by Lexi Wilson
Chapter 18
Morgan
“I’ll let Mr. Brown know about how you wouldn’t connect me with him,” the man on the other end of the phone said. He hung up abruptly.
I sighed. Even in unusual situations, life falls into a routine. I thought about that as I sat at my desk answering emails, the occasional call, and adjusting Daniel’s calendar. The condolence emails had trickled off, as had the few people calling the company directly to get a hold of him.
More than a few people had been angry that I wouldn’t give out his private cell number, and I suspected these people cared less about offering their words of comfort and more about sucking up to a potential business contact.
I didn’t care when they threatened me. Daniel wouldn’t fire me for doing my job of protecting him and his time. Anyone who truly cared about him would have already had his number and not needed it from me. That’s why their sad attempts to weasel it out of me didn’t work.
Daniel might have been richer than my old boss, but the work was effectively the same—assist and protect. Maybe that’s why a little hint of disappointment had sneaked into my head by that Tuesday.
I was surprised that he hadn’t called me. He’d just been so frazzled on Sunday that I’d figured he’d need to call me help again. Not only had I expected it, I almost wanted him to.
Of course, it wasn’t a bad thing that he wasn’t calling me for help with Sasha. I wasn’t a nanny, and certainly wasn’t his nanny, but at the same time, I didn’t want the man to destroy himself trying to force his way through handling a newborn, something he’d obviously had no experience or training for. It was painfully obvious he’d never thought much about babies at all.
Given the lifestyle he led, there was no reason to expect that he would have. I doubted most billionaire businessmen and businesswomen brought their young babies to board meetings.
I chuckled at the image of Daniel changing a diaper in front of a room filled with executives. Given how ragged he looked, maybe it’d be a good thing for a lot of these rich men to experience the truth of what was involved in dealing with a baby. The world would probably change for the better overnight, and people would better appreciate what working mothers had to deal with.
I thought about that as I returned to answering emails.
Maybe he’d already mastered dealing with Sasha, and that’s why he hadn’t asked for my help. I’d written him a few texts about the baby, and he’d let me know that everything was okay. He had no reason to lie to me, so I tried to resist the urge to stop by and check on him.
That would go beyond presumptuous. Just because I’d helped him on Sunday didn’t mean that I was suddenly the end-all-be-all of handling babies.
Still, my heart ached at the idea of not seeing Sasha again or holding her. Was it about Daniel, or something else?
I stopped typing for a moment and let out a quiet sigh. It was like I was desperate to go and see that baby again, even if Daniel wasn’t there. I thought that over for a moment.
I’d suffered two years after the loss of my baby, including six months where I couldn’t even bring myself to work, and now I was obsessed with seeing with a baby again that wasn’t even mine.
Dealing with the baby had been satisfying in a way I’d not expected, and for the first time in years, I didn’t feel the crushing weight of sadness always hanging me. It’s like my brief time with the baby made me happy. Like it was providing a shield against the depression, if not outright destroying it.
Was that all it took? Actual exposure to a baby for more than a few minutes? I’d spent years resenting pregnant women and avoiding babies, worrying about how it would make me feel, and now I was discovering that might have prevented me from moving on.
A bitter laugh came out. My therapist had even suggested I try some babysitting, but I’d refused, convinced it would only hurt even more. I’d not been ready to face the obvious truth.
My heart kicked up, and a dark thought entered my head. Blaine had also denied me the chance of healing with his insistence that we not have another child, even though the doctors had made it clear that the death of our baby was just bad luck. Sometimes I couldn’t help but think that Blaine blamed me, and that’s why he didn’t want to have any more kids.
I let out a long sigh. Playing with baby Sasha hadn’t cured me of my issues yet, and I might barely see her in the future. Even when Daniel returned to work, he wasn’t likely to bring his niece with him. He’d eventually find a quality nanny.
I turned as the door to the hallway opened.
Daniel bounded into the room in a suit and tie instead of sweats. Sasha wasn’t with him.
I blinked several times. He’d not said anything to me about coming into the office, and even more than that, he was grinning.
Instead of an exhausted zombie who looked like he was going to fall over any minute, he looked well rested and happy. The sight was almost eerie.
I swallowed and hoped he hadn’t turned to drugs to help him through the stress. A man like him could probably get whatever happy pills he needed, legal or otherwise.
Daniel closed on my desk. “Hello, Morgan.”
I stared into his eyes. They weren’t bloodshot, and there was no pupil dilation. Other than his happy mood, he wasn’t fidgeting at all.
“Hello, Daniel,” I said, looking him further up and down. “You seem like you’re in a good mood.” The truth was he did just look happy and not at all high.
Daniel smiled. “A little sleep does wonders, and I’ve finally been getting some.”
I smiled softly. “So you’ve got the Sasha situation under control? I’m surprised she’s already sleeping so well.”
He leaned over my desk. The spicy scent of his cologne washed over me, and I swallowed.
In recent days I’d become used to dealing with the depressed and disheveled man, not all that attractive. Now that he was back to his old self, the flame that I’d felt when we touched and kiss before rekindled in me.
“She’s still being a newborn, but now I actually have someone helping with that, and letting me get some sleep,” Daniel said.
That explained why he hadn’t called me up in a panic. The familiar disappointment resurfaced.
“Oh? You got a replacement then? Or did you go to a different agency?”
“I called up the agency and let them have it,” Daniel said. “They sent over another nanny, Sandy. Unlike Fiona, this woman actually knows what she’s doing. She’s perfect, and great with Sasha, and she’s really helping me learn how to take care of things myself as well.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I’m not going to keep the nanny long-term, but it is good to not be so helpless in case she gets sick or something.” He laughed. “I shouldn’t be calling my assistant randomly on the weekend to come and save me.”
My cheeks heated. “Oh, this Sandy sounds perfect.”
I folded my hands together in my lap, tightly lacing my fingers. Tension suffused my neck and shoulders, and it took me a few seconds to realize that what I was feeling was jealousy. It was almost like in the back of my mind I’d convinced myself that Daniel would have to come crawling back to me for help with the baby, and now he was clearly letting me know that I wasn’t needed, at least not in that way.
I wondered what this Sandy looked like. Was she young and attractive? Exotic and foreign, maybe?
My eyes widened, and I pushed the thoughts out of my head. I had no right to be jealous of his nanny. I should have been ecstatic for him. Sandy sounded exactly like what he needed. In the end, I was just being selfish, and Daniel was finally returning to his old self. If anything, I should thank Sandy the first chance I got.
“Well, she’s a perfect nanny at least,” Daniel said. “Perfect enough that combined with, you, my perfect assistant, I can make some changes in my lifestyle that will be of benefit to both Sasha and me.”
The forced smile on my face became genuine, the jealousy fading. Perfect assistant?
“What sort of ch
anges?” I asked.
“I’m going to start working half days from the office, and the rest from home. I want to make sure that I’m around Sasha, and that she gets to know me. She deserves to have family around her, even if I’m making Sandy handle the annoying parts.” Daniel’s grin finally vanished. “Now, here’s the part that becomes somewhat annoying, and I have to apologize.”
My stomach twisted. “Annoying?”
“You’ve been great while I’ve been going through this, and we have the phone and email, but at the end, sometimes you just need to come and talk things out face to face.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay. Not saying I disagree, but I guess I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
“I’m going to need you to spend half the day at my house,” Daniel said. “I already have some guys there right now wiring things and setting things up, so it won’t just be about you sitting on my couch with the laptop or whatever.”
“Oh, that’s not such a big deal,” I said. “You have a nice couch.” I smiled.
At least he would if he cleaned it up. I hoped his housekeeper had already taken care of that.
Daniel shook his head. “No, it is a big deal. When I hired you, I made my expectations clear, and now I’m changing the terms of your employment. The only fair thing to do is give you a raise.”
I gasped. I couldn’t believe it. He was already paying so much better than my last job.
“I’ve not been here long enough to earn a raise. I mean I’d like it, but, are you really sure?”
“I own the company,” Daniel said, with a smirk. “You’re my personal assistant, and you’ve gone above and beyond the call in these last couple of weeks. If you don’t deserve a raise, then I don’t know who does.”
My face heated, and I looked down. All the lingering thoughts of jealousy vanished under the onslaught of Daniel’s praise. He appreciated me far more than I’d realized.
“Now, I also need you again,” Daniel said. “And again, I’m going to need you to go above and beyond.”
“No rest for the wicked?” I joked.
Daniel laughed. “Something like that. The thing is, I get that not only have I made things harder for you, but also for the senior staff, and a lot of other people. Though I’m sure I’ve mostly hurt the senior staff. And I need to make it up to them.”
I didn’t want to mention to him that I’d heard Iris and a few others bitching in the break room. At the time, I was irritated that they wouldn’t extend a little more empathy to a man who had just lost his sister. Some people only cared about themselves.
“I’m sure they understand,” I offered. “You’ve gone through a lot in a short time.”
Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know about that, but I do know that I’d like to put together a nice dinner for them, as a way of thanking them for putting up with me during this wholly unexpected transition.”
“Okay, that sounds quite nice.”
“The thing is I need you to do this by Friday.”
I nibbled on my lip and nodded. If I started making the calls immediately, it was still doable.
“Do you have any sort of preferences?” I asked. “Vendors that you’d prefer, maybe ones that’ll give us a discount?”
“A discount?” Daniel said. He barked out a laugh. “No, no discounts. Money’s not an object for this dinner. You contact who you want, and you spend what you need. Just do it right and well.”
I stared at him. “Money is no object?”
Daniel nodded. “Don’t worry about anything else for the rest of the day. I’ll handle all the email and whatnot directed my way.”
“And you’re sure?”
“I’ve never been surer about anything.” Daniel bounded toward his office. “Don’t worry about asking me any questions about the dinner. I like the idea of being surprised.” He closed the door behind him.
I turned in my chair and looked at my screen. Apparently, I’d finally get to try my hand at party planning. With it being Tuesday, that wasn’t a lot of time, but with an effectively unlimited budget, that would help me deal with persuading a place.
First things first, I needed to find a venue.
Chapter 19
Daniel
Damn, I looked great, if I did say so myself.
I stared at myself at the mirror as I finished slipping into one of my more expensive tuxedos. I even grabbed my lucky golden cufflinks. I wore them whenever I finished off a big deal. They’d always been my favorite but didn’t seem like something really justified for daily wear, but a nice celebratory dinner was the perfect occasion for them.
Even though I’d dropped by the office in suits, actually dressing up for an evening out fueled my confidence. I’d spent far too many days in ratty sweats and t-shirts, recently, looking like a bum instead of a billionaire. Turns out a newborn baby takes a lot out of a man.
I snorted. A lot of complaints that mothers had offered throughout the years now made a lot more sense to me. I’d never been too dismissive, and my company had a generous maternity policy.
But perhaps it wasn’t generous enough. I’d have to think about improving it, but that could wait for another day.
I moved to my watch tray and pulled out one of my Patek Phillippe watches. It matched well with my cufflinks. Again, this was something I tended to wear only on special occasions, but it also had always brought me luck.
Finding Sandy had made me feel like I’d finally had a spot of luck. It had turned a disaster into an opportunity.
I couldn’t say I still didn’t harbor some resentment toward my sister, but I took my promise to her seriously, and I was starting to understand that Sasha was a gift, not a burden.
After I finished dressing, I headed down the stairs. Sandy sat on the couch feeding Sasha. I walked over to them and then leaned over to kiss my niece on the head.
“Very elegant, Mr. Brown,” Sandy said.
“Thank you,” I said, adjusting my bow tie. “It’s been far too long.”
“It’s very nice of you to have a fancy dinner party as a thank you,” she said.
I waved a hand. “The situation has been chaotic, and everyone has been reacting like champions. If I didn’t do anything, I couldn’t live with myself.”
“Well, I hope you have a good time,” Sandy said, with a smile. “Don’t you worry about Sasha. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.
“I’m sure you will.” I glanced at my watch. I needed to get on the road soon. “I’m not sure when I’ll be home,” I said to Sandy. “If you need me either call my cell or that of my assistant, and I’ll get back to you right away. If you need anything delivered, just use the card I gave you.”
“I think we’ll survive one night without a delivery,” Sandy said. “As for Sasha, I can handle anything this baby can dish out,” she laughed. “It’s hard for babies to be that much trouble until they can move on their own. That’s one of the reasons I love this age.”
“They probably sleep more when they are older though.”
“Pish-posh. Give her a few more weeks, and we’ll start having to wake her up for feedings because she’ll be sleeping so long.
I nodded. Sandy was taking the brunt of dealing with my niece’s late-night feedings, so I supposed she had more reason to be concerned about Sasha sleeping through the night than I did.
“Thank you for everything you do,” I said.
“You’re welcome. Now get to your party. It’s rude to be late to an event you’re throwing.”
I chuckled. “Okay.” I offered her a wave before heading toward my six-car garage. I surveyed all my vehicles trying to decide on my ride for the night. After about a minute, and taking into account that it was a nice, cool night, I decided on my Jaguar convertible.
Soon, I sped away from my house.
Thirty minutes later, I handed my keys to a valet before stepping into the restaurant hosting the dinner, a nice French place. I’d been there a couple of times for business and negotiat
ion dinners.
I rubbed my chin as I considered Morgan’s event planning skills.
The restaurant was a good choice, upscale but not pretentious. I glanced into a nearby mirror, chuckling. Upscale, but not pretentious? Since when had I cared about being pretentious? I was wearing a half-million-dollar watch. If that didn’t define pretentiousness, I didn’t know what did.
Still, I wasn’t embarrassed. I’d bought that watch after I’d crossed the billionaire threshold. It served as a reminder of how far I’d come in my career. I frowned at myself in the mirror, suddenly wondering where all the concerns and justifications were coming from.
I wasn’t even thinking like myself. Sasha had apparently changed me a lot in a short time. Or maybe it was the combination of dealing with the baby and the death of my younger sister.
Running a hand through my hair, I took a deep breath. I did try to remember that just because things had stabilized, it didn’t mean everything was perfect. I’d come to terms with Daisy’s death, but it wasn’t like I could ignore it.
I shook the dark mood off. The night wasn’t about me or my emotional state. It was about honoring and rewarding the employees who had to pick up the pieces at my business when my life started falling apart. They deserved a reward, so I was going to give it to them.
I approached the maître d.’
The refined man gave me a restrained smile. Somehow, he almost made me feel underdressed and out of place, despite being a billionaire in a tuxedo.
“Mr. Brown,” the man said, “please let me lead you to the Golden Room. The rest of your party has already arrived. We’ve already started serving them some wine and cocktails.”
“Thank you. Please lead on.”
I followed him down a long hallway to the private dining room. I’d actually had a business luncheon there about six months before. It had helped lead to the English investment opportunities.
