“But it’s what you want to do, isn’t it?”
“Sure, but I don’t usually get what I want,” I say, realizing that I am pouting about it and it’s probably not a good look on me.
“Okay then, how about we test it out? You give me three days, and I will prove to you that it’s possible.”
“Three days?”
“Yeah,” he nods enthusiastically. “Call in sick to work for three days, stay here during the day with Teddie while I’m at work, and at night, you will have everything you need to start writing. After three days, if you don’t like it or if it’s not working out, then all you have to do is just go back to your teaching job.”
“But how could I get anything done in three days?” I ask, not believing that this idea stands a chance.
“I’ll take care of Teddie in the evenings, and I’ll make sure that you have a writing space set up with everything that you could possibly need,” Hunter presses. “All you need to do is stay at home, pour yourself a drink or a cup of tea, and sit down and write. At the end of three days, you can decide whether you think it’s something you want to stay the course with or not.”
I can’t answer him yet because I am too caught up on his use of the word“home”. Technically, this isn’t my home. This ishishome with Teddie, and I am just the nanny again—well, the part-time, pregnant nanny. And I’m not really surewhatHunter and I are yet. But this thing that he is offering me sounds likewaymore than just being a live-in nanny.
“Okay,” I concede. “I’ll give it three days.”
He smiles with satisfaction and then gets ready to head to work. But before I call in sick to school and spend the day with Teddie again, I have one more thing to ask him.
“What aboutus?”
Hunter stops and turns around. He walks back over to me and cups my face in his hand before planting a small kiss on my forehead.
“I have a plan for that too,” he grins.
“Don’t I have any say in all these plans that you seem to be making?” I ask with a frown.
“Of course you do—you are going to be the one to make the final decision about all of it. But first, you need to give me three days.”
“You know, you can be really pushy sometimes,” I say, mostly joking.
With a mischievous grin still on his face, Hunter turns and goes to work.
Chapter Fourteen
Hunter
It’s amazing what one can do in a very short amount of time when you just have a lot of money at your disposal. As soon as I get to the office, I get on the phone and pull out my credit card. I even put my secretary on the task too. By noon, I have a team of renovators at my house and supplies being delivered. And by the end of the day, an entire writing studio has been created inside my mansion with literallyeverythingthat Tabitha could possibly need.
What on earth is going on in the house?
I look at Tabitha’s text and smile with excitement. I told her to take Teddie out for the day and she must have just gotten back as all of my team of people were pulling out.
I’ll explain it all when I get home. For now, stay out of the east wing of the house. I don’t want you to ruin the surprise.
I wait for her to ask me what surprise I’m referring to, but my secretary buzzes into my office and interrupts.
“Mr. Rogers,” she says. “That publishing company you reached out to is on the line for you, returning your call.”
“Excellent! Put them through.”
I have some old connections at this publishing company, and thankfully, they still remember me. All it takes is a twenty-minute phone call—and the offer of a weighty contract with my company—and the publishing company is willing to give Tabitha’s first manuscript a chance, even though the writing hasn’t even started yet and I have no idea what to tell them it’s even about. I suppose some people might say that I’m not really playing fair by leveraging connections with large sums of money instead of doing things the slow merit-based way, but I have no doubt in Tabitha’s talent and capabilities. All that I’m doing is giving her a platform to launch off from—she’ll be the one to use her own wings to fly.
The very last thing that I need to do before I leave the office is find yet another nanny. There’s no way that we will both be able to work and juggle two jobs, a newbie writing career, a pregnancy, and Teddie all without help. This time, I hire an elderly woman that one of my employees recommended, so that there is no chance of running into any awkward situations.
By the end of the three days, everything is in full swing, and I have fulfilled my promise to Tabitha.
At first, she just seems completelyshocked. She seems to love the beautiful new writing suite, complete with a new laptop, a slew of software programs and writing tools, but still be in awe that I did all of it for her. I give her time, and space, and quiet, and for three nights straight, Tabitha sequesters herself in the new studio to write. I can hear the keyboard of her laptop fastidiously clicking away, and I am dying to know what she thinks about it all and what she is writing about.