by J. P. Comeau
My eyes widened. “Wait, are you serious? How long did she have to wait there for someone to come get her?”
Ginger shrugged. “How should I know? I’m just the messenger.”
My heart went out to that little girl. I could only imagine how traumatizing that must’ve been for her. It made my blood boil, to be honest. I’d had my fair share of trauma like that from the broken family I came from, and it made me sick to know of another innocent young girl going through much of the same shit I endured as a child.
“You thinking pretty hard over there?” Guadalupe asked.
I shrugged. “Just turning something around, that’s all.”
Ginger giggled. “Thinking about lining up a run-in with Gavin? Because I can totally help you with that.”
I turned my chair back toward my computer. “I think that I need to get started on work.”
Guadalupe and Ginger kept talking as they closed my office door, but I couldn’t concentrate. I didn’t care what Gavin looked like or who he was. My heart only went out to his daughter. It not only sounded like he needed help, but it also sounded like she needed stability. Someone she could genuinely rely on while her parents were out chasing their dreams. Not that I faulted them for that, but a child needed a foundation. A child needed someone to root them to the earth, so to speak.
After all, I needed a job, and it sounded like that sweet little girl needed a security blanket.
So, after I clocked in, I found myself searching around on the internet for pictures of Gavin with his daughter, trying to get an idea of what their relationship was like, at least in the public eye.
3
Gavin
“When can we go home, Daddy?”
I smoothed my daughter’s hair out of her face. “Soon, princess. I promise, okay?”
She sniffled. “No more nights here, okay?”
I kissed her forehead. “Let’s see what the doctor sa—”
“Gavin!” The piercing, tinny sound of my ex-wife’s voice barreled down the hallway.
“Asia! Gavin! Where are you guys?”
My daughter sighed. “So loud.”
I patted her arm. “Hold on, you get some rest, okay?”
“Asia!” she shrieked.
I bolted for the door and ripped it open. “Can you keep it down, Marissa?”
She glared at me. “Where’s my daughter? I want to see her.”
I ushered her inside. “About time you showed up.”
She hissed at me. “Not much I can do about an asthma attack in the middle of a photo shoot.”
“A photo shoot? At two in the morning? You really expect me to believe—”
Then, Marissa put on her best “concerned Mom” voice. “Oh, my poor, sweet girl. How are you feeling? Have you had anything to drink? I brought your favorite.”
I closed the door and watched as she pulled out one of the few drinks Asia couldn’t stand. And it made me shake my head.
“Here,” Marissa said as she opened the fruit punch pouch. “I grabbed it at a gas station just for you.”
Asia shook her head. “No, thank you.”
Marissa paused. “No, thank you? I mean, your manners are wonderful, but since when don’t you want a fruit punch pouch?”
“Since forever,” I murmured.
Asia giggled, and Marissa shot me a look over her shoulder. How the fuck a mother couldn’t remember one of the things her own child hated was beyond me. Nevertheless, my ex-wife decided to drop it, and I was glad she did. Because usually, she made drama out of the slightest things that inconvenienced her.
“Why don’t you tell Mommy all about what happened, yeah?” Marissa asked.
She turned back to Asia and waited patiently, but I saw my daughter staring over her mother’s shoulder at me.
“It’s okay. Go ahead,” I said.
Marissa shot me a look as she craned her neck back. “No one in this room needs your permission for my daughter to talk to me.”
“Mom, stop,” Asia whispered.
She turned her attention back to our daughter. “Come on. It’s okay. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
I rolled my eyes at that sentiment. Yeah, anyone could talk to Marissa about anything. If they were ready for an hour lecture on everything, they were doing wrong.
Why did I marry this woman again?
Oh. Right. Because getting her pregnant while not wedded didn’t sit well with her conservative Romanian parents.
As their stunted conversation ensued, I made my way into the corner and sat down. Up until recently, Asia’s asthma had been easy to control. If she felt an attack coming on, one or two pumps from her inhaler kicked it to the curb. But, lately? Her attacks were more frequent.
Which had me worried.
The kicker, though, was the fact that they started getting worse when Marissa left town for this new modeling job. And she wasn’t going to be done with the damn job for at least three weeks. While she was still in the state of Florida, she was up there by the Georgia line snapping pictures for some winter magazine spread she was being featured in, which meant that taking care of Asia fell onto my shoulders until she got back.
And while we had an okay co-parenting relationship, there was a trend with Marissa’s job. The time she spent away from home—and away from Asia—kept getting longer and longer.
I have to find stability for Asia’s life.
I knew that was what caused these attacks, and I knew they wouldn’t stop until Asia got what she needed. Bouncing between my house and my ex-wife’s place whenever she had to go off and do something simply wasn’t cutting it. And with all my might, I wished I could rewind time and take Marissa to court in order to get an on-paper custody agreement.
The two of us had agreed to talk shit out like adults when it came to Asia’s schedule.
But, I didn’t realize it would lead to such disjointed time between the two of us.
Marissa’s cooing pulled me from the recesses of my mind. “Yeah, it’s okay, sweetheart. You just get some rest. Mommy will be right here when you wake up, okay?”
Asia sniffled. “Daddy, too?”
I walked up and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ll always be here, princess. Okay?”
I took her small hand within mine and watched my daughter’s watery eyes find my gaze. It broke my heart to see her so tired and so confused. But, she was the safest in this hospital. And even if we had to stay another night, it would be worth it, even if it did spark a fight between Marissa and me.
“Can I speak with you for a second, please?” she asked.
I sighed. “Can it wait? I’m really not in the mood to fight.”
She scoffed, “I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to talk about our schedules.” Which was code for “this job is going to take longer than I thought.”
“Sure. Yeah. Let’s step outside,” I said.
Asia gripped my hand. “Come back soon?”
I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I promise.”
Marissa kissed our daughter’s hand. “Me, too. Okay?”
Asia didn’t acknowledge her, and that told me everything I needed to know. As much as I respected Marissa for trying—and as much as I loved her for giving me Asia—she wasn’t cut out to be the stability Asia needed. She wasn’t willing to compromise her career like I’d had to do so many times in order to pick up the slack she had dropped. She wasn’t willing to do what was necessary to change her life to give Asia what she needed.
I knew Asia would do better being with me the majority of the time.
The issue was convincing Marissa of that.
The two of us stood and made our way outside. My ex-wife grabbed the doorknob and closed the door until only a sliver of a crack was all that remained of the light inside Asia’s hospital room.
Then, she looked up at me with a determined gaze. “My job in Georgia’s going to keep me gone for another couple of weeks.”
I nodded. “I figured
as much.”
“Hey, don’t take that tone of voice with me.”
I shrugged. “What tone?”
She put her hand on her hip. “You know the tone I’m talking about. The one that says, ‘of course you’d keep working. Why not? It’s all about you anyway.’”
“At least you understand, then.”
“And what am I supposed to do, Gavin? Huh? I can’t just back out of the contract. I already signed it, and in my contract, it stipulated that the job would take three weeks but possibly five.”
I blinked. “You didn’t tell me the ‘possibly five’ part.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I take it you’ve got some job or whatever coming up?”
“Does it matter? Look, we both know what’s going to happen. You’re going to win, you’re going to be gone for another two weeks, and then you’ll pick up Asia and drop her at my doorstep whenever you need to be gone for another month.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
I took a step toward her. “What’s wrong is you’re doing it when your schedule allows it. You’re not doing it based on what Asia needs. She needs a schedule. A routine. Something she can rely on.”
She glared up at me. “Which is why she’s got her mother.”
“Oh, is that what you call the half-assed job you put in of hiring a nanny who wasn’t even trained in how to take care of someone with asthma? Asia was standing on my doorstep for almost a fucking hour before I—”
She pointed her finger in my face. “Don’t you dare cuss at me, Gavin Lincoln. I’m not your wife anymore. I don’t need to take that shit from you.”
“Then do what you know is right for our child. Sit down with me, let’s come up with a schedule of rotating weekends where we get her, and she can be with me during the school year breaks.”
She leaned back. “Oh, so you can go off and work all through the school year, and I’m stuck at home doing the stay-at-home Mom thing?”
“If you didn’t want to be a parent and put your child’s needs first, then we shouldn’t have had a child.”
She scoffed as her voice raised. “Do you even know the definition of ‘accident?’”
The second I heard the sound of little feet scurrying away from the door, my face fell. Marissa gasped as I slammed the door open just in time to see Asia wiggle her way beneath the covers. I heard her soft cries, and it broke my heart. But, Marissa shoved me out of the way to rush toward her bed.
“Come here, sweetheart. Mommy didn’t mean what—”
Asia pulled away. “Don’t touch me. I don’t want you.”
Marissa jerked away like she’d been shot. “What?”
Then, Asia peeked out from beneath the covers and held her hand out to me. “Daddy, please?”
I walked over to her, sat down, and took her hand. “I’m right here, princess.”
I felt my ex-wife glaring at the profile of my face. “Thanks for nothing. I’m going to go get a legitimate doctor instead of talking to these thick-headed nurses.”
And when she stormed out of the room, Asia tugged me onto the bed.
I climbed in beside her and cradled her close, my heart breaking with every tear that fell from her eyes. I stroked my fingers through her hair and shushed her softly against her ear, hoping and praying she’d fall asleep before Marissa dared to enter this room again. The woman was a walking train wreck. Nothing but a nice few fucks and some good pictures together to help my career before she got pregnant and demanded we get married to save her own skin. I tolerated three years with that woman, trying to make things work for the sake of Asia.
And now, I was trying desperately to piece together her broken life with a woman who didn’t give a fuck about anything but herself.
“I love you so much,” I whispered.
Asia tucked herself closely against me, and soon her breaths evened out. I held her until she fell asleep, then eased myself out of bed to call Jorge again. I needed to keep him abreast of what was going on, and the fact that a doctor hadn’t come by to discharge us today meant we were probably staying another night. And now, with Marissa’s change of plans, there was no way in hell I’d be free to shoot that commercial anytime soon—unless Asia could come to the set with me.
“Hey, hey, hey. How’s the little one doing?” Jorge asked as he picked up my call.
I sighed as I stood in the corner. “We still haven’t been discharged.”
“You know, I figured that might happen. Asia’s attacks have been pretty rough lately. They probably wanna keep her to see if she has another one so they can find an origin point or something.”
I chuckled. “I keep forgetting your mother had asthma.”
“Yep. Did this many times with her, too. Don’t worry; it’s just protocol. And I’ve pushed back the commercial shoot to the weekend so Asia can get home and rest before you leave.”
I sighed. “Actually, about that.”
“Oh, boy.”
“Marissa finally showed up.”
He paused. “Better late than never?”
I shook my head. “That excuse only works so many times.”
“You right, you right. So, when will you be free?”
“That depends. If I can bring Asia to set with me? I can shoot as soon as she’s feeling better.”
“I mean, not that I don’t love your daughter, but kids on sets usually don’t work out as planned."
I shrugged. “Then, at least another two weeks.”
He hissed. “Son of a bitch.”
“Ex-husband of a bitch, is more like it,” I murmured.
Jorge barked with laughter. “Oh, dude, I don’t know what the hell you were thinking.”
“Just trying to do right by the family I created, even if it wasn’t planned.”
“Which is why it kills me that you have to pay for sex. Any woman out there would be willing to thrust themselves at your feet, yet you pay out the ass for escorts. Why do you do this shit to yourself?”
I shrugged. “Anonymity? Those women sign NDA’s for days before I even get in their presence. Can’t really do that to a regular, ordinary girl.”
“Well, maybe you should start thinking about getting someone in your life who’s a bit regular and ordinary.”
“Ugh, that sounds like a dream. But, for now, I’d just settle for some damn help.”
He snickered. “Well, I can’t come help, but Ginger might have found a couple of people interested in helping you out.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“You remember Eva? You met her briefly.”
“Uh… you’ll have to be more specific than that.”
“Brown hair? Tanned skin? Kind of slim, but legs for days?”
I clicked my tongue. “Yeah, no. Nothing’s coming to mind.”
He sighed. “Green eyes? I mean, emerald green. That bright kind of green you can see coming from a mile away.”
Then, it clicked. “Oh! Yes, yes, yes, yes. I remember her now. Works at the spa and a restaurant or something, right?”
“Well, she doesn’t work at the restaurant anymore. She’s looking for another part-time job and—”
“Yeah, I don’t need part-time help.”
“Will you just listen instead of cutting me off, dude? Look, she’s got great qualifications. And I bet if you make the pay worth her while you could buy her full-time status. Just think about it, okay? She’s got evenings free and her weekends, and she could at least be a jumping point for helping you a little bit now until you find someone who can help you the way you need.”
I licked my lips. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll think about it.”
“Great. Now, you keep me updated on Asia. And we’ll talk once you guys get discharged. I’ll come over with cake. It’ll be a blast.”
I smiled. “Sounds good. We’ll talk soon.”
“Talk soon, man.”
And as I turned back around to look at my daughter sleeping helplessly in a hospital bed much too big for her,
I turned the idea over in my head.
Part-time help is better than no-time help.
So, I shot Jorge an email and asked him to get me Eva’s resume.
Couldn’t hurt to at least take a look at it.
4
Eva
“Psst.”
I unlocked my office for another morning of work before I heard the sound again.
“Psssst. Eva.”
I paused. “Guadalupe?”
She eased around the corner. “Hey, we need to talk in your office.”
I blinked. “Okay…? Everything all right?”
She simply stared at the door, waiting for me to open it. So, I quickly unlocked it and ushered her inside while panic gripped my throat. Had I done something wrong? Was I about to get fired? That would be just my luck, pissing off Guadalupe and Yuslan so much that they fired me from the first officially titled job I had ever held in my life. I walked into my office behind her and quickly closed the door. If I were about to get fired, I didn’t want anyone to hear my crying because I’d drown this office in my sorrows.
“So, my niece is looking for daytime work to take on, and the arrangement would be perfect.”
I turned to face her. “Sorry. Uh, what arrangement?”
She paused. “Ginger hasn’t told you?”
I cocked my head. “Told me what?”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Gavin Lincoln personally requested your resume along with my niece’s. He’s looking to put together nannying help for his daughter!” She was so excited that she squeaked the last word, which made me giggle. Then, it hit me.
“Wait, he asked for mine, too?” I asked.
Guadalupe nodded. “Oh, yes, he did. And I figured the arrangement between you and my niece would be perfect. She’s looking for some daytime work, and you’re looking for evening work. Correct?”
I nodded. “Right, yeah.”
“Then, it’s settled! My daughter is a trained CNA, so if you don’t have any certifications or training in how to deal with those who are asthmatic—”
