Page 1 of A Baby Surprise For My Billionaire Boss

CHAPTER 1

ELI

“Today’s going to be my last day.”

Eli Sinclair stared at his live-in nanny. He had just walked in the door. He hadn’t even put down his briefcase yet, and she was hitting him with this. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Katie said. “I can’t take it. The long hours, the never knowing when I’m going to be done for the day… This wasn’t what we discussed when you hired me.”

“We talked about you living in and caring for Charlie when I was at work,” Eli said. “We agreed that your time would be your own whenever I was at home.”

“But I never know when that’s going to be,” Katie said. “You told me you worked eight to six most days.”

“I do.”

“Look at the clock,” she said.

Eli glanced at the clock over the kitchen stove. It was ten forty-five at night. He sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Things have been so busy lately.”

“It’s notlately. It’s been every night for six weeks. And I haven’t had a day off in over a month. I have no life of my own at this point,” Katie said. “I haven’t seen my boyfriend in weeks. I haven’t been out with my friends in ages. By the time you get home, it’s too late for me to do anything for myself — especially because I know you’re going to be leaving early in the morning to go back to work, so I can’t ever sleep in. Because you work such long hours, I’m forced to work long hours too, and I can’t do it anymore.”

“So you’re leaving just like that? You’re not even going to give me two weeks’ notice?”

“I can’t,” Katie said. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry. I know this leaves you and Charlie in a bind. That’s not my intent. But I’m burnt out, Eli. I can’t keep living like this.”

“Have you thought about what it’s going to do to Charlie to lose you? He adores you, you know.”

“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Katie sighed. “I adore Charlie too. He’s such a sweet kid. But… Eli, I’m not the one he needs. You’re his father, and you’re never home. In ten years, do you think he’s going to feel the lack of the nanny he knew for six months? Or do you think he’s going to wonder why his dad was never around?”

Eli simmered. The fact that she had the nerve to criticize his parenting while she was in the middle of quitting her job and leaving them high and dry was maddening. “Don’t worry aboutmy relationship with Charlie,” he said. “If you really are leaving us, that’s no longer your concern.”

Katie nodded. “You’re right,” she said. “I just couldn’t leave in good conscience without saying it.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad you cleared your conscience.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “Look, Katie, don’t do this to us right now. We need you. We both need you. If it’s about the money, we can talk. Do you feel like you’re not being fairly compensated? I can increase your pay.” Hell, he’d double her pay if it would make her stay. He hadn’t realized until this moment just how much he depended on her, and how dire things were going to get for him and for Charlie if she was gone.

But Katie shook her head. “It’s not the money,” she said. “The problem is the schedule. If you could tell me — and make me believe — that things would change on that front, I’d reconsider. But the truth is, even if you promised me right now that you’d be home at five p.m. on the dot every evening, I don’t think I would believe it. I don’t think you’re capable of limiting your work hours. And you have to make your own choices for yourself and your family — that’s your business. But I can’t keep going like this. I have to prioritize the life I want to have, and working for you makes it impossible to have any work-life balance. I can’t take it anymore.”

“So you’re just going to leave. You won’t even finish out the week?”

“My boyfriend came by earlier and picked up most of my things,” Katie said. “I’m already moved out. He’ll be back in an hour for me. I just wanted to make sure I took the time to have this conversation with you before I left.”

“Oh, well that was considerate of you.”

Katie ignored his sarcasm. “I already said goodbye to Charlie,” she said quietly.

“You told him before you told me?”

“I had to,” she said. “He was going to bed. It was either say goodbye to him tonight or sneak out in the night and never tell him anything at all, and I couldn’t do that to him. You wouldn’t have wanted me to do that to him.”

No, he wouldn’t have. Eli could admit that. But even so, it was hard to accept that all this had been happening behind his back — that it had all been decided before he had so much as walked in the door.

“How long have you been planning this?” he asked.

“If I had been planning it, I would have told you,” Katie said. “I didn’t mean to catch you by surprise. Honestly. I just… woke up this morning and realized that I couldn’t take it anymore. I don’t know how to explain it, exactly. The way I felt this morning, realizing that I was getting up to work another sixteen-hour day, that I had no way of knowing when I was going to get any time to myself, if ever… I mean, I can’t keep doing it, Eli. I love Charlie. You know I do. I hate to do this, and it’ll make me sad to leave him. But I have to do the right thing for myself.”

Outside, Eli heard the sound of a car pulling up.

Katie turned toward the door. “That’ll be Evan,” she said.

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