The Daddy Box Set

She took the bill from me and placed it on the desk, staring at it as if she’d never seen a fifty before.

“I’ll need you to order now,” I said.

“Oh, okay,” she said and picked up the phone. Her fingers hovered over the keypad, and I shook my head, going back into the office. She’d figure it out eventually.

Gina remained out of my way for the rest of the afternoon. Surprisingly, the food arrived without any mess ups or issues. So, Liz wasn’t as daft as I’d thought.

After we had eaten, Gina settled onto the couch again with the tablet while I got back to work.

When I looked up again over an hour later, Gina was fast asleep on the couch. My shoulders finally relaxed. Though with her looking so peaceful, I started to feel bad for the way I’d treated her. It wasn’t her fault I was so busy. And I was the one to fire her nanny.

I wondered what Jess was doing now. Was she with Sierra? Bashing me to eternal damnation? Or was she already looking for another job? I’d paid her well enough over the last few weeks to be able to live comfortably until she found another position. With her credentials, she would be fine.

My phone vibrated, and I picked it up to see Brandon sent me a text.

“Let me in,” it read.

I crossed the room, careful to be quiet while Gina napped. I’d inhaled my lunch while working so taking the time to talk to Brandon would give me a much-needed break. I was finally on track with my work and five minutes chatting with my best bud was my reward.

When I entered the hallway, Brandon was on his way toward my office.

I shook his hand, and he grinned at me. “I haven’t seen you this tan since college, man.”

“Take a picture, because once this fades, you won’t see it again for a long time.”

“It suits you,” he said.

“Let’s talk in here,” I said, leading him to an empty conference room.

“What’s wrong with your office?” he asked.

“Gina’s in there. She’s napping. I don’t want to disturb her.”

“Is Jess sick or something?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “I fired her.”

“You what?”

I massaged my temples with my fingertips. The headache wasn’t as strong as this morning, but it still lingered. “Work has been crazy since we got back. And all this week Jess was nagging me about not spending time with Gina. She was getting too attached to my personal life. I had to let her go.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I think you’ve ever said to me,” he said.

“What?”

“You’re being ridiculous,” he said, crossing his arms.

“I’m being ridiculous? I can’t go home from a stressful day at work and have someone up my ass. There’s a reason I hired a nanny in the first place. She even suggested that I retire early and care for Gina myself.”

“Do you remember Wendy?” he asked.

“That’s a stupid question.”

“Do you remember how Wendy used to calm you down when you got crazy about work?”

I opened my mouth to fire something back, but I couldn’t find the words. Wendy was my rock when things were tough. She used to drive me crazy by telling me to “relax” when things were stressful at work. I had been more of a hot-head back then, but Brandon had compared Wendy to Jess. And I silently admitted that he was right. How had I not seen it before?

“Jess is right about you not needing to work,” he said. “I know that’s a hard concept for you.”