Suspicion washed over him as he demanded, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going home.”
A feeling he didn’t want to describe as “panic” washed over him. He glanced down at the baby monitor in his hand as if it were a live grenade. “You can’t leave.”
“Sure I can.” She gave him a smile that punched at his insides. “Don’t worry, thanks to that bonus, I’m staying for an extra month, remember? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He threw a quick look at the stairs behind him. There was a baby on the second floor and if Sadie left, he was the only one here to take care of it. Her.
Unacceptable.
How had this happened to him? He, who so carefully regimented the world around him. This morning, his life had been just as he wanted it. A successful business, an efficient assistant, no bumps or twists on a road that lay before him, straight and narrow. And now...everything was a tangled mess and damned if he’d suffer through this alone. “Stay.”
“I am.”
“No,” he said tightly, knowing she was referring to staying on at the office, and helping him find a damn nanny. He meant so much more. “Stay here. At the house.”
A flash of something interesting darted across her eyes and was gone again in a blink. “You want me to stay the night?”
“No,” he corrected, making sure she understood. “I want you to stay here at the house with me. Help me with that baby until I find a damn nanny or hire a housekeeper who isn’t allergic to children.”
She laughed a little and shook her head hard enough to send those loose blond curls into a dance around her head. “Not a chance.”
Her laughter was both erotic and extremely annoying. Sadie was about to walk out that door, leaving him alone in the house with a child. Cowardly or not, Ethan had no problem acknowledging that he did not want to be alone with that baby.
Earlier that day, he’d given Sadie a lot of money to get her to stay an extra month. Maybe all he really needed to do here was offer even more. Hell, money was easy for him—asking for help wasn’t.
“I’ll pay you fifty thousand dollars extra to move in here temporarily.”
“What?” She stared at him.
“You heard me.” At least he had her attention. She hadn’t left yet, and that was good.
“I did. I just don’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it.” Ethan pushed one hand through his hair briefly. “Look, I don’t like admitting this, but when it comes to that baby I’m out of my depth. I need your help.”
Her head snapped back and a small smile curved her mouth. At any other time, he would have enjoyed that soft smile.
“You’re saying that there’s something Ethan Hart can’t handle.”
He scowled at her. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“A little.”
This was new territory for Ethan. He was self-sufficient. In charge. Yet now, an infant had reduced him to admitting his failings. “Fine. Yes. I need your help. So what do you say?”
She tipped her head to one side and her short blond curls fell lazily with the movement. “For fifty thousand dollars, of course I’ll stay.”
Pleased, but a little surprised that she’d given in so easily, he wondered why money was such a motivator for her. Was there something going on in her life that he didn’t know about? “I didn’t expect you to agree so quickly. Who knew you were so mercenary?”
She laughed shortly. “Mercenary? That may be how it looks to you, but I’ve got news for you. Maybe it’s not the same for gazillionaires, but the rest of us peons have to make mortgage payments, car payments, buy, you know, food. This money will let me take my time finding a new job. Help me get a new car, maybe fix the plumbing in my condo...”
He didn’t much care for the “finding a new job” thing, but for the rest, he realized he hadn’t taken any interest in Sadie’s life before now. He should have. The car she had strapped the baby into was a nearly fifteen-year-old sedan. Why was she driving such an old car? And her condo had plumbing issues? Hell, until today he didn’t know she owned a condo.