Page 14 of Church Girl
I unclench my teeth to reply. “Aye, is this Aaliyah Montgomery?”
A long pause. “Yes.”
Throwing a glance over my shoulder toward Gia, who’s still bent over her cereal bowl, I move farther into the living room.
“Aaliyah, this is Von Howard. You came to King Tattoos a week ago to interview for a nanny position.”
“I remember who you are,” she says. And the tone, while notwhat the fuck do you want?isn’t exactly friendly, either.
Not that I blame her given our last interaction.
Yeah, this is going to be tougher than I imagined. But I’m desperate.
“Listen,” I forge ahead, squeezing the back of my neck, “I don’t know if Angel Care has found you another job. If they haven’t, I’d like to offer you the one with me.”
Another long pause. I’m waiting for her to tell me to take a short trip to hell, and I hold my breath. Yeah, I really do.
“What happened? Did the other option fall through? Because I’m assuming I’m still as naïve and inexperienced today as I was when we met.”
Releasing that pent-up breath, I pinch the bridge of my nose, debating whether to be honest or lie to get her here. I pull the phone away from my ear and peep the time. I now have an hour and a half before my client pulls up.
I need her. But it’s not in me to lie. And besides, green as she may be, something tells me she would smell my bullshit a Chicago mile away.
“I won’t lie to you—”
“I appreciate that,” she says, tone dry.
I should be annoyed at the interruption. And a part of me is, but that doesn’t stop amusement from trickling through me. “No, my mind hasn’t changed about your job experience, and yeah, the other nanny fell through as in I fired her because she’s gone from being late most days to not showing up at all. I can’t have that kind of inconsistency when it comes to my daughter. And right now, I don’t have any options. Except you. I need to be at work in a little over an hour, and there’s no one to watch my baby girl.”
More quiet over the line, and my gut dips, filling with apprehension.
“Listen,” I continue, “while I don’t apologize for putting my daughter and her welfare as my first priority, I am sorry for my delivery. I’ma be honest, I’m still not one hundred percent certain you are the right person for this job. But I have a strong feeling you wouldn’t leave my girl high and dry or be unprofessional—” i.e., grabbing my shit. Hell, Aaliyah looked like she might be a little scared of dick. “I’m willing to give you the opportunity if you’re willing to take it.”
Another beat of silence, and God—I might’ve called her out of desperation, but in this moment, IwantAaliyah Montgomery to say yes. Don’t know when that changed—don’t even know why there’s urgency humming under my skin, but it’s there. And I’m damn near close to begging her.
“Aaliyah.”
“I’m thinking,” she says. A pause, and then a sigh. “Fine. Only because I haven’t found a job yet, and I really need one. Let’s be clear, though. I won’t put up with how you spoke to me before.” A tremble works through her words, and I wonder if she’s aware of it. Even so, her voice remains low and strong. “The first time you do that, I’m out. I also won’t allow my feelings toward the father affect how I treat the daughter.”
In other words, she don’t fuck with me. Cool. I prefer it that way. As long as her focus is Gia. That’s what’s important. That and how fast she can get here. “I get that and accept it. We don’t have to be best friends. Just be there and be good for my kid.”
“Okay then.”
Relief washes through me, and my eyes close on a long exhale. “Thanks, Aaliyah. I hate to rush you, but will you be able to start today? Like in an hour?”
The sound of rustling comes through the line, and I can easily imagine her throwing back the covers, revealing that curvy, stacked body.
Shit. No, I can’t. I cannotimagine that. Iwon’timagine that.
“An hour? Probably not since I still have to shower, get dressed and get over to wherever you are. Speaking of, where are you?”
Shit. Rubbing a knuckle over my eyebrow, I frown. “I’m in Edison Park. Your résumé has your current address in the South Loop, right?” At her hum of affirmation, I shake my head even though she can’t see the gesture. “That’s about a half hour from me. Damn.” Striding back over to Gia, I glance over her shoulder to see if she’s finished. And she is, thank God. “Hold up a sec,” I tell Aaliyah. “G, go get dressed. And don’t start playing with that sticker kit. We need to get out of here.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She climbs down off the stool and takes off down the hall. I don’t bother reminding her about the running-in-the-house rule. The faster she gets to her bedroom and ready, the better.
“Hey, sorry ’bout that,” I say, returning my attention to the phone. “Okay, if I bring my daughter to my shop, could you meet us there?”
“Uh, yeah, I can do that. I can be there in about an hour and a half. Is that okay?”
