Perfect Grump (Bad Chicago Bosses)

Is she visiting? Even disheveled and clutching a preschooler, Granny Bea is someone I wouldn’t mind talking to right now...

I rush to her office and knock on the door, dragging Millie along.

Heavy footsteps. The door pops open a second later, revealing half of a handsome face with one keen emerald-green eye perched above a chiseled jaw. He shoves it the rest of the way open.

“Welcome back. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” He steps aside so I can enter.

When I look past him, registering the room, I’m lost.

“Holy crap,” I mutter. Granny Bea’s office has undergone a total transformation.

A pink and purple loft bed hangs above Beatrice’s antique, hand-crafted desk. A plastic chain dangles from the ceiling with plush stuffed animals hanging on it like fruits.

“Uni-corn!” Millie shrieks, shooting across the room. She fights with a baby-pale blue clothespin to release a lavender unicorn.

Nick laughs, moves to the stuffie chain, and squeezes the end of the clothespin together. The big toy hits the floor.

“Millie, come here. Don’t touch that. It’s not ours!” I try hopelessly.

Millie scoops it up, holds it out, and hugs it close to her chest with a warm smile. “I love you.”

“It’s hers,” Nick says, standing next to me with a proud look.

“What?” I meet his gaze.

“It’s for Millie, Reese. All of it.”

“What?”

What the actual hell? When I knocked on Bea’s door, I thought maybe she was back. I never expected to find Nick flipping Brandt managing a playroom. Why?

“Come on, have a seat.”

Right. I’m still halfway in the doorway. I step inside, shutting the door behind me. It even smells like a candy store in here, as bright as the makeshift toys and kids’ furniture that looks like it belongs here.

He crosses the room so we’re now toe to toe. “No need to thank me. I’m guessing if you found a babysitter, you wouldn’t be here with Millie.”

“Well, you’re right. I came to work out what to do about tomorrow because...my hands are pretty full. I’m sorry. I’m a little shocked you took over her entire office.”

“Grandma’s been out for a while. Touring conservatories she’s raising money for, that’s her latest thing. She hasn’t been back for more than a quick hello to boost morale for months,” he says.

I can’t believe how calm he is.

I can’t believe he did this.

I cannot freaking believe he thinks this is okay.

“I went to your office first. I was going to leave when you weren’t there, but I saw a shadow in here and thought maybe Beatrice was around,” I say, unsure how to even start freaking out about this...day care? Is that what this is?

“You came to me? We’re making progress,” he says with his usual devil’s smirk.

I actually crack a smile.

“Bossman, who else would I go to about this?”

He shrugs. “Most people go to Ward and then HR. Employees only come to me when no one else is around.”

“Ward scares me and Susan is so—” What’s the word? “Nice, but by the book.”

He grins. Not his usual master of the universe expression, it’s fast and almost vulnerable. Blink, and you’d miss it.

“Thanks. Nice knowing someone trusts me around here,” he says.

I don’t know how to respond to that.

I trust him more today than I did last week, certainly, but he’s also made some epic mistakes.

He’s still easier to talk to than Ward or HR right now. He knows my situation, and he hasn’t been subtle about coming to my rescue.

“Well, back to the reason I’m here. I won’t be in tomorrow and I thought you should know,” I tell him, rubbing my folded arms.

“If you had childcare, would you keep driving?” He cocks his head, staring me down.

“Oh, of course. I never took an unplanned day off before at this job.” I don’t remind him how much driving relaxes me or how much it helps when I’m stressed to overload.

He nods, surveying the room, his eyes stopping at Millie, who’s still on the floor with her unicorn.

“I set all this up for you. It’ll be ready for the nanny tomorrow, bright and early. She’ll be available on an as-needed basis,” he tells me.

“The what—”

“Nanny. As delightful as the kiddo is, I can’t watch her myself with Brandt Dreams kicking off.” He gives me that stern look, as if he’s schooling me on something obvious.

“I heard you. But this is kinda ridiculous...even if you’re trying to be nice. It’s way too much and I can’t possibly—”

“Reese. This isn’t my guilt trip talking. This is karma.” He rolls his shoulders like he needs to limber up for his next sentence. “Remember what happened to Grandma last year? You drove us all over hell and back while she was in the hospital. You even helped take the weight off Paige’s shoulders a few times. Consider it payback. I mentioned it to Ward, and even he doesn’t have a problem with it.”