Chapter 4
Winnie
“How was your interview?” Liliana asks with so much excitement in her voice. She knows how much I want to find another family like the Marshalls to work for. That isn't an easy feat though.
“It was good. I think we’ll be a good fit,” I say, my attention on anything except this conversation.
I’m trying to get my entire apartment packed before the movers come. I'm not sure when they’re even coming, I just know Jamie said he’d handle it.
I wonder what my room at Jamie’s will be like. I should’ve asked him to see it, but I didn’t even think of it. I was too focused on watching how adorable him and Tali are together.
“Do I know the family you’re working for?” Lils asks.
“Umm… I don’t know?” I wince as the words come out of my mouth. I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t know what else to say.
Jamie never came out and said I could tell anyone about Tali and the last thing in the world I want to do is upset Jamie before I'm even working for him.
“Winnie,” Liliana says firmly, her reporter voice coming through.
“What? I can't hear you.”
I glance around the room, looking for anything that can crinkle and make it sound like we’re breaking up.
“You can hear me! And stop looking for something to crinkle!”
“Are you watching me?” I shriek as I frantically look around my tiny closet like Liliana’s going to jump out and scare me.
“How would I be watching you! What are you hiding from me?”
“I can't tell you! I want to, so badly, but I… I don’t know if I'm supposed to tell anyone.”
“But I'm your best friend,” Liliana says sadly.
“I know! Let me talk to my new employer, then I’ll tell you whatever I can. They’re in a… tough position. The identity of the child is being kept hidden and I'm not sure if I can tell you who they are.”
“What! This sounds like some crazy undercover job. Should I be worried?” Her voice grows frantic with each word.
“Absolutely not.” I chuckle, thinking about how she’d react if she knew I was working for Schmidt. “My new employer is a total sweetheart.”
“Male or female?”
“I’d prefer not to answer.” I grin, knowing I'm going to drive her crazy by avoiding her questions.
“Age?”
“You should never ask anyone over sixteen their age, Lils. You know that.” My grin grows into a smirk when she huffs on the other side of the line.
Liliana hates nothing more than people avoiding her questions and not giving her the information she wants.
“How many kids?”
“One.”
“How old?”
“Under five.”
“Oh my gosh, Winnie! I can't guess who your employer is just by the child’s age!”
“I promise you, Lils, if I gave you a kabillion guesses, you still wouldn’t guess it.”
I smile to myself, thinking about Jamie again.
I can't stop thinking about how good he is with Tali. I just can't imagine how difficult his life is when he’s trying to juggle being a professional baseball player and being a single father. Both jobs are extremely demanding and I don’t know how he does it all.
I wonder exactly how many hours a week I’ll be alone with Tali, but she seems like a chill and easy-going toddler. I can't wait to get to know her a little bit better. Everything will be easier when she gets comfortable around me.
My phone beeps with an incoming call. I pull it away from my face to check the caller ID and a smile tugs on my lips when I see it’s Jamie.
“Hey, Winnie, I need to go. My employer is calling me.”
“I can hear the smile in your voice, Winnie! Do you have a crush-”
I end the call before she can finish asking her question. It’s another question I won't ask. One I refuse to give the answer to, even to myself. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how I feel about Jamie. My job is to take care of his daughter. Nothing can happen between us.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Winnie, it’s Jamie.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I was wondering if you were free to spend the day with us? I want to make sure Tali can spend time with you before the season starts and we only have a week.”
I can hear the nervousness and hesitation in his voice. It’s so sweet how much he worries about his daughter. It’s something I don’t see very often.
“Of course. I was just packing up my last box. Give me twenty minutes to get cleaned up and I’ll be ready.”
“Ok. I was thinking…” He trails off. I grin as I wait for him to continue. Jamie can be really awkward, but I honestly love that about him.
He doesn’t try to put on a show or make people like him. He’s just him and he doesn’t seem to care if you don’t like that.
“Yeah?” I push when he doesn’t continue.
“Holy crap, this is hard.” He chuckles on the other end of the line.
“We’re friends, Jamie. You can talk to me about anything.”
“Are we? Friends, I mean?” The surprise in his tone makes me laugh. He’s adorable.
“I'll be living in your house and spending most of my day with your daughter. I hope we’re friends, otherwise things are about to get awkward.”
“I'm sorry. The last nanny I had was old enough to be my mother. I didn’t view her as a friend, I guess I viewed her as a stand-in grandmother for Tali.”
“Then you can view me as a stand-in… aunt.” I almost slip up and say mother, but not only would that be weird, I also don’t want to offend him when his wife died two years ago. When his wife never got to be a mother to his baby.
“I was thinking maybe you should have Wheeler and Smithy help you move,” He blurts out in one quick breath.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to do anything you’re not ready to do.”
“No? But you’re right. I can't keep Tali a secret forever, it’s not fair to anyone.”
“Ok. When do you want me to have them help?”
“Is this weekend too soon?” The hesitation in his voice is back. It always brings a smile to my face. He doesn’t tell me what to do, he asks permission.
“Jamie,” I say softly. “You’re my boss. You’re supposed to tell me what you want me to do and I'm supposed to listen.”
“I'm not a good boss.”
“I think you’ll be an amazing boss.”
“Well, don’t expect too much. I might lose my mind if I have to worry about being a good boss, dad, and center fielder.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.” I chuckle. “You do what you need to and I’ll pick up the pieces at home.”