Page 14 of Single Dad Billionaire Boss

7

Ella

I turnedon the hose and Zoe shrieked as little sprays of water popped up all along the vinyl waterslide that I had set up on the lawn out back.

“Can I do it now for real?” Zoe cried, squirming as if she had ants in her pants. Her excitement reminded me of those teens back in the day going crazy for the Beatles. I gave her the okay, and Zoe flung herself down the slippery sheet of plastic, sliding all the way into the tiny splash area at the end. Scrambling up, she ran back to me and did it again two more times before I could strip down to my swimsuit and join her.

“You slide too?” She gaped, thrilled and baffled by my participation. I threw myself onto the slippery strip of vinyl and slid down the length of it, only realizing at the end, it seemed, that I had thrown my full weight onto the ground. In short, it hurt.Really bad. A grim reminder that I wasn’t twelve anymore.

I forced a grin and got out of the way so Zoe could have another turn. She splashed me when she reached the pool, and I chased her around the yard until I caught her. Zoe squealed with delight, and next thing I knew, I was running full speed at the slide with Zoe riding piggyback. I only slid about halfway before pinwheeling sideways and falling into the grass, the two of us laughing so hard we could barely breathe.

That was when I spied Jacob watching us from the back door.

And had he not looked so handsome in all his three-piece, Brooks Brothers glory, I might have worried about being in trouble—especially when he took off his sunglasses and began walking toward us. I scrambled to my feet, vaguely registering that I must have looked like an idiot running around with his kid on my back and grass clippings all over me. Zoe barreled over to him and he picked her up, unfazed by the fact she was getting water and sunscreen all over a suit that cost more than my car. I hurried over to my clothes and began to dress.

“I just got home and bam, Daddy, here it was! Ellie turned on the sprayers and we went for it! It’s the mostest fun ever, Daddy. You gotta do this with me! Please! Ellie does the slide!”

“Maybe next time, baby cakes,” Jacob said. I finished dragging my clothes over my wet suit and went over to Zoe to say goodbye.

“I’m glad you liked it, Zuzu.”

Zoe reached for me and I got big squeezes from her clammy arms. “Let’s do it tomorrow too!” she cried.

“If your dad says it’s okay,” I said, half expecting him to start rattling off statistics about how many kids are injured by backyard waterslides each year.

“It’s the most fun she’s ever had in her life,” he said as he turned off the hose. “Time to dry off and have supper.”

I made a private vow never to strip down to my swimsuit at work again unless I had an alarm set to put my clothes back on before my boss arrived. I hadn’t been embarrassed exactly, but now I felt self-conscious walking around in my bikini in front of him. Ever the gentleman, Jacob hadn’t even looked at me directly, but still, I could tell that I had startled him and made him feel uncomfortable. That awkwardness had dimmed an otherwise perfect afternoon.

Later that evening, when I was at home going over case notes for the next day’s session with one of my oppositional defiant middle schoolers, a call from Jacob surprised me.

“Just wanted to let you know that I’ll take Zoe to school tomorrow,” he said. “I only have a Zoom call before noon.”

“That’s nice of you,” I said, “but don’t you think it’s better not to disrupt Zoe’s routine when she’s doing so well with it?”

Jacob chuckled. “Ah, the routine. And I thoughtIwas the one who was obsessed with keeping her schedule.”

A laugh burst out of me. Was Jacob Sanders actually teasing me? What’s more, he had chuckled, warm and carefree and not at all in keeping with the serious and responsible man for whom I worked. I was taken aback—especially since he was usually so brisk and professional when speaking to me on the phone.

“Look here, Binder Man,” I said. “You’re the one who bestowed upon me those Ten Commandments. I thought if I didn’t follow them, I’d fail some kind of test.”

“And be thrown into a vat of scorpions?”

“That’s oddly specific,” I said. “I was thinking more in terms of a hidden camera. You know, maybe catch me squirting whipped cream into Zoe’s mouth while sticking my tongue out at the Holy Binder.”

“Speaking of oddly specific, is that your fondest wish?”

“Not my fondest, no. But if a genie shows up, it’ll be in my top three. A can of whipped cream, keeping the kid up way past her bedtime, and watching theCamp Rocksequel.”

Jacob chuckled again. “A genie might throw that in for free because it’s so wholesome.”

“Wholesome?” I said, feigning horror. “My rebellious fantasy is wholesome?”

“Dairy products and Disney? It’s an elderly nun’s idea of a wild night.”

“Then those nuns know how to party,” I said, stifling a giggle. He was funny. Jacob Sanders was actually funny. Who would havethunksuch a thing?

“You know,” Jacob said, “last year I expanded the sporting goods brand into adventure travel packages. Maybe I should hire some nuns to brainstorm ideas.”

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