Here we go again . . . Thank you for the positive reviews! I really do appreciate the kind words, but now I have a dilemma. Should I continue the story from here, or should I stick with the storyline of the show and end it? Let me know!
I don't own The Nanny or any of the characters. But as I said before, if I did . . .
Chapter Two
Maxwell Sheffield came around the corner and CC gave him a brief hug. Maxwell looked the same as he had at his wedding. Ruggedly handsome, he had the ability to reduce sophisticated women into swooning piles of nonsensical goo. But CC had never been attracted to him; he was too much a pretty-boy for her taste. CC preferred men who could prove themselves, men who could spend all day playing sports and then come home and hold an intelligent conversation. Maxwell had the conversational ability, but he lacked a certain masculinity. As far as CC was concerned, Maxwell looked good for her on paper, but that was as far as it went. Plus, he was her best friend's husband.
"Maxwell darling, you remember CC," Sarah said, smiling at her husband while keeping her arm looped through CC's. Maxwell smiled.
"Of course! You're Sarah's best friend, and she never stops talking about you. You were her Maid of Honor, were you not?"
CC nodded and stared at Maxwell, purposely avoiding the gaze of the one man she wanted to look at. If she looked into those blue eyes again, she'd melt. And it was far too early in the evening to melt. Besides, she hadn't even had a drink yet to calm her nerves and steel her resolve.
Almost on cue, and as if he'd been reading her thoughts, Niles stepped forward and spoke to Maxwell.
"Might I get you a drink, sir?" he asked, and at Maxwell's nod, he turned to CC. "Would you care for a drink, Miss Babcock?"
CC finally looked at him, feeling a little confused. Why was Maxwell's oldest friend asking her if she wanted a drink? Wasn't that what the butler was for?
"Yes please. That'd be lovely," she replied.
"What would you like?"
"A scotch on the rocks, please."
"Very well. I'll bring them up to the office."
He was gone in a flash, and CC took the opportunity to glance at Sarah, who was positively glowing.
"Sarah, why on earth would Maxwell's friend be offering me a drink?" she asked, ready to laugh at the answer she was sure was amusing. "And why didn't he offer you one?"
"Well, actually, Niles is more than Maxwell's friend. He's our butler," Sarah explained. "And I can't drink, but I'll explain everything over dinner. Go on and have your interview with Maxwell."
CC felt her mind go blank.
Niles was the butler? Maxwell's oldest friend was his butler? The man who had the voice of an angel was the butler? Why on earth did it matter to her? It didn't matter what the man did, just as long as- suddenly, CC heard her mother's voice in her head, repeating a phrase she'd heard her entire life.
'Babcocks and servants don't mix.'
She'd heard it first when she was five and Nanny Richards had brought her daughter to work. Lydia was CC's age, and they'd become fast friends. They had just settled in to watch a movie when BB came blowing into the sitting room and threw a fit that rivaled all fits.
'What the hell do you think you're doing?' BB screamed, grabbing CC's arm and jerking her up from the couch. CC cried out at the pain her mother's nails were causing, but BB ignored her daughter and turned to glare at Nanny Richards who took a step toward her own daughter.
'The children were watching a movie,' Nanny Richards explained, and if looks could kill, the look that BB shot the older woman would have slit the nanny's throat.
'You mean to tell me that you brought your filthy little spawn into my house and sat it next to my child? Babcocks and servants don't mix. Neither do Babcocks and the spawn of the servants. Get out, now. And don't come back.'
CC didn't see Nanny Richards again, but the next day there was a new woman who assumed responsibility for the brown-haired hellion CC had become.
CC blinked a few times, coming back to the present, then realized that Sarah was staring at her, concern written all over her face. Trying desperately to keep her composure, CC cleared her throat and smiled weakly.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked if you were alright. You went awfully pale there for a minute," Sarah replied, stepping closer to her friend. CC shook her head and looked around.
"Sarah, where's the powder room? I need to freshen up."
"It's over there, beneath the stairs. Are you sure you're okay CC?"
"I'm fine," CC lied, then walked briskly to the powder room and shut the door, taking care to lock it behind her. When she was sure that no one would barge in on her, she faced the mirror and scowled.
What does it matter that he's the butler? It's not like I have feelings for him. I've known him for all of five minutes. But if I don't have feelings for the man, what's that unfamiliar feeling that's lodged itself in my stomach? Why do I care?
Taking a deep breath and composing herself, CC opened the door to face her problem head on.
What problem? Babcocks and butlers don't mix.