Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“A bit,” Becca said, opening the fridge and getting herself a bottle of water. “We can talk about it later. I’m still doing some research.”
“Research?” I muttered. “Becca,” I said flatly. “I’m tired of moving around. For the good of the family, we should settle in. Moving all of the time is stressful for the kids. We have so many opportunities in Italy we can take. The mafia won’t be an issue.”
“I said I don’t want that for our family, James,” she snapped. Her grip tightened on the bottle of water, but she wasn’t going to hear anything more about this now. She stomped back off into a separate room, ending the argument early for now.
Feeling my face redden in anger, I cursed under my breath and wondered how I was going to get through to her that Italy would be the best place to settle down not only to avoid moving around as much but because of the opportunities there.
Sighing, I finished cooking and grabbed myself a plate, sitting down and eating slowly. I could hear Layla playing with the kids in the nursery, and my lips twitched a bit. Allegra’s words came to my mind, causing a pang in my stomach.
Could there be some merit to what Allegra was saying, or was she trying to cause issues because of some conflict she had with Layla? I was sick of her getting into my business, but I wasn’t sure if she would go that far.
I ran my fingers through my hair and entered my room again, noting several messages from people I had set on doing more research. First, I looked through my phone, which had a number of rather damning texts from Layla. My jaw dropped.
Plus, there was more?! I looked through my emails, noting how they confirmed what Allegra had said about how Layla was lied to. Something about Becca having stolen money, or something. That didn’t matter, at the moment, we had a snake in our nest.
I slammed my fist down onto my desk, letting out a low growl. This wasn’t good. What Allegra said was starting to make sense, and I didn’t want to believe her, but here we were. The connections I had wouldn’t send false information.
Resisting the urge to throw my phone across the room, I stood up, my computer chair rolling toward my bed from the force of me doing so. Clenching my fist, I stomped toward the door and headed toward the nursery.
When I got there, I threw the door open, my eyes locking on a startled Layla. She’d been walking away from Alessandro, who she’d put to bed for a nap. Her jaw dropped as she no doubt saw my lips drawn into a tight line.
“What the F*CK, Layla!” I shouted, startling both kids awake. At the moment, I didn’t care. I was overcome with rage. How could she do this? This entire time, she was here getting information on us for some outside party, using this nanny work as a guise?
“I’m sorry!” she squeaked immediately, running over to the other side of the room and pressing her back against the wall. Her eyes were wide with fear, though I wasn’t going to raise a hand against her. Yelling though? Yes. I was pissed.
“You worked for those assholes, and for what? Was this all a lie, then, huh?!” I approached her, my eyes narrowed as I went to continue my ranting. I was beyond angry now, because such a betrayal had me very worried about the kids.
Suddenly, however, a voice came from behind me. “James! What the hell is going on?!” Becca’s voice, caused me to inwardly groan. Allegra had said that Becca didn’t listen to her, so of course she wasn’t enlightened to the situation.
In the meantime, Layla had a burst of courage and pushed off of the wall, shoving past me. Tears were streaming down her face, cries of fear and sadness erupting from her. She hit her shoulder on the doorframe after pushing past Becca, letting out a gasp of pain.
With that, she was gone, and Becca was standing there as red in the face as I was. I turned to face her, feeling a jolt of embarrassment at my loss of temper. Both children were sitting up and staring at me in confusion. Alessandro said, “Dada?”
I groaned, then let out a sigh. “Becca,” I began. “Look. Allegra called me, and–”
“Oh, she called you too?! If this is her being angry over my response to Neal, I’m going to lose my mind. Now she’s saying things about Layla?!” Becca snapped, causing me to reach up and rub my temples. She didn’t listen with Italy, now she wasn’t listening with Layla.
“I don’t know anything about Neal in this situation. She called, talking about how Layla was working with the people who captured her because she thought you stole money,” I replied, keeping a steady glare on the angry woman.
She kept her eyes locked with me and shook her head. “You’re something else, James,” she said, storming past me to comfort Alessandro. To the child, she cooed, “It’s okay, Alessandro. Mommy’s here. Sleep time, okay?”
I let her take care of the kids, knowing my presence would only cause even more stress. Numbly, I sat on the couch, burying my face into my hands. Maybe running in there and yelling wasn’t wise, but I couldn’t control my temper in cases like this.
Layla, given who she was working for, posed a real threat to our children. Especially if she was lied to regarding Becca. I let out a soft groan while I waited for the angry woman to come storming out again. She probably wouldn’t listen this time either.
After several minutes, Becca emerged from the room and approached me on the couch. I looked up, my cold stare fastening on her. At the moment, she was still fired up, with a clenched jaw matching her clenched fists. It was hard to tell which of us was angrier at the other.
“My people checked into this, Becca. They confirmed it,” I said. “They are trustworthy. It’s why I went in shouting at Layla.”
“You woke up the kids by losing your temper. They were terrified! Layla, too. I don’t know what this is about, and frankly, I don’t believe you. I’m going to go see what’s going on myself and ask her,” she said.
“She may lie to you,” I snapped, reaching up to pinch the bridge of my nose. My words fell on deaf ears, however, as she whirled and stormed toward the front door, phone in hand. She was likely calling Layla.
Right before she was out the door, she said, “Stay here with the kids, I’ll handle this since you’re not capable of doing so.” SLAM! With that, she was gone. So much for letting the kids nap. I shook my head and entered the nursery, not bothering to try and call to convince her otherwise.
Becca was letting her temper get the better of her, just like how I had. She didn’t believe me, but hopefully, Layla would tell her the truth, or we’d have yet another problem spiraling out of control.
Layla.
My stomach was in tatters, and my heart was ripped to shreds. I didn’t know how to handle any of this. My world was crashing down, but I deserved it. I should have known I was being lied to, but I had been too gullible.
They’d said Becca was a terrible person, someone who would end up extorting the children just like Chad Cartwright. A thief, a liar, they needed information so they could get the money back and suggested I look over the kids to make sure they would be safe.
Everything they said had been lies.
My instincts told me as much, but they were super convincing, so I had ignored my gut feeling. Right now, I ran down the sidewalk, the oranges, and reds of sunset doing little to comfort me, as beautiful as they were.
Tears streamed down my face as I ran, ignoring some odd looks I got from passersby. I needed to find a comfortable place to sit and think.
How could I convince Becca I was sorry?
The sounds of my whimpering and footsteps landing on the sidewalk were the only thing I could hear right then. That is until I heard the soft chiming of my phone and felt the vibration in my pocket.
Someone was calling me.
It was probably Becca. I reached into my pocket and held the screen up to my face. My hand was shaky, but I was able to focus on it well enough. The person I saw calling me made my heart clench. At this point, I knew talking to either Allegra or Becca would be terrible.
I needed to answer Becca’s call, though, so I did. “H-hello?” I asked, now panting as I ran. I turned the corner, nearly slamming into a woman walking her dog. Mouthing ‘sorry,’ I moved on, heading down the road toward a coffee shop.
“Layla. Are you okay? James went off on you, I apologize for his behavior. I want to come check on you. He said some ridiculous things. I’m assuming you’re fighting with Allegra or something?” she asked me. I swallowed, hearing that name.
“I am,” I confirmed. Then, after a pause, I added, “The fight with Allegra, I mean. I’m not okay. Can you meet me at Essentials Cafe? I can explain everything there.” I wasn’t sure if my voice would be steady enough, but she had to know.
“I’ll meet you there,” Becca said before hanging up. I shuddered, knowing this wouldn’t end well. What turned into me just trying to get information ended up being a job I was passionate about. I really cared about those kids and was happy to see the outcome of the trial.
The more and more I worked with the family, the more I realized they were trying to be just that. A family. To raise their children in peace, the best they could. Or at least, in an environment that was healthy for the kids. It’s what made me realize how much of a lie I had been caught in.
My running shifted to a walk as I carried on down the street, hanging my head. Allegra’s voice had been so broken by the end of our call. I reached up to quickly wipe away some tears, but they kept spilling down my cheeks.
All I wanted to do was tell Allegra I was happy for her, but I knew I couldn’t keep living a lie. I wanted to spend my life with her, but if I were to do that, she’d needed to know the truth. That I helped the very people who hurt her.
While she didn’t go through anything permanently damaging either mentally or physically in their hands, she could have. I knew that, and I worked with them anyway, because they had me with their smooth words and silver tongues.
Allegra deserved better, as did Becca. In the end, though, I wanted to keep my job, because my heart was now very much in it. That, and I wanted to be with Layla. I assumed James would eventually convince Becca to go to Italy and I could see Layla in Rome.
I’d still be able to visit the kids then, even if I ended up living with Layla and no longer was a stay-at-home nanny. At this point, I was a disgrace, but maybe Becca would be understanding. Maybe we could still be friends after this.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. I shook my head, walking past some buildings as the lights went on and shadows lengthened. The sun was now dipping under the horizon, but I wasn’t worried. This part of town was lively at night.
At the same time, I wished the street was quieter. My sorrow radiated off of me in waves, and everything was crashing down. I had money to move on from here. I could live comfortably for a while during the search for a new job.
I didn’t want that, though. I wanted to remain friends with Becca and eventually be with Allegra. My heart clenched, and a sob emitted from the pit of my chest as I thought of her. She gushed so much about me, had so much love for me, and what had I done?
Her voice dripped with sadness over the phone lately, but I hadn’t been able to tell her earlier. I was too nervous that I’d lose her, and everything else, too. That was happening right now. I was facing the consequences of my actions.
