Shame washed over Wayne. From the moment the social worker dropped Timothy off, he’d felt like he’d been burdened with a curse.
He’d not thought about what the boy was going through. He wouldn’t think of Timothy as his son.
“I … apologize.”
“You can save that shit for Timothy.”
“Why do you care so much?”
James snorted. “You’re for real right now. You know, I’m actually ashamed that I’ve been your friend for so long. I can’t believe for a second that you’re thinking like this. He’s a boy, Wayne. A kid and an innocent, which is how every boy and girl start out. Think about that the next time you’re glaring at him.”
His friend headed toward the office door.
“Where are you going?”
“Far away from you right now because I don’t want to be in your company.”
James slammed the door closed and Wayne sat back, running a hand down his face. He’d been a bastard, and he knew it.
Kids were not something he ever thought of having.
He had learned a long time ago that children were just pawns to be used, and he had no interest in bringing children into an uncertain world.
Wayne rubbed at his eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt tired, exhausted, and he didn’t know what to do.
When it came to running a billion-dollar company and being responsible for people’s jobs all over the world, he knew what to do. Put a four-year-old kid in front of him, and he was struggling. He didn’t know what to do or how to do it.
He was screwing everything up, and that wasn’t good. Timothy wasn’t to blame, no matter what happened, and Wayne had become a monster and treated him as if it was all his fault. He knew absolutely nothing about kids or what to do with them. They were not part of his life or his future.
His empire was what he cared about. Not sniveling little brats.
Timothy hadn’t been crying, though. No, because Wayne had been shouting, the little boy had been scared, and now he felt like the world’s cruelest man. He wasn’t a bad man. He just wasn’t a dad.
There was no way he knew how to be a dad.
His own dad hadn’t been around, and neither had his mother. Everything that he’d earned, he’d done it himself.
This was his life, and he didn’t have time for a kid that wasn’t his. There was no way Timothy was his, and as soon as he could, he was getting rid of him. He bagged his dick up every single time he was with a woman, and he never used condoms that were provided by the woman. There were a few rules he lived by, and he wouldn’t change, not for anyone.
Wayne tapped his finger on the desk.
Until he could prove Timothy wasn’t his, he needed to do something so that he didn’t have to deal with this kid.
A nanny was ideal, so he did a quick internet search and began to track down the perfect woman or man to take the job.
Being a wealthy businessman, he’d learned that throwing money at a problem always helped to fix it no matter what.
Within ten minutes, he’d lined up six nannies to interview, and all of them came really cheap.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard having a kid after all.
****
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go.”
Temperance Michaels had expected the news for the past couple of days now, so it wasn’t all that much of a shock.
She’d been with the Thompsons for nearly three years, long before Robert married his current girlfriend, who couldn’t stand the idea of another woman being more important to his kids. What Catherine didn’t understand was that kids didn’t give a shit if you were an ex-supermodel or a world-famous singer, or even if you’re starring in the next big blockbuster.
Children cared about if you were going to turn up at their plays, or love their artwork, help them with homework, being there all the time, no matter the time of day or night.
Staring at Robert, her employer, she nodded.
There was no point in ranting or raving.
She didn’t believe in violence, nor did she believe in making a scene.
“I’m really sorry. It … didn’t work out.”
Robert was a very good-looking man, and he’d flirted with her a few times when she first came to live with him. From the start, she made him aware of her own boundaries, and how she wouldn’t be his little plaything when he wanted it.
“I will pack my things and leave immediately.” It would kill her, leaving the four children that varied in age from fourteen to four. Damn it, even now she was close to tears.
Robert and Catherine Thompson didn’t know what treasures they had.
It was easier to leave than to stick around as children tended to cause a scene, and parents always got angry, and she didn’t want them upset any more than needed.