Updated Feb 23, 2026 • ~8 min read
POV: Dominic
Dominic spends all night thinking about how to solve an impossible problem.
The problem: He’s in love with his son’s nanny.
The complications: Power dynamic, social judgment, his mother’s threats, Valencia’s career, Jules’s stability, literally everything.
Traditional solutions: None that work.
He could stop being her employer—but she’d lose income and stability.
He could wait until she quits—but that’s years away and passive.
He could ignore his feelings—tried that, failed spectacularly.
He could date her secretly—but secrets always come out and hurt more when they do.
Around 3 AM, Ethan’s words come back to him: “You solve impossible problems for a living. Solve this one.”
Dominic built a tech empire by finding unconventional solutions to problems everyone said were unsolvable.
Why should this be different?
The core issue isn’t that he loves Valencia.
The core issue is that society—his mother specifically—will judge them for the class difference and employee relationship.
So what if he removes society’s ability to judge?
What if instead of hiding or waiting or pretending, he controls the narrative?
What if they dated publicly?
Not secretly.
Not shamefully.
PUBLICLY.
Let society see them together.
Let them get used to the idea gradually.
Make it seem natural, progressive, inevitable.
Take the scandal out of it by normalizing it before it’s even “real.”
And then when they do go public with actual feelings—when it stops being fake and becomes real—society’s already accepted them.
His mother can’t gossip about what everyone already knows.
Can’t create scandal around a relationship people have watched develop naturally.
Can’t threaten Valencia’s reputation when Valencia is publicly dating one of New York’s most eligible billionaires.
It’s crazy.
It’s unconventional.
It’s exactly the kind of solution that might actually work.
Dominic waits until morning to talk to Valencia.
Finds her in the kitchen making breakfast, Jules chattering beside her about the dream he had where dinosaurs learned to fly.
“Morning,” Dominic says.
“Morning! Daddy, did you know pterodactyls aren’t actually dinosaurs? Val told me! They’re flying REPTILES!”
“That’s fascinating, buddy.”
Valencia catches his eye, raises an eyebrow. “You look like you didn’t sleep.”
“Didn’t. Was thinking.”
“About?”
“Us. The situation. How to solve it.”
Valencia’s expression shifts—careful, guarded. “Dominic—”
“After breakfast. We need to talk. Privately.”
Jules picks up on the tension immediately. “Are you fighting?”
“No, buddy,” Valencia assures him. “Just adult conversation. Want chocolate chips in your pancakes?”
“YES! With bananas! And syrup! ALL the syrup!”
Breakfast happens in relative normal chaos—Jules’s enthusiastic consumption of sugar, Valencia’s patient reminders about using utensils not hands, Dominic drinking coffee and mentally rehearsing his pitch.
After breakfast, Valencia takes Jules to his room for morning reading time, then returns to the kitchen where Dominic’s waiting.
“Okay,” Valencia says, sitting across from him. “What’s this about?”
“I have an idea. For how to make this work. Us.”
“Dominic, we talked about this—”
“Just hear me out. Please.”
Valencia nods slowly. “Okay. I’m listening.”
Dominic takes a breath. “What if we pretended to date?”
Silence.
Valencia stares at him. “What?”
“Publicly. We attend events together. Let society see us. Show up at galas, dinners, charity functions as a couple. Make it public, gradual, normal. Take the scandal out of it by controlling the narrative.”
“That’s insane.”
“Is it? My mother’s already accusing us of inappropriate feelings. Society will gossip regardless. What if we get ahead of it? Make it public on our terms before anyone can create scandal around it?”
“You want to fake date? That’s—that’s a romance novel plot.”
“So? If it works, it works.” Dominic leans forward. “Think about it. We start appearing together publicly. Society sees us at events. Gets used to the idea of us as a couple. My mother can’t gossip about what everyone already knows. Can’t threaten your reputation when you’re publicly dating me. And by the time we—if we—make it real, it won’t be shocking. It’ll just be the natural progression of something people watched develop.”
Valencia’s processing, he can see it.
“This is crazy,” she says again, but there’s less conviction this time.
“It’s strategic. We’re already being accused of something we haven’t done. Why not do it publicly, where we control how it’s perceived?”
“What about Jules?”
“We tell him the truth. That we’re pretending for public events but our real relationship is the same. He’s smart enough to understand.”
“What about your mother?”
“She’ll hate it. But she can’t stop it. And if we’re public, she can’t use it as blackmail or scandal. Everyone will already know.”
“What about my career?”
“What career? She’s already threatened to blacklist you. This way you’re protected. You’re Dominic St. Clair’s girlfriend, not some nanny she can fire. Big difference in social leverage.”
Valencia’s quiet for a long moment.
Then: “What are the rules?”
“Rules?”
“If we’re doing this—and I’m not saying we are—but IF, we need rules. Boundaries. What’s fake and what’s real.”
“Public appearances only,” Dominic suggests. “We attend events together. Act like a couple in public. But at home, we maintain current boundaries.”
“No real intimacy?”
“Not until we both decide we’re ready. This is about controlling the narrative, not complicating things further.”
“What happens when someone asks how we got together?”
“We tell the truth. I hired you as Jules’s nanny. We spent time together. Developed feelings. Decided to explore them. Simple, honest, not scandalous.”
“Your mother will say I manipulated you.”
“She’ll say that regardless. At least this way we’re together when she does.”
Valencia’s expression softens slightly. “You really think this could work?”
“I think it’s better than hiding or waiting or letting my mother control the narrative. And I think—” Dominic pauses. “I think we deserve a chance. Not a secret, shameful chance. A real, public, honest chance. Even if we have to start by pretending.”
“This is the most insane plan I’ve ever heard.”
“Is that a yes?”
Valencia’s quiet.
Dominic can see her weighing options, considering angles, doing the same risk-benefit analysis he did all night.
Finally: “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, let’s try it. But rules. Firm rules. Public appearances only. No pressure for real intimacy. Protection for Jules. And the second this gets too complicated or hurts anyone, we stop. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
They shake hands across the table.
Formal.
Business-like.
Completely at odds with the fact that they’re agreeing to fake date each other.
“When do we start?” Valencia asks.
“There’s a charity gala this weekend. Art museum fundraiser. Very public, very society. Perfect first appearance.”
“I don’t have anything appropriate to wear to a society gala.”
“We’ll fix that. I’ll have my stylist send options.”
“You have a stylist?”
“I’m a billionaire, Valencia. I have people for everything.”
She laughs—nervous, slightly hysterical. “This is insane. We’re really doing this?”
“We’re really doing this.”
“Your mother is going to lose her mind.”
“Good. She deserves to lose her mind after threatening you.”
“Society is going to judge.”
“Society always judges. At least this way we control what they’re judging.”
“And when people ask if it’s serious?”
“We tell them we’re seeing where it goes. Not too serious, not too casual. Just enough to be plausible.”
Valencia stands, paces. “Okay. Okay. Rules summary: Public events only. Maintain home boundaries. Protect Jules. Control the narrative. Exit strategy if it gets messy.”
“Exactly.”
“And this is really about controlling the narrative? Not just—wanting an excuse to be together?”
Dominic stands too, meets her eyes across the kitchen.
“It’s both,” he admits. “I want to control the narrative. And I want an excuse to be with you without hiding. Is that okay?”
Valencia’s expression softens completely. “Yeah. That’s okay. Because I want that too.”
They’re standing close again.
Like they always end up.
Like gravity keeps pulling them together.
But this time it’s different.
This time they have permission.
Permission to be together, even if it’s fake.
Permission to appear as a couple.
Permission to stop hiding.
“This is going to get complicated,” Valencia says quietly.
“It’s already complicated. This just makes it complicated with a plan.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“I’m sure that doing nothing means losing you eventually. And I’m not ready to lose you. So yes, I’m sure.”
Valencia nods. “Okay then. Let’s fake date.”
“Let’s fake date.”
They shake hands again.
This time both of them are smiling.
This is insane.
This is risky.
This is the most unconventional solution Dominic’s ever proposed.
But it’s better than hiding.
Better than waiting.
Better than letting his mother control their story.
And maybe—just maybe—pretending to date will lead to actually dating.
Maybe the fake becomes real.
Maybe this is how they get their happy ending.
By faking it until they make it.
Starting this weekend.
Starting with a very public gala appearance.
Starting with showing New York society that Dominic St. Clair is dating his son’s nanny.
And daring anyone to judge them for it.
This is going to be interesting.
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