Page 12 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

I snorted with laughter. I couldn’t help myself. “You mean a cluster fu?—”

Greta waved her hands around wildly, stopping me mid-word. “We never say the F-bomb here. And yes, that is precisely what I mean. I can’t assign you to other families at the moment because I can’t access the records.”

I felt my eyes go wide. What had I gotten myself into?

“It took us a week to get to where we are now. I expect that next week, we will be in better shape with the servers and having access to a functional database, except for the physical storage problem. That’s going to take longer. In the meantime, you get to focus on one case at a time.”

“Oh.” It was all I could think of to say. This was not anything like what I thought I was getting into. I had images of overworked caseworkers visiting family after family, almost like a door-to-door salesperson. But I guess that was the difference between public social services and privately funded agencies. At least I had a job. “So, I’ll actually be working with Sterling Alexander a bit more closely than I realized.”

Greta nodded. “I’m going to warn you now, don’t fall in love.”

“What?” Sterling Alexander was a good-looking guy, but he was also an overinflated ego on legs. I was completely immune to whatever charms he thought he possessed. I didn’t think there was any danger of falling in love with him.

“With the baby. It's always so hard not to bond with the kids in situations like these. You are so invested in their wellbeing, and sometimes, you end up spending a lot of time with the family. You aren’t their friend. You’re there to make sure they know and can do what it is they need. You’re more like a life coach, but in a hands-on framework,” Greta continued.

I nodded. “Georgie is adorable. I get what you’re saying.” I could see the danger of bonding with the baby. I already felt so much empathy toward her situation. And she was a little cutie with big eyes and the loopy curls I’ve only ever seen on babies. “I will harden my resolve against her and her manipulative ways.”

“Babies aren’t manipulative,” Greta corrected me instantly.

“I know that,” I stammered. “I was just saying, like, she would be the one trying to get me to bond with her on purpose. Sorry, bad joke, worst joke teller. There’s a reason I’m not a comedian.”

Greta gave me a half smile. I was wasting her time, and it was time for me to realize that and leave.

I stood. “Thank you for clarifying a few things for me. I’ll go finish up the few reports I have and get them turned in.”

“Remember, triplicate, and in the labeled baskets in the copier room,” she said as waved me out of her office.

Triplicate? No, I’d be keeping a full set of those documents for myself. I needed to put together a filing system immediately at my desk. No one was in the room of desks when I returned. I sat and began sorting through what I needed.

There were a few office supplies not stored in the desk drawer that I wanted. I decided it was safe to rummage through the desks that were obviously just for stacking things on. I located a tape dispenser with tape and a staple remover.

I organized my folders in the drawer. I wasn’t going to need to carry all of them back and forth, only a few of them. I needed to get a tote bag or something. And pads of paper. I needed pads of paper to take notes on.

I left my desk and went to the copier room to see if I could dredge up any more office supplies. I opened another cabinet that was crammed full of copier paper but no notepads. “What was this place like before their epic flood?” I really hoped it had been more organized than this and that everything would return to order soon.

7

STERLING

Cecelia from the agency sat on the floor and played peek-a-boo with Georgie. Her files were stacked up on the kitchen table, left from when she came to today’s appointment as if she were braced for a fight. I didn’t want to fight. I wanted to restore the peace and quiet I had prior to Georgie being foisted upon my life.

I very much was not set up to have a child. Something as simple as peek-a-boo had been beyond me. Of course, I knew how to play the game, cover my eyes and pretend I didn't know the baby was sitting in front of me, and then move my hands and act happy and surprised that I can now see the baby.

The problem was that it hadn’t occurred to me. I had managed to hire a private investigator to find her father, but it hadn’t occurred to me to play with her.

Interactions with Georgie had been pretty much left to eating, changing, and putting her to bed. She didn’t seem interested when I attempted to read to her. She didn’t understand most of anything I was saying, so what did it matter what I read to her? I was reading. She wasn’t interested in tech analytics or the financial reports I had to review. I had to read the material to keep up with the industry.

The baby books Cecelia had imposed on me told me to read to the baby.

I was doing my part. Georgie wasn’t participating as expected.

And now she was climbing all over the woman from the agency, pulling her hands away from her eyes and giggling like this was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Peek-a-fucking-boo was hilarious.

“I was under the impression that you were going to inspect the living situation,” I said sardonically. “I didn’t realize this was a play date.”

Georgie grabbed Cecelia’s hands and pulled them away from her face. The baby let out a squeal of delight.

Cecelia did not shift her gaze over to me. She kept her smiling face on Georgie the entire time. Even the inflection in her voice was for the baby, though the words were definitely for me. “There is plenty of time for me to go through and assess the apartment—or is this a condo—for safety issues. Georgie was clearly in need of some interaction. Have you been reading to her?”

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