“Believe what you want, Miss Silver, but it was purely coincidental. I have a work event in the city this Saturday, and I simply can’t miss it.”
“So cancel it then,” I say with a giant fake smile, flailing my hands in the air.
He stares at me, his eyes narrowing. “I cannot leave Eleanor with Miss Perry all day and all night and my mother has a bridge tournament. Last time I checked, I pay you to be the nanny so you will work this Saturday.”
“Or what?” I say, attempting to call his bluff. “You fire me? Then that puts you in an even bigger situation because then you won’t have anyone to watch her Saturday or Monday or Tuesday.” I list off the days of the week on my fingers and I can see he’s not amused.
“Can you please find someone to watch her, then?”
I exhale, feeling a bit like an ass since he’s not lashing back out at me like I expected him to. “I’ll watch her during the day, but I need to leave here for the city by five thirty p.m. at the latest. That’s three hours; Miss Perry can handle it. Eleanor just needs help getting ready for bed, but she’ll entertain herself with the iPad, her toys, a movie. Trust me, she doesn’t want to engage Miss Perry any more than the rest of us.”
I see him contemplating my offer. “Deal,” he says and I turn to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“Eleanor will be home any minute. I need to finish her lunch.”
“Saturday,” he says, picking up a document and looking it over as he waits for me to answer.
I know I shouldn’t. I tell myself not to goad the man, but the opportunity is right there in front of me, begging for me to take it.
“I have a date,” I say matter-of-factly.
I actually see the red slowly creep up his neck, and yeah, it gives me a lot of pleasure.
“Make sure you write down where you’ll be. I’ll need to know in case of an emergency and I or Miss Perry needs to reach you.”
“Why would you need me in case of an emergency? Wouldn’t you be the person to reach out to in case of an emergency or maybe emergency personnel? Besides, you have my cell and so does Miss Perry.”
His lips tighten and I can see his patience is wearing thin.
“Fine,” I say, walking over to his desk and grabbing a Post-it Note and a pen. “Jillian’s bar on Wabash.” I write down the name and street and toss it onto his desk before leaving his office without another word.
“So let me get this straight, the dates were perfect. You guys had an instant connection and crazy chemistry? She’s the one who told you she wanted to see you again, and then she ghosted you?” I take a drink of my martini as Hank nods along to what I’m saying.
“She didn’t fully ghost me. I’m not blocked or anything, but she’s been super short with me, takes forever to respond, and keeps blowing off any of the dates I suggest to hang out again.”
My phone buzzes in my purse for the third time since I’ve sat down with Hank only twenty minutes ago.
“Sorry, let me check this.” I roll my eyes and glance down to see Mr. Hayes’ name on the screen.
Graham: Where are her favorite pj’s? She refuses to wear the Cinderella ones.
I type back a furious response to his third where is this question for the night. Turns out, his work event was canceled at the last minute so he stayed home with Eleanor.
Me: Third drawer on the right. Please ask Eleanor these questions. I’m busy. She knows where everything is. Good night.
“The boss. Anyway.” I roll my eyes as I gesture toward my phone before placing it facedown on the bar. “Have you straight-up asked her what’s going on?”
He shrugs. “In so many words. She said she’s just busy with work and it’s nothing personal, but it feels off.”
I finish my martini and motion for a second from the bartender while I think over what Hank just said. My phone vibrates again.
Graham: She said Muffin needs her nightly treat. What treats? Where?
I contemplate what Hank is saying to me as I type out a rushed response.
Me: Pantry, bottom shelf in the bin that says CAT STUFF. These aren’t emergencies. Stop texting me. Good night.
I see Hank’s eyes drop to my phone. “So what’s up with that guy anyway? You guys sleep together or something?”
I choke on my drink as I shake my head no.
“No, he’s just not used to watching his own daughter on his own.” I shrug, hoping that’s the end of the conversation.
“Seems like you two were pretty close when I showed up at the coffee shop.”
Shit. I hoped he hadn’t noticed that.
I shrug. “I dunno. It’s complicated, I guess. He’s too scared to even kiss me and I can’t imagine getting involved with your boss is ever a good idea.”
He shakes his head and laughs. “I imagine not.”
“How’d you guys end things on your last date?” I ask, changing the subject.
“We, uh…” He smiles as he looks down at his feet. “She stayed over.”
“Ohhhh.” I wriggle my eyebrows at him.
“Yeah, it was—amazing. I told her that it was the best I’d ever had, and she said the same. We stayed up all night talking and… ya know. The next morning I made her pancakes and she told me she wanted to see me again. We agreed, and then she left for work. We were texting back and forth very regularly that day and the next, and then I told her that I could see myself falling for her an—”
“Whoa, whoa, wait. That’s it, Hank.” He looks at me, confused. “You scared her.” I reach out and grab his hand. “Shelly is wonderful and driven, but she’s also kind of wild. Not in a Girls Gone Wild kind of way, but in a she’s young and wants to have fun kind of way. I’m not saying there’s no hope for you guys; please don’t think that. But maybe she just needs to take things slower. She’s been screwed over a few too many times.”
The bartender hands me my second martini and I take a sip. I rarely drink and especially now that I’m a live-in nanny in the suburbs, I never get a chance to go out so the thought of tossing a few back and letting loose has my name written all over it.
My phone buzzes again, then again and again. I flip it over, look down at the screen, and see there’s three more texts from Graham and two missed calls. I put it on airplane mode and toss it back in my purse.
“Dammit,” he says, hanging his head. “I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t, honestly. I should have told you that. I just didn’t expect you both to jump in with both feet like that. I thought you would hit it off and just hook up and maybe have a little fling.”
“Maybe I should just be honest with her. I’ll tell her there’s no need to rush things, but I like her and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “I think you guys will be fine. I think she’s just scared, but I promise if she says anything to me, I’ll talk you up a lot, reminding her she’s running away from a good thing.” That makes him laugh. “And I’ll keep you in the loop. Don’t want you wasting your time or getting hurt.”
“Thanks, Margot. You’re always the best, you know that?” He nudges my shoulder as he finishes his beer. “You know, a few of the teachers at work always asked why we never dated.”