Chapter 6 The Caveat
THE CAVEAT
Isla
I wandered around my small and very empty apartment as I seriously considered calling the police.
Fuming, I gripped my phone tighter. How could I have been so stupid?
When Steve asked me if he could move in a few of his things, I thought our relationship was finally going somewhere.
As it turned out, he just needed a place that was closer to the train station.
He also needed my rent money to finance his latest side hustle.
The landlord had tried to contact me directly for the past three months, but Steve found a way to make sure I didn’t find out he wasn’t paying the rent.
Not only was he not putting in his portion, but he also pocketed my half of the cash as well—to the tune of five thousand dollars.
I leaned against the wall and let my butt slide all the way to the floor.
Why did I tear the check Declan offered me earlier?
I could’ve used that money to pay the landlord the past due amount to settle the eviction notice he served me days ago—an eviction notice Steve signed for and then decided to hide from me.
Steve had been sure he’d be able to win the money back at the Crucible.
Spoiler alert: he didn’t. He lost even more.
No doubt he would get fired as soon as his boss found out how much Steve had gambled while pretending to be Mr. Moretti.
What a mess. Of course, Steve had freaked out.
His quick solution had been to take off with all my furniture while I was at work.
Even if he managed to sell my things, I seriously doubted he would get the amount he needed to pay off his debt.
But that was Steve, he rarely thought things through.
I glared at the bare walls and the dust bunnies on the worn hardwood floors.
Steve had even taken the Pottery Barn lamp Mom and Dad had gotten for me after graduation.
Honestly, it was the only thing of value I owned.
Everything else, the futon, the full-size mattress, even the pots and pans were old hand-me downs.
I pushed off the floor and went to check the cupboards.
Son of a bitch. He even took the dishes.
Who would buy that from him? I pressed my forehead against the wall and told myself it was okay to cry.
But the tears didn’t come. I wasn’t even sad Steve was gone.
I was angry at myself for wasting my time with him.
Now I knew for sure I never really loved him.
I liked the idea of a boyfriend, someone to hang out with on weekends, someone to love, and make plans with.
That wasn’t Steve. He was barely around, and he wasn’t much of a planner.
The phone rang again, and my blood boiled.
What could Steve possibly want to say to me?
Did he think I had anything else of value?
I sent the call to voicemail and darted to my bedroom closet.
I blew out a breath. Everything was still there, except for a pair of leather boots—the one thing in my wardrobe that was worth anything.
I glanced down at my phone and dialed nine-one-one then hovered my thumb over the send icon.
What would I say to the police? My boyfriend ran off with all my things.
I tapped on the red phone and cleared the screen.
I scrolled down my contact favorites. I cringed at the idea of calling Mom and Dad to ask for help.
My stomach turned when I pictured myself telling them what Steve had done and how it was all mostly my fault. No, my parents were not an option.
Then a new call came in. My heart raced while I stared at the name…. Declan Winston Noble. Why was he calling? Shit. Shit. I glanced around me and picked up a pillow off the floor and laid it neat in the corner. A second later, I realized he couldn’t see me or the state of my apartment.
“Hello.” My voice sounded so tentative and mousy; I didn’t recognize it.
“This is Declan. Don’t hang up.” He released a loud breath.
His sigh of relief and that accent stirred things in the usual spot between my legs. Really? Had I not learned my lesson? This was the guy who had fired me not three hours ago. I couldn’t be having dirty thoughts about him. He was a complete jerk.
“Mr. Noble, why are you calling me?” I switched to speakerphone so I wouldn’t have to keep the device close to my ear. The cries coming through were excruciatingly loud. “And what is that noise?”
“That, Ms. Vendetti, is a baby.”
“Um. What are you doing with a baby?”
“It’s a long story. The short of it is, I—” He cleared his throat. “—I need your help. I literally have no one else to call.”
When he spoke again, he sounded like he was far away from his mobile and shuffling things.
I laughed then covered my mouth as I tried to piece together what was happening.
Somehow Declan had a baby with him, neither of them were doing well, and for whatever cosmic reason, he decided I was the only person he could reach out to.
“What exactly do you need me for? You fired me. Remember? For illicit behavior, if I recall correctly?” I leaned my pillow against the wall, sat on it, and stretched my legs in front of me. Suddenly, my apartment didn’t feel so empty and so lonely.
“I do remember. And I deeply regret my decision. How would you like your job back?”
“As your executive admin? That’s not the job I applied for, by the way.” Omigod, did I really have the guts to haggle with the fixer? What choice did I have? I had exactly nothing to lose.
“I’m aware of that. I spoke with Casey.”
“Then you know I wanted the programmer position.”
“She mentioned that.”
“I won’t return unless it’s for the job I want.” I gritted my teeth. I had gone too far. I placed my head between my knees and waited for him to tell me off.
“Jesus fuck.” He raised his voice.
The wailing got louder, and I sat up straighter. For a second, I thought he had meant me, but then he switched to soothing tones, and I had to assume he was talking to the baby. “What happened?”
“He’s covered in shit. That’s what happened. Jeez, what did he have for dinner?”
“Okay.” I felt sorry for the guy. I couldn’t help it. “I’m assuming the baby came with a diaper bag?”
Moms didn’t leave the house without a fully stocked diaper bag. I had enough cousins with babies to know this small fact.
“Let me check.”
I laughed, shaking my head at the phone. As terrible as it was, I felt good knowing Declan was having a worse day than me. Or at least, equally shitty. Pun intended.
“Yes.” He yelped into the phone. “There’s a bag here with everything.”
“Do you know how to change a diaper?”
“Of course, I do. I’m not daft.”
I cocked an eyebrow and chose not to dwell on the fact that when he called, he was at the end of his rope. “Okay, then. So you’re good to go.”
“Wait. Don’t hang up. Give me a minute.” He dropped the phone on what sounded like a hard surface, maybe the kitchen counter or the floor.
I got comfortable on my pillow and imagined him in his city apartment, looking for a place to change a baby’s diaper. The look of horror I pictured on his face made me smile. I bet he looked incredibly hot holding a baby. I closed my eyes, and it was as if I were right there with him.
“He stopped crying. I think he likes our voices.”
“If he sat in his dirty diaper for a while, you may want to check for rashes or just go ahead and lather him in ointment.”
“Good thinking.” He sounded so serious now. The way doctors did on TV shows during surgery.
“So now that the baby crisis has been averted, do I have my job back, the one I want?” I figured we had to nail that down before he got too comfortable with his baby situation. And just what was that situation?
There was some breathing and then a grumpy sigh on the line. “Yes, Ms. Vendetti, you have your job back. There’s a caveat, though.”
“Oh.”
“Hi.” His smooth and deep voice was a shock to my core—to my uterus.
He hadn’t said hi to me. I knew he’d meant it for the baby, but omigod, that was a sexy hi.
“The caveat.”
“Right. I need you to take care of Joseph while I work tomorrow. Actually, until I find a suitable replacement. Then you can have your job back as a programmer.” He puffed out of breath. “I’ll need at least a month.”
I could only imagine the war zone he was in right about now after a blow-out and a diaper change. “Wait. Thirty days?”
“I could get lucky and find Harper sooner, but I’ll need a few weeks.”
That was a huge commitment. “So I play the nanny for you for thirty days and I can have my job back on your team?”
“That’s right.”
“I want the lead programmer job.” I glanced up and mouthed an “I’m sorry” to the universe.
This was so the definition of taking a foot when given an inch.
But if Declan hadn’t been so quick to get rid of me, he wouldn’t be in this situation.
So this was totally his fault. Not to mention, a month was a long-ass time.
He breathed heavily into the speaker. The deafening silence between us made me want to crawl out of my skin. But just when I thought he was ready to hang up on me, he answered. “Fine.”
“Great.” I wiggled in my pillow seat.
My eyes watered because this was so fucking lucky.
What were the odds that something would happen to make Declan change his mind about me?
The universe was being kind to me, but I needed one more thing.
I closed my eyes and blurted it out. “I’ll need a place to stay.
I mean to be close to the baby. I’m in Brooklyn.
That’s a long train ride into the city and—”
“That makes sense.”
Both my eyes flew open. What? He was saying yes? “I can’t afford an apartment in the city.”
“I figured as much. I…” he trailed off. “This might be the worst idea ever, but I have a spare room. You can make use of it until I figure things out with Joseph.”
Joseph. That was such a grown-up name for a baby. I liked Joey better. Or maybe Baby Joe.
“Hello? Ms. Vendetti? Would that work for you?”
“Oh, yeah. That sounds doable.” I winced at my choice of word. Really? Not that I was thinking about doing my boss, in his own apartment. Wait. What?
Stop. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is your boss, a very hot boss, but your boss, nonetheless. Don’t ruin this second chance.
“Brilliant. Can you start tonight? I have an early meeting. And I still have work to do, which I can’t do because Joseph cries every time I put him down.” He sounded frustrated again.
I wiped my tears and shot to my feet. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll just need to pack a few things.” Or really my entire closet.
“I’ll send a car. Text me your address.”
“Doing it right now.”
“See you in a bit.”
I stood there with my mouth wide open, and then the call ended on its own. Living with Declan was going to be a real challenge. But I could do it. All I had to do was focus on Joey. It would also help if I stopped picturing my boss in nothing but pajama pants.
An hour later, a guy named Tommy showed up at my door saying Mr. Noble had sent him.
He helped me with my two pieces of luggage while I stayed behind to lock up.
I inserted the key into the slot then remembered the landlord had asked me to leave the key on the kitchen counter.
I walked over to the kitchen and dropped the key on the Formica.
I wasn’t going to miss this place. I just hated how things had ended with Steve.
Mainly, how he played me because I was too stupid to see him for what he was, too stupid to see that the man I thought he was only existed in my head, too stupid to see I had overly romanticized our relationship.
I strode out the building and climbed in the back seat of the black Escalade.
I tried not to focus too much on the fact that in the past two days, I had been demoted twice.
First from programmer to executive assistant, then from assistant to nanny.
All those years of IT schooling, only to end up with the job I had while I was in high school.
All I could hope for now was that Declan would deliver on his promise and hire me as the lead programmer on his team.
We made it back to the city in record time.
At this hour, traffic was still in full swing, but Tommy knew what he was doing.
He pulled up to Declan’s building, and my jaw dropped.
Of course, he lived in a swanky place, in a swanky part of town.
Everything about Declan was fancy and refined that way.
I smiled at the top of the building. When Tommy opened the door for me, he chuckled.
“It’s a nice place.” He agreed with me.
“It sure is.”
“You want the twenty-fifth floor. Frank is expecting you. I’ll handle your luggage.”
“Thank you.” I nodded once and headed toward the lobby, where sure enough, Frank met up with me and ushered me to the elevator bay.
“Mr. Noble has been anxiously awaiting your arrival.” He winked at me. “Hang a right when you get there. It’s the last door at the end of the corridor.”
Of course, everyone knew about the baby and the new nanny. “Thanks.” I waved when the doors shut.
With my heart beating fast, I strode to the end of the hallway and rang the doorbell.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly. Not just because I was here to live, but because I really wanted to see Declan again.
When he’d fired me earlier, that had been the first thing that crossed my mind.
I was never going to see him again, not in real life anyway.
But it seemed I had been wrong. The word serendipity flashed in my mind, but I pushed it away.
Romanticizing men was how I ended up on the street without a home or a job.
I was here to get back on track, not do more of the same.
Think professional.
I rang the doorbell again.
This time, the footsteps sounded loud and clear on the other side of the door.
When it swung open, my jaw dropped. God help me.
I had not expected to come home to a freshly showered shirtless Declan with a naked baby in his arm.
I’d seen those pecs before in tabloid pictures.
Lickable—they were lickable. He raked long fingers through his wet hair, biceps bulging while he hugged Joey closer to him with his other arm.
And then, to add insult to injury, he beamed at me like I was his favorite person in the whole wide world.
What woman could resist that?
I squeezed my legs together to ease the throbbing there. “Hi.”
“Hi.”