“My wife sent me. She wanted me to make sure you were fine and handling things on your own.”
“Ah, Leah always had a soft spot for me.”
“Don’t even start with that. You know it makes me want to fuck you up.”
“Yeah, and you’re a damn good lawyer. You’d argue that I needed the ass-beating.”
“Yep. That I helped society by putting you in your place. Stop being an asshole and hire Callie. Did anyone give you any doubt at all, even a smidge, that she’d be a problem?”
“Nope, the complete opposite. From them, she sounds like some kind of saint.”
“If my memory serves me well, she was always doing nice things at school. She may just naturally be a nice person. You know, the kind of person to do lovely things from the goodness of her heart. Believe me, you need it. I think this place is actually starting to grow special things, you know?”
“You’re an asshole,” he said.
“And you love me for it. You will always love me for it.” Callum blew him a kiss. “Go on, call her. Let her know you want her to work immediately.”
“I’ll have to get the spare room ready,” he said.
“So, I’m not going anywhere. If I can tell Leah all of you is handled, that you’ve got a nanny, and someone to help put your life together, I’ll be a happy man tonight.”
“Gross, man. There’s some shit I don’t need to know.”
“You need to stop cussing. Meghan will copy.” Callum chuckled.
After getting to his feet, he grabbed his cell phone from the hallway, where he’d also left Callie’s card. He didn’t want to make this call. Not because he didn’t need her, but something felt off.
Callie shouldn’t be taking care of his kid. He should be able to keep on top of everything, only, he’d proven more than once that he couldn’t do it all.
After typing in her number, it rang. He’d hoped it would go to voicemail and he’d have a petty reason not to make this call. Give some excuse about her not being the right fit. If she couldn’t even make a call, what could she really do to help him? Nothing. Simple as that.
“Hello,” Callie said.
Typical.
“Callie, hi, it’s Drew.”
“Hi, Drew.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking and I was wondering, how soon could you start? I’ve got a spare room I can get cleaned up for you. It wouldn’t be any trouble at all.”
“Spare room?”
“The position is live-in.” Please say you can’t do it.
“Yeah, of course. You’re actually offering me the job?”
“Yes, as soon as you can start.”
“How about I swing by tomorrow? I can get started. You can show me Meghan’s routine.”
Routine? He didn’t have one for her.
“And we can set out a schedule for how you want this to work.”
“Yeah, that sounds great.”
“Awesome. I look forward to seeing you.”
So did he. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
“You know, you looked like you wanted to say a lot more then,” Callum said.
He turned to see his brother still eating noodles, leaning up against the doorframe.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m not starting. I’m simply stating a fact that you looked like you were hungry. Now this has me intrigued. I haven’t seen Callie in years, so I’ve got to wonder, do you want to fuck your nanny already?”
“I suggest you eat up and go home to your wife. I’m not discussing this with you.”
“Okay, but to warn you, Callie’s going to be here every single hour of every single day, unless she’s dating someone. She’ll be in her pajamas or whatever clothes she wears. Your place isn’t overly big, so you’re going to be around her a lot. Will you be the perfect employer, or will you put her in her place?”
“You know what, Callum? You may be the oldest but you’re the youngest at heart.”
“I’ve got a way of staying young. It’s falling in love and having a family you want to go home to. Speaking of, my job here is done. You’ve got the nanny coming and I’ve got a family back home.”
“You said you were going to help me with the spare room,” he said.
“Did I say that? My bad. I’ve already done so much, and you know, being a daddy and all, I’ve got to go and read to my kids.” Callum was already walking back toward the door. “Remember, brother, keep it in your pants.”
“Fuck off.”
“Will do.”
He closed and locked the door behind Callum.
“What’s fuck off, Daddy?” Meghan said.
He should have known his daughter wouldn’t be asleep. “Hello, munchkin. How are you?”
“I’m thirsty.”
“Come on. I’ll get you a drink but then you’ve got to go to bed.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I need to sort out the spare bedroom.”
“Why?”
“For the nice lady,” he said, thinking about Callie.
“The nice lady with the hair?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“You liked her?” he asked.
“I did. She was pretty.”
“She was, wasn’t she?”
“Yes. She is going to stay with us?” she asked.