Fates' Destiny Page 2

  “What do you want Luke?” He growled.

  “Wow! Someone’s extra grumpy today. Are you constipated Brother?” Luke Fates joked.

  “Go to hell Luke. I just met the new nanny and she’s a little more vocal than I like.”

  “Ah. So she’s not all like ‘Yes sir, no sir. Where would you like me to kiss your ass, Sir?’”

  Luke’s humor was far from funny. “I’m not in the mood Luke. Now what do you want?”

  “Just to tell you that I signed off on the Elizabeth Meadows project. We break ground Monday.”

  Ah, finally. Something good.

  The Elizabeth Meadows project was his newest conquest. Newest and most personal. A 3 story, 200 unit apartment complex for the terminally ill. A place for them to live out the rest of their lives in comfort away from the hospital. His vision included a state of the art facility complete with swimming pool, park, and many other comforting amenities. There would also be a full medical staff and a clinic on sight.

  “Smith settled on our price?” He settled back in his chair.

  “Yep. With a little persuasion from your younger brother.” He added arrogantly.

  Adam huffed. “What did you do? Tell bad jokes until he could stand it no more and caved?”

  “Ha, ha Adam. No. I pulled one of your tactics. I told him we had another construction company willing to do it for half.”

  Adam sat up in his chair, surprised by his brother. “You bluffed?”

  “Sure did and he folded.”

  Adam swelled with pride. It’s about time his brother started playing hardball.

  “Well Luke,” He laughed. “you may make it in the business world after all.”

  “Just so you know I just mentally flipped you off. Now, tell me about this nanny you hired. I know you wanted someone young. Is she cute?”

  Was she cute? Adam swiveled his chair around to gaze out the windows behind him, his mind going back to Ms. Reece.

  Dark curls that hung just below her shoulders; green eyes resting on round cheeks that were lightly dusted with freckles; dainty nose; full, pale pink lips; slender figure that he probably would tower by at least a foot. All in all…

  “Yes, she’s attractive.” He answered honestly.

  “Oh goodie.” His brother sparked excitedly. “I may have to stop by for dinner tonight.”

  “Don’t even think about it.” Adam’s voice darkened. “She’s my employee.”

  “So.” Luke snorted a laugh. “She’s still a woman and probably has needs that I can willingly satisfy.”

  Oh god. What was he going to do with him? Adam let out a sigh as he massaged his temple with his free hand.

  “Keep your hands to yourself Luke. I don’t want any unnecessary tension around here.”

  “Ok.” Luke agreed on a sigh. “I’ll let you get back to whatever you’re doing. You may or may not see me tonight.”

  Prefer not. Adam thought to himself but said, “Ok. Talk to you later.”

  Chapter 4

  Destiny found herself not really wanting to unpack yet. After all, she wasn’t certain how long she’d be staying. If Mr. Fates’ children are as rude and disrespectful as him then she probably wasn’t going to last long as their nanny.

  Instead she decided to take this time to go over their schedule. She lowered on the edge of her bed and held the paper in front of her. It was pretty cut and dry. Broken down for the week and weekend.

  Everyday- breakfast at 6:30 am, dinner at 6pm. Monday thru Friday- School from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm for Anna and 8 am to 3:30 pm for Jason and Ali. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday- piano lessons for all three children from 4 pm till 5 pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays- gymnastics for the girls and ball practice for Jason from 4pm till 5:30 pm. Homework- 6:30 pm. Bed- 8 pm.

  Saturdays- Dance for the girls, piano for all three, baseball practice for Jason.

  Sundays- Free time. Bed by 8 pm.

  Wow! Destiny thought as she read the list. These kids are busy. Her brow furrowed as she read it again.

  “They don’t have any chores?” She asked herself. That was odd. All kids had some kind of chore even if they did have a butler and a nanny. She may have to incorporate that into their schedule somewhere. Maybe Sundays they could take time out to clean their rooms or something.

  She laid the list down on the bed next to her and glanced at her watch. 15 minutes before they were to arrive. She decided to freshen up a bit. She grabbed her small bag containing her make-up, brush, and other items and started for the bathroom. She was just about to close the door when she heard her cell phone go off. She darted back to the bed where her phone laid next to her wallet and car keys. She smiled when she seen her best friend, Kenna Roberts’ picture displayed on the screen.

  “Hey girl.” She answered as she made her way back to the bathroom.

  “Hey. How’s it going so far? Have you met him yet? Tell me he’s as sexy as I’ve heard he was.”

  Destiny laughed at her friend’s excited curiosity. “It’s going fine. I haven’t met the children yet. Yes, I’ve met him and yes, he’s good looking but he’s an ass.”

  “Yeah, I heard he’s not a very pleasant person.” Her excited voice dimmed.

  “That’s an understatement.” Destiny felt her anger rise as the meeting played through her mind again. “He told me to sit like I was a dog. Then he referred to his children as the children.”

  “Really?” Kenna gasped. “I’m sure you had something to say.” She knew her all too well.

  “I asked him if he wanted me to fetch a stick next. And I corrected his reference to his children.”

  Laughter burst out of her friend and Destiny couldn’t help but join in. Sure, it pissed her off at first but now it was kind of funny.

  “He’s going to have his hands full with you.” Kenna laughed.

  “Yeah.” Destiny agreed as she ran her brush down her dark hair. “I don’t foresee me having this job long if things continue like this.”

  Just then there was a tap at her door.

  “Oh,” She glanced at the door. “I think the children are here. I’m going to have to call you back.”

  “K Hun. Have fun.”

  She slid her phone into her back pocket as she rushed to the door. She opened it to see Richard’s smile.

  “The children are home.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Richard led the way and Destiny once again found herself nervous. So many doubts ran through her mind. What if this was more than she could handle? What if her mother was right and she made a bad decision? Failure wasn’t something Destiny handled very well.

  She wouldn’t fail. She told herself and took a deep breath to regain her confidence.

  When they were inches from the kitchen Destiny heard Dela.

  “Jason, please put your equipment away.”

  “You do it.” Was the defiant retort in a young voice.

  Destiny’s eyes widened at the disrespect.

  Upon entering the kitchen she saw Dela removing a long black bag from the dining table while a young man was leaning over the island withdrawing a cookie from a ceramic jar.

  “Don’t fill up on cookies Jason.” Dela said politely and the dark haired boy had the audacity to roll his eyes.

  Jason’s a handful. Dela’s description ran through her head. Looked to her like he was more than a handful. He’s down right disrespectful.

  At the island next to Jason was a blond girl sitting on one of the stools, focused on her cell phone, completely oblivious to anything around her.

  At the dining table sat another blond hair girl coloring.

  “Children.” Richard called for their attention. “This is your new nanny, Ms. Reece.”

  She put on her best smile and greeted them with a ‘Hi’.

  Jason acknowledged her with nothing more than a defiant glint in his dark eyes and a shove of a cookie into his mouth. Ali didn’t acknowledge her at all. Anna put down her crayon, slid out of the chair, and crossed the floor to her.
>
  “Hi Ms. Reece.” She held her little hand out, her blue eyes reflecting her innocence. “I’m Anna. I’m six and I like ponies, rainbows, and pink. Do you like pink?”

  Destiny squatted down in front of the little angel and accepted her hand. “I do like pink Anna. And you can call me Destiny. I want to be your friend as well as your nanny.”

  Anna’s smile lit up her cherub face. “You’re much prettier than our other nannies. The last one had a big wart on her nose. She looked like a wicked witch. Acted like one too.” She added.

  “Well, thank you Anna. I hope you won’t say I act like a wicked witch after you get to know me.”

  “I don’t think I will.”

  Destiny knew one thing at that moment and that was that she was in love with this child. How could she not be? She was absolutely precious.

  “Jason!” Dela’s snap pulled Destiny’s attention from Anna. She rose and turned to see him once again dig a cookie out of the cookie jar.

  Ok. So Destiny’s original plan to just observe was shot to hell. It seemed action needed to be taken with the young Jason Fates sooner rather than later. She sent Anna back to the table to clear off her coloring and walked to the island.

  With her best smile still intact she said, “Hi Jason.” She wrapped her hands around the white jar and slid it off the granite surface. “These will ruin your dinner and Mrs. Brewton has been working hard on it all day.”

  The boy narrowed his eyes at her and she couldn’t help but notice the strong resemblance he had to his father. Then in the most disrespectful way he took a bite of his cookie as if daring her to say something.

  Keeping her calm her smile grew. “I hope it’s good.” Was all she said before she turned and sat the cookie jar on the counter next to Dela. As Dela shot her a smile she remembered something else the young Fates had done and she wasn’t going to let him get away with that either. She turned in search of Anna. She didn’t have to look far. The little girl was right next to her.

  “Anna,” She squatted back down to her level. “do you guys have special seats at the table?”

  Anna nodded.

  “Can you show me?”

  Anna took her hand and led her to the table. Then she pointed out everyone’s seats. Destiny tried to keep the wickedness from her smile as she thanked the little girl and scanned the area for Jason’s baseball equipment. Dela had propped the bag in a far corner, out of the way.

  Poor Jason. She thought as she eyed the bag. By the time she was done with him he’d never leave his stuff lying around again.

  She turned her attention to Ali who still sat the bar, tapping away on her phone.

  Ok, now how to get her attention?

  She watched her as she finished tapping on the screen, stared for a moment, then smiled and went back to tapping.

  Text messaging. Alright. The light bulb lit up in Destiny’s head. She walked back to Dela.

  “Do you have Ali’s cell number?” She whispered as Dela sliced fresh bread.

  “It’s on the fridge.” She nodded to the refrigerator.

  Destiny pulled her phone from her back pocket as she made her way across the floor. Once she was at the fridge she spotted a list of numbers. Her eyes scanned till she saw Ali’s. She pulled up her text messaging, programmed the number, and typed:

  Hi Ali. My name is Destiny and I’m the new nanny. I would love to have a conversation with you.

  Then she hit send and watched the girl. Within seconds Ali’s brow furrowed. Then her blue eyes shot to Destiny, narrowed, and went back to her phone. After a few taps Destiny’s messaging alert beep went off. She opened the message to see:

  I don’t do conversation!

  Ok.

  She wanted to text her back that if she looked at her like that again she would shove that phone somewhere where the sun doesn’t shine but instead she remained calm, sent her a winking smiley face, and slid her phone back into her pocket.

  It was clear the two oldest children were defiant on a level Destiny had never seen but she was determined to gain some form of control.

  And she would start with the one who seemed the most defiant. Jason.

  Chapter 5

  “What’s this?” Jason demanded when he seen his equipment bag propped in his seat at the table.

  Destiny smiled from her seat across the table next to Anna. “Well Jason I heard Mrs. Brewton ask you to move your things and you refused. I just wanted you to see what an inconvenience it is to have your stuff in the way.” She kept her tone as polite as she possibly could. “Now, if you would like to take a moment to put your bag where it goes we’ll wait for you to get back to eat.”

  The boy’s dark eyes narrowed as he scowled at her. A moment later he pulled his chair out and shoved the bag. It landed on the floor with a very loud clank.

  “You put up.” He spat at her.

  Destiny held her control. This boy clearly had no idea who he was dealing with. Her stubbornness would beat his in the end. She’d make sure of that.

  “Very well.” She said with a soft shrug and glanced around the table. Anna sat next to her, anxiously kicking her feet under the table. Ali sat across from Anna, eyes glued to her phone.

  Now that’s just rude. Her mother’s voice echoed through her ears. One thing you didn’t do at Gracie Reece’s dinner table was bring your cell phone. It was almost guaranteed that if you did your phone would have some sort of tragic ‘accident’.

  “Dinner!” Dela sang out cheerfully as she and Richard lowered large bowls in front of them.

  The soup smelled even better now than it had an hour ago and Destiny couldn’t wait to taste it.

  “Chicken noodle soup. Yea!” Anna cheered. “Thank you so much Mrs. Brewton.”

  “It was no problem Anna.” Dela smiled admiringly at Anna. “I made fresh bread. Be right back.”

  Destiny watched Dela scurry back to the kitchen but her attention was caught by Richard who was walking out of the kitchen, a tray carrying a bowl, glass of wine, and bread gripped in his hands.

  “Is Mr. Fates not joining us?” Destiny asked Dela when she returned.

  Dela shook her head as she sat the basket of bread in the middle of the table.

  “He called and asked Richard if he would bring his dinner to his office.”

  Is this common? Destiny wondered and almost instantly her question was answered.

  “Daddy never has dinner with us.” Anna looked up at her, her blue eyes dim.

  “Really?” Destiny asked and she nodded. “He’s very busy.”

  The sadness in her voice wrenched Destiny’s heart. It was very clear this child wanted her father’s attention more than anything.

  “I’m sure he is.” Destiny was surprised she was able to keep the anger out of her voice.

  “What is this crap?”

  Her attention turned to Jason who had shoved his bowl back so hard that its contents had spilt over and landed on the white linen.

  “I want a cheese burger!” He demanded.

  “Yes Jason.” Dela started for the kitchen but Destiny stopped her.

  “Hold on Dela.” Then she turned her attention to the unruly child across from her and smiled. “Jason, Mrs. Brewton worked hard on this soup. I think you should respect that and eat.”

  Jason huffed and folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. “I don’t want to eat it. I want a burger.”

  That’s it. She’d finally lost her patients.

  “Well, you’re not getting a burger.” She’d show him stubborn.

  He glared at her for a moment and then a sadistic grin curled his lips. He turned in his chair to Dela.

  “You will fix me a burger or I will tell my dad.”

  His threat made her go pale. Without a word she scurried to the kitchen and got to work.

  “And you,” He turned back to Destiny. “I don’t know who you think you are but you are going to learn real fast that you’re not the boss of me. I’m the boss of you.”

  O
h, is that so you little… Destiny wanted so badly to walk around the table, grab the bat out of his bag, and smack that smirk off his face but she wouldn’t dare. There was another way to handle this... Mr. Fates… Hopefully.

  Chapter 6

  Destiny took a deep breath and steadied herself before she knocked on the door of his office.

  After dinner Anna went to get a bath while the other two disappeared to the rooms.

  “Come!” His deep voice came through the door.

  She eased the door open and stuck her head in. He sat in the same place he was when she’d seen him hours ago. He was focused on the computer monitor that was angled on his desk.

  “Can I speak with you for a moment?” Her voice cracked with nerves.

  Without taking his eyes off the monitor he said, “Submit your complaint in writing and you will be compensated for your time here.”

  Huh? Submit a complaint? Compensation? What was he talking about? She eased further into the room. “Excuse me?”

  Again without looking at her he said, “There can only be two reasons why you’re here Ms. Reece and that’s to complain about how horrible my children were to you and to quit. I’m very busy so you can write down your complaint and give it to Richard. A check will be mailed to you for your time.”

  Wow! Destiny thought as she completely entered the room and closed the door. This was actually kind of sad.

  “Well Mr. Fates, you’re half right. I’m not quitting though.”

  That got his attention. He glanced over at her, his expression stern but his dark eyes gave away his surprise.

  “You’re not?”

  She shook her head and motioned to the chair she’d occupied earlier. “Do you have a second?”

  He stared at her for a moment as if he didn’t know what to think and then he nodded.

  After lowering into the chair she started.

  “Mr. Fates, I need to know what my limitations are.”

  His dark brows drew together. “Limitations Ms. Reece?”