Jordy might not like it, but Jordy wasn’t here and Jordy hadn’t hired someone to help out, so Jordy could suck a lemon.
“Withfrench fries?”
“Of course with french fries.”
“Yay!”
Rowan maybe felt a little spiteful giving the McDonald’s drive-thru attendant Jordy’s credit card.
“Where are we going?” Kaira asked between bites of nugget. “Are we going to the hockey game?”
She hadn’t quite grasped the fact that not all of Jordy’s games happened on home ice. Rowan couldn’t blame her; from what he’d seen on TV, the rinks did all kind of look the same.
“Not tonight. I have to go back to work.” Which Jordy knew about, because Rowan had told him three days ago, when Jordy was stubbornly refusing to interview someone because she didn’t have a passport, as though having a passport would qualify her to work in the States anyway. “But I’ll put the game on my phone and you can watch in the office, okay?” He could rustle up a pair of earbuds so she wouldn’t disturb the rest of the staff.
“Okay.”
They stopped briefly in the family restroom at the library so Rowan could help her wash grease from her face and hands. By that time he was almost late, so he scooped her up and booked it toward the conference room.
It was 6:29 when Marina spotted him in the hallway. “Mr. Chadha.” She raised her eyebrows in surprise to see Kaira. “I didn’t realize you were bringing an assistant to this meeting.”
He couldn’t tell from her tone if she was annoyed or just curious. “Sorry,” he said automatically. “This month’s schedule is a bit chaotic. She won’t be any trouble.”I hope.
“The books here areso big,” Kaira put in seriously.
Rowan could’ve sworn the corner of Marina’s mouth twitched like she wanted to smile. “That they are, young lady. My name is Marina Chifundo. And you are…?”
“Kaira Shaw.”
Marina’s eyebrows ascended to another plane of existence. “Nice to meet you, Miss Shaw. Why don’t you go inside and ask Mr. Iulian—he’s the tall man with the bow tie—where he keeps the coloring books.”
Kaira squirmed out of Rowan’s arms. “Okay.”
Someone should probably teach this kid about stranger danger. Rowan thought sourly it ought to be Jordy, but he wasn’t here.
“Trouble in paradise?” Marina asked mildly as they closed the conference room door behind them. Rowan thought he had to field a lot of questions after those preseason game pictures. Now that he’d brought Kaira to a work meeting, he could only expect the third degree.
“Jordy is dragging his feet hiring a real nanny.” Rowan immediately hated himself for how bitter that sounded. “It’s not like I mind spending time with Kaira, of course,” he added. “She’s great. It’s just….”
“He’s gone and has no appreciation for the amount of work he’s put on you?”
Rowan felt his ears heat. Jordy certainly appreciatedsomethings about Rowan. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t being well compensated, what with a roof over his head and a car to drive and food to eat on top of a salary. And Jordy, er,appreciatedhim plenty when they were alone together as well.
Although that appreciation felt different since that night in Jordy’s room. They hadn’t had sex there again. Now that a trade was on the horizon, it was like Jordy had changed his mind about what he wanted from Rowan. Which mostly consisted of childcare.
Probably Rowan should stop bottling up this resentment. “Something like that,” he agreed.
Marina clapped him on the shoulder and nudged him toward a seat. Andreu had procured a beanbag chair and an enormous box of crayons from somewhere and had set Kaira up in a corner.
Rowan prayed that would keep her occupied. He had no idea how long this meeting might go.
“All right,” Marina said, clapping her hands. She motioned toward Ravi, who nodded and opened his laptop. “Everyone’s here, so let’s call this meeting to order.”
For the first twenty minutes, everything went smoothly. Rowan almost couldn’t believe his luck.
It obviously couldn’t last.
At five to seven, Kaira had to use the bathroom. Marina kindly suggested they all take a five-minute recess, even though no adult needed a break. Then Kaira wanted to watch the hockey game. Rowan put it on his phone with the volume muted, but she wanted to sit on his lap to watch.
