Chapter 1 - Unleash
"Have you worked with many families before?" Michael shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the girl before him stared up at him adoringly with big, doe eyes. The girl had been shaking, stuttering and stammering ever since she had entered his living room, and he had almost immediately decided that she was not going to be the woman helping him to look after his kids. However, he couldn't very well just tell her to leave, so he had been listening to her twittering for almost thirty minutes now. Perhaps he shouldn't have let her stay so long but she had been waiting for a long time to be interviewed so Michael tried to give her a chance.
"Y-yes, many families Mr. Jackson, many, many families sir." Rather depressed that he had just lost thirty minutes to this woman, he decided to terminate the interview.
"Very well, Miss Clark, thank you. Well I will get back to you when I have come to a decision." Michael stood up, and so did she. They quickly shook hands, and the guard who had been standing by the door escorted her out. Exhausted, Michael held his head in his hands and laughed pityingly. He thought it would be a great idea to interview the girls himself, but as each painful minute went by, he found himself regretting ever wanting to hire a nanny. He was supposed to pick one of these girls to actually live here with him and his children! Michael felt sure that if he hired any of the seven girls he had already interviewed, he would more than likely be molested in his sleep.
"Mr. Jackson, this is Roxanne Navina." The security who was guarding the door told him. Michael got ready to see another fan, dolled up in one of his t-shirts and quaking in her cowboy boots, identical to the many pairs he had in his wardrobe. When he turned his head towards the door, he came face to face with a young woman, probably in her mid to late twenties. She was the first girl he had seen today without one of his t-shirts, and she was dressed and made up the way he would want a nanny to be: casual but smart in smart black jeans and a matching plain black sweater.
"Hey Miss Navina, I'm Michael." He smiled broadly at her, his first genuine smile of the day.
"Hi Michael, call me Roxy." She smiled back as he held out his hand. She quickly shook it and Michael sat down in his stiff wooden chair but Roxy just stood, not really sure where exactly to sit. Michael simply laughed.
"Please Roxy, sit on the sofa." Roxy nodded and awkwardly sat on the plush white leather sofa.
"Thank you Mr. Jackson."
"Right, Roxy, first of all, the nanny position is live in and, if you get the job, you will have your own bedroom, en suite bathroom and private kitchen in the east wing of the house near to my bedroom and the childrens' just in case something happens with the kids in the night. Now, although you would have your own kitchen, I must insist on you joining us for dinner each night at seven sharp, unless of course rehearsing keeps me late, in that case you can carry on without me. Also, I would prefer you to have breakfast with us so you can use that kitchen to make snacks, drinks but please, no alcoholic drinks while on duty. I would have to insist that you restrain from smoking as well." Michael gazed at her intently as he spoke; she really was something else. She was elegant, graceful, and she was quirky. And he liked it.
"Needless to say, you will be expected to cook the kids' meals when I'm not here, but don't worry about any chores. I have several cleaners, and the kids have their own chores to do daily - it will be up to you to ensure that they complete them when I'm not here. They usually do their chores but if they fail to do them, they have double chores the next day and are grounded for the following weekend. Summer vacation has just began for them, so schooling isn't really an issue at the moment, but when September rolls around, their private tutors will come back and from nine until five so the day is yours. I would prefer you to stay within the ranch, but if you do have to go outside, I would have to insist that you take my chauffeur and have one of my guards accompany you." Roxy nodded, trying hard not to laugh. Not that she wanted to laugh at him, rather she wanted to laugh at how precise he was. She had just expected another nanny to tell her the ropes; she assumed that he would be way to busy to bother with his kids, like so many other celebrities.
"Yes Michael, may I ask what the salary is?" Roxy enquired, wanting to make sure that the salary was as much as her last job.
"Just want to get down to the cold, hard cash, huh? Right, I'll be paying you $1600 a month, plus bonuses, ok?" Roxy nodded, happily, the long fringe of her short, striking ultramarine hair falling in front of her face.
"Yeah, that's brilliant."
"Oh, and I forgot, you'll have two weeks off over Christmas and an additional three weeks for you to take off whenever you please, paid of course. I will require at least two weeks' notice for your vacation time. Right, now, tell me about your qualifications." As Roxy rattled off her impressive list of childcare qualifications, Michael couldn't help being drawn to her stunning cat eyes. Usually, such vibrant and excessive pink, green and black eye liner would put him off, but on her it just looked right.
"…they employed me for five years and I left about a month ago because of…personal reasons." She trailed off, suddenly becoming quiet. She hung her head and rested her hands in her lap. Michael shifted uncomfortably,
"So, uh, do you think any personal issues will make you leave unexpectedly?" Michael stammered, wondering what kind of personal issue would make her leave a job in this economic climate but Roxy shook her head firmly.
"No sir, rest assured, everything has been sorted out now." Roxy nodded, smiling.
"Now, my kids are all pre-teens, not babies but very demanding. Think you'll be able to cope with all three of them?" Michael and Roxy just laughed.
"Sure I will, I've had more than enough experience with demanding kids, trust me!" They smiled at each other completely unaware of Paris and Prince standing outside the door, listening in to the interview.
"She's only being nice to him so she'll get the job, right?" Paris bit her lip but Prince shook his head, still infuriated that his father had decided to get them another nanny, surely they were way too old for such baloney.
"Don't be stupid, Paris, she's only being nice to him so she'll get into his pants." Paris gasped and slapped her elder brother's arm. "Hey! What was that for?"
"Daddy says that you shouldn't say things like that!"
"Paris, you know it's true. All the girls that have been here have acted like this is some kind of date. If Dad insists on us having a nanny, wouldn't you rather it was someone who wasn't trying trying to seduce him while she makes us breakfast?"
"Oh, don't be so ridiculous Prince, you know that Daddy always makes us breakfast." Prince sighed, shaking his head.
"You don't get it, do you? If something actually does happen between them then that's going to mean that Dad's going to forget about you, me and Blanket and just concentrate on her twenty four hours a day, seven days a week." Paris snorted.
"Daddy will never forget us, and nothing will happen between them. Look at her! She's not even thirty yet!"
"You think that matters? It only takes one night, Paris. One night for them both to have a night full of alcohol and then she lures him into bed. Then before you know it, she's pregnant, they're engaged, and then it's bye bye to us and hello to their new kid."
"I don't know, I think she's ok."
"Why? Just because she has a few qualifications? I'm telling you, if he hires her, she'll take him away from us before the month is out."