2. Chapter 2
OLIVER
Unbelievable.
How is it that I live in the country where the word ‘Nanny’ was invented, but that was the last thing I could find right now?
Seriously, will they just let anyone be a nanny these days?
! It’s just been one crazy interview after another, and money was supposed to make this easier, but even the private nannies are on the borderline of crazy.
After an entire week of searching, I hadn’t found a single nanny who lives up to my standards. I kid you not, one of them gave me Miss Trunchbull vibes, who saw no issue in locking children in the closet if they were what she deemed as naughty. What makes it worse? She looked like her, too.
I completely understand why Theo has his preferences, and sticking him with someone who takes their job too seriously will only make him sad.
Just the idea of him being unhappy for all those hours while I’m at work makes me sick to my stomach.
But then again, the more ‘carefree’ type nannies weren’t much better.
There was one - can’t place her name for the life of me.
Still, she aced the interview, and today I took the day off work and took Theo out of school, as Nigel had arranged for her to have a trial day to see how well she interacts with Theo.
Still, I immediately dialled Nigel’s number after reading the email she sent me last night.
Subject: Nanny Trial Day
To: Oliverwalters@
From: Walkingonsunshine24/7@
Hiii Mr Walters,
I just received the schedule you sent over, and I’m just letting you know that I won’t be needing it.
I believe children should be free. Not restricted to a bedtime or being told when and what time they should eat.
I like to just flow with the wind, anyway.
Do take care and look forward to meeting little Theo tomorrow.
Endless Love,
Sunshine.
Sunshine.
That’s why I didn’t remember her name: it’s stupid. Honestly, what is wrong with some people? I’ve only been a guardian for two years, but I know more than anyone how important routine is for children.
This ‘Sunshine’ lady reminded me of my mother, and you couldn’t get a bigger red flag than that.
I complained to Nigel, wondering how the hell she passed the interview and had him take care of cancelling the trial day.
Thank God, I didn’t introduce that nut to Theo; it would have made things so much worse.
Just as I was getting off the phone with Nigel, Theo came shuffling into my office. With his toad mushroom plushie in one hand, he was rubbing his eye with the other. My neutral frown faded, and the corner of my mouth tipped up.
“Morning, Bud!” I say, putting the phone on my desk as he made his way over to me and climbed into my lap.
He didn’t wish me good morning like he usually does; he just rested his head on my chest and let me listen to him breathe.
But after a few minutes, I started to get a little worried; he was never usually this quiet for long.
“Everything okay, bud?” I ask, tipping my head to look at him.
“I miss Joonie,” he mumbles, thawing my frozen heart a tad.
I hated that he was feeling sad because I was feeling it too. I’d never admitted to anyone, but I was missing Min-Joon, too. He’d left yesterday morning, and the little man took him to the airport, and I nearly punched the asshole for making my brother cry so much.
When we got home, Theo didn’t even wanna play Mario Kart, and he barely touched his lunch.
Dinner went slightly better, but it wasn’t a massive improvement.
And now this, I knew he wasn’t going to get over this quickly, but seeing him so deflated made me so tempted to get us both on a plane and drag Joon back - whether he wanted to or not.
But that thought came from the desperate part of my brain, a very small part that did exist. Min-Joon had done so much for me and always supported the more questionable choices I’ve made over the years.
I had to be a good ‘Bestie’ for his words - not mine. I’d never use such a silly word, but I would rely on the same support he’s always given me. Words like those were left for the free-spirited or in the lives of teenage girls.
So here we were, both of us, depressed, sitting in my office at 7 am.
Many people don’t think it’s possible for a child to feel depressed, but I do, 100%.
I experienced it frequently when I was Theo’s age and for years after that.
The two of us just sat in silence until the sound of my phone going off broke us out of the moment.
At first, Theo jumped up, thinking it was Min-Joon; he’d promised Theo he’d call once he landed and got settled, but I knew that call wouldn’t be for another few hours.
That, and it wasn’t a phone call; it was a text message - it was April.
I picked up my phone to read the message, while Theo’s shoulders slumped and he snuggled his head into his plushie.
I had forgotten all about tomorrow, what with everything going on; going out and getting laid were the least of my worries. Therefore, April or any of the other Calendar girls, for that matter, never crossed my mind.
You see, ever since Theo came into my life, one of the things I struggled with was not being able to live as a man in his sexual prime. Because yes, I have needs. I needed some way to satisfy my urges for constant change, so I came up with a system.
I’m aware that it’s not good for Theo to be exposed to multiple women at a time, as it would only confuse his brain, nor do I ever see myself being in a serious relationship, given that my longest only lasted about two weeks.
Which is why I came up with the Calendar Girl system, a carefully crafted schedule where I was able to find eleven women, one for every month.
All with the same values as mine, no strings attached, where we would meet, however many times within a month, which included going on dates, hook-ups and other things that helped satisfy my need to be with someone.
Then, when the month is up, I move on to the next woman without the other so much as batting an eyelash.
Each woman is single and willingly under a contract that’s carefully crafted to best suit them and our mutual needs, along with a heavily detailed NDA.
They are all aware of each other and are named after a month in the year to avoid the use of their personal information.
All were aware of what they signed up for, living their lives as normal until their turn.
They’re spoiled with shopping sprees, round-the-clock sex - something I never got one complaint about - and all the women were great with children.
Why? Well, there have been odd days when Theo has been in my care, and the three of us do something fun because I’m not selfish when it comes to Theo.
Plus - this way, he sees it as nothing more than hanging out with my ‘friends’.
The old arrangement was that we’d have a day of fun on a Saturday, then in the evening, I’d put Theo to bed, and Min-Joon would watch over him while I could go and have my own fun with the girl of the month.
I know others would think I’m insane for having these women under contract and sleeping with a different one every month - not to mention, still exposing Theo to this kind of behaviour - but I’m not a saint - nor will I ever be.
I have needs, and none of these women is doing anything against their will.
If you need it in glorified terms, I’m an insanely rich sugar daddy who loves to spoil and provide endless pleasure.
The one difference? I’m ten times better looking than the general stereotype.
That, and I’ll be damned if I let Theo bear witness to what I had to go through when I was younger.
It’s one of the main reasons the girls never sleep over.
Hell - they didn’t even know where I lived because Theo didn’t need to walk in on something.
He didn’t need to see a random person’s naked parts or hear the utterly traumatising sounds of his parent getting with stranger after stranger, the very reason I opted for my bedroom to be soundproof, even if I hadn’t slept with a woman in there.
Nor do I plan to. Our mother had already scarred one of her children for life; I wasn’t going to let it happen again.
You had also heard correctly; there were only eleven girls, although there were twelve months in a year.
That was because of April, aka Diamond. I didn’t have a soft spot for many people, but she was one of them.
I’m not sure why - probably because she’s young and full of so much potential - but life has chosen her to be one of its punching bags, and I despise seeing the same person over and over.
She and I have a little past, and I don’t dislike her company, so we ended up coming to an agreement that she would get to see me two months out of the year; she’s also great with Theo, too.
He doesn’t get confused when calling her April or October, as the two of them have turned it into a game where she continuously changes her name.
Tomorrow is meant to be April’s day for us to all hang out, but with Theo not feeling great, I think it’d be better to get it over with today and then tomorrow since it was a free weekend where Theo and I could have our usual ‘bro-day’ and that would give me a good chance for me to explain to him about the changes about to come.
I know it seems like a lot, but Theo couldn’t be more like his big brother. He would adjust, and as long as I kept my promises, unlike either of his parents, he would always trust me.
Watching him pick at the fluff on his mushroom soft toy, I gently ruffle my hand in his chestnut brown hair, just a few shades darker than mine, with my chin.
That earns me a brief smile, just big enough for me to do a hypothetical victory back-flip.
The first smile since Min-Joon left, I’d take it.
I made sure to smile big and bright when he looked back up at me.