Two days later, Elaine Martin, joined them in Bermuda from the U.S. She was the middle-aged, highly-recommended nanny that Vanessa had chosen for Zoe.
Both Derek and Rachel had interviewed Elaine over Skype the day before and they were relieved when she’d said she was ready to travel right away to resume work.
When the woman arrived, Rachel was instantly taken with the nanny’s warm nature and friendliness. It was even more satisfying to see that Zoe liked her too.
She and Derek spent the first few hours of Elaine’s arrival bringing her up to speed with Zoe’s routines and their expectations going forward. Once all of that was sorted out, the nanny was shown to her room in the villa to settle in and join the family for dinner later on.
Derek had hired a team of caterers led by a renowned chef in town to prepare their meal for the evening. He was in the mood for some fine dining but he didn’t feel like going out, so he decided to bring the experience to the villa instead.
“I think I should resume creating content for my YouTube channel,” said Rachel. She and Derek were sitting in the gazebo outside while Zoe drove around in her automatic car nearby.
“I thought we were on vacation,” Derek countered.
“Yeah, and that’s why being here is a perfect opportunity for me to create loads of content for my channel. I do a bit of travel vlogging too, you know.”
Derek sighed. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Have you forgotten that there’s a legion of paparazzi scampering about in the U.S. trying to figure out where we are right now. Filming a video and uploading it is like giving them a map to locate us. Why would you want to do that?”
His tone annoyed her. “I’m not stupid, Derek. I said I wanted to film, I never said anything about uploading them to the channel.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, as long as Zoe doesn’t feature in any of the videos.”
“Since when did you become Zoe’s custodian? If I remember correctly, she has been perfectly safe before you showed up in our lives,” she said icily.
Derek didn’t like where this conversation was going so he changed tactics. “I am not trying to question your judgment, Rachel. You are a great mom but you need to understand that our family dynamics have changed and we need to do everything we can to protect Zoe from public scrutiny.
“You wanted her to have what you called a ‘normal life’, but how normal will her life be now that the world knows that she’s my daughter? The best way to protect her from internet trolls is to keep her away from their reach.”
Her raging temper simmered down after his little speech. She didn’t know why she became defensive whenever Derek tried to be protective of Zoe.
Probably because she felt as if he was implying that she couldn’t handle the task of keeping her daughter safe without his help, but that wasn’t right. He was just being a father and she’d nearly bitten his head off for responding to his paternal instincts.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to go off on you like that.”
“I’m sorry too. I think I didn’t do a good job of explaining myself properly the first time. I think I need to work on my communication skills.”
She chuckled.
“Dinner is served,” the chef announced as he came to join them at the gazebo.
“Ooh, Bon Appetit!” Rachel squealed and clapped her hands gleefully. “Let’s go!”
Elaine showed up just in time to take Zoe inside the house with them. When they got to the dining room, everyone except Zoe and the chef oohed and aahed at the sight of the fabulous table that was lined with an array of gourmet dishes.
“I can’t wait to taste these,” said Rachel excitedly.
“And I cannot wait to hear your feedback,” replied the chef. “Enjoy.”
They all sat down to eat and Elaine was tasked with feeding Zoe. It was the first time in over a year that Rachel wasn’t solely responsible for feeding her daughter, except for the times that Derek had stepped in to do it, and she felt somewhat relieved.
“Oh my gosh, this tastes amazing,” she gushed as she feasted on her Coq au vin.
“I’m glad you like it,” Derek smiled. He loved to watch her eat because she always did justice to any plate of food presented to her and he liked that about her.
When dessert arrived, Rachel wasn’t sure that it would be a good idea to participate in eating it because she was stuffed.
“If I eat another morsel of food, I might explode,” she laughed.
“Please, don’t tell me that you’re going take even a bite of this insanely delicious chocolate souffle?” Derek teased her.
“Stop it, Derek,” she laughed. “I really shouldn’t eat anymore. I feel like a stuffed whale already.”
“Come on, take a bite,” he insisted. “Vacation calories don’t count.”
“You are a bad influence on me, Mr. Derek Fraser,” she said, even as she picked up her dessert fork and took a small slice of the souffle. “Oh, God! That is so good!”
He laughed. “Told ya!”
“I’ll take Zoe inside for her bath now,” Elaine informed them. Poor Zoe was fully fed and nodding off already.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll handle that,” said Rachel, getting to her feet.
“Rachel darling, please let the woman do her job,” said Derek with a smile. “This is one of the reasons we hired her, remember?”
“Ah… yes, yes, of course,” she said, slightly embarrassed. “Go ahead, Elaine. Let me know if you need anything while you’re at it.”
“You’ll get used to it. Just give yourself some time,” said Derek after Elaine had left with Zoe.
Rachel sighed. “I should be grateful for the help but it feels odd. I’m used to doing everything for and with Zoe, so this sort of feels weird, you know.”
“Yes, I know. And having a nanny doesn’t make you a bad mom. Everyone needs help, including moms.”
She smiled. “Thanks for that cute pep talk. I truly needed that.”
“You’re welcome,” he smiled. “So, now that we have someone to look after Zoe for us, what do you say about us hanging out together like a regular couple. We’ve never really gone on a date together before, have we?”
“That’s true. What do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking maybe a boat cruise? Or we could charter a yacht and take a trip across the marina to one of the island resorts.”
“Well, that sounds classy,” she said excitedly. “I’ve never been on any kind of cruise before.”
“There’s a first time for everything, my dear. We could spend the whole day there.”
“The whole day? What about Zoe?”
“She will be fine. Shane will be here with Zoe and we could double the security and let Ed stay with them too. We’ll video call Elaine every hour to see how Zoe is doing.”
“I don’t mean to sound paranoid but I don’t know how I feel about leaving her in the care of strangers.”
Derek sighed. “All right then, we’ll take all of them with us on the cruise.”
She heard the disappointment in his voice and she felt silly for worrying so much. These people have excellent track records and they’d all worked with Derek for years, except Elaine.
If he trusted them with Zoe’s safety, then she needed to do the same because he wouldn’t leave his daughter with people he wasn’t sure about.
“No, we’ll go alone,” she said quickly. “We both need a proper adult outing.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, his smile returning. “Now that that’s settled, I suggest we retire and get some rest. I suspect tomorrow’s going to be a loaded day.”
********
They decided to have an early start because they wanted to have a proper tourist experience before they jet off to their next destination within the following 48 hours.
Their time in Bermuda was gradually coming to an end and they’d not had the opportunity to explore the place as they should.
Fortunately, Zoe was in a lively mood that morning when they went to her room to say goodbye to her. She was watching Telly Tubbies on the TV with Elaine and she was more than happy to stay back at home with her nanny. Her daughter’s jolly mood absolved Rachel’s mom guilt about leaving her in the house.
At Derek’s insistence, Shane and Frank remained in the villa with Zoe and Elaine, while Ed and Mark joined them for their outing. The drive to the harbor was a smooth one; they all chatted in the vehicle, reminiscing about their dramatic escape from Atlanta over two weeks ago.
When they arrived at their destination, the yacht that Derek had pre-booked was waiting for them at the dock. It was a sleek white one named Catalina and looked quite exotic.
“She’s beautiful,” said Rachel as they climbed on board.
To her surprise, Ed took up the helm, ready to steer the yacht with Mark beside him as his assistant.
“Wait, does Ed know how to drive this thing?” She asked in amazement.
“There are so many things that Ed can do that you are not aware of,” said Derek, amused by her surprise.
“Wow, what an eye-opener,” she laughed.
The cruise began and Derek took the liberty of serving her champagne from the bottle that has been cooling inside an ice bucket before their arrival.
“This is the life,” she breathed and reclined on the deck where she and Derek were relaxing. “I feel as if I am dreaming.”
“I hope it’s a good dream, though?” He asked.
“Yes, it is. Thank you for this experience, Derek. This has been really nice.”
He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “You’re welcome.”
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the island resort of Rosewood Bermuda. A guide from the resort came to the dock to welcome them and take them to their suite for the day.
After getting acquainted with their lavish spot in the resort, they went to the restaurant for brunch, accompanied by their bodyguards who got a table near them.
“This place is fabulous,” Rachel giggled. She was like a little girl in a candy store.
“I’m happy you like it,” said Derek with an indulgent smile. “Where do you think we should explore after we’re done with our meal?”
“Oh, I don’t know… maybe we could take a stroll to one of those fancy boutiques we spotted on our way here.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Their brunch meals consisted of cottage cheese pancakes, strawberry parfaits, shaved vegetable salads, jugs of freshly squeezed fruit juice, and coffee.
They ate in companionable silence, admiring the seafront view from the restaurant. When they were done eating, they walked hand-in-hand to the boutique for some shopping.
Rachel had been to a designer store before in New York and had only managed to walk out with one dress that nearly cost half of her savings. Today, she wasn’t going to worry about the cost of anything, in fact, she made up her mind not to look at the price tags. She would just pick out the things she liked and let Derek worry about the price.
Everything looked so pretty that she felt like buying them all but she settled for an emerald-colored silk evening dress, a leopard print jumpsuit with one sleeve, a red mini dress with a full skirt that looked like a tutu, and a wide-brimmed straw hat that was perfect for sitting in the sun.
“You only want these?” Derek asked her.
“Yeah, I don’t want to bankrupt you,” she laughed.
He chuckled. “Don’t be silly. There’s this black sexy leotard I spotted in the back that I was hoping you’d pick. I’ll go and get it for you.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me if I want it or not?”
“Trust me, when you see it, you’re going to like it,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
He ran off to grab the attire and when he returned, Rachel burst out laughing. “Now, I see why you liked it, you dirty perv.”
The leotard was a cut-out piece with multiple holes in it, and it looked like a V-shaped net. Nothing would be left to the imagination if she wore this thing.
“This is what you’ll be rocking when we get back to the resort,” he informed her. “We are going to send Ed and Mark to the pool to relax while you and I figure out how to get you in and out of this thing.”
“You’re being a naughty boy, Derek,” she laughed. “And I like it.”
He paid for their purchase and they left the boutique to return to their suite. On their way, they passed by a flower shop and Derek offered to buy Rachel a bouquet of purple orchids.
“Yes, I’d like that very much,” she said happily and he walked off to get them, leaving her with the bodyguards.
“Hey, it’s you again!”
Rachel looked in the direction of the voice and was surprised to see the woman from the beach. She was wearing a short sun dress that displayed her slender body in all its curvy glory, while her bright orange-red hair glistened and flowed about her shoulders.
Up close, Rachel noticed that the woman was quite stunning even with her minimal makeup and she was not as old as she’d looked the other day at the beach.
“Hi,” Rachel greeted her. “I’m quite surprised to run into you again,” she said candidly. What were the chances of running into the same stranger twice and at different locations? Was this just a coincidence or was the woman stalking her? That just didn’t make sense, did it?
“It’s a small world, my dear,” said the woman. “Where is your daughter?”
Rachel didn’t know how much information she should give this strange woman about the whereabouts of her child, so she decided to get away from her. She took a step back and bumped into Mark.
“Is this lady bothering you?” He asked her gruffly in his menacing bodyguard voice.
The woman instinctively took a step back, looking alarmed by Mark’s tone. “I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable,” she said. “I was just being friendly.”
“What the – “
Rachel turned when she heard Derek’s voice but she was confused when she saw how his face had gone deathly white and his eyes looked dazed.
The pretty bouquet slipped from his grip and landed on the ground in a burst of color, oozing a sweet fragrance. She traced his gaze and realized that he was staring at the other woman.
“Derek, are you ok?” She asked but he remained silent and immobile.
“Boss, are you ok?” Mark asked, coming to stand beside him.
“You…” Derek whispered, his eyes still on the woman who was now looking like a deer caught in headlights.
“What is going on here?” Rachel asked. “Derek, do you know this woman?”
He shook his head slowly and said, “No, I don’t know her.”
At that point, the woman began to cry. “Yes, you do, Derek. You know me, you recognize me. You know you do.”
“No,” Derek repeated, still shaking his head.
“Yes, Derek. Yes, it’s me. I am your mother.”