I could only imagine the war zone he was in right about now after a blow-out and a diaper change. “Wait. Thirty days?”
“I could get lucky and find Harper sooner, but I’ll need a few weeks.”
That was a huge commitment. “So I play the nanny for you for thirty days and I can have my job back on your team?”
“That’s right.”
“I want the lead programmer job.” I glanced up and mouthed an “I’m sorry” to the universe. This was so the definition of taking a foot when given an inch. But if Declanhadn’t been so quick to get rid of me, he wouldn’t be in this situation. So this was totally his fault. Not to mention, a month was a long-ass time.
He breathed heavily into the speaker. The deafening silence between us made me want to crawl out of my skin. But just when I thought he was ready to hang up on me, he answered. “Fine.”
“Great.” I wiggled in my pillow seat.
My eyes watered because this was so fucking lucky. What were the odds that something would happen to make Declan change his mind about me? The universe was being kind to me, but I needed one more thing. I closed my eyes and blurted it out. “I’ll need a place to stay. I mean to be close to the baby. I’m in Brooklyn. That’s a long train ride into the city and?—”
“That makes sense.”
Both my eyes flew open. What? He was saying yes? “I can’t afford an apartment in the city.”
“I figured as much. I…” he trailed off. “This might be the worst idea ever, but I have a spare room. You can make use of it until I figure things out with Joseph.”
Joseph. That was such a grown-up name for a baby. I liked Joey better. Or maybe Baby Joe.
“Hello? Ms. Vendetti? Would that work for you?”
“Oh, yeah. That sounds doable.” I winced at my choice of word. Really? Not that I was thinking about doing my boss, in his own apartment. Wait. What?
Stop. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is your boss, a very hot boss, but your boss, nonetheless. Don’t ruin this second chance.
“Brilliant. Can you start tonight? I have an early meeting.And I still have work to do, which I can’t do because Joseph cries every time I put him down.” He sounded frustrated again.
I wiped my tears and shot to my feet. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll just need to pack a few things.” Or really my entire closet.
“I’ll send a car. Text me your address.”
“Doing it right now.”
“See you in a bit.”
I stood there with my mouth wide open, and then the call ended on its own. Living with Declan was going to be a real challenge. But I could do it. All I had to do was focus on Joey. It would also help if I stopped picturing my boss in nothing but pajama pants.
An hour later, a guy named Tommy showed up at my door saying Mr. Noble had sent him. He helped me with my two pieces of luggage while I stayed behind to lock up. I inserted the key into the slot then remembered the landlord had asked me to leave the key on the kitchen counter. I walked over to the kitchen and dropped the key on the Formica. I wasn’t going to miss this place. I just hated how things had ended with Steve. Mainly, how he played me because I was too stupid to see him for what he was, too stupid to see that the man I thought he was only existed in my head, too stupid to see I had overly romanticized our relationship.
I strode out the building and climbed in the back seat of the black Escalade. I tried not to focus too much on the fact that in the past two days, I had been demoted twice. First from programmer to executive assistant, then from assistant to nanny. All those years of IT schooling, only to endup with the job I had while I was in high school. All I could hope for now was that Declan would deliver on his promise and hire me as the lead programmer on his team.
We made it back to the city in record time. At this hour, traffic was still in full swing, but Tommy knew what he was doing. He pulled up to Declan’s building, and my jaw dropped. Of course, he lived in a swanky place, in a swanky part of town. Everything about Declan was fancy and refined that way. I smiled at the top of the building. When Tommy opened the door for me, he chuckled.
“It’s a nice place.” He agreed with me.
“It sure is.”
“You want the twenty-fifth floor. Frank is expecting you. I’ll handle your luggage.”
“Thank you.” I nodded once and headed toward the lobby, where sure enough, Frank met up with me and ushered me to the elevator bay.
“Mr. Noble has been anxiously awaiting your arrival.” He winked at me. “Hang a right when you get there. It’s the last door at the end of the corridor.”
Of course, everyone knew about the baby and the new nanny. “Thanks.” I waved when the doors shut.
