she asked, turning her doe eyes to him.

"I found someone who will take care of you when I'm working late."

"I don't want anyone else," she said, with a small pout.

"I know but this lady is nice," he said, giving her a small smile.

"I don't care if she's nice."

Tristan sighed. He knew his working so hard and at late hours was taking its toll on her and he hated it but he had to work hard to pay for their needs. He would be damned if he allowed Nadia to live the way he had.

"We'll talk about this later. Let's get you to school."

Nadia nodded but she was still sporting a pout as she held his hand towards his Toyota. This was the main car he used to drive Nadia to school. His other cars weren't suitable to drive her.

Tristan secured Nadia in the booster seat. He got in the driver's side and strapped himself in. He turned on the engine and pulled out of his mansion onto the highway.

Tristan had dropped Nadia off at school and told her to have a good day when she hugged him goodbye. He could tell she was still upset with him but not too mad that she wouldn't give him a hug.

Tristan was now in his office going over his sales for this quarter. Their sales were still dropping more than normal and he was sure it was due to the advertisement. He had to fire his advertising manager when at last week's meeting he hadn't come up with anything to save their sales.

He would get with Max on scouting out a new Manager. This interview would have to be very thorough so he wouldn't make the mistake of hiring someone who he thought had experience in the field but couldn't actually deliver.

Tristan answered his company emails as his mind wandered to think about Nina. She would be moving in today and he didn't know why his heart raced at the thought of having her in his home.

He reminded himself to let her know that he found an excellent home health agency and a nurse who would check-in in with her grandmother to make sure she was okay. He understood Nina thought it would be expensive but he really didn't mind.

She would be taking care of Nadia so that would be the least he could do to make this situation as worry-free as possible.

He sent out his last message when Max walked through the door with a huge grin. He still didn't understand how someone could be so happy this early in the morning.

"A little birdie told me you found a nanny," he said, sitting down in the chair in front of Tristan's desk.

"Yeah, I did."

"You're not telling me something," he said, leaning forward.

Tristan shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've been your friend for years. I can read you like a book."

Tristan sighed. "Don't you need to get back to work?"

"Nope. Spill the beans."

"Remember the woman from Walmart?"

Max chuckled. "You mean the woman who made you embarrass yourself 'cause you thought she was some deranged kidnapper."

Tristan frowned. "I wasn't embarrassed."

"Yeah, whatever. What about her?" he asked, leaning back in his seat.

"She's going to be Nadia's nanny."

Max laughed filling up Tristan's office with the boisterous sound.

"This is classic," Max said, wiping at his eyes.

Tristan crossed his arms against his broad chest.

"I don't see how any of this is funny."

"Then, you need a sense of humor," he said, still chuckling.

Tristan glared at his friend but he wasn't really mad at him.

"Didn't you mention she was cute?" he asked. lifting his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I did but that doesn't matter," he said, responding to an email that he'd just received in his inbox.

"It does matter. Do you like her?"

Tristan whipped his head back at Max.

"I don't even know her. She's my employee. That's it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm keeping it strictly professional."

Max nodded. "If you say so then I'll believe you."

Tristan was sure that he could keep his relationship with Nina very professional. Yes, she was pretty but he'd had plenty of beautiful women so he was used to a pretty face.

She would not deter him from their boss, employee relationship.

Tristan got off earlier than normal. He left the rest of his duties to Max to handle. He had picked up Nadia from school and now they were at home. He made sure to let Greg oversee the movers moving in Nina's things. He came to realize that she didn't have much. Only some clothes and her many toiletries and books.

Tristan would let Nadia and Nina meet again at dinner time. For now, he wanted to ease their way into meeting each other again for the first time. Nadia was taking a nap after she had finished her homework.

Tristan walked the stairs to the second floor where Nina would be staying. He reached the white door and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," Nina said.

He opened the door to find her looking at him with her dark brown eyes and a gentle smile. He found himself smiling back at her. Her braids were atop her head in a bun. He resisted the urge to undo the bun and have them tumble freely around her face.

"How are you settling in?" he asked, stepping forward into the room.

"Great. I'm unpacking now."

They stared at one another again. The way she stared at him made his breath catch in his throat.

He cleared his throat. "That's good. Were you able to meet the nurse?"

Nina nodded and he smelt the vanilla scent waft over to him. He wondered if she tasted like it too.

"Again, I wanted to thank you. You really shouldn't have."

"I told you I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. It's really not a big deal," he said, his eyes zeroing in on her bottom lip that she was nibbling.

He noticed she did that a lot in deep thought or worrying about something.

"Still it means a lot to me," she said.

He heard the emotion in her voice and how it cracked. He walked closer to her so that he was standing in front of her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, lifting his hands to touch her shoulders but brought them back down to his sides.

Nina glanced away from him.

"I'm fine."

Tristan was sure she wasn't fine but he didn't want to pressure her into telling him what it was that was bothering her that had her on the verge of tears.

"I'll let you finish unpacking," he said.

"Thanks," she said.

Tristan closed her door gently and leaned his back against it.

It took all he had not to hug her. He didn't know what was happening but she was bringing out his protective instincts and he didn't like it.

***

Hey, guys. What do you think of Nina becoming the Nanny? Let me know what you think in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this chapter don't forget to comment, vote, and share.