“Ask Janet to show you the room you’ll be staying in; it’s right opposite Noah’s,” he continued. “I should be home around two or three in the morning. I’d appreciate if you kept your room door unlocked so that Noah can get to you in a hurry if he needs to.”
“I’ll remember that,” I nodded.
Jake walked back around to his desk. He paused for a moment, and I sensed that he felt a little awkward. “This is really nice of you. Thank you, Kristen.”
“I’m happy to help,” I said, giving him a small smile.
I excused myself and headed back to my desk to gather up my things. I would need to make a quick pit stop at home to grab my pajamas and a change of clothes for the next day. I was leaving the office when it hit me that I would be in Jake’s home. I would be firmly ensconced in his personal space. The thought worried me.
I wondered how Jake would react if he knew my secret. I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. Was I really trying to help like I had claimed or was I just digging a deeper hole for myself?
Chapter Five
Jake
The night had been a spectacular success. The dinner had lasted a little over three hours, but at the end of it, everyone looked suitably happy. To celebrate the closing of our deal, I had insisted on taking everyone out to a fancy bar in town. It was chic and trendy, but just formal enough to be respectable to host business colleagues, as well.
As we got the bar, I had ordered some appetizers and a round of champagne for the whole group. There were about fifteen of us in total, and the mood had considerably relaxed since the meeting. Everyone seemed to be pleased with negotiations, and I was satisfied. This deal would make the company a shit ton of money, and I knew it meant I could relax for the next few weeks at least.
I had been neglecting Noah a lot because of this meeting, and I wanted to make it up to him. I wondered how he was doing with Kristen tonight. I realized I had never actually spoken to Noah and told him that someone different was going to be looking after him that night. I had left that up to Janet when I should have been the one to explain it to him.
Feeling guilty, I excused myself for a moment and headed to the end of the bar where the noise was not as prominent. I dialed the landline and waited to hear Kristen’s voice. She answered on the third ring.
“Jake Middleton’s residence?”
I smiled at her formal phone manner. She was obviously still playing the part of my personal assistant. “Kristen, it’s Jake.”
“Oh, hello,” she said.
“Is everything alright over there?”
“Everything’s fine,” Kristen assured me. “We played some games, had dinner, and then I read him a story and put him to bed.”
“Oh, so he’s sleeping?”
“Yes, he is.”
I glanced at my watch and realized that it was almost twelve at night. I shook my head, frustrated with myself. Sometimes I felt like I was doing a half ass job at this whole fatherhood thing.
“I’ve been checking on him every fifteen minutes,” she continued. “He cut his finger earlier this evening. It was just a small cut from one of his action figures. I put a band-aid on it.”
“Boys will be boys.”
“Right,” Kristen said, and I could tell she was smiling.
I fell silent for a moment, and I could sense that Kristen was waiting for me to say something. “Uh…is there anything else you wanted to know?” she asked when I didn’t say anything.
“No… I guess I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was alright.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” she assured me. “I’ve got everything under control.”
I let out a little sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” she said. “How did the big meeting go?”
I felt a little burst of triumph as I answered her. “It went really well,” I said. “We closed the deal.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Congratulations.”