Page 25 of Love Notes & Lifelines
“Easy for you to say.” I pout. “You’re not the one being deceived, or the one deceiving. Holy crap, Elijah. I’m both of those.”
“Lottie created that personality assessment specifically to find matches that work in a family environment. She painstakingly tweaked and tested it until she got it right. Part of the reason she’s so successful is because she only takes clients if she has the right match. I didn’t betray you—I would never do that to you.”
I hear the truth in his words and heat erupts over my skin in an overwhelming flush. Too hot. Too overwhelmed. I fan my face with both hands, and he tosses me his keys. “Go. Get a couple of rides in. Clear your head. I’ll make up an excuse for the Ice King if he ever shows his face today.”
Grabbing my purse, I scurry out of that office faster than the gingerbread man. I don’t have to be told twice.
Twenty minutes later I’m cruising to North Hills for a rideshare when my phone rings. I glance at the screen and cringe. This had better be freaking Lottie.
Pressing the greenacceptbutton, I drop the phone into the cup holder. “Single Dad Hotline, I’m your helper. How can I help you?”
“For fuck’s sake, I’m really starting to hate that greeting. Just say hello, Jane.”
“What’s wrong?” I immediately pull into the closest strip mall.
“Everything. Everything’s wrong. I missed three meetings this morning interviewing nannies. I think the first one asked if we’d be sleeping in the same room. The second one had a rule about not changing shitty diapers, and the third one? The third one showed up to my house in a dress cut to her navel refusing to contain her boobs.”
Eesh. Is he advertising on Penthouse Daddy?
“Hold on. What nanny agencies are you using and what are you telling them? That’s too awful to be bad luck.”
“I don’t know. TakeCareOfBaby dot com or something like that. I simply said who I was, how old I was, what I do for work, what I’m looking for in a nanny, how old the girls are, that I have thoughts on rewards and punishments I’d like to discuss, the hours I need childcare but also that they should be available at my discretion, and that I’m suddenly raising my nieces alone—or something like that.”
I can’t help it. It’s not professional, and it’s not kind, but a burst of laughter rolls out of me. This man—this man who single-handedly changed the landscape of luxury, doesn’t understand that he’s essentially created a hire-me-daddy campaign.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“Beck.” I wheeze. “Did you submit a photo too?”
“It was required,” he mutters.
“And you don’t see anything wrong with some of that information?”
“No,” he barks. “I don’t. Why do you sound so far away?”
“I’m in the car.”
“Pull over,” he demands.
“Geez, Dad! I am pulled over. Calm your hissy fit.”
He doesn’t say anything, and I hold my breath.
“Calm my hissy fit?” he eventually says. “Calm my hissy fit.”
“Yes,” I say in return. “Beck, that doesn’t sound like a reputable nanny agency. You need to start over with a vetted, reliable one, preferably one that comes from a personal recommendation. That was—well, I don’t know what that was but I’m guessing it’s some kind of kink site.”
“What? Are you shitting me? No, I would have…fuck me.”
Biting the inside of my cheek so I don’t laugh in his face again, I ask, “Where are the girls?”
“They’re in my car watching some weird talking puppy cartoon, but don’t worry, I’m staring at them through the window. I can’t get them into the doctor until next month because they’re technically new patients. Next month! Isn’t this an emergency? What if Emmy’s sad? And I mean really sad. These doctors are supposed to be helpful and they’re not. I need to ask Elijah, that’s my assistant, to find me a goddamn concierge doctor for them. They have those, right?”
“I’m sure they do, but you still need to calm yourself. You’re spiraling, and that won’t help the girls. They’re probably freaking out that you’re not in the car with them, too. They just lost their mom. They need to know that you’re there for them in new situations.”
A door slams a second later. “I’m in the car.” His voice is pitched low and happy music plays in the background.
“Good. Take a deep breath.” I listen while he does. “Do you feel better?”
