Inside my studio apartment, I dropped the coffee and bag on the counter and kicked off my shoes while pulling off my jacket. Both of them left a puddle on my floor, but I was too hungry to bother with it at the moment.
I lifted the sandwich from the bag, the paper falling apart in my hand. I grabbed my coffee and the wrapped sandwich and flopped onto the couch, lifting my damp feet onto the coffee table. I flipped on the television to veg out for a little while. I turned on a recorded medical drama and got lost in the stories of the hot doctors and their many sexy affairs.
I allowed myself one episode before I got to work. I had the afternoon to get my resume out to as many nanny positions as I could. Even though it was Friday, I wanted potential families to have my information as soon as possible, even if they chose to wait until after the weekend to contact me. At least doing something productive toward another job would ease my mind more than sitting around twiddling my thumbs.
I went over to the kitchen table and sat down, opening my laptop. I didn’t have room in the apartment for a separate office, but since I lived alone, I wasn’t fighting anyone for space. Since my job didn’t require a home office, the kitchen table was good enough for the rare times I went onto the computer.
I pulled up a job website and typed “nanny” into the search bar along with my location details. The next page pulled up over a hundred results. I smiled. Finding a new job was going to be easy.
I grabbed the pad of paper I kept on the table along with a pen to jot down the information on prospective families.
The first position was looking for a nanny of four children, all of them under the age of five. I liked kids, b
ut I was sure I wouldn’t be able to handle that, at least not without another pair of hands.
I went to the next one and from there on was a string of jobs that weren’t what I was looking for. Sure, they were all nanny positions, but many of them didn’t offer the pay I wanted, or there were too many kids. A few had age requirements for women above forty. I was sure they wouldn’t appreciate a twenty-six-year-old woman applying.
There were several I marked down, but by the end of the afternoon, I hadn’t applied to any of them. For some reason, I had a feeling I should hold off. Sierra’s words came into my mind about taking a break. As much as I wanted to get back to work, from my search, I knew there were plenty of jobs out there for a nanny. So what if I took a week off to get back to center again before jumping into another job? Most nanny positions were more than full time. I enjoyed working, but I did deserve a break.
I was very protective of my money, but I had enough in my savings to live on for several months. I wouldn’t push it to the end of my limits, but I could manage to take a little time for myself.
I sat back in my chair and closed the laptop. I stretched my arms over my head and checked the clock. I hadn’t realized I was on the computer for hours. I put away the notepad and laptop, storing it away.
I looked around my apartment, wondering what to do with my new free time. Sierra would be coming over in a couple of hours.
I eyed the television and knew that I had a date with sexy doctors for the rest of the day. I hoped I didn’t get too used to this lifestyle, but for now, it felt good to do something for myself.
Chapter Three
Noah
While this weekend hadn’t started off on a good note with Layla quitting, I looked forward to the highlight of my week: spending the weekend with Gina. I tried as much as I could not to have Layla come over on the weekends, since that was my time, but recently she’d worked many of them. Gina would have my full undivided attention, something that hadn’t happened for a while. Layla had stuck around for the better part of the last year. Always having someone else to take Gina when I needed to make a phone call or go into work unexpectedly had been a great help. I asked Allison to divert any non-emergency phone calls to my voicemail. I’d return them on Monday. At least I had the on-call sales team to take care of the rest. I thought back to when I started the company, and I was the only person on call. I shuddered at the thought. Though at the time, I didn’t have Gina, so my life was a little more flexible.
For Gina’s next nanny, I’d take my time finding the perfect person for her. One who would last and become a part of our family, instead of a temporary fixture in Gina’s life. She was at an age where she needed a female role model, and I wasn’t in a position to remarry anyone. I barely had time to spend with Gina. She would be the only girl in my life for a long time. And that was okay with me. I had no interest in dating at the moment.
Though having someone to watch Gina on Monday morning would have been nice. I tried to shake off the thought, but the looming work week with no help weighed on my shoulders.
I focused my energy on making breakfast for Gina. She was the type to eat the moment she woke up. I hadn’t cooked for her in a long time, probably long enough for her not to remember. I wasn’t ready for Top Chef, but I knew my way around a kitchen. I scrambled some eggs and made a stack of pancakes before I heard the slapping of bare feet on the marble floor behind me.
“Daddy, you cooked?” Gina asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
I glanced at the clock. It was seven on the dot. I could set a watch to this girl. “I did, honey.” I moved the pan with the eggs to the back burner and turned to scoop Gina into my arms.
She yawned and then dropped her head on my shoulder. “I’m hungry.”
I kissed her cheek and squeezed her against me until she started to squirm. I placed her in the booster seat at the kitchen table, strapped her in, and started plating the food.
“What do you want to drink?” I asked.
“Milk.”
“Milk, what?” I prodded.
“Milk, please,” she said with a smile.
Just because there wasn’t a female figure in the house didn’t mean her manners would falter. I shook my head and smiled; when had I turned into my parents?
I poured her milk into a leak-proof cup and placed it on the table next to her before handing her the plate of food.