Page 15 of A Baby Surprise For My Billionaire Boss

“Well, not Dad,” Charlie said. “He works every day. Hey, can I have strawberries on my French toast?”

“Sure you can.”

“And powdered sugar?”

“No problem.” If Maddie could find powdered sugar, that was. She went to the refrigerator to look for the strawberries.

“Your dad is a hard worker, isn’t he?” she asked Charlie, knowing that she needed to approach this subject with care. She didn’t want it getting back to Eli that she had talked to Charlie about him. For that matter, she didn’t want to question Charlie’s father to him. He shouldn’t have to wonder whether his father cared more about work than he did about family. He was only six years old, after all.

She started the French toast. Charlie climbed up on a barstool at the kitchen island to watch her work.

“Yeah,” he said. “Dad works hard. He has to.”

“Does he?”

“He has a really important job,” Charlie said. “Do you know about Dad’s job?”

“Why don’t you tell me about it?” She knew that Eli did something in tech, but she wasn’t sure exactly what it was. She also wasn’t confident that Charlie was going to be able to explain it, but maybe she would be able to figure it out based on what he could tell her.

“He works on computers,” Charlie said.

“Do you mean he uses a computer?” That could be almost anything.

“I mean he fixes other people’s computers,” Charlie said. “Or something. He says he makes them safe to use. I don’t know why computers wouldn’t be safe to use.”

“Got it.” It had to be some sort of data protection. In Eli’s defense, Maddiecouldsee why that work was important, and why his clients might need him to be available all the time. “That sounds like an important job,” she said.

“Yeah, it is,” Charlie agreed rather importantly, as if he was the one with the job to be proud of. It made Maddie smile — it was nice that he took such pride in his father and his work.

“Is that what you want to do when you grow up?” she asked. “Work with computers like your dad does?”

“No, not really,” Charlie said. “I know it’s an important job, but it seems boring. And he has to workallthe time. That’s what he told me — he has to work all the time because of how important his job is. So maybe I want to have a less important job.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. And that way, if I have kids someday, I’ll be able to play with them.”

He said it matter-of-factly, but it still made Maddie’s heart break a little. It was clear to her that he was aware of the fact that he was missing something in his relationship with his father, and that was immensely sad.

Charlie didn’t seem to be sad about it, though. He went to the fridge and took out the carton of orange juice. Over the past week, Maddie had come to realize that he was capable of pouring it for himself, so she didn’t try to help him. She focused on the toast she was making instead.

“So,” she said, “What kind of job might be less important than what your dad does?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “Maybe a doctor or something.”

Maddie choked back a giggle. “I think you could be a great doctor,” she told him sincerely.

“You do?”

“I do. But you have to go to school for a long time to become a doctor. Do you like school?”

“Sometimes,” he said. “I liked my teacher last year, but everyone says one of the first-grade teachers is mean. So I’m not sure if I’m going to like that or not.”

“Maybe the teacher won’t be as bad as they say,” she suggested.

“Maybe,” he agreed.

“And anyway, it’s only for one year.”

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