12. Kiley #2
His lips twitch at my exaggeration. “Probably not the worst in its entire history, but my accountant might agree with you.”
I shake my head. “Well, sorry, but I can’t do it. I rely on my bar income to pay for groceries.” I stand up and look over at my father. “Sorry, Dad, but we’ll come up with the money another way.”
He lowers his gaze and nods. “Whatever you wish, Kiley.”
My dad’s response angers me, and I throw up my hands in frustration. “Of course you’re going to say that because I’m the one being put in a tough position, not you!”
“Kiley, please, can you sit down and listen to me?” Jax pleads, holding up his hand for me to stop talking and calm down. “I think this will be a win-win situation for everyone.”
I sit back down and cross my arms over my chest. “I’m listening.”
“Let’s first address your job at the bar. You can work there whenever you want while I’m home and have a night off, but that’s your choice. You wouldn’t lose your additional income on my account. Fifty thousand dollars of my investment would go to you for being my nanny.”
I do the math in my head: Fifty thousand dollars for roughly five to six months of work? That’s way more than what I make at the bar now. I would be an idiot to turn it down, but this would take up all of my extra free time with Zander. I need more details.
“What does being your nanny entail?”
“I would need your help with Chloe when I have games, both away and home, until the season ends. Hopefully longer with the post-season. For home games, I would need you to pick her up from school on game days since I have to be at the arena by four p.m. You would either stay with her until I get home or bring her to the games and be with her while I play. I would only expect that for weekend games since she would have homework during the week.”
“How would I pick her up from school when I work and have a child of my own?”
“I was thinking she could go to your school to make things easier.”
The school I work at is kindergarten through twelfth grade, so that definitely would be convenient for me since Zander is already there. We have a lot of children of athletes in our school, so she would have things in common with other kids.
“What about away games? How would that work out?”
He grimaces. “Away games will be harder, especially when we go on long road trips. I would need you to sleep at my condo with her while I’m away.”
I scoff. “You remember I’m a package deal, right? I have a five-year-old.”
“We can take him when Jax is on a road trip, lass,” my dad chimes in and offers.
I look at him as if he’s crazy. “Absolutely not. I would never abandon Zander for someone else’s kid.” I see Jax wince, and I give him a hard look. “Zander would have to be with me.”
Jax stares me down, his expression hardened. “I would never ask you to leave Zander behind while watching Chloe. My office has a queen size bed that can be Zander’s, and you can sleep in my room.”
I stiffen at his suggestion. Sleeping in Jax’s bed, being in his sheets where I would smell his intoxicating cologne is a hard no. “That’s not necessary. Zander will want to sleep wherever I am in a stranger’s home.”
He holds up both of his hands in defense. “All I’m saying is that I’ve got room for both of you at my condo. We have an indoor gym, a pool and a playground. You can think of it as a mini getaway whenever you stay there.”
“It would be a far cry from a vacation,” I answer sarcastically.
Jax closes his eyes as if he’s praying for patience and opens them again with a look of resignation passing over his features.
“I know this is a lot to ask of you, Kiley. I’m cognizant that your time is precious, especially with Zander.
I wouldn’t be asking this of you if I didn’t think you weren’t the perfect person. ”
I lean back in my chair and rub my forehead to think.
I don’t see how I can get out of this. Jax is offering to save my father’s bar just for me to watch Chloe.
I would make more money watching her, and even though it would require moving Zander and me to and from his apartment, at least Zander and I would be together.
Technically, it would give me more time with him since I wouldn’t be working the bar, but my attention will now be divided between him and someone else’s child.
I don’t even know how Zander is going to handle this.
My gaze shifts to my dad, and he winks at me with a soft smile. “Don’t do this for me, lass. Go with what your heart is telling you.”
“You don’t have to make your decision tonight,” Jax interjects. “You can sleep on it, but I would need to know by tomorrow evening.”
I glance between both men and already know for a fact that I won’t be the reason my father loses his bar.
In my mind, I don’t have a choice, which bothers me.
While the offer is beyond generous, I still feel trapped in a situation I don’t have control over.
Despite how I feel, I would be a fool to not take his offer.
With a heavy sigh, I look Jax square in the eyes and ask, “When do I start?”