The Guy from Starbucks

  A Billionaire Boss Fake Marriage Romance

  Lilly Grace Nash

  JL Lam Publishing

  Copyright © 2023 by Lilly Grace Nash. JL Lam Publishing

  Cover designed by Getcovers.

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

  Contents

  Chapter The Guy from the Coffee Shop - Ella

  The New Nanny - Micah

  The Fire - Ella

  Unadulterated - Micah

  Moving Forward - Ella

  We're Going to Need a New Nanny - Micah

  The Guy from the Coffee Shop - Ella

  “Hey, you can’t just cut in front of the line! There’s a bunch of people in front of you!” I yelled.

  A man who had just walked into Starbucks was about to make me late, and I wasn’t going to stand for it. I slept late last night, and I had an early morning. I needed a hot cup of coffee so I would be alert for my interview.

  Although I arrived early, there was a long line. I was patient enough to wait, but this man obviously thought waiting was beneath him.

  The audacity!

  I marched towards him and immediately recognized his expensive cologne and Armani suit. He was certainly rich, but I didn’t care. I had an interview, and I was not going to let some snob make me late.

  “You should bring your voice down, miss. I’m a regular here. Everyone knows that.” The man stepped back in a stance to take a proper look at me.

  Obviously, he wasn’t used to being challenged, and it was written all over him. And he definitely didn’t like it. The disdain in his eyes showed it.

  “Rich snobs like you, sir, are the problem with people today. The average person just wants to go about their daily activities, but people like you just dump all over everyone because you have an unfair advantage.” I replied.

  “An unfair advantage!?” He responded loudly.

  Ooooh I must have struck a nerve because he was pissed.

  “Young lady, you have no idea what an unfair advantage is…”

  “Well then educate me, Mr. I’m-in-too-much-of-a-rush-to-wait-like-everyone-else.” I interrupted.

  The barista ended the squabble by giving us both our coffees. After leaving the coffee shop, I boarded a cab and headed for my interview at The Buzz. It was the biggest media firm in New York, and I had always dreamed of working as part of their media team. I had only recently graduated with a degree in mass communications.

  However, The Buzz was not hiring at the moment, but the company’s CEO needed a nanny for his kids. I saw that as an opportunity to get closer to my dream job. I walked into the beautiful company lobby. It was every bit as beautiful as I thought it would be. The environment made me forget about the incident at the coffee shop. I was ready for my new journey.

  “The boss will see you now.” The secretary gestured towards the CEO’s office.

  I walked into his office with high hopes and the brightest smile I could have come up with. I had to make a good first impression. I looked at the man who would interview me. My heart sank. It was the man from the coffee shop.

  My face flushed with embarrassment. He was the CEO of The Buzz? I have wanted to work here for so long, but I had no idea what the owner looked like.

  “You!” the man glared from his seat. “Are you stalking me?”

  I was already ashamed, but his facial expression only made me boil with rage. Why was he looking at me as if I was a thief caught picking pockets?

  “Why would you say that?” I fought back.

  “You made a fuss about me getting coffee and now you follow me to my office? What is your deal?”

  I sighed, realizing I made a mistake again. I was here for a job interview, instead; I was arguing with the man that I hoped would hire me. What was wrong with me today? He may be an asshole, but I needed this job since it was my only gateway to work here. After taking two deep breaths, I regained my composure and forced a smile on my face.

  “I wasn’t stalking you. I’m here for the job interview,”

  He stared at me in shock for five seconds, like he didn’t believe me, then quickly grabbed a stack of papers in front of him. When he settled on my resume, he raised it up to compare my appearance.

  “Ella Grace?” he questioned.

  “Yes sir, that me,”

  “Sir?” he scoffed, crossing his arms in disbelief. “Where’s the fiery lady from the cafe?”

  “That was a lack of judgment on my part. I’m sorry,” I gritted the apology through my teeth.

  He didn’t deserve an apology from me, but I needed this job. I would suck up to him as much as I could now and cuss him out later when I get home. He stared at me, amused by my embarrassment.

  “Young lady- no- Miss Grace, what makes you think I’ll want to hire you to teach my children after the display you made earlier?”

  My heart skipped a beat. Was this the end of my dream? I wouldn’t hire me if I were him. Why did I have to ruin such a perfect day? I should have looked up what the CEO looked like and even given him my spot on the line.

  He stared at me, waiting for an answer, but I couldn’t find a smart answer to his question. I search my brain for anything good enough. My job and my future were hanging on to my answer to this question.

  “I admit my approach was rude, but you know it’s wrong to take shortcuts in society. You may not care, but it’s unfair to other hard-working people. If you hire me, I will make sure your children learn how to be responsible members of society and bring real change to the world.” I said.

  Three seconds of silence. He stared at me without saying anything. His eyes wandered to my resume, probably to read my qualifications. His gaze was not friendly, and it made my heart beat even faster. Why was he torturing me like this?

  “You studied mass communication. What was your major?” he asked.

  “I focused a lot on PR,” I replied quickly.

  “Hmm,” he played with his pen in one hand, taking his time while my leg shook on my black stilettos.

  He didn’t even care to offer me a seat.

  “You seem qualified for this job, Miss Grace, but I have other interviews as well.” he said after a while.

  “You can’t do that! I already apologized,”

  “I never accepted it. You may leave now,”

  “Why are you being so difficult? You know you were in the wrong and yet I apologized to you,”

  “That does nothing, Miss Grace. You made me look like an idiot and I’m only returning the favor. Call in the next person on your way out,” he said, looking away to feign busy on his desk.

  “This is unfair,”

  My eyes stung with tears, but I fought them as hard as I could. There was no way I’d give him the pleasure of seeing me cry.

  “How is it unfair?” he asked. “You already had your interview, so please leave and give someone else a chance. Weren’t you preaching about fairness just a minute ago?”

  He had an excellent memory. This was the second time he was reminding me of something I said and we just met. My head hung in shame, but I summoned the courage to leave his office and leave the building.

  I stopped to stare at the tall building with ‘The Buzz’ written on the top of it. I came really close and I may have lost the chance to work here. After a full minute of feeling sorry for myself, I hailed a cab to take me home.

  The cab ride to my apartment was the most depressing ride I have had in months. This was my one shot at getting my dream job and I may have ruined it. The driver stopped in front of my apartment building. I paid him and sighed when I realized how low on cash I was.

  I would have to take the subway the next time I was going anywhere. I entered the building and took the elevator to my floor. There was an old couple inside with a young boy that could have been their grandson. I stood in silence till I got to my floor, even when the boy smiled at me.

  On getting to my apartment, I dumped my bag on the floor and collapsed on the couch. I did a quick Google search on the CEO of The Buzz and there he was. Micah Lucas glared back at me from the screen.

  In the picture online, he looked just as arrogant as he was at the coffee shop this morning. I groaned in regret, wishing I had just kept my cool. This was not how I thought my day would go, but it was too late now. I spent the rest of the week checking my email for a notification.

  If they didn’t accept me for the role, I was supposed to get a rejection email but it had been four days and I got nothing. I was expecting a rejection email so I could move on and find another dream, but I was too impatient. Refusing to wait any longer, I called the assistant desk. We were given the contact information before the interview in case we had any questions regarding the role. I needed to know my fate in this job hunt. The call rang three times before the sound of someone picking up.

  “This is Micah Lucas’s office. How may I help you?”.

  “Hi, I’m Ella Grace from the interview a few days ago. I was wondering if there had been any status report since it has been days,”

  “Ms. Grace, thank you for reaching out. Mr. Lucas has yet to make his decision regarding the interview. Please wait to hear from us soon,”

  “Thank you

,” I hung up the phone.

  I sighed deeply, staring at my phone. Today was Friday, and I was still waiting for them to send an email. I hated waiting. Every notification on my phone gave me a panic attack. Thankfully, I didn’t have many notifications from apps or calls from people. It didn’t help that I thought of my encounter with Micah every time I heard a ping on my phone.

  It had been days already, and I did nothing but eat and sleep and pray I get the job by some miracle. Maybe it was time for a miracle because my phone pinged in front of me, causing my heart to race. I reached for my phone with shaky hands to read the new email I had just received, but my hands froze when I saw it was from Micah Lucas. My curiosity got the better of me, and I quickly unlocked my phone to read the details. I screamed and dropped my phone in shock.

  I got the job! I was going to work as the nanny for Micah’s children.

  The New Nanny - Micah

  My assistant dropped the files from the interview again for me to make my choice. Stacey, my assistant, was a motherly sort and had been with me for years. She would hound me until I finally made a decision.

  After I sent Ella out of my office, all the other applicants were boring. They all sounded like they were reading out of a script. If they took care of my kids, they would start sounding like robots, too.

  I hated realizing that Ella was the best candidate for the job, so every day I would look through the resumes. The goal was to find something I missed in the other candidates. Anything that was reason enough to consider them good enough, but it was all the same.

  “Micah?” Stacey drew me from my thoughts.

  I zoned out a lot lately, and I was blaming Ella for that. She was such a wild card, and it left an impression on me.

  “You have to make a decision today, Ms. Grace called yesterday for an update. She might be looking to apply elsewhere,”

  “She did?” I asked, faking an uninterested tone.

  “Yes. You have to hire someone. You are running yourself ragged trying to manage everything. You have to hire a nanny as soon as possible,”

  She was right. I loved my kids, and I wanted them to be taken care of. Even though I didn’t like her and she was too loud, I could tell my kids were going to have so much fun with her around. Her record was clean, she was educated, and she had a pretty face.

  “Was Ms. Grace the only one to call?” I asked, suddenly curious.

  “Yes.” Stacey smiled.

  “Hmm, all right. Let’s go with her,”

  I closed the file in front of me and handed it back to her. She accepted it with a knowing smile and went to work on sending the acceptance email.

  The following week, I went to work full of enthusiasm. I was meeting a major client for the company, but it was also the day I would introduce Ella to the kids. Thankfully, the work I would be doing would keep me away from the house.

  I made sure to remind Stacey to keep searching for a better candidate as I waited for Ella to come in. Stella brought Ella to my office and shut the door. Ella was dressed in a floral sundress with her hair in a ponytail. She looked cute and innocent, but it wouldn’t work on me because I knew how foul-mouthed and judgmental she really was.

  “Thank you so much for choosing me, sir. I’ll do my best to show you that I was the right choice,”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Let’s talk as we go,” I said, getting up and grabbing my jacket.

  Ella said nothing else and followed me to my car at the entrance of the building and I unlocked the car for her to get in. She appeared nervous and less chatty than she usually was. I didn’t disturb her and drove in silence.

  My house was in upstate of New York. We could afford to live here since I came from three generations of wealth. Unlike my peers, I put my money to good use and set up the biggest media company in the city. We arrived at my house, and Ella stared in awe. Her surprise amused me and I instantly knew she’d never seen a house like this before.

  “Come this way,” I said, directing her inside the house.

  She slowed me down, looking at the design and the painting on the wall.

  “Can you move a little faster?” I snapped, losing my patience.

  We continued down the hall and up the stairs. The house was a little too quiet for an afternoon. Wondering where the kids were, I pushed open the door to one of the sitting rooms. They would normally play there when I wasn’t home. I found them. My heart swelled with joy when I saw my two kids playing together. The second they noticed me, they came running.

  “Daddy!” my daughter screamed.

  She was the youngest, my six-year-old princess. Her older brother ran behind her to give me a hug. He was two years older than her and he took care of her when I wasn’t home.

  “Dylan, Sophie, what have you two been up to?” I asked softly.

  Sophie jumps to show me the doll she was playing with. I carried her up to my chest and admired the doll.

  “She looks beautiful, Sophie, just like you,”

  “Daddy? Who is the lady behind you?” Dylan asked.

  “Oh, this is Ella, your new nanny,” I turned to face her. “Come say hi to the kids,”

  Ella put on the biggest smile I have ever seen on a woman. Her face lit up. It was enough to make me believe that she was actually sincere.

  “Hello kids, I’m Ella Grace,” she said sweetly.

  I was mesmerized by that smile. Shaking to clear my head, I still had to pay attention to the kids' responses to her. If they didn’t like her, that would be my excuse to fire her right away. Unfortunately, Sophie already put her arms towards her and I had to hand her over. I felt a small stab in my chest like I was betrayed by my six-year-old daughter.

  “What do you think of my doll?”

  “She’s so beautiful. What is your name?”

  “Sophie!” she squealed.

  Ella laughed with her and then playfully put her down. She patted Dylan on the head.

  “Hi Dylan, I think we will get along just fine.,”

  Dylan smiled and nodded at her remark. Him too? Why weren’t any of them reacting the way I secretly hoped they would? Do I really have to hire her? Ella was so good with the kids. If she spent more time with them, I was sure they would enjoy her more than they did their own father.

  We took them back to the sitting room, where Ella played with Sophie. I wanted to stop them immediately, but my phone rang. It was from a major client at The Buzz, so I walked to another room to take the call. When I returned, Ella was sitting on the floor helping Dylan with his homework while Sophie watched cartoons on her tablet. I didn’t even know there were cartoons on those things. I thought all she did was play candy crush.

  “That’s enough for now, kids. Ella, come with me,” I said, breaking the party up.

  Dylan frowned at me while Sophie groaned in protest as she clung to the hem of Ella’s dress. She had only been here for five minutes. How were they that attached to her already?

  “Ella is coming back. Daddy just needs to give her a tour of the house,” their faces lit up.

  Ella said her goodbyes and picked up her bag and followed me. I took Ella to the kids' room and showed where their clothes and toys were stored. The rooms were next to each other, so it would be easy for her to find everything. I took her to the room used by the previous nanny. It was a few rooms from the kids’ room and, unfortunately, the closest to my room.

  “Throughout your employment, you have to live here, so you will be staying in this room. Your job is to wake the kids early and get them ready for school. You also have to go with the driver to pick them up from school, feed them, bath Sophie and make sure Dylan cleans his room,”

  “Yes sir, what about cleaning the house?” she asked.

  “There is a lady who comes in to clean three times a week. Just gather the trash using the three cans we’ve provided and she’ll take care of the rest,” I explained.

  Next, I showed her the kitchen and the pantry, then I handed her a meal planner created by the previous nanny. Ella followed closely behind me, but I noticed she was taking notes on her phone.

  “Are any of the kids allergic to anything?”.

  “Nothing that we’re aware of. To be safe only make food in the planner. You won’t be here for long, anyway.”

 

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