Chapter 4 Theo
THEO
I checked my watch and stomped back to the foot of the stairs. “Zoe, we're going to be late.”
Connor leaned lazily against the wall next to the stairs and rolled his eyes. His dark baggy jeans and oversized T-shirt looked ridiculous, but I was beyond telling him how to dress.
“You should wake her earlier in the morning.”
I resisted the urge to glare at the littlest Snow. The truth was, waking Zoe was the first thing I did every single morning. At least, on school mornings. “You focus on bringing that math grade up and leave your sister to me.”
Besides, there were only a few more weeks of school left before summer break. At least then I wouldn’t need to struggle through this morning routine of shouting and unhappiness.
While Connor stood there scrolling through his phone, I glared at the top of the stairs.
I hadn’t yet spoken to them about Maggie and her kids moving in.
Breakfast revolved around lecturing my little brother about the importance of math.
The problem was that Math was not an elective, which was stupid.
So my kid brother had to struggle with it for at least another two years.
Not that Zoe was present for breakfast. Every morning she would come sprinting down the stairs and beg me for money to get a muffin or something at the school’s early morning snack machine.
As if I conjured her by thinking about it, Zoe came running down the stairs, hopping off the last three. “Why are you two standing around? We’re going to be late for school.” She looked me up and down. “Why are you wearing jeans and a T-shirt?”
“We’ll talk about it in the car.” I never wore anything other than a suit to the office. Even if I knew I had no meetings. Nothing less than a tie and jacket.
As usual, Zoe jumped in the back while Connor climbed into the seat next to me.
Since the ride to school was short, I didn’t waste any time. “Maggie is having a little trouble with her ex-husband.” I darted an eye over at my brother and his head flipped to me. “I offered to let her move in with us for a little while.”
“Wait.” Zoe’s head popped between the seats. A smile evident in her voice. “Maggie and the kids?”
“Yup.”
“For how long?” There was far too much glee in her voice.
“Long enough to ensure her ex knows to stay away from her and her children.”
“So, indefinitely?” Zoe seemed to be having fun questioning me.
“Yup. Are you okay with that?”
She let out a little laugh. “Are you?”
Connor frowned at me. “More importantly, is she? You two seem to piss each other off a lot.”
I rolled my eyes at both of them. “Her priority is keeping her kids away from that asshole. And of course, I’m okay with it. Why wouldn’t I be? We have a whole separate wing that is not being used.”
Zoe shook her head next to me. “I’m okay with it. If nothing else it would be fun having a front row seat to this drama.”
“Her husband being out of prison is not a drama for your entertainment.” I scowled at my sister and then turned back to the road as I pulled into the school’s drop off lane. “She is having a tough time.”
“Maggie is the sweetest of all the Bauman sisters. I would never make fun of her troubles.” Zoe bit back a smile. “But if you think that is the biggest drama around, you really are clueless. You have my okay, by the way. If that was what you were looking for.”
I darted a quick gaze to Connor as stopped the car. “And you?”
“She can cook. Always has snacks ready when we stay with Tiff. She’s solid in my book.” My brother opened his door and climbed out. “Bye.”
At least, teenage boys’ priorities were consistent.
Less than ten minutes later I was back at home.
Maggie’s beat up SUV was parked at the end of the driveway where I usually parked.
She leaned against the driver’s door. For a single moment, the years fell away.
She was the eighteen-year-old girl I had a crush on with that shy smile and dreams of building an empire.
Then I blinked and it was gone. With her arms crossed, her loose black cropped top rode up a bit, exposing a lovely expanse of olive skin above her jeans. There was no way to miss the exhaustion in her stance, or the determination in the lift of her chin.
I stepped out of my car and chanced a peak into her back seat. Her kids had stayed with her parents the night before so I knew they wouldn’t be with her, but I wanted to see how much she brought with her.
“Everything I brought is in the trunk.” She pressed the key fob and the doors clicked open. “I’m hoping this won’t be a long visit. Maybe he’ll find that we’re all too much trouble and just let things go.”
One could hope. Still. I took the small suit case out of the back and slung both duffle bags over my shoulder. “He may want to see his kids.”
“No.” Maggie opened the back door and picked up her handbag. “He may want to make my life difficult and use the kids to do it. He was never what one would call a… father. He certainly never knew Jaycee.”
“Well, you can stay here as long as you need to.” In fact, now that she was here, I had a hard time picturing her anywhere else.
I hovered my free hand over the scanner at the entrance and my front door clicked open. “I’ll need to program your hand print and finger prints into the security system.”
“You don’t need a retina scan?” The sarcasm was thick in her soft voice. “Or what about a DNA sample?”
Rolling my eyes I moved my head slowly from side to side. “Your car is already programmed at the front gate and my system already has a photo of your face.”
“Why does your system have a photo of me?” Her scowl was adorable.
I resisted the urge to smile. “All my friends are in the system.”
We moved inside. I pointed to a room on the left. “That’s my office. You’ll probably find me in there when I work from home.”
She nodded and followed me through the living room, the faint smell of apples tingling my nose.
She still used the same shampoo she did as a teenager.
I inhaled deeply, her scent mixed with the sterile lavender polish Maria used relaxed something inside me.
Like the fragrance of her was always meant to be part of my home.
She gasped and spun in a circle. “It looks like a museum.”
“Not always.” I stood next to her and shoved my hands in my pockets. “On a good day there can be book bags and cheerleader gear found in odd places.”
“That’s good.” Her shoulders dropped and a little tension left her face. “I would hate to think my kids will be the only chaos in this space. Because they will bring it. I hope you’re ready.”
I let out a small chuckle. “I’m sure I'm up for a challenge. You forget. I’ve raised Zoe and Connor.”
I had been raising them long before our father and his wife, Zoe and Connor’s mom, died. Their version of parenting had been less than hands-on. A lot less.
“I’ll remind you of that when you’re navigating a tantrum because the doll drowned in the sink.”
“I look forward to it.”
Our eyes locked. She was under my roof, her kids were under my care. The thought should’ve probably scared me but I meant what I said. I looked forward to having them in my home.
Maggie shook her head and broke the moment. “Well, hopefully, we’ll stay out of your hair enough that you don’t need to find out.”
I turned to face her and lifted her chin to look at me. At almost six feet, I wasn’t the tallest man in our circle but I was still nearly a foot taller than her. Although, she would argue with anyone who dared to insinuate she was less than five-foot-one.
“Mags. You’re going to be staying here indefinitely.
At least, until that douchebag gets the message that you and the kids are not to be messed with.
Make them comfortable.” I flung my arms around the room.
“All of this is meant to be enjoyed. It's only things. Some are more expensive than others, but still things. There are no priceless or historical artworks in any of the living spaces.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened, making me smile.
I rolled my eyes. “I live with two teenagers. One once thought it was a good idea to test how well a skateboard works on marble. The other has a tendency to spill food wherever she goes. I’m not going to make them feel like those are sins just because of a priceless fucking sculpture.”
“Can I see? The priceless artwork, I mean.”
I smiled down and rested my hands on my hips. “One day I’ll show it all to you. But first, let’s get you settled.”
I led her through the living room and up the stairs on the other side of the house. I showed her the rooms and told her to choose where she and the kids could make themselves comfortable. She bent over and immediately unzipped the roller suit case.
The sight of her bent in front of me had my body tensing. “Uh… I’ll leave you to settle in. Once you’re done you can find me in my study and we can go over a few things. Uhm, for the housekeeping job.”
Ignoring the cold wave of self-loathing, I made my way back through the house and into my office. I was lusting after a woman who was under my protection, a woman who was about to be my employee. How fucking cliché. I was not that kind of man. I was not my father.
I had just found an employment contract template when there was a knock at my door. I bit back a smile as her pretty face peeked past the door. “You said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Come in.” I waved her in, and turned back to my laptop. “Just give me a second, please.”
I changed all the relevant information on the contract, and made sure to add that her lodging would be part of her compensation. It wasn’t overly complicated. I hit print then looked up at her while I waited for the document at the small office printer.
My gaze caught on the first few lines. We, the employer and the employee, the document made it so. A legal and professional necessity meant to protect her. That was why I would ignore my feelings. Her safety was the priority.
She stood against a bookcase and I gestured for her to sit in the chair opposite me. The big desk between us was a good reminder of why I needed to keep things professional.
Maggie had other ideas. She scowled at me but didn’t move. “You said you wanted to discuss the job.”
“Its not like I have an extended job description or anything like that.” I thought I was being reasonable. “But I do think there are some rules I need to clarify.”
She stepped forward and braced her hands on the desk. The position made the neckline of her top drop forward, showing off the lace that barely encased those tits. “Look, I am grateful to be here. And for the work. But don’t think I am about to sit through a lecture on how to load your dishwasher.”
My eyes moved slowly back up to hers. “Rule number one. Do not lean in front of me like that.”
Once again, I allowed my gaze to slowly move back to her chest before quickly making eye contact once more.
Maggie pushed away from the desk and sat down. “Just let me sign the contract.”