“I’ll be on standby to fly to Nassau. Kevin, I’m your right-hand man.”
“Yes, yes. I know. You’ll never let me forget that you’re the reason I’m a billionaire. Got it.”
“All I’m saying is I’m on standby for shit like this. I even have a damn bag packed in my trunk for all sorts of weather conditions. If you can’t get the kids taken care of, you call me and I’m on the next flight out to handle the pitch.”
“Thanks, Owen. I owe you.”
“Nope. You made me rich. We’re even on that front.”
I chuckled and shook my head as I heard my kids beginning to stir.
“Gotta go. The little devils are up.”
“Good luck,” Owen said.
I hung up as my kids stumbled into the kitchen. They climbed up into their seats as I began to pull things out for breakfast. I scrambled eggs with cheese and poured some milk to perk them right up, then I could talk to them.
Even if they weren’t disappointed in my working, I still didn’t have a babysitter. And I wasn’t going to put them in the hands of just anyone. I knew it would be weird territory, but I started wondering if Brooke would watch them again. I knew she was struggling to write and giving her more time on the island might prove fruitful in her venture. I trusted her with my kids and they really seemed to have taken a liking to her. She could find more inspiration and I would offer to pay her well. Maybe I could convince her to help me out if I pitched it as a mutual benefit.
“Hey kids, could I talk to you about something?”
“Okay,” Sydney said.
“Sure,” Daniel said.
“I know that Daddy promised that I wouldn’t do any work while we are on vacation, and I don’t like going back on my promises. But something has come up that would really help Daddy’s company and I need to do just a little bit of work while we’re here. Do you think you guys could help me?”
“You need help?” Sydney asked.
“We can help,” Daniel said.
I shook my head as a grin spread across my face. My kids were simply amazing.
“I’m on vacation with two very special people and I don’t want to ruin it. But if I turn down this person who wants to buy a lot of my stuff, I might not get another chance,” I said.
“Do we have to go home?” Daniel asked, his lower lip starting to tremble.
“That depends. If my two very special people don’t want me to work, then we go home at the end of the week. But, if it’s okay for Daddy to work some, then we won’t go home until the end of next week.”
“We stay longer?” Sydney asked.
“More water sliding?” Daniel asked.
“And I might be able to convince Miss Brooke to come over and play more,” I said.
“Yeah! Daddy, you can work,” Daniel said.
“We wanna play with Miss Brooke,” Sydney agreed.
I smiled as I kissed the tops of their hands.
“Then I’ll call her and see what she’s up to,” I said.
My heart felt so much lighter after talking with my kids. They were amazingly understanding for four-year-olds. I got up from the table so they could eat their eggs and I went into my bedroom. I picked up my phone and dialed Brooke’s number, hoping I wasn’t calling her too early.
“Hello?”
“Hello there,” I said with a grin.