Up until my wife passed away, I had probably been in the same workaholic category as Rob. I spent morning, noon, and night at the office. With Claire gone, though, I had to prioritize, and my children took the lead in how I spent my time. They were Claire’s pride and joy, and being close to my children made me feel closer to her.
“I admit I may have had an issue last night. There was this goddess at the bar who let me buy her a drink, but when I flashed the pearly whites, she suddenly didn’t have time for me.”
“Goddess eh? Why was she talking to you?” I couldn’t help teasing him a little bit. “And more like you flashed the pearly yellow tooth, and she ran for her life.”
“I’ll get the tooth fixed this week. It’s going to happen; I’m putting it on my calendar.”
It was a total lie. Rob wasn’t putting it on his calendar, and he certainly wasn’t going to make time to get it fixed that week with me being out of the office trying to find a nanny. But I figured it wasn’t worth arguing about.
“So did you get the phone number of this goddess?”
“Nah, I couldn’t find her all night and only saw her again as her friends were leaving. She was probably a little too young for me anyway. Early twenties make it difficult to have a real relationship.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter another second. What the heck was Rob thinking flirting with a girl in her early twenties? Rob was 48-years-old, balding, and had a bit of a gut on him. Even I didn’t flirt with girls that young, and I had a full head of hair and ran almost daily.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said as I tried to stop laughing. “But come on, early twenties. What are you doing Rob? She was literally half your age. There’s only one thing you were thinking about when hitting on that girl, and it wasn’t a relationship.”
“She was beautiful damn it. I couldn’t help myself. I would have let her do anything she wanted to me. All night long, every night. Man, she was pretty.”
“Well, I think you should try to stick to within ten years of your age. You start bedding girls like that, and you’re only going to end up being their sugar daddy. Do you seriously want to be paying for these girls to drive fancy cars and carrying ten thousand dollar purses? That’s not a real relationship, Rob.”
“Tell you the truth; I’d have given that girl whatever she wanted. You should have seen her. And I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but at our age being a sugar daddy isn’t all that bad of a thing. The women close to my age are independent and hard headed. They don’t want a man around – they want to prove they can do it all on their own.”
“Okay, okay, I’m going to swing by the hiring firm and try and get a new nanny. You go cool yourself off and get some work done. I’ll email you later, and we can talk about the campaign.”
“Maybe hire one of those hot twenty-something nannies,” Rob joked.
“Nope. I go for well-trained and excellent references. Looks have no bearing on a nanny’s ability to take care of my children.”
“Yeah, yeah, boring. I’ll talk to you later.”
Hiring a new nanny was going to be exhausting. I’d spent two weeks going through profiles the last time and interviewed twelve women. No one was good enough for my kids. So when we found Rachel, I was excited and hopeful that she’d work out well for us.
Unfortunately, after a couple months, I realized she just wasn’t the right one. So when she decided to quit, it was for the best. Now I could get another nanny who would fit into our family just right.
“Mr. English, I’m disappointed to see you walking through my doors again,” Mrs. Canter said. “What happened this time?”
“Nothing. She just decided she wanted to go to college.”
“Mr. English, Rachel was a thirty-four-year-old mother of triplet teenagers. She was the best of the best that I have. I’m not sure I’ll be able to find you someone else.”
“Oh, you’re underestimating your abilities. I’m sure you have someone that would fit.”
“Maybe you should ask some of your friends. Get some recommendations from people that you trust, and then go from there? I think you’ve interviewed everyone that I have in my books here.”
My stomach churned, and a bit of panic started to set in. I needed a nanny. The big campaign pitch with the Heir Hotel chain was only a few months away, and I’d have to travel out of town for two weeks. I needed to hire a nanny, train her, and be comfortable with her staying alone with my children; all in the next two months.
“No, I need you to find me one. I don’t have the time to ask around and then check references and all of that. I really would prefer if we could look at the nannies you have available. Maybe there’s someone you don’t think I gave a fair shake to? I’d be happy to interview them again and see if things might work.”
“I’m going to be honest with you, Tyler; you’ve got to lighten up a little bit. I know your children mean the world to you. I’m one hundred percent sure that you only want the best for them. But a nanny has to have the freedom to do things her way and build a relationship with the children. Nothing is going to be the same as before, but you can find someone that makes your children happy and will take excellent care of them if you allow the woman to have some freedom.”
“I understand. So do you have anyone I can interview? I promise I’ll be more relaxed with the rules.”
“Not at this time. But I’ll put the word out and see if any of my colleges have someone that might work for you. I’ll get back to you if I hear something. Until then, I’d put the word out with your friends and see if any of them know a good nanny. You’d be surprised at the quality of person you can find by using personal references like that.”
I was devastated. With only a couple months to go, I had to get a nanny hired right away. If I didn’t start working with the new nanny this week, it was going to be impossible to teach her everything that needed to be learned before I had to leave on my trip.
“Okay, can you call me if you think of anyone?”
“Of course, and I wish you the best of luck.”
As I walked out of the staffing agency, I had no idea what I was going to do next. I’d already taken so much time off of work to stay home with the kids that Rob was taking on twice as much work as he needed to. I had to get back to the office and pull my weight with this new deal we were working on.
“Call Jason Hartley,” I spoke to my Bluetooth.
“This is Jason.”
“Hey Jason, it’s Tyler English; I am in desperate need of a nanny. Do you have any recommendations?”
Jason was a local CEO that was also a single father. I’d run into him a few times at charity events and exchanged numbers in case we could ever arrange a play date. His little boy was just a few years younger than my son.
“Hey, Tyler, I’m sorry. I’ve had Rosie for awhile now and haven’t needed to look. I can keep my ear out and see if I hear about any, though. What’s going on?”
“My last one decided to go to back to college.”
“Wasn’t she in her thirties?” he snickered.
“Yeah, I think it was just an excuse to quit. Something about me being too demanding and rude.”
“Well, I know how tough it is to find someone. I’ll ask around and let you know if anyone pops up. Have you tried Canter Care? They have a huge list, and that’s where I found Rosie.”
“She blackballed me from there.” I laughed. “Told me I’d already interviewed everyone, and she didn’t have anyone else for me.”
“Ouch.”
“Well, thanks for keeping your eye out. I’d appreciate it. I really need to get someone hired right away.”
“No problem, good luck.”
I made a few more phone calls to the men and women I knew who used nannies. Of course, everyone was happy with the person they were using and couldn’t think of anyone that I could possibly call.
By the time I returned home and sat down to work in my office, the situation was feeling dire. How was it possible
that every good nanny in Chicago was already hired, and there wasn’t a single one that I could interview?
Chapter 3
Summer
“Could we do a ninety-minute massage, please? I’ve been so stressed out you wouldn’t believe.”
“Of course, Miss Edwards. I think we should do the lip injections and Botox first, though. You’re going to want to relax after those are done,” the aesthetician said as she examined my face. “You really don’t have many wrinkles. Where do you get the Botox.”
“This line right here on my forehead. If I squint, I look hideous,” I said as I pointed to the deep line near my eyebrow that I hated.
“Yes, okay, squint for me so I can see it.”
As I squinted as hard as I could, she pressed the needle into the area and shot a couple cc’s of Botox into it. I’d been getting Botox injections for a year since turning twenty-three had basically made every one of my lines start popping out on my face.
“For the lips, I don’t like them to look crazy. Just a little on the top peak and a little on the bottom. The last girl jacked them up, and I looked like I had floatation device lips for at least a month. It was not cool at all.”
“I totally understand. After you came in to talk to the manager, she showed us all how you liked to have them done. I’m very sorry for the inconvenience last time.”
This was exactly why I kept coming back to Aesthetic Surgery and MedSpa – they knew how to treat their clients. Even when something didn’t go as planned they owned up to it and made sure the error was fixed. Although I first visited them for my breast implants, I’d been coming back to the MedSpa for the last year. They did hair, nails, pedicures, massages, and injections. It was basically a one-stop shop for getting beautiful.
She massaged the areas of injection while I sat back and relaxed for a few minutes. Life really had gotten so stressful for me. It was impossible to try and relax with the constant worrying I was under.
“Thank you so much,” I said to the girl.
“You know, I see a couple of lines forming around your eyes. Would you like to do some Botox there too?”
“What? No!” I screamed. “Let me see.”
“They aren’t too bad, but since you’re here, we could certainly take care of them. It’s only a little extra.”
“Yes, please, please, I can’t be looking hideous.”
She did a couple extra injections on each side, and then I moved into the massage room for my last bit of pampering. I’d already had my hair dyed and nails done, so it was time to lay back and let the masseuse release all the stresses of the day.
Of course, I only booked with the hot guy from Spain. If you were going to get a massage, there was no reason you shouldn’t pick the hottest guy in the place to be rubbing all over your naked body.
“Hello, Miss Edwards,” Sergio said in his delicious accent.
“Sergio, darling, I told you to call me Summer. You’re being naughty today aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry, Summer; it’s nice to see you again,” he said as he motioned for me to lay back. “Are there any areas that are particularly bothering you?”
“My thighs have been so tight. Could you work on those first?”
Sergio was slightly older than me with a dark complexion and long hair that he always kept pulled back. No matter how hard I flirted with him, he never gave in to me. It was becoming so frustrating, though. How was it even possible a guy like him wasn’t willing to break the rules and have a little fun with someone like me?
He did as I asked and started massaging my legs. He moved up and down my thighs but stopped at an appropriate distance from anything too exciting. When he was done there, he came up and sat by my head as he massaged under my shoulders.
I pressed my chest out in an effort to entice him as his hands moved seductively across my skin. It was pointless, though. He just gave me a pleasant smile and continued about the massage. By the time I flipped over so he could work my entire back, I was done flirting and just wanted the darn massage.
“Thank you, Sergio,” I said as I handed him a tip. “I loved having your hands on my body.”
“Thank you, Miss Summer, have a great day.”
When I arrived at the front counter, I couldn’t help but try and figure out what the heck was going on with Sergio. Obviously, he wasn’t rich, and I wouldn’t have dated the guy, but he could have at least flirted with me and not blown me off.
“So tell me about Sergio,” I said as I leaned over the counter to talk to the receptionist. “Is he married? Dating someone? What’s his story?”
“No, I don’t think he is. Isn’t he the best masseuse, though? I mean everyone raves about him.”
“Yeah, he’s the best.”
“Okay, so your total today is four thousand, two hundred and eighty-five dollars.”
“Wow, that’s more than normal.”
“Did you have some extra injections? Those are four hundred dollars for each cc.”
I handed over the money as panic started to build. I’d already spent my money after a couple days of visiting with my friends and a day at the spa. I’d spent everything I had and didn’t have enough to pay my portion of the rent. Patrick was going to kill me, I was sure of it.
“Yes, thank you so much,” I said as I tried to hold myself together while I walked out to Patrick’s car.
He’d been nice enough to loan me his car, and I was going to go home without the money for rent, again. I just couldn’t do it. I knew what had to be done – I hated it, but it had to be done. My father wasn’t exactly helping me out lately, but I hadn’t been asking him for money either. I was doing my best to be on my own, and although I really did hope my family would just give me my credit card back, I didn’t need all of that at the moment. I just needed a little help with the rent.
“Hi Daddy,” I said when he answered on the first ring.
“How are you doing? How’s the new job going?”
“Things are going so great, Daddy. I’m just between jobs right now, so I’m going to go on some interviews. But I’m really excited to see what is out there.”
“Summer, you lost another job?” he said in that disappointing tone of voice that I was beginning to get used to. I hated that voice. I’d hated it since I was a child and brought home mediocre grades.
My father wanted someone really smart to take over his businesses. He wanted a son. Instead, he was stuck with me – a girl who was more interested in fashion and friends than math problems. I hated college and was horrible when I tried to work with him. Basically, I was an overall disappointment to my father, and I knew it.
My entire life had been spent always feeling like I wasn’t good enough for him. He expected so much, and I consistently under delivered. At some point, I just stopped believing I could ever be the daughter he had hoped for.
There was no ivy league in my future. No big office job or fancy business suits. That just wasn’t who I was. Even though I wasn’t sure exactly who I wanted to be yet, I knew that an office job was not going to be on my list.
“Dad, I’m trying really hard.”
“Well, I’m not giving you any money. I’m sorry, but you’ve got to learn to take care of yourself sooner or later, and me bailing you out all the time isn’t helping anything.”
I tried not to cry. Tears weren’t the answer, and I knew it. I just couldn’t help myself as his verbal scolding made me feel more and more terrible. I’d been raised in a house where people did things for me all the time. It wasn’t until I turned twenty-one that this idea of me being able to fend for myself had even been mentioned.
Yes, I knew I should be able to work and do all of these things. Yet I had never had a single stitch of practice, and I was so frustrated. It would have been nice to be one of those people who understood things right away and could pick up new tasks. I wish I were like that. But I couldn’t focus; I couldn’t keep thoughts straight in my head half of the time, and I was always frustrated.
“Daddy, I’ve got to pay Patrick rent money. Could you please just loan me a thousand dollars. I’ll pay you back if you need me to,” I said through my tears. “I am working hard. I’ve been getting jobs, but I’m no good at them. I’ll get another job soon and try harder.”
“A thousand dollars is all you need, and you don’t have that? What have you been doing with the money from selling your purses?”
“How did you know I was selling my purses?”
“Your mother keeps seeing them at the consignment shop that she likes to go to. So you’re selling your purses and partying? Drinking? What are you doing since I know you’re not working.”
I heard the frustration in my dad’s voice, and I wanted to make it better. Genuinely, I wished I wasn’t so frustrating for him. If I could magically be better, I would have already done it. The problem was, I had this huge learning curve for adulthood, and I was barely scraping the surface of all the things I needed to learn.
“Dad, I’m trying really hard.”
“Honey, I love you with every stitch of my being, but I don’t think you understand the meaning of hard work yet. That’s my fault. I should have required you to work harder as a teenager. I should have asked for more from you, and I’m sorry. But that’s why right now is so important. You’ve got to find your own way.”
“Daddy, but I have no skills, no money.”
“Honey, what about being a model? You talked about that before. Is there any work there?”
“I got on with an agent, but she says it’s hard to find work for me because I’m commercial, which means I’m a basic girl without an interesting look.”
“Maybe you could try the cosmetics counter at the mall. You’re really good with your makeup.”
“Daddy, that pays like minimum wage. I can’t live off of that. How am I supposed to do anything fun? All my money would go toward rent, and I’d have nothing left.”
He paused for what seemed like forever, and I thought for sure he was going to cave in and give me some money. I understood I had to get a job. I had to start working, and I’d do that right away. But I also had to pay Patrick the rent money or he wasn’t going to let me keep living at his place. I’d missed the last money and couldn’t do that to him again.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 3
