My Boss’s Desire

CHAPTER 1 Serena I looked around my bedroom as I packed my small suitcase. I would have to leave Cold Spring. I needed to find a job in New York and help my mother with the household expenses. I still had two younger sisters who would soon be heading off to college and a seven-year-old brother who was still in elementary school. After my father died while at work, we had been forced to change our lifestyle, and money had become tight. He had always taken care of the household expenses, while Mom sold some of the homemade jams she made. But after losing the love of her life, she fell into depression and began taking things one day at a time. I couldn’t blame her. She had lost the man she had shared more than twenty years of her life with, and she still had four children to raise. I started working as soon as he passed away two years ago, but there weren’t many job opportunities in the quiet little town where we lived. The compensation we received after his death hadn’t been enough, and we had also faced medical expenses during that time. I could have stayed in town and tried to find some extra work, but the stains on my blouse made it impossible for me to stay. I quickly stood up and pulled my blouse aside, exposing my breasts. I grabbed the glass from the dresser and expressed the milk that had accumulated. The glass was already full, and I had to do this at least twice a day. I didn’t know how it had happened, but a few months ago, my breasts had started producing milk. I always tried to hide it by wearing extra layers or using cloths and nursing pads to keep the liquid from soaking through my clothes. Lately, however, it had been happening more and more often. In a small town like ours, people would soon start talking. How could I explain that I was still a virgin, had never had children, and yet had milk coming from my breasts? That was why I had decided to leave town and look for a job elsewhere. If I stayed and people discovered my secret, I might not be able to find work at all. Besides, it would only give my mother another reason to worry. I changed my blouse, picked up my suitcase, and took one last look around the bedroom where I had experienced both happy and heartbreaking moments. Then I closed the door and headed to the living room, where my mother, Elizabeth, my fourteen-year-old twin sisters, Charlotte and Madeline, and my seven-year-old brother, Theodore, were waiting for me. My mother rushed toward me and wrapped me in a tight embrace, already letting tears fall onto my coat. “You don’t have to go. I can get better and find work to help you,” she said, looking into my eyes, her face drenched in tears. I held her face between my hands and wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Mom, there are more opportunities for me out there. I don’t want to stay here and end up having to choose a husband just to get married and settle for a quiet, uneventful life,” I replied, even though hiding the real reason for my departure hurt. “I can try to go to college there, and who knows? Maybe you could all move there someday, too.” I smiled at my sisters, giving them a look that was practically a plea for help to lighten the mood. “Mom, if Serena gets settled there, we could go to college, too, and then we’d all be together,” Charlotte said, wrapping her arms around our mother from behind. She smiled with all the enthusiasm that was so typical of her. Mom stepped back a little and nodded, wiping away her tears. “All right. I hope everything works out. And remember, you’ll always have a home here to come back to.” I smiled through my tears, trying to keep them from falling. Mom kissed my cheek affectionately, doing her best to smile. “Come on, everyone. Give me a hug! I need to catch my bus!” I called. Theo ran into my arms, trying not to cry. I stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head. Then I hugged Charlotte and Madeline, kissing each of them on the cheek. “I’m leaving now. Take care of yourselves, and don’t give Mom any reason to worry,” I warned, looking especially at the girls. “I won’t! Although I can’t say the same for those two,” Theo replied proudly, apparently pleased with his own obedience as he ratted out the twins. Mom and I laughed while the girls glared at him. “Go on, before you miss your bus. They don’t give refunds!” Mom joked. She picked up my suitcase and walked me to the front door. I hugged her one last time before heading toward the bus station without looking back. I knew that if I did, I’d start crying and might end up changing my mind. The bus station was about a five-minute walk from our house. By the time I arrived, people were already loading their suitcases into the bus’s luggage compartment. I hurried to hand mine over, then made my way to a seat at the back. I was grateful there weren’t many passengers and that I could sit by myself. When I glanced down, I noticed the milk was beginning to leak again. Thank goodness I’d put a coat over my blouse and packed another one to change into before getting off the bus. ⸻ I got off the bus in Greenwich and looked around. The bus station was small, which made sense considering the buses seemed to be used mainly by employees working on the estates of the wealthy families in the area. As I watched the people coming and going, someone suddenly wrapped me in a warm hug. I turned around and found Evelyn, my friend from back home. She was the one who had helped me find a job opportunity here. Evelyn also worked as a nanny, although for a different family. “You finally made it!” she exclaimed excitedly, helping me carry my suitcase to a taxi. “I thought you’d been kidn*pped or that some rich guy had proposed to you while you were waiting.” I laughed at her joke as I climbed into the car. “I’m not sure which one would be more likely to happen. Maybe the kidnapping.” She laughed at my answer and shook her head. “What man wouldn’t want to date you?” she asked, giving me an exaggerated once-over. “Anyway, I hope you’re well-rested, because your interview starts as soon as you arrive at the Crowe mansion.” She sighed, looking almost sorry for me. “I’m nervous, but I hope I can get the job without too much trouble,” I replied, clasping my hands together as if praying to the heavens for help. “Their baby refuses to drink from a bottle, and they need someone who can help. Several nannies have come and gone over the past few days, but none of them has been able to solve the problem.” I looked at her, trying to take in everything she was telling me. “But you’ve helped take care of your three younger siblings, and you’ve looked after other children as a nanny. It’ll be a piece of cake!” she added, patting my back in an attempt to calm me down. Somehow, that only made me even more nervous. I tried to distract myself by looking at the enormous mansions we passed along the way. Some of them looked like actual castles. I was still admiring the properties when the car stopped in front of an enormous mansion surrounded by a garden that looked as though it could fit ten houses like mine. I smiled, said goodbye to Evelyn, and followed the housekeeper, Teresa, inside. Augusto I picked Noah up as he continued crying from hunger. Another nanny, and not one of them had been able to help him. “Can’t any of you feed a child?” I shouted, irritated by the nannies standing frozen in front of the crib. “Someone has to be able to feed him!” I insisted, feeling my anger rise with every passing second. I was desperate because I couldn’t do anything to help, and Noah’s cries were growing louder. Frustration and helplessness were eating me alive. In a sudden fit of anger, I threw the bottle toward the door. But before it could hit the wood, a blonde woman caught it in midair. I froze for a moment, staring at her. She looked at me in shock, clutching the bottle in her hands. Another woman who would try to help. And who would probably fail, too.