7. Kat

Chapter 7

T he weekend flies by, and I spend most of it in a daze.

I get it. Nathaniel’s rich, but he didn’t even ask how much I made before he offered to pay me double what I make now.

I think I may have grossly underestimated the difference in our lifestyles, which only makes me feel more self-conscious. I’d felt out of place at his office, but that was nothing compared to seeing him here.

Ugh, at least I didn’t let him come in and saved myself from that humiliation.

By Sunday night, I crack. Unable to stop my curiosity, I Google him. It feels weird, but simply typing in his name brings up so many results that I’m kind of blown away.

Mr. Lawson was spotted today in a park with his daughter, Addison, seemingly enjoying some time outside of the office. While pictures have surfaced of his young daughter with a woman recently, sources say that she is a nanny versus the mysterious Mrs. Lawson we had all originally believed her to be.

With Addison quickly approaching her sixth birthday, the question still remains: Where is her mother? Is Mr. Lawson officially off the market, or is there more to this story?

Gross.

I click back to the search and try another article.

Nathaniel Lawson owns Lawson’s, a multi-billion-dollar company that he runs alongside his brother, Alexander Lawson. The company's headquarters are in New York, NY. As of 2023, it had an estimated yearly revenue of $1.9 billion and around 400,000 employees.

Holy shit.

I close out of Google before I fall into a rabbit hole. I guess that answers the question of how he could offer that much money.

But even still, I’m no less stuck in my decision.

Is money tight? Yes, absolutely.

Even with my apartment being one of the cheapest I could find, it's expensive. I’ve come to find that just about everything here is. Food, clothes, and basic everyday things all cost more than they did back in Maine. So, while I make more than I ever have, it’s not as if I have money to waste. Oftentimes, my checks line up to be exactly what I need, and any savings I might have are for my off time in the summer. With the summer program, I will have less time unpaid, but it’s only three days a week for five weeks. Leaving me with five weeks unpaid.

I flop down on my bed with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as my mind races, trying to weigh out what might be the best choice.

If I took the job, I’d have a lot more room to live, and even more if I took him up on the housing offer.

He seems genuine about looking for the best nanny for Addison, and from everything I’ve heard from him and her, it’s been a struggle so far. I can understand why he would offer, but I’m still not sure I’m nanny material. Hell, I’m not even one hundred percent sure what a nanny does.

For all we know, she could enjoy me as a teacher and hate me as a nanny.

Of course, there's also the loss of freedom. When I came to New York for a fresh start, I swore I would do it on my own. I don’t ever want to be under someone’s thumb the way I was with Carter ever again. Leaving him opened my eyes to how much I depended on him and how little I had of my own. He’d controlled every aspect of my life from the time we met in high school almost nine years ago.

It was his money, his house, his everything, and I hadn’t ever really second-guessed it until I packed my meager possessions up to leave. It was pathetic to see my tiny car barely full after all those years together, but even worse was how long it took me to find myself again. Some days, I’m not sure I have one hundred percent yet.

Never again.

I don’t think Nathaniel is like that, and it’s not like we're dating. But it would be his house, and I don’t think I can give up having my own space, no matter how much money it would save me.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, I roll over to face the wall.

I could stay here and still take the job, get the money, and keep my freedom. It’s the best of both worlds, and he seems more than okay with whatever I choose. But would he expect me to give up my job?

Ugh, thinking about all the possibilities and pros and cons is giving me a headache.

No closer to making a decision, I let my eyes fall closed and drift off to sleep.

Maybe a good night's rest will help me clear my mind and find an answer.

Sleeping isn’t a magic cure, and when I wake up for work, I’m no closer to knowing what I should do than I was the night before. So, instead of dwelling on it, I push it off and go about my day because it’s easier.

It’s a Monday, but I’ve found Mondays in the summer program aren’t the same as they were in the regular school year. Kids are excited to be in the program, and there are only so many spots. I have kids from a mix of grades and classes, not just my own, but it’s still less than a regular-size class.

Trevor decides today is a good day to meet me out front once again. For the most part, he’s been pretty scarce since his run-in with Nathaniel, but I knew that wouldn’t last forever.

“Morning, Kat,” he calls, popping out of the office just as I head down the hall toward my class. It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes and instead plaster on a halfway polite smile.

“Morning,” I say, continuing on my way.

Please, just go to your class.

I mentally beg him, but of course, he doesn’t. Instead, he picks up his pace until he catches up to me. Damn my shorter legs.

I glance his way and find him smiling as he watches me.

“So a little bird told me you have a birthday coming up.”

His words catch me off guard, and I freeze.

How the hell does he know that? I didn’t tell anyone.

He must see the confusion on my face, because he laughs and nods back to the office. “Barbara has a faculty calendar that has everyone’s birthdays on it.”

His explanation takes a bit of weight off. It makes sense, I suppose, but I still don’t love that. I hadn’t told anyone my birthday on purpose, and of all the people to know it, of course, it had to be Trevor.

“Oh,” I mutter, unsure what to say before continuing toward my class.

“Yeah, so usually the staff goes out for drinks to celebrate. But since it’s already the end of July and there aren’t a lot of us teaching the summer program, plus it’s the weekend, so most everyone already has plans,” he says, and I can already tell where this is going. “So, I was thinking this would be a perfect time for us to hang out.”

I go to tell him no, but he cuts me off.

“I don’t want you to miss out on something that we usually do, ya know? And besides, how often do you get out? I feel like all you do is work and take care of the Lawson girl.”

I pull a face at the way he says it, unable to help myself.

The Lawson girl… she has a name, and I know he knows it. Everybody does. Not to mention, I don’t like his tone or the way he’s trying to make this sound like it’s for me, not him, when we both know it is.

We turn the corner, and I see someone standing near my door.

“Um, maybe. I’ll have to see what I have planned for the weekend and let you know,” I tell him, even though it’s a lie. I know I don’t have any plans, and from the sound of it, he knows it, too, but I can handle him later.

“Oh, seriously?” he says, sounding a bit thrown that I’m even considering the idea. Honestly, I am, too, but right now, I just don’t have the energy to deal with him.

“Well, how about I check in with you tomorrow? Can you let me know? I can always come to pick you up for the night, so you don’t have to take the subway or pay for an Uber.” He sounds hopeful, but that’s never going to happen.

Instead of saying that, I simply tell him we’ll see, as I finally make it to my door to see who was here so early.

Oliver?

“Another Lawson?” Trevor mumbles with a huff.

“I’ll message you later, yeah?”

Without giving me a chance to respond, he turns and heads back the way he just came, and I take a moment to breathe, letting my eyes fall closed as I recenter myself.

How is a grown man harder to deal with than twenty kindergarteners?

“Long day already?”

I’d completely forgotten that Oliver was there until he speaks and startles me.

“Ms. Kat!” Addison bellows before slamming into me and making me stagger back a step, and I hear Oliver chuckle. What is it about these Lawson men and their looks? They might be striking naturally, but when they smile.

Damn, it’s hot in here.

Turning my attention away from Oliver is harder than it should be, but I manage. I pry Addison’s grip from around my waist before dropping down to wrap my arms around her. Thankfully, the dress code is a little more relaxed for the summer program, and today, I wore capris to try to beat the heat. I doubt it will help much, but it gives me more room to move around.

“Good morning, Addy. You're here early today, aren’t you?” I ask, though the question isn’t really meant for her. I’m sure she doesn’t even realize what time it is.

Oliver is dressed down today as well, kind of. The last time I saw him, he was in a suit. Today, he's wearing dark dress pants, a gray sweater with a button-up and a tie that peeks out at the neckline. It’s by no means casual, but it’s much less dressed up than the suit.

I look to him for an answer regarding their early arrival, and he reaches up to rub at the back of his neck, looking down at his expensive shoes.

“Sorry, that’s my fault. Nathan had to go to work early today and asked if I could drop her off. I wasn’t aware that the school program started an hour later than regular hours.”

Oh man, something about the blush and glasses gives him a boyish quality that he didn’t have the first time we met. He seemed much more serious last time.

“It’s no problem,” I tell him, releasing Addison and pushing to my feet. “She’s welcome to spend the extra hour with me.”

I feel his eyes on my back as I walk to the classroom door and unlock it. Addison barrels in, running to put her things away and work on her art project we’ve been doing on days she stays late. We’re working on salt paintings, and much to her dismay, they needed time to dry before we could actually paint them.

“You’re sure?” Oliver asks, and I hear the skepticism in his tone. I get it. I’m sure most might not want to have students when they aren’t being paid for it or might need the time to get things ready for the day. But my lessons have been planned since before the program even started, and Addison is easy to handle. Even if I had work to do, she wouldn’t be a hindrance.

“Yeah, as long as it’s okay with Addison,” I say, turning to her.

She’s so focused on getting her watercolors ready she doesn’t even hear me, and I shake my head and laugh before going over to get her attention.

“Hey, Addy,” I wait for her to look up so I know she’s listening. “Would you like to hang out with me for the extra hour and paint, or do you want to stand out in the hall with Oliver?”

She makes a face when I say his name. “Ew,” she says, turning to point at Oliver, who stands just inside the door. “His name is Oli. Oliver sounds like an old cat.”

A laugh bursts free before I can stop it, and I duck my head to try to hide it. I know I failed when I look up a moment later and find his eyes on me. Thankfully, he doesn’t look upset—maybe just a little annoyed with her, the way siblings get.

“Yes, well, the old cat wants to know if you want to paint or hang out with me,” Oliver says when she completely misses the point, and she sticks out her tongue at him.

“I want to paint!” she declares before going back to pulling out her supplies.

“I guess that answers that,” I say, walking back to my desk now that I might as well be invisible to her.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. She’s a good kid,” I tell him with a smile, and he nods as he watches her start her project. She’s so focused, her face scrunched up in concentration as she mixes water with the colors she wants, trying to get them perfect.

“Yeah, she is…” he says in a low voice, almost to himself, before wishing me a good day and heading out.

I managed to avoid Trevor… mostly. He’s texted me a few times now, and I let him know I still had to check the first time, but by the third time, I’ve started to ignore him. I really don’t want to do anything for my birthday, and even if I did, I don’t want to do it with him.

Ugh, damn me and my big mouth, saying I’d think about it.

The next few weeks pass in a blur, and before I know it, it’s already the last day of the summer program. If I can just get through today, I won’t have to see Trevor again until the next school year starts in a few weeks.

Of course, I can’t, though. Today is my birthday, and the second I walk through the front doors of the school, he’s there, waiting for me with flowers.

I won’t lie. It's kind of sweet, and if he had started our meetings like this, he would probably have had more luck. But as it is, something about him leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I refuse to ignore warning signs again.

“Happy birthday, Kat,” he says, holding the bouquet out to me. I take them in a daze as I admire the beautiful colors, and he swoops in, pressing a kiss to my cheek before quickly taking a step back.

I snap my eyes toward him and have to resist the urge to wipe my face clean. Instead, I murmur a thank you before I turn and head for my class, unsure what to do.

This is what I was talking about. He can’t just be nice; he always has to push it and make me uncomfortable.

Maybe it’s me?

No, I don’t think it is. I hadn’t had an issue with Alex and Desmond, even if it was months and months ago.

“So I was wondering if you could figure out your plans for this weekend or not?” Trevor asks as he follows me down the hall. “I looked up Laws’ schedule this weekend, and they have half-off drinks for some summer celebration.”

I fumble my keys, and they drop to the floor while I stand there, unsure if I’d heard him correctly or not.

What are the odds he would mention that club of all places and right now?

It takes me a second, but I grab my keys off the floor and manage to get my door unlocked this time. Pushing into my room, I drop the flowers on my desk. Where they once felt sweet, they make me feel kind of gross now that he’s used them to kiss me.

“Um, no. I'm still waiting for my parents to get back to me. We're talking about meeting up this weekend to celebrate. I’ll probably know more tonight.” The lie rolls off my tongue easier than it should. I don’t like lying, but I know he won’t take no for an answer.

“Oh, yeah, I understand. Just let me know, and I’ll see about getting us in. Laws is pretty exclusive and kind of expensive, so the sooner I know, the better,” he says, nodding as he stalks toward me instead of away like I’d hoped he would.

“Yeah, I know,” I say without thinking. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know for sure.” I force a smile and walk behind my desk, needing the comfort of having it between us.

“You do?” he asks, cocking his head to the side and looking at me in confusion.

“Um, yes. I’ve been there once,” I tell him, not wanting to get into the details.

He stops in his tracks, mumbling something I can’t make out. For a second, his eyes are dark and full of anger, but I blink, and it’s gone.

“Just shoot me a text and let me know. I’ll let you get to it. I’m sure you have a busy day planned for the kids.”

Before I can answer, he turns, and all but runs from the room.

God, he’s so strange.