Have to Have It by Melody Mayer Read Free Book Online Page B

at the two of them. But when Evelyn refocused on Kiley, she was as perky as ever.
    Kiley cleared her throat. “Actually, I
was
working for Platinum but—”
    Evelyn smacked an open palm against her own forehead. “Of course. How could I be so stupid! Platinum had that…
incident
last night. I read about it in the
Times
this morning.” Evelyn's voice dropped at least fifty decibels. “A shame. Really. How terrible for those children. Did the arrest affect you personally in any way? I sincerely hope it didn't.”
    Kiley tried to hold back the bitterness she felt. “You could say it did, Mrs.—I mean, Evelyn. Her house is a crime scene. I'm not her nanny anymore. I'm going home to Wisconsin. Tomorrow. My mom already bought me a nonrefundable plane ticket.So I would say so. Thanks for asking, though.” She tilted her head toward the bleachers. “I should get back to my friends.”
    Kiley went to turn away but Evelyn's lightning-fast hand clamped onto her forearm. “Kiley wait. This … change in your circumstances. That means that you're …
available.”
    “In what sense?” Kiley asked warily.
    Evelyn released Kiley's arm. “Well, it occurred to me when I read what had happened with Platinum—I really never thought the woman was stable—that if you were offered the right position as a nanny, you would be prepared to accept it immediately. More importantly, there would be no delay. You could start immediately.” She grinned hugely. “In
that
sense.”
    Whoa.
Was Evelyn offering her a job?
    Kiley's mind raced. It was one thing to be living in Echo Park in a stranger's house and working as a waitress; it was quite another to be able to tell her mom that she'd secured an actual nanny position with someone who was far more stable than Platinum. She couldn't be certain, but her mother might actually be persuaded to let her stay in California under those circumstances.
    Maybe. Please, God.
    Evelyn was getting her Louis Vuitton checkbook out of her Kate Spade bag. “How much was the plane ticket, did you say?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Well, let's just say five hundred dollars and we'll work it out later.” Evelyn scribbled the amount on her check and handed it to Kiley, curling Kiley's fingers around it. “There! I've left the payee blank for the moment. Why don't we take a walk up to the restaurant so I can interview you? If the interview works out—and I'm getting a
fantastic
vibe here—we'll call your mother together. You can either send this to her—we'll fill in hername—or I can wire the money to her account in … where did you say she lives?”
    Kiley was in a daze. “Wisconsin. La Crosse, Wisconsin.”
    “La Crosse,” Evelyn repeated. “Well, I'm sure it's a fantastic place, and you were raised with all those salt-of-the-earth ethics that I would value so much in a nanny.”
    Aside from Dad being a drunk and Mom having daily panic attacks, sure. I'm just salt of the earth through and through.
    Evelyn moved closer. “Let me level with you here, Kiley I am desperate for a nanny.” She folded both bony arms over her chest. “Your friend up there whose name I won't speak broke my heart. Do you realize that?”
    “Well, I know you weren't happy with the nanny she—”
    Evelyn put a forefinger to her lips. “Shhh. We can't talk about it, and we definitely can't talk about
her.
It's just too upsetting. This will be strictly between us, if we can reach an understanding. Am I making myself clear?”
    “Sure,” Kiley told her, thinking that she had nothing to lose.
    As if the deal had already been struck, Evelyn stuck out her hand. Kiley had no choice but to shake it. “Okay,” Evelyn told her, grasping Kiley's hand as if they were suddenly superglued to each other. “I've got a great idea. Let's go up to the restaurant and have some iced tea. And caviar on melba toast points. Do you like Russian caviar? I adore Arabian myself. My treat. We've got a lot to talk about.”

“Come on, kid,”