Page 50 of The Layover

“Can I call you Ellie like your daddy does?” If I was doing everything one step at a time, I might as well start there.

Eloise sniffled and nodded.

“Okay, Ellie. As you can see, I’m not very good at making sandwiches. I need you to tell me how, okay?”

“Ariana knows how.”

Holy fuck.

But still better than working with a stubborn client. “Ariana is sick today, and I want to learn so I can do it right. Can you teach me?”

Eloise’s scowl was etched deep, and she looked like an angry pixie. But she relented and walked me through the sandwich making process. When she was in front of the TV, eating and watching people in colorful costumes sing and dance, I called Kandace back.

“I’m so sorry about that,” I said as soon as she answered.

“Should I ask why you have a literal child screaming at you?”

As opposed to the figurative children who usually screamed at me. “Because I am a babysitter.” Despite my saying otherwise just a few minutes ago. “Raul and Diego needed someone to watch their little girl so they could work.”

“That’s going above and beyond for the job.”

“When in Rome?”

Kandace laugh-sighed. “Pretty sure that’s not what that saying means. Don’t take this personally, but… You’re not sleeping with one of them, are you?”

“What? No.” God, was that too much? Not enough? Suddenly I had no idea what genuine denial sounded like. But it was true—I wasn’t sleeping with one of them.

“Okay. I’m sorry.” Kandace rarely apologized. “Given the situation, I had to ask.”

“The situation?”

“That a large part of the world thinks you married the men I just invested in?”

Oh. That situation. “Right. Duh. Is Mom Brain a valid excuse?”

“Not after five hours. Give it at least a few months.” Kandace chuckled.

We were back to a lighter tone. Good. Great. “Diego promised me he’d post it today. I’ll send him a text now and remind him, and nag him until it’s done.” My job. I’d do my job. I wouldn’t let rumors reflect poorly on my employer.

“I know you’ve got it covered,” Kandace said.

We said our goodbyes and disconnected.

She might be saying she had faith in me, but she still had to follow up. She still had to remind me that my job wasn’t done, and I hated that. I loathed feeling like something had fallen through the cracks because of me.

It was time to stop fucking around—literally—button down, and do my job.

18

Diego

When Raul and I got back from the worksite, Eloise greeted us with big hugs. Carly stayed in the background, but that made sense. Eloise was a bit of a force of nature when she wanted to say hello.

“How was your day, little miss?” I scooped Eloise into my arms.

“It was so much fun.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “What did you do?”

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