Alien Architect Needs a Nanny (Alien Nanny Agency 1)

“Emilia, it looks like this really is your lucky day,” Varsha said carefully, her dark eyes dancing. “Your life is about to change.”

Emilia shook her head, unable to even answer. Even though it wasn’t her dream job, she liked her life. It was a safe life, spent at a desk, in her tiny apartment and in her plot at the community garden.

“I know you haven’t been in the field,” Varsha said. “But this could be a perfect match.”

“I’ve been on the other end of those field calls,” Emilia said. “I know what it’s like out there.”

“And you always know exactly what to do,” Varsha said brightly.

“It’s a heck of a lot easier to know what to do from behind the hologram, with the manual in my hands,” Emilia said.

“You can take the manual in the field too,” Varsha reminded her. “Besides, the nannies only call you when they’re stressed out. You don’t hear about the wonderful parts.”

“Do you know how often inexperienced nannies are calling in?” Emilia asked. “The ratio of stressful to wonderful is not encouraging. Besides, who would take the calls?”

“Janice,” Varsha said, frowning slightly. “She needs to build her confidence anyway. And she’s been sitting beside you a long time now. She knows what to do.”

If Emilia’s ego were tied up in her job, it might have been painful to be given an award and then promptly told she was replaceable without a second thought.

But her dreams were so much bigger.

“What’s the pay like?” she ventured.

“For a first-year nanny?” Varsha asked.

“You were just talking about my years of experience on the phones,” Emilia ventured.

“Of course,” Varsha said, smiling widely. “We would pay you based on those years, even though you weren’t in the field. And a bonus, I think, if you make it a year.”

“A bonus?” Emilia asked.

Varsha’s fingers danced in the air about her holo-disc.

A moment later Emilia’s bracelet pinged.

“Consider that your offer,” Varsha said. “Contingent on clearances.”

Don’t look, Emilia advised herself. You have no field experience, and no right to be in a child’s life just for money.

But it was impossible to resist the temptation. The numbers on the comm were shocking and she felt herself softening to the idea.

“This isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she heard herself say uncertainly. “It wouldn’t be right to go for a year and then abandon the kids.”

“The last nanny was there for less than two weeks,” Varsha said carefully. “And right now, they have no one. The fact that you’re worried about their stability tells me they will be in good hands with you, even if it’s just for a year. And by the end of the year, we’ll have better trained nannies for the family to choose from.”

Emilia felt herself caving.

“Can I think about it?” she hedged. “Just for a little while.”

“Let me run your clearances while you think,” Varsha said. “They’re different for caregivers. Put your thumb here.”

Emilia put her thumb on the pad, leaving it until the ping told her the data was received.

“Not everyone has the chance to work for Ra’as Drayven,” Varsha said softly.

“How old are the kids?” Emilia asked, filing away the father’s name. It was familiar but she couldn’t place it.

“Mimi is four, almost five,” Varsha said, reading from her holo-screen. “And Dyrk is about to turn thirteen. It says he’s complicated.”