Page 1 of My Demon Manny (Demon Debacles #2)

Calux

I loved babies.

Not in the weird demonic 'I want to eat them' way—though I was a demon, no demon had ever eaten a human baby...that I knew of—but in an 'awww, they're so cute; I just wanna hold them and cuddle them all day' way.

The only problem was, as a demon who'd lived in the demon realm until just a few short months ago, it was practically impossible for me to find a baby to cuddle with.

It wasn't like I could just walk up to a human parent and ask to hold their baby. That would be bad . "Call upon me the wrath of the King of Otherworld" bad.

So, I'd started looking for alternatives, and that was when I discovered something life-changing.

There was a job out there where I'd get paid to take care of a baby all day long. All I had to do was finish a twenty-hour course, get my certification, and then apply to a few agencies that connected parents with nannies.

I'd done all of it. I'd had to magic up some papers that said I went to high school and I had my GED, but I actually did the course that taught you how to take care of babies. If I was going to be responsible for helping raise a baby, I wanted to know exactly how to do it right.

I didn't know where exactly my fascination with human babies had started. Maybe it was because I didn't remember the time I was human, much less my childhood. I'd just woken up one day and known I was a demon, with no idea what or who I'd been before then.

Maybe I just found it interesting that sweet, innocent babies grew up to be such fascinating individuals. I wanted to know if how a baby was raised changed the type of person they'd grow up to be. Was it possible that a person who did the worst kinds of evils would change completely if they'd had a different childhood?

Of course, there was no true way to test it...until Hitler's soul was reincarnated, I supposed. It was still in the Burning Chasm, nicely being burned to a crisp until it was purified of all its darkness.

Shaking my head, I placed my phone on the coffee table and stood up, heading into my small kitchen. The apartment I lived in was small, cozy, and exactly what I needed. It was painted in warm colors, and I'd filled it with as many soft and colorful things as I could.

Since I'd checked the live-in nanny box when I applied, there was a possibility I'd have to move out for a while if I was hired, but until then, I was happy living in this place, even though it was much smaller than my chambers in the demon realm.

When I first came to the human world, I'd thought I would miss the demon realm. I'd thought I'd miss my bed, my many silk pillows, and the demon hound, Hella. But surprisingly, I didn't. Okay, well, I missed Hella a bit, but it wasn't like she didn't visit. She preferred to stay with Azazel, since he had a human summoner who gave her a lot of cuddles and treats, but she also stayed with me a lot, so I didn't mind too much.

We hadn't just come to the human world on vacation, though. No, we were on a mission, on standby until something needed our attention.

A few bad souls had escaped the Burning Chasm, and they'd taken a demon with them. Though Mammon—one of the oldest demons currently in existence—had gone willingly, we still needed to get him and those souls back before they created havoc in the human world. They were lying low for now, but we were all on high alert for the moment they started acting.

I didn't know when that would happen, but I wasn't going to just sit around and wait for it. Until something occurred, I was going to live this life we'd been given, and enjoy every moment of being in the human world.

My kettle beeped, and I hopped over to it, pouring the water in a cup and dunking in a tea bag. Emptying a packet of cookies on a plate, I carried them both back to the living room and placed them on the coffee table before switching on the TV.

Humans were such fascinating creatures, and I loved watching the shows they created. They had such creativity, and such a vivid imagination. Somehow, without ever knowing the truth, they'd created their own versions of the realms. They called Afterworld 'Heaven' and the Burning Chasm (or rather its old—now destroyed—counterpart, the Underworld) 'Hell.'

What irked me was that they thought demons were evil creatures who lived in this hell, which was, quite frankly, a bit offensive. I supposed they couldn't always get it right, or mostly right. Still, knowing most of the human-kind thought we were evil when we'd once been humans ourselves wasn't fun.

As I was watching a show that focused more on drama between married couples than anything else—was that truly how much human pairs argued?—my phone pinged, and I almost dropped my teacup in my rush to grab it.

There was an email waiting for me, and I clicked it open, crossing my fingers the way I'd seen a human do on TV when he was hoping for good news.

Calux, you have an interview!

A prospective parent saw your resumé and would like to meet you to see if you'd be the perfect fit for their little one. Below are the listed details. Please reply with a yes if you're interested, and you'll be sent the time and location of the interview .

"Yes!" I cheered, then quickly read the parent's details.

Single dad, looking for a live-in nanny.

Six months old baby boy.

Hitting reply, I sent back a yes, then placed the phone back on the table so I wouldn't keep refreshing it as I waited for a reply.

I had an interview! I was going to completely ace this thing, and then I was going to take the best care of that little boy. I'd put all the human nannies to shame with my nannying skills, just you wait.

Archer

I hadn't realized how difficult it was going to be to find a good nanny that still fit my particular criteria.

I'd spent the last six months in a bubble of new-dad glow, taking care of Gunner and just soaking in his presence. The minute his mom—a one-night stand I'd hooked up with on a business trip—had called me with the news, I'd been committed to him.

Maya was a law student in her final year, and she wanted to focus on her career, something I perfectly understood. I'd offered to take full custody of Gunner, and she'd agreed. It'd all been very amicable, and the moment I first held Gunner in my arms, I'd known I would do anything for him.

Finding the right nanny, though? That was kicking me in the butt.

I'd decided I wasn't going to hire a woman if she was anywhere close to my age. I had a feeling that if I saw a woman taking good care of Gunner, I might start developing feelings for her, and that...wasn't good. Right now, all I had space in my life for was work and Gunner. There was no place for a relationship in my life, and I wasn't going to do anything that put my singlehood at risk.

So, all the young-ish women were out, which left me with two middle-aged women and three men.

Since I'd be working every weekday, I wanted to hire someone who'd stay at my place and help me take care of Gunner even when I was home, because I'd need some time to sleep. I needed a live-in nanny, and I was willing to pay whatever it took. Only the best for my kid.

The two women didn't offer live-in services, since they both had families of their own. Same with one of the men. Which left me with two men. Their resumés were open on my computer side by side, and I was having a hard time picking one of them.

While Rupert, a man in his early twenties, had a lot of references, he'd scored just above average on the test the agency took to qualify their nannies. The other nanny, Calux, a man in his mid-twenties, was a new hire, but he'd scored 100 percent on the test. It was a tough decision of practical experience versus learned knowledge, and I wasn't sure which one would be the better choice.

A soft cry caught my ears, and my eyes flicked to the baby monitor. Leaving my desk, I made my way to the living room crib, where I'd put Gunner down for a nap. He peered up at me with blue eyes very much like his mom's, and I smiled as I picked him up, cradling him in my arms.

"Hey, there, little one. How about you help me pick, hmm? After all, you'll be spending the most time with whoever I choose."

I had two weeks of vacation left, and I wanted to make sure I had a good nanny as soon as possible so I could observe them work and make sure they're the right choice for my baby.

Carrying Gunner to the desk, I settled in my chair with him cradled against my chest.

Gunner glanced from me to the desktop screen, then waved his hands. Between one moment and the next, he had a grip on the mouse wire, and he tugged it off the desk, making me scramble to catch it.

I grabbed it, the buttons going click-click as I tried to keep it from falling, and when I'd returned it to the desk and slowly pulled the wire out of Gunner's grip, I glanced up at the screen and sighed.

Only one profile lay open now, twenty-five-year-old newbie nanny Calux's.

"I guess you made your choice," I said, smiling down at Gunner and then pressing a kiss to his nose. He babbled up at me, as if assuring me that Calux was the right one.

Some people might think I was dumb for taking that as a sign, but I didn't care. It wasn't like I was going to outright hire him. No, I'd call him over for an interview, and only after I'd evaluated him properly would I make a decision.

Typing with one hand, I emailed back the agency, telling them I'd like to meet with Calux, and giving them the basic information they needed.

As the email was sent, I turned my attention back to Gunner, rocking him gently as I gazed down at his chubby face. His eyes sparkled as he watched me, his arms upraised and his hands opening and closing again and again like crab claws. I knew better than to lean closer. The last time I'd done it, he'd almost ripped out half my beard. I'd ended up trimming it a little shorter the very next day so he couldn't grab it as tightly. Baby grip was no joke.

"What do you think, Gunner? Will Calux be your perfect nanny? He's never done this before. What if he sees one of your explosive diapers and freaks out?" I asked, raising a brow at the little dude, and he broke into giggles, like he could understand exactly what I was saying. I liked to think he could.

"Okay, how about a little snack for you and then I'll tell you a story, hmm?" I asked, turning off my computer as I stood up, holding Gunner close. I was going to miss this when I went back to work, but hopefully, the nanny I hired would take just as good care of my baby as I did.

Whether that nanny would be this Calux or not remained to be seen.