Happy reading, Sade xx

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WHEN Charlotte woke up the next morning she felt ready to take on whatever task Isabelle threw at her. She stood before the floor length mirror and gave her appearance a final check.

Charlotte opted for a simple black dress that reached her knees. The fabric molded against her body perfectly, accentuating her figure, it had a criss-cross bodice and thick straps. Pointed heels, her gold watch that her grandmother had given her as a graduation gift and a swipe of cranberry coloured lipstick completed her overall look.

She got into her charcoal VW Beetle and took her mobile out of her purse to double check the address that Isabelle had sent her, noticing it was on the more upscale part of town, of course it was. Did she honestly think that such an influential family would live in a simple two storey home?

With the destination in mind Charlotte took a sip of her coffee, slotted the key into the ignition, and the engine of her little car roared to life and she was on her way.

PULLING up to a tall, glass building that required her to strain her neck in order to take in the entire view, she stepped into the lobby and was making her way towards the elevators when a doorman stepped before her.

"Excuse me miss, could I help you ?" he asked politely.

"Yes, I'm meeting Mrs. De Luca on the 47th floor." She replied.

"That would be the penthouse" he said while leading her towards a different elevator, "This one goes directly up."

Thanking him she stepped into the metal box and pressed one of the three buttons on the control panel.

Charlotte was about to knock on the massive, dark wooden door in front of her when suddenly it was whipped open. Out stepped a tall man, wearing a gray suit and talking rapidly on the phone, taking no notice of her.

The stranger turned and gave her a confused look.

"Hello, my name is Charlotte Stein," She said adding a smile.

"Oh yes," said the man gesturing for her to walk inside his apartment, "You must be the new maid."

"Maid?" Charlotte asked with extreme confusion, "I am not a maid" she stated.

The man shared her look of confusion, "Uh, were you hired by my brother Max?" he asked quietly.

"And why would your brother hire me?" Charlotte said, realizing that the man before her was none other than Nicolas De Luca.

"Hire you for you know..." His voice trailed off as he shifted his head to the side.

Charlotte gasped loudly, realizing what he meant. She closed her eyes tightly,

"I beg your pardon I am not a prostitute! And if you think for a second th-" her rant was interrupted by the ding of the elevator. Both heads turned in the direction of the noise only for Mrs. De Luca to walk out.

"Great! The two of you have met," she clapped her hands together.

"Mother."

"Mrs. De Luca."

Said both Charlotte and Nicolas at the same time, while Isabelle waved them off, crossing the threshold and walking into the apartment soon followed by Nicolas.

"Charlotte dear, come on inside' Isabelle called from within.

Charlotte stepped into Nicolas' apartment and was greeted by sophisticatedly dressed interior. The wall on the far side of what she could make out was the living room was made entirely out of glass, which framed the most spectacular view of the city that she's ever witnessed. The whole placed seemed to have a navy blue, white and silver colour scheme.

The 'L' shaped sofa sat in front of a large TV with a glass table between them. On the far end of the room was a large bookcase filled with a few framed pictures of people whom she assumed were his family, numerous glass awards and a few books. He's apartment was so neat.

Did he even live in here ?

As she walked from the small foyer towards the dining room where Isabelle sat, Charlotte wondered how the inside of his bedroom looked and whether it matched the rest of the apartment.

Her eyes grew wide, why the hell would she think about his bedroom? She was working for his mother for God sakes!

Sitting down in the seat Isabelle pointed to, she smoothed out the folds in her skirt and placed her hand on her lap.

"Nickie, have a seat."

"No mother !" he said in an frustrated tone, "I need to get to the office, I don't have time for this."

"Hmm, no time for the person who gave you life, a shame Nicolas."

"Mama, you know I don't mean it in that way.' He said softly.

"Good, now sit down," She gestured to the seat opposite to Charlotte who just sat there awkwardly.

Letting out an irritated breathe Nicolas pulled out the chair and sat down making Charlotte suppress a giggle at how easily a petite woman could command a man that towered over them both.

"Charlotte meet Nicolas, Nicolas meet Ms. Stein" Mrs. De Luca introduced. Charlotte just smiled while Nick curtly nodded his head.

"Now I'm sure that you are curious as to why you're both here" she started.

"Well, this is my apartment" Nick interjected as Isabelle waved his off.

"Back to business, Nicolas don't think that I've overlooked your current situation. You are a mess son, these late nights and drinking aren't doing you any good and I heard that you almost got into another fight the other night. Both your father and I are starting to worry." Isabelle expressed, "I can see the dark circles starting to form under your eyes and at the rate you're going you'll start going bald soon !"

Nicolas just sat there listening to his mother complain about him, surely this could be done at another time and not in front of a perfect stranger. He looked up towards the woman sitting ahead of him. Her honey colored hair cut to the length of her elbows and styled in soft waved were illuminated by the lights of the dining room. As her gaze shifted up he noticed her brown, doe like eyes.

"So I've taken it upon myself to find a solution to your problem son," she said with an accomplished smile, "And that is Charlotte over here. She works for Duncan & Co, the au-pair agency."

"So you've hired me a baby sitter?" He asked annoyed.

"Mrs. De Luca, I think you might be a bit confused by the services offered by our company." Charlotte tried to explain, "I'm an au-pair, not a personal assistant or some sort of sobriety companion. I take care of children not grown men." She stated firmly.

"See mother, Ms. Stein isn't willing to take you up on this." Nick said standing up, "So if that would be all I think I'll excuse myself."

"Nicolas, sit down I am not through with this," Isabelle said firmly, "Now Charlotte, may I call you that? I am well aware of the demographic that you usually cater to but I think that your services could be of good use to me in this case."

"I do understand that, and while your request is unusual, we have had clients ask this in the past. I am certain that I would be able to find one of our other employees will be available to fulfill your request." Charlotte offered.

"Again, Charlotte, like I said yesterday I need you to do this personally"

"Just reminding you I am almost 30 years old, I can look after myself" Nicolas reminded.

"Obviously, not since you mother had asked for my help." Charlotte said in a sassy tone.

Nicolas glared at the small being that sat opposite him. How dare she? Did she know who he was? The audacity she had talking to him in such a manner and that too in front of his mother.

Oh his mother, what did she think she was doing? Obviously she was not thinking very clearly when she came up with this horrendous idea. He was a grown ass man who could take care of himself, so what if he chose to get drunk during the week; it was his life and he would be the one to decide what he wanted to do and when he wanted to do it.

"No mother, I am not agreeing to this. This is one of the most ridiculously schemes I've heard in my whole life. If I wanted someone to control my life I would get myself a personal assistant or I would have gotten married." Nicolas suddenly erupted.

"Well, boo-hoo Nicolas." Isabelle said as she handed them each a stack of papers, "This is a contract drawn up by our lawyers, and you know what that means Nickie, no loopholes. Please read it over and sign them so I can get them back to your father."

Charlotte sat paging through the contact when a particular sentence cause her eye – 'Living requirements for Ms. C. Stein'

"Am I reading this correctly? I have live here? With him?"

"Yes that is correct, Enzo, our lawyer and I think that it would be most efficient if you do"

"Mrs. De Luca, I assure that I am very capable of performing my job without moving in"

"Both of you are so stubborn," Isabella voiced, "This contract is not negotiable, Ms. Stein, if you refused it will be a great lose for your business and Nicolas, your position at the company is at stake. So whether you deny or accept the repercussions of your actions only affect the both of you," 

Charlotte and Nicolas locked eyes, both weighing the pros and cons of the situation.

Releasing a frustrated breathe, Nicolas took a pen out of his suit pockets and loudly signed his name.

Grasping the pen in hand, Charlotte gulped; the echo of the ink being scraped along the fibers of the paper seemed to be amplified in the room.

It was done, their fates, for the time being, were sealed. Looking up to the expression of elation on Isabelle's face, Charlotte wondered.

What exactly did she get herself into?

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Ooohhh sneaky sneakyyy !

What do yo think Isabelle's motives behind this move was ? Is she reallyyyy looking out for her son or is she perhaps looking for something else, hmmm.

Please feel free to comment and don't forget to vote if you've enjoyed reading 💖