It was at this time of the night that my exhaustion really hit me full force. I stood still for a second, leaning against a tiled wall in the kitchen with my head in my hand. 

Headaches were pretty common for me when I worked at the restaurant. I had to hold two jobs when I nannied the previous kid. It wasn’t a live-in position, so during the day I was there watching the girl, and at night I came over to the sports bar and grill for my waiter job. It left little time for sleep, and the pheromones that littered the place made my head spin after hardly getting through half the shift.

“Alek, what are you doing? It’s not your break, yet. Get back to it!” Barked the manager, which did nothing to ease the pain throbbing through my skull. 

“Yes, sir.” I rushed back out to the floor and endured another hour of harassment from the patrons. Being an omega working as a waiter in a place that served alcohol never mixed well together. 

Once my break came around, I rested my head on the table in the back room and just let my muscles unclench and relax. I never knew how tense I was until I finally let myself breathe.

Thank God my phone went off right before I was passed out—the manager wouldn’t have appreciated that very much. 

Sighing, I reached into the back pocket of my jeans for my phone that was buzzing and ringing like crazy. 

Probably just another spam call. I thought to myself as I checked the caller ID. 

It just read “unknown caller” so I tapped the green button. 

“Hello?” 

“Yes, hello. Is Aleksander Atwood present?” At the familiar voice, I straightened up and swallowed down my nerves. 

“Yes, this is him.” I heard tapping and looked down to see my own fingers hitting the table over and over again. 

“Ah, Mr. Atwood! It’s lovely to hear your voice again. It’s Carly Madden. I got your background check in and everything’s good for you to start the job. Of course, I’d like you to meet my son to make sure you two get along well. When would be a good time for you?” 

My jaw was practically on the floor. I got the job?!

Fumbling, I stuttered, “Um, whenever works best for you!” 

“Perfect! What time would you be able to come in tomorrow?” 

“As soon as I get off work, which is around six in the morning.” 

“Alright, so how about 8:00? That should give you plenty of time to get here! I’ll send you our address in a bit. Thank you, Mr. Atwood and I look forward to seeing you again.” 

“You as well. Goodbye.” I hung up quickly, hardly taking in what she said. Address? I’m going to her house?

Before I let myself freak out, I got up and headed back to work. 

Six o’clock came around faster than usual, but something told me it was just because of how nervous I felt. I didn’t want to mess up and give Mrs. Madden a reason to reconsider. 

After I reached my apartment, I took the liberty to find something professional, but comfortable, to throw on. I decided on a beige crew neck with a white dress shirt underneath, popping the collar to show out the top of my sweater. Finally, I found a pair of black slacks and rushed out the door. 

I appreciated that Mrs. Madden tried to give me some extra time, but after I looked up the address, it was a hefty drive so I still had to rush. 

At some point, I began to drive past bigger and bigger houses as the road went on. There was one house I adored, it was on the smaller side of rich, but it had blue accents on the home and it almost gave off cottage core vibes. I loved it and played a little in my head with the idea of living there with a mate and a child. 

I was more stereotypical with my dreams, I would have loved to be a stay at home father but I doubted that would happen. The only people that showed interest in me were drunk assholes, so I’d rather just stay by myself. 

“Addiston Drive? No. Addistion Drive? No. Addiston- Ah yes, here it is.” I muttered to myself, finally finding the street and turning left onto it. The house was close to the street sign so I didn’t have to drive much further. 

Just as I suspected, the house was something to behold. A beautiful big home with black shutters and a black roof, and a soft brown colored siding with baskets full of flowers in front of every window. It was beautiful. 

Cutting the engine, I took a deep breath and pulled down my visor to do a quick face and hair check. Ruffling up my brown hair to give it more volume, I quickly shut the visor and began grabbing my things. 

Even the walkway to their home looked luxurious. With flower beds surrounding the path made of stone, it really felt like I was walking through a secret fairy garden or some shit. It was amazing but made me sick at the same time because I would never be able to afford landscaping like this. 

“Okay, Alek. Be cool, be cool.” I shook out the nerves and rang the doorbell. 

I wasn’t expecting a tiny child to open the door, but I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. 

“Well, hello there. And what’s your name?” I asked, bending down to his level. 

“Rin. Rin Madden. What about you? And whatcha doing at my house?” I giggled. Oh my God he’s so cute! 

“Well, I’m here to meet you, Rin! My name’s Aleksander Atwood, but you can call me Alek.” 

“Hmmm, well I guess you can come in.” Rin responded, his little head tilted to the side as he scratched his chin, as if thinking about whether that was a good decision or not. 

“Oh, Mr. Atwood! You’re here! And I see you’ve already met Rin. Please, come in.” The sound of Mrs. Madden’s voice shocked me back to a tensed stance. She creeped up on us from behind the front door. 

“Oh, yes. Thank you.” 

Stepping inside, I could see the same color schemes as her office had, indicating she hired the same decorators for her living space as well. But, there were still some personal add-ins sprinkled around the place. The first thing I saw was the living room with comfy white sofas, a love seat, and a recliner. The rug was a pretty shade of blue and a glass coffee table filled with colored pencils and printer paper sat on top of it. What looked to be a couch cushion sat in front of the little table and I soon found out why as Rin scrambled over and sat down on the pillow. 

I smiled and held back a laugh as Mrs. Madden raised her brow in response to her child. I could already see how cute their dynamic was. 

“Alright, Aleksander—is it okay if I call you that?” 

Vigorously nodding, I replied “Of course! You can call me Alek if you’d like.”

“Oh, that would be lovely! Here, have a seat. Would you like anything? Water, tea, soda, coffee, wine? Oh, perhaps not wine. . .” Mrs. Madden scratched her chin, the same way Rin had earlier, and I couldn’t hold back my giggle. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but I’ve only been here a total of two minutes tops and I have already witnessed similarities between you and Rin. Your son is absolutely adorable.” I explained myself, smiling behind my hand. 

“Oh, aren’t you just darling. Thank you, that means a lot. Most people say Rin resembles his father more.” 

A flush rose up my face and I scratched the back of my neck. 

“I mean, I haven’t met his father yet, but regardless, I already see you in him. Not only does he have your freckles, but some of his mannerisms as well.” 

“I suppose you’re right. His hair and eyes are from Rowan for sure, but I didn’t think about his freckles.” 

Rin lifted his head up and looked back and forth between his mother and I, “When’s Daddy coming back?”

“Oh, yes. Sweetie, your father is on a business trip. He’ll be back next week.” 

“Okay.” And then he got back to drawing. 

“Alright, Alek. I just wanted to give you the rundown on some things before your first day, if you accept the position?” When Mrs. Madden stopped talking, I looked back up at her and realized she asked a question. 

“Of course! I’d be honored! I can hardly believe I’m here right now.” I smiled genuinely. I was already so excited to get back to nannying. Especially for Rin, I’d only spent a few short minutes with him but I already felt inclined to protect him. 

“Brilliant! In that case, I’ll just go over some things with you regarding what to expect from this position. . .”

A/N: What do we think so far? Isn't Rin adorable?

You can read chapter 3 now on Patreon and Ko-Fi for just 2 USD a month!<3 link in description below;)

QOTD: What was your first ever job? Did you like it? My answer is Buffalo Wild Wings and it was respectfully awful xD

-Eli