The Daddy Box Set

“And I intend to keep making that money until a proper retirement age.” I stood up. What did she know about my past? Not much. When we were alone, I monopolized the time to get to know her. And I guarded my past. Maybe if she knew about the struggle I’d had growing up, then she would get off my back about working. Wendy had done the same thing at times, even though she knew me back then. What was it with women always trying to fix me? I wasn’t broke. “I grew up in poverty, Jess. Like sometimes I didn’t eat for an entire day. I lived in a one bedroom apartment and slept on the floor. I’ve worked my ass off my whole life to never go back to that point again.”

“Noah,” Jess said. “I didn’t know.”

“And that’s my fault, but you should see where I’m coming from.”

“But you have money now,” she said. “You can do anything with it.”

“Like retire before I’m forty? She needs to look up to a strong parental figure. Not some guy who sits on his bank account and golfs all day.”

“I wasn’t saying that,” Jess said. “She knows you’re anything but lazy. Or a golfer.”

I knew she was trying to make light of the situation, but my mood wasn’t broken by her words.

“I’m more than that,” I said. “I’ve worked too hard to let it all go now. I’m in my prime, and I intend on going until I can’t go anymore.”

“What about Gina?”

“What about Gina?” I challenged.

“She only has one parent. Don’t you think it’s important to be there for her? Right now is a crucial time in her development—”

“Isn’t that why I hired you?” I said. The moment the words were out I regretted them.

Her lips pressed together until they were a thin white line. “I think I should go. Heat up the leftovers for a few minutes in the microwave,” Jess said and left the room without giving me a kiss.

I stood there, staring at her for several moments before I heard the front door close. She definitely wasn’t coming back to talk about what I’d said. That was her though. She always ran. She needed her space, especially after the stupid thing I said to her.

I went over to the plate and brought it to the microwave, following her instructions.

I watched the plate move in circles around in the microwave. I might have been a little too hard on her, but I’d had a rough day. I wasn’t sitting at home making a quilt and playing at the park. Jess had no idea what I went through each day. Though since she didn’t, it wasn’t fair for me to be rude to her. Tomorrow was another day. I’d apologize in the morning. We both needed time to cool off.

When the food was ready, I grabbed the plate and a slice of bread from that bakery Jess loved before heading up to my office. Our talk had given me an extra boost of energy that I needed to carry me through working the rest of the night, though Jess didn’t stray very far from my mind.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jess

All night I stewed about what Noah said to me. He’d taken my words completely out of context. Of course, I knew he was a hard worker. I only suggested he retire since he had so much money and

had the opportunity to be with Gina more than he knew. What was wrong with that? With the progression of our relationship, didn’t he want me to be honest with him? When he worked, he didn’t think of anything else. He had no idea what long hours meant to Gina when she didn’t see her father for more than an hour a day. I wasn’t her mother, so there was no substitute for what she was missing.

Noah was the type who needed a push in the right direction when it came to his family. He had blinders on to the world around him. His eyes were focused on dollar signs when they should have been focused on his daughter who was growing up with a nanny. It wasn’t as if I wanted him to fire me, but in my first few weeks of working, he’d managed to come home at a decent time each night. I hoped we’d be able to return to that point soon. Gina was too young to understand a lot of this, but from her perspective, she always came last on Noah’s priorities. And for a three-year-old to comprehend that, well, it wasn’t right.

After thinking about it on the ride home, my mood softened a little. I assumed he had a bigger workload than he was used to so this had to be temporary. At least I hoped, for everyone’s sake. We’d had such a good time in Australia. I didn’t want to turn our happy memories into regretful ones. Or ones that would prevent Noah from ever leaving work for an extended period of time ever again.

Tomorrow would be better. He needed to get some sleep to clear his head, and I needed to give him the opportunity to talk to me about what he was feeling.

When I arrived at Noah’s the next morning, I took a breath before going inside. Today was a new day. Talking to him about our conversation last night would clear the air, and everything between us would be okay. This was our first serious argument, and we’d get through it and move on.

I just reached the foyer when Noah burst into the room, shoving on his suit jacket.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Hi,” he said dismissively.

There were heavy bags under his eyes. I didn’t need to wonder how little sleep he got last night.

“It’s going to be another late night,” he said. “I’ll pay you overtime. See you later.”