Bad Boy Meets His Match

Chapter 2 - Layla P.O.V

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have safely landed at JF Kennedy airport in New York. The time is now 11:05pm, Thursday the 27th of March. The weather outside is slightly cold at roughly 5 degrees Celsius with rain expected. We thank you for flying with us and hope you have a safe journey ahead. Cabin crew please prepare the aircraft for disembarking.” I hear the long-awaited announcement. It has been one of the longest flights I have ever been on being close to 17 hours (I was very lucky to not be on a connecting flight as that would have been dreadful).  

Before the plane landed, I went to the bathroom to get myself cleaned and dressed appropriately for the New York weather. I chose to wear my black ankle booties from Steve Madden along with my washed-out skinny Jeans. Seeing as it is cold in New York, I opted for a dark plum long sleeved top and a matching raincoat. I tied my long chocolate brown hair into a messy bun that it does not get knotted and made sure that my make-up was done lightly. When the cabin crew indicates that we may now disembark I get up and stretch my long legs to get them used to walking again and then reach to get my carry-on luggage from the overhead compartment. With my matching Louis Vuitton handbag and carry-on bag in hand, I confidently walk of the Boeing and head towards the luggage belts to collect my two big suitcases. After what feels like another lifetime (having to get my bags and then having to go through ques in customs), I get to the lobby where I am supposed to meet the driver of the Au Pair Agency.

Panic starts to set in when I do not see anyone holding a board with my name on. ‘What if they forgot that I was arriving ? What happens if they left without me? How am I going to get to the hotel where the orientation is being held? Oh no, this was a bad idea Layla!’ My mind goes crazy, running wild with the worse imaginable scenarios about the situation I currently find myself in.

“Excuse me, are you perhaps Layla Johnson?” an elderly man asks me, startling me in the process.

“Uhm, what?” I ask looking at him, unsure as to how he knew my name. Perhaps he saw it on one of my bags and now he wants to kidnap me. I take a quick step back, not letting him get too close.

“Forgive me, I am with the Au Pair agency and I am looking for a…” he looks at the paper in his hand and then continues “for a Miss Layla Johnson?” He smiles handing me the piece of paper. It has the logo with the agency on along with all my information. 

“Oh yes, that will be me.” I reply, trying to make it seem like I am as cool as a cucumber. 

“Fantastic, come with me dearie. The others are waiting on us. I am sure you are tired and would like to go rest at the hotel.” Without waiting on a response, he grabs my two big suitcases and drags them behind him as he walks towards a small café inside the airport lobby.

“Ex-Excuse me, what do you mean the others Sir?” I ask.

“Please call me John” he says looking over his shoulder  “The other Au Pairs of course. You were not the only one I had to pick up today. Come on dearie, we are almost there.” He enters the café with me behind him, out of breath might I add – for an old man he moves quite fast.

“Here we are Layla, please introduce yourselves. I will be back shortly and then we can leave” John says pointing to two more girls that looks to be my age before he storms off. The other girls do not seem bothered to talk to me as they continue typing away on their phones. I clear my throat trying to gain their attention causing the girl on the left to look up at me and smile.

“Hi, I am Suzi, I am from Northern Ireland” She says. She has pale skin with beautiful green eyes that matches her shoulder length auburn hair perfectly.

“Hi Suzi, it is nice to meet you. My name is Layla and I come from South Africa. I love your accent” I say giving her a bright smile.

“Cool! So where will you be Au Pairing this year?” She asks after I sat down next to her. The other girl still not bothered to introduce herself to us, I mentally roll my eyes at her rudeness. 

“I will be going to a family in Dallas, Texas and yourself? I ask her to keep the conversation flowing as It makes me feel less anxious. 

“Ahh damn! I will be staying with a family in Chicago, Illinois. Too bad that we are not going to the same place. It would have been great having at least one friend from the start.” Suzi says looking sad. I too felt disappointed, although I have only met Suzi, she really does seem like she would make a good friend.

We continue chatting about the kids we will be looking after and the places we would like to visit during our year. Suzi does most of the talking as she has clearly done her research for the year she will be spending in America, whereas I have jumped in at 99.9 to flee from my past, a factor I do not mention to Suzie. After 15minutes John returns with a small chubby lady that looks like his wife.

“Girls, I would like you to meet my wife Barbara. She is actually the one that works for the agency, I just help her.” He says with a smile. “Now let us get your bags loaded and head to the hotel.” He says after we have exchanges pleasantries with Barbara. They lead us to a silver SUV parked in the lot, where we loaded all our bags into the back (what a tight fit that was) and the three of us getting in on the back seat. John got in onto the driver seat and then Barbara sat in the passenger seat beside him.

“Ok Au Pairs, just a 45-minute drive to the hotel and then y’all can rest up!” Barbara says in a cheerful voice. I look towards the New York city lights and suddenly there is this new excitement bubbling inside of me!