Page 14 of Foster

“No, it’s just… I thought you might balk or at least make a counteroffer. Isn’t that the way normal business negotiations are done?”

“I suppose,” he drawls. “But honestly, I just want to get you on board so I have that in my back pocket when I ask for full custody. So yes, I agree to your terms and any others you want.”

“Um… well… okay then,” I say hesitantly.

“Okay, as in you accept my offer?” he probes.

“Yes, as long as you cover my salary up to three months if your job falls through.”

“Then we definitely have a deal. I’ll call you as soon as the hearing is over and I know what’s going to happen. But assuming I get custody, I’ll be heading straight to California to get Bowie Jane. You’ll need to be ready to start probably by Thursday and I have an away game on Friday.”

A flush of concern moves through me, heating the back of my neck. “Oh, wow… that’s moving kind of fast.”

“You can’t start that soon?” he asks, worry evident in his tone.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… that’s going to be a lot on your daughter. A switch in custody, a cross-country move, then you dump her with a stranger and take off to an away game.”

Foster huffs into the phone. “Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that but you’re absolutely right. It’s going to be hard on her to leave her mom but I also know she doesn’t want to go to Singapore. The timing on the preseason games starting isn’t great.”

“Are you going to enroll her in school when you get back? Assuming you win.”

“Yes, assuming I win,” he says gruffly, and I can hear in his voice he’s going to be devastated if he doesn’t.

“At least she’ll have school to distract her a bit. Even though it’s a new school, it’s structured and that will provide some comfort. But I’ll give her extra attention and make it a good time.”

“She’s a strong kid and very independent. I’m sure it will be fine.”

The kitchen door opens and Leo steps out onto the patio. The top part of his longish hair is pulled into a ponytail, the rest left to hang down just above his shoulders. He’s got on a Ramones T-shirt and a pair of frayed cargo shorts with flip-flops. He’s got a beer in his hand and because he’s so comfortable in my house, having practically grown up here, I’m sure he went and fished that out of the fridge on his own.

My eyes are on Leo who kicks a chair out opposite from where I’m sitting and plops down. I say to Foster, “How about you call me after the hearing tomorrow and let me know if I have a job?”

“It’s a plan,” he replies, relief evident in his tone.

The slight fullness in my chest tells me that I feel good about helping him, and that he really needed me to further his quest to get his daughter. “Good luck, Foster.”

“Thank you, Mazzy. Talk tomorrow.”

We disconnect and Leo stares at me from across the table. “What was that about?”

“Nosy,” I chide, but then fill him in on my interview with Foster, my doubts about the other job and the most recent conversation. “So tomorrow, if he gets custody of his daughter, I’ll have a job with them.”

Leo pulls at the label on his bottle. “And if he doesn’t win?”

“Then I’ll be job hunting again.” There… the absolute validation I needed that the other job offer just didn’t feel right—the circumstances and the father’s personality. I wouldn’t have liked it at all.

Which means I need to decline that job. “Why don’t you get me a beer? I’ve got one more call to make.”

“Go get your own beer,” he replies, slouching further in his seat and grinning at me.

I kick him under the table, hitting his shin, and he yelps, scrambling backward. “Go get me a beer,” I reply. “You’re here eating my family’s food and sucking on our happiness. It’s the least you can do.”

“Bitch,” Leo says, but it’s done fondly and with a quirk to his lips. As he heads back inside, I flip through my contacts so I can make the call that could leave me completely unemployed for the near future.

While I advised the family that I’d accepted another offer—much to the husband’s dismay and he let me know it in unkind terms—Leo fetched me a beer and set it before me. He resumed his seat at the table and when I finished the call, he asked, “So you’re going to nanny for a single dad, huh?”

“Hopefully,” I say as I pick up the beer and take a sip.

“That’s a bit different from what you’re used to doing.”

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