I really hope you enjoy the new chapter :)

Love,

Sam

"It hurts to let go, to say goodbye for the final time and remain distant in your closure, it may even tear your heart out to the point of insanity; but somehow in it all you find the pieces of your worth and you start creating yourself again, and in that journey of transformation you find the essence of what truly matters, inner happiness. It's life, we all fall at some stage but it's up to you, to decide how long you want to stay there."

.

On Monday, her first official day of work, Elena woke up early and went out jogging in the gardens, marveling at how spacious the grounds of the house were, she always enjoyed having a little time for herself in the early mornings. After that she went to her bedroom and took a quick shower and dressed herself with a pair of fitted jeans and a pale pink long sleeved top, she styled her hair in a high pony tail and went to the girl's bedroom to wake Briar and get her ready for school.

They went down the stairs together while a sleeping Violet was still in her bed, Elena took Briar to the kitchen so that Allie could give her the lunch she made for her and then took her with David, the driver, so he could take her to school. Before climbing into the car Briar turned around and hugged Elena tightly around the waist.

"Thank you" The little girl whispered and Elena felt a strange emotion pressing on her chest.

"You're welcome, darling" She answered and moved the girl's head so she could stare into her face, traces of sleep still visible there.

"You'll be here when I return right?" She asked

"Of course" Elena answered while helping her get into the car. "Good luck in school today, Briar Rose" She told her with a smile before closing the car door.

She watched as the car drove away and sighed loudly, there was something about these girls, this family that made her want things, things she never wanted before, it was such a strange feeling, she had been here for only two days and they were already carving a space inside of her heart. Not wanting to dwell more into things she turned around and headed to the house to go and retrieve the schedule of the girls Mr. Salvatore left with Edward and then wake Violet, her tutor would arrive in a couple of hours and she needed to dress her and make sure she ate her breakfast.

Once Violet was already with her tutor Elena looked around the house and realized that she had absolutely nothing to do, she was so used to being busy all the time, running around frenetically with all the demands Alexandra placed on her that she found herself feeling a little guilty. Here she was, earning more than she did in the last two years, living in a big fancy house and with a credit card at her expenses and yet her job wasn't that demanding, in fact she was a little bit bored right now. Elena wasn't used to being still, she needed to be doing things to feel right.

And besides, if she wasn't busy she started thinking about her very hot boss and how much it bothered her to watch that woman coming out of his bedroom the day before, she couldn't continue harboring those kind of feelings towards her employer, the last thing she wanted was to lose her job because she couldn't maintain things professional.

With a sigh she walked to the kitchen to chat with Allie and to see if she wanted any help from her but the elder woman declined, telling her they all had their jobs there and that hers solely consisted in taking care of the girls

"But Briar is at school and Violet will be with her tutor for the next couple of hours, what I am supposed to do until then?" Elena answered while she chewed on a chocolate chip cookie Allie gave her.

"You can do anything you want darling, why don't you use the pool and go swimming or watch a movie" The elder woman offered while moving around the kitchen.

"Yeah that doesn't feel right, I'm supposed to be working"

"And you are working, you just happen to have a little break right now"

Elena huffed and dropped her head onto the counter "I just wish there was something else I could do" She said with her mouth half full of the cookie.

"I think this is the first time I hear someone ask for more work" Allie said and the glee was evident in her voice.

"It's just I'm used to being busy" She said "And I would like to feel like I'm earning my paycheck"

"You are darling" Allie walked closer and sat on the stool next to her "I heard you girls upstairs yesterday, your laughs could be heard all over the house" She shook her head with a smile on her lips "It's been a while since the girls were this happy, you should have seen the look on Mr. Damon's face" Elena's heart fluttered at the words the elder woman said "So trust me he will continue paying you if you can keep the girls laughing like that"

Elena smiled widely at Allie before the woman stood up and went back to her tasks. Maybe she was being a little bit ungrateful Elena thought to herself, who was she to look a gifted horse in the mouth. Maybe today when she took Briar to ballet lessons she could sneak into a store and buy some paint supplies, that would definitely make her feel better and help her get her head out of things.

"But if you still feel like you need more work you can help me out with dessert" Allie's voice brought Elena out of her thoughts and she lifted her head to see the older woman looking at her.

"Of course, I would love too" She smiled brightly and stood up from the stool "What are we making?"

"Apple pie, is there any chance you know how to make it?" Allie asked while placing on the counter everything Elena was going to need

"Of course!" She almost shouted with excitement, besides painting, baking was her favorite thing in the world "My mom owns a little café so she taught me to make all kind of desserts and pastries" Elena told her with a proud smile

"Well aren't you a gem young lady" Allie told her lovingly while patting her hand. "Hiring you was the best thing Mr. Damon could do"

Elena smiled at her and just like that her day started to get brighter.

His elbows were resting on the mahogany desk as his friend extended the constructions plans and pointed to various spots on the sheet. His assistant was in the couch placed in the back of the office, her computer in her lap while typing furiously.

"Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" His best friend and main engineer told him

"Yes"

"Well okay, look here"

Her laugh was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. When he went to bed last night he couldn't help but repeat that sound in his head over and over again, and the girls were laughing too, she made them laugh. And those eyes, those gorgeous doe eyes that enchanted him, even though she kept them hidden from him most times, almost never meeting his stare. He made her nervous, he knew that, he could see the way her body changed when he was around. But didn't she know she made him nervous too? He felt out of control when she was in the same room as he was, and all of that happened in less than a week.

After the interview he was unable to stop thinking about her, that's why he went out with Stefan and Enzo, that's why he brought Kennedy home and not even with her was he able to forget about the brunette goddess living under his roof.

He was absolutely going crazy, the last thing he needed was to develop a crush on the girls' nanny.

"Okay, so look at the plans, right here, you see?" The man pointed to a section connected to what was supposed to be the east wing. "This is where the contractor will start but we need to be sure of how large the expansion will be, you've been too inconsistent about it"

"And he's not hearing a single word you're saying" The girl said from the black leather couch placed against the wall.

"Hey, earth to Damon" The man waved his hand in front of his face to get his friend out of his fantasy

"I'm sorry what happened? I just got sidetracked" Damon answered while he leaned back on his chair and forced himself to remain looking at this friend and avoiding his wandering thoughts to the brunette girl taking care of his girls.

"Unbelievable" Enzo muttered and then chuckled "Who's the girl?"

"What?"

"The girl that has you like this, I haven't seen you so distracted since college" Enzo leaned back on his chair and looked at Damon with interest all over his face "It must be because of a girl"

"It's the nanny" Bonnie answered with a hint of mirth in her voice.

"What?" Damon's eyes immediately found the one of his assistant and the girl only shrugged unapologetically.

"You haven't been able to shut up about her since the day you interviewed her, so, I pulled out my own conclusions" The girl explained

"Well your conclusions are wrong, she's the nanny and that's all" Damon said in a clipped tone while adjusting his tie, a thing he tended to do when he was nervous.

"Umm interesting" Enzo said to himself

"Don't start, Enzo" Damon warned

"I'm sorry, it's just it's been so long since you've been interested in a woman, I mean you have the occasional hookup but nothing beyond that" The British man explained "It gets me curious"

The occasional hookup, just the phrase made Damon cringe. Kennedy called him this morning asking to meet again, he met her a year ago in a convention and had slept with her a couple of times since then but he made it very clear that sex was the only thing she would get from him and now she was asking for more, things didn't work out that way for him. He had closed that chapter in his life three years ago and he didn't want to open it again. And thinking about Kennedy only made him think about Elena too, the blonde girl had told her she met the nanny when she was on her way out and Damon wanted to die right there. The last thing he wanted was to give the impression to Elena that he was the kind of man…well he kind of was that man but the fact that she knew about this 'hookups' made him feel completely ashamed of himself.

"Bloody hell, you zoned out on me again" Enzo complained while Bonnie laughed from the back.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?"

"I asked you if she was hot?"

"No"

"She isn't?" Enzo asked with a raised eye brow "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because he's lying" Bonnie answered "She's gorgeous, I met her Saturday and she seems pretty nice too"

"Fine, she's smoking hot" Damon huffed and leaned down on the table "Can we go back to work?"

Enzo stared at him with a grin "When can I meet her?"

"Never, you can't met her ever" Damon answered without looking up, too busy faking to be studying the plans "The last thing I need is you trying to sleep with my staff"

"Uh someone's a bit touchy" Enzo chucked and twisted his neck to talk to Bonnie "What's her name?"

"Elena" Bonnie said with a smirk

"Elena? What a pretty name. It sounds so nice coming out of my mouth" Enzo said quietly and Damon grunted. Bonnie couldn't help laughing, knowing Enzo was trying to get Damon angry.

"Do not speak her name again, we are on work hours" Damon said in a growl. He loved his best friend but he was trying to get on his nerves and it was working at perfection, if he kept that up his fist was going to end up in his jaw.

"All right, all right mate. Don't get your knickers in a twist" Enzo said before winking at Bonnie and leaning down on the table once again. "Well like I was saying, you need to decide a date"

Damon did his best effort to pay attention this time because the last thing he wanted was having Enzo on his back about the Elena subject, but truth be told no matter how immerse he was in the work he couldn't help the occasional thought about those doe eyes and what they were doing to his sanity.

Elena sat back and laughed while the girls chatted animatedly on the way back home, who would have thought that it would be so fun to be around a pair of little girls, it was so much better than being bossed around by the bitchy Alessandra Delaware. Earlier in the afternoon Violet and Elena dropped Briar in her dancing lessons and then headed to an art supply store that was nearby, where Elena made use of the credit card Mr. Salvatore gave her, she was so excited to be able to work on her art again, she even promised Violet that she would paint something for her, the girl had insisted that she wanted the drawing of an unicorn.

When they arrived to the house Elena saw that Mr. Salvatore's car was already on the entrance although it was still early, there was also a strange car parked as well, she guessed he had visitors and she really hoped it wasn't the blonde girl from the other morning.

As they entered the house Elena knew that her prayers were listened because the blonde girl wasn't here, instead right there at the foyer was a really handsome man, tall, lean, light brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes. The minute the girls saw him they ran towards him screaming at the top of her lungs

"Uncle Stefan!" He smiled brightly and kneeled down to hug both of them

"There you are, I've been waiting for you two" He told them and both girls beamed at him while still in his embrace

"We didn't know you were coming" Briar said

"Actually me neither but your Uncle Enzo called this morning and I just couldn't resist myself" He said as if he was doing a personal joke. "And what is this, you both look beautiful" He said while touching Briar's hair that was styled in an upside down braided bun and then Violet's in a simple French braid.

"Lena made it for us" Briar said while smiling widely and twisting her head from side to his side so Stefan could admire her hair

Stefan returned the girl's smile and his eyes lifted and met with Elena's "Hi, I don't think we've met" He told her as he slowly stood up

"This is Lena" Violet said, excited to be the one to introduce them "She's our new nanny and she tells stories, plays with Barbie's and paints" Elena looked at Violet and couldn't help but smile, how adorable it was her description of her.

"And she's also very pretty!" Briar said

"Hi, I'm Elena Gilbert" She extended her hand towards Stefan "And yes I pretty much do everything Violet just said"

"Good to know, I wouldn't trust you with the wellbeing of my nieces if you didn't like to play with Barbie's" He took her hand between his "I'm Stefan Salvatore but you can just call me Stefan" Then he took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it.

"I didn't know you were here brother" Damon's strong voice came out from behind her and Elena stiffened, her hand still in Stefan's. She hadn't seen Mr. Salvatore since Saturday night and she was a little nervous to be in his presence again.

"I told Edward not to tell you, I wanted to give you a surprise" He told his brother and his eyes shinned with mischief.

"I think you can let go of her hand now" Damon said in a clipped tone as he moved closer to them and eyed their joined hands, Elena could feel the heat of his body next to her and smell the musky scent of his cologne.

"Oh sorry" He told her while winking and releasing her hand. Elena looked down embarrassed.

"Daddy, Lena said she would paint me a unicorn!" Violet said, breaking the tension in the air. Damon eyes went to his daughter and his expression instantly softened.

"She did?" He said while kneeling in front of his daughters

"And look what she did with my hair" Briar said excitedly and twirled around so her father could appreciate the work.

Damon stroked her hair softly "You look absolutely beautiful, both of you" He said while looking at both girls before turning around and addressing Elena "Well Miss Gilbert I believe you are a woman of many talents" He told her while eyeing the bag with the art supplies she was holding "Allie told me you made that delicious apple pie in the kitchen" Elena blushed and could do nothing else but shrug.

"Wait, you bake?" Stefan told her

"There's apple pie?!" Violet and Briar both squealed

"Oh you might be the woman of my dreams" Stefan said while taking a hand to his heart in an over dramatic gesture, Elena laughed and Damon clenched his jaw while looking at the exchange between them.

"Can we get apple pie?" Violet asked while turning her pleading blue eyes towards her father

"We promise to eat our whole dinner afterwards" Briar said while pouting

"Yes daddy can we get pie?" Stefan said and earned another laugh by Elena. Damon gritted his teeth and forced a smile to the girls.

"Of course you can have pie" He told the girls who squealed and hugged him immediately "Uncle Stefan is going to take you while I have some words with Miss Gilbert" He stood up

Stefan gave Damon a knowing look and turned around to address Elena "It was a pleasure to meet you Elena, I know we'll be seeing each other a lot in the future" Damon almost grunted at the sound of her given name on his lips, why the hell were they on first names basis?

"It was nice to meet you too" She told him with a smile and he winked at her before directing his attention to the girls.

"Now let's go get us some pie" He told them as they shrieked and headed towards the kitchen. Stefan patted his brother on the chest and leaned to whisper in his ear "Go get her tiger" Before laughing and heading to the kitchen with the girls.

Damon cursed mentally and then focused his attention on the woman in front of him. She was wearing a blue floral printed summer dress that showed a bit of cleavage and made her look stunning and her hair was slightly curled and falling freely around her shoulders. She was truly a vision.

"I wanted to apologize" He told her and her brows drew in confusion

"Apologize? What for?" She told him

"For Sunday morning" He told her and Elena felt her cheeks heating up immediately, this was a conversation she didn't want to have with him. "I understand that it was probably uncomfortable for you and I'm sorry that you had to-"

"No, no don't worry" She stopped him midsentence. Elena didn't know if he had this conversation with everyone in their staff at some point but it wasn't something she was looking forward to "I totally get it and it has nothing to do with my job, you owe me no explanation I mean it's your life and I really- I mean it's not my place, so what I'm trying to say it's don't worry, I- I already forgot about it and well that's it" She rambled, wanting to get over with all of this so she could sneak into her room

Damon nodded and looked at her with apologetic eyes "I know, I know but I really just want to say I'm sorry"

"It's okay really"

"And thanks a lot for what you're doing with the girls"

"I'm just doing my job" She told him

"I know but they've been so happy with you, I just wanted to thank you"

"You have nothing to thank, it's been great to be around them." She answered and they stood in silence for a moment, just looking into each other's eyes. It was such a strange feeling, she couldn't look away, those blue pools were calling her and she was drowning in them, a warm sensation spread through her body and made places she didn't even know she had tremble under the scrutiny of his gaze.

"Well I guess I'll go with the girls" He broke the contact and lowered his eyes "I'll dine with them and put them to bed so you're free"

"Thanks a lot" She said with a small smile and started heading towards the stairs

"And thanks a lot for the pie Miss Gilbert" His voice stopped her as she was at the bottom step of the stairs. How many times the word thanks left their lips in the last minutes? Elena thought to herself as a small laugh started bubbling inside her, she controlled herself and turned around and smiled brightly at him. The sight was something Damon wanted to behold forever

"It was my pleasure" She answered before going upstairs.

Damon stood at the bottom of the stairs and took a hand to his racing heart. What was this girl doing to him?

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