Lana's POV
Lana pulled up to Nikolai's mansion. She felt quite excited and nervous. There was the grand entrance, gardens that were well arranged, and the quiet elegance of a towering mansion before her, a thing out of dreams. She clutched her bags and went up the front steps, and just as her knuckles met the door, it creaked open to a tall dignified man in a crisp suit. She had seen him the first night she came.
"Miss Lana, welcome," he said in a smooth and polite tone. "I am Charles, Mr. Sinclair's butler. If I may, please remove your shoes.”
Lana knew that quite well, she went forward and slipped off her sneakers. Charles handed her a pair of fancy, soft flip-flops, slipping them on her feet;
She barely had time to admire her feet when footsteps thunder from down the hall.
" Lana!" chorused Max and Lily. Both of them ran right for her, and she barely had enough time to set her footing before they flung themselves at her, hugging her close.
"My goodness! You two missed me, huh?" Lana laughed, wrapping her arms around them.
"We missed you so much!" bubbled out from Lily.
"Daddy's girlfriend is so boring; she never lets us have fun."
"Yeah," said Max. His face screwed up in disguise. "Evelyn is no good! She didn't even read us a story last time."
"Well, I'm here now, and we're going to have the best time, aren't we?"
"Yes!" they chorused, tugging her further into the house to show her drawings they had made and toys they had saved, just for her.
The three of them went into the playroom.
Laughter filled the air as they played games and told stories.
There was a boisterous game of hide-and-seek that she was playing, and as the sound of the opening front door made her swing around, she saw Nikolai enter. His face was not welcoming at all.
Without even a glance in her direction, he laid a hand on the head of his kids and strode up the stairs.
Lana's smile faltered, and she couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong, or if she'd done something to make him upset. She shrugged it off, hoping it was just a bad day.
"Daddy mad?" Lily asked, her head tipping to the side curiously as she caught Lana's expression.
"No, sweetie," Lana said gently. "Sometimes grown-ups are just thinking about a lot of things. That doesn't mean anything is wrong."
Just as she said that, she heard Nikolai's voice from upstairs. The sound was strained, each word dripping with frustration as he spoke over the phone.
Lana managed to catch a few words of what he was angry about, "reckless spending" and "another unnecessary cost." His voice rose with frustration before cutting off abruptly as he ended the call.
Lana knew it wasn't any of her business. She turned back to the kids, with a bright smile on her face as they resumed their game. Yet, even as she tried to focus on Max and Lily, her mind kept drifting back to Nikolai's voice.
“What's with the attitude?” She thought to herself.
Evelyn appeared from nowhere, Lana's heart just fell. She came in sharp, looking around the room, and ended by fixing her eyes on Lana.
"I thought we agreed that your services were no longer needed."
Lana swallowed as she tried to compose herself. "Mr. Sinclair hired me as a full time nanny for Max and Lily," she answered, as calmly as she could manage. "I'll be staying with them here.".
In an instant, "Oh, did he now?" she said. "Well, I paid you last time to babysit. Your presence wasn't exactly required afterward, was it?"
Lana opened her mouth to reply, but she cut her off. "I suggest you take your things and go. Nikolai and I have more than enough resources to manage without you here." Evelyn's gaze swept over her dismissively. "You don't belong here."
It was then that Max's small voice came from the back into the conversation, catching both women off guard. "We like Lana more than you, Evelyn."
"Max, that's very rude." Evelyn said.
"It's true!" Lily said "Lana plays with us. She's fun and she actually cares about us."
"You need to learn respect." She said to the kids. And then she turned that glare back to Lana. "As for you, I think you've overstayed your welcome.
Nikolai appeared in the doorway, everyone turned to him.
"Nikolai, darling," she purred, taking a step towards him. "I was just explaining to Lana here that her being here might be a bit.unnecessary. You know, considering everything.".
Nikolai raised a hand, his eyes never leaving hers, silencing her. His attention flickered to Lana; his eyes were softer now but guarded. "Evelyn, I don't think that's up to you to decide what's necessary here."
Evelyn's eyebrows arched, she was taken aback. "But, Nikolai"
He gave her one pointed look, and Evelyn fell silent, her pale face frozen in shock and barely concealed fury.
"I asked Lana to be here for Max and Lily," Nikolai continued. "If you have any more problems with that, I would suggest you bring those complaints to me in private."
Evelyn's face flashed with anger, but she managed to smile. "Of course, Nikolai," she muttered, She whirled on her heel and strode away, her heels clattering angrily against the polished floors.
Lana looked up at Nikolai, who ran a hand through his hair, seeming to deflate just a little. He met her gaze, a hint of apology in his eyes. "I'm sorry about that," he said quietly. "You shouldn't have had to deal with that on your first day."
Lana managed a small smile, though her heart was racing. "It's okay. I just…I just want to do my job well.
Nikolai nodded, "I have no doubt that you will." He looked over at Max and Lily who were still carrying away with their fun.
“Oh, them?” Lana asked, pointing to them.
“‘l’ll hand them, piece of cake”.