Babysitting Alex
2

He took a pause before he went on "Any complications? Married? In a relationship? Single?" Ava shook her head "None"

"Okay. Now, please go through these rules and regulations carefully ". He handed her the documents and sat back on his chair, waiting for her. Ava went through the documents thoroughly and took a pause after reading a particular one.

"I'll live here?" She looked at him, stunned.

"Yeah. And one more thing, you'll be on probation for 2 months before we decide if you'll work with us permanently ". He exhaled a breath.

"Is there a problem?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No no no it's fine. I mean, thank you sir" She was happy that that finally, she would be leaving that hell hole she called a home. But how handful must the kid be, for the job to require her stay there temporarily, she wondered.

"I thought I made it clear you should call me Jack " Jack smiled.

"Thank you Jack " Her own smile brightening the whole room.

"Okay good. Now let's proceed. The person you'll be babysitting is.... "They both turned to look when they heard the sound of someone's footsteps. A kid of about 6 years came to Jack and he smiled, scooping him into his arms. The boy was cute and looked a lot like his father.

Ava automatically assumed he was the one she would babysit, smiled and waved.

"Hello there! I'm Ava. Your dad employed me to babysit you but I won't" She shook her head vigorously for emphasis, laughing.

"I'll be your best friend!" She exclaimed.

The little boy looked confused for a moment then bursted into laughter. He laughed so much that his Dad had to hold him tightly to prevent him from falling.

"Whoa you're cool! I would have loved it if you were my babysitter " The boy said wistfully and pouted.

"Hush now, Liam. She'll still be your friend" Jack tried to pacify the boy.

Ava was confused now. If it was not Liam, then who would she babysit?

"Oops sorry! How rude of me to assume you have just a kid " She put her hands on her face, ashamed.

Both father and son laughed, and Jack confirmed now that she'd do great at her job. The woman was energetic, he liked that. But he was not so sure with Alex though.

"No it's fine " He smiled "As a matter of fact, yeah I have just Liam. The person you're babysitting is not Liam. It's Alexander ".

Ava couldn't explain why she shivered, just by hearing the name of the kid. There was something fishy, she could feel it.

Okay. Is he family? Oh sorry! Of course he would be. Geez what's wrong with me?" She sighed dramatically, facepalming herself. Jack laughed heartily, the sound echoing the spacious room. "Alex is asleep right now but we can go see him if you'd like " He was already on his feet.

"Sure" and she stood up too.

Jack led the way and they went upstairs. The place was massive, Ava thought as they passed rows of rooms until they finally stopped in front of one.

"Okay. Here we go " He entered multiple passwords and Ava frowned. Even password was required before one could be given access into the room of a little boy? Who exactly was this kid? She wondered. The door swished open and Jack motioned for her to enter.

The room was dark, even the

Inet

curtains were drawn. Ava, breathing heavily, went to the window and drew back the curtains without being asked to. Light seeped in. immediately and Ava looked around, in search of Alex. The room was big enough to accommodate more than three people and it was beautiful. There was something odd about it though, she noticed.

She spotted a man lying on a bed on one end of the room. Jack followed her gaze and said quietly " That's him. Alexander King

Even his name sounded powerful,

Ava thought. She went still, shocked at coming to the realization that it was not a little boy she would babysit, but a grown up man. The fuck? Why would they need to babysit a grown up man? Was he sick? These were the questions going through her mind and she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Jack walked over to the bed and she followed slowly.

"

Up close, she could see the younger version of Jack. Alexander was drop dead gorgeous, he was beautiful in fact. Long eyelashes caressed the lids, a long, pointed nose and small, full lips. No doubt he would be the center of attention of women.

"Uh... Alex is... a bit sick, just so you know" He said quietly, looking uneasy.

"Sick? How do you mean?" She probed.

"Uh... He was involved in a big, terrible accident 3 years back and had not been himself since then ".

Ava remembered then. The young billionaire whose pictures was all over the social media. It was said that he was involved in a big accident. Rumor had it that his business opponents tried to kill him but he was saved at the last minute. He was in coma since then and had not been spotted.

The accident happened around the time her Mom died. Ava realized now why Jack had looked so familiar when she first saw him. The striking resemblance to Alex, the aura of wealth and power all made sense to her now.

11

Oh "was the only thing she could

think of saying. Words clogged up her throat and the word she uttered

was laced with so much en net

that even Jack could feel it. Suddenly, she felt a tenderness towards the guy lying down on the bed. A tenderness she had never felt towards anyone except her mother.

She had learned to bottle up her emotions these last few years. All thanks to Ben, he had taught her that, as he inflicted bruises on her.

"I'm sorry" She whispered. She didn't know what she was sorry for exactly, the man lying down or her pitiful life.