Page 2 of Single Dad Billionaire Boss

“You drive a hard bargain, kid. It’s a deal. But I’m going to check up on you to see if you guys earned a visit from my big old grouchy cat.”

“We got this,” McKenzie said.

We said our goodbyes and then the children filed out of the classroom. At the same time, my supervisor, Celia, walked in. Celia was a good friend of mine, but today, she didn’t look happy to see me.

“We didn’t get the grant,” I said, and Celia smiled wryly.

“You’re teaching these kids about emotional regulation,” she said, “but you can’t regulate your lack of faith in me?”

“Well, what then? Did we get it?”

“No, but you should believe in me.”

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath—I hated when she played with me like that. Celia put her hand on my shoulder.

“You’ve done such an amazing job with these kids,” she said. “I didn’t get the grant, but I’ve scraped up the budget to keep you on part-time. Will you stay?”

“Yes!” I cried, throwing my arms around her. “I could never walk away from these kids, you know that. Thank you!”

On the drive home, my roommate, Kristen, called.

“Hi,” I said, “I got cut to part-time.”

“Oh no, that sucks, Ella. But hey, at least it’s better than nothing.”

“That’s what I’m thinking, yeah.”

“Anyway, you won’t believe where I am!”

“OnThe Bachelor?”

“Vegas! Ian and I got married!”

I winced and swallowed hard. “Oh, wow. Well, hey, congratulations.”

“I know!” Kristen squealed. “It was amazing! We didn’t get Elvis—you have to book ahead—but we had an ex–pro wrestler dressed up like Marilyn Monroe!”

“Even better,” I said flatly.

“Ian got the job in Sacramento. He said he didn’t want to leave me behind. We belong together. We’re moving this weekend.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, so you’re moving out of our apartment. Wonderful. But what about Zoe?”

“I feel bad about it, Ella. I really do. She’s a great kid, but I’m not going to give up Ian to stay here for a job. This is my future. Wait—you should take the nanny job! The dad’s got some work trip coming up. His name is Jacob. I’m texting him right now that you’ll call. Love you, bye!”

Kristen sent the contact information for a Jacob Sanders and then some wedding pictures of her and Ian flanking a huge, blond drag queen. I wanted to be happy for her, but my day just kept getting worse. My roommate was moving out and had promised her former boss that I would take over as his nanny. I didn’t really want to call, but my impulsive friend had put both me and this Jacob Sanders guy in a bind. I didn’t have a choice, I thought, so I dialed the number.

Chapter2

2

Jacob

My first EastAsian retail store was about to break ground. I was excited for the expansion. I’d been developing it for two years, and it was finally going to happen. The downside was that I had to make an appearance to sign off on some of the zoning permits with the government. No matter how many Zoom meetings I had held with the contractor, my presence was going to be required in Singapore. Not a bad thing, I thought—it would be a great opportunity to visit a place I had loved when I traveled there in college. A great opportunity just to travel, period.

Ever since my daughter, Zoe, was born, I hardly ever left San Francisco for more than a day. And when I did take the occasional extended business trip, I always brought Zoe along with me. Zoe was in kindergarten now, and pulling her out of school for a whirlwind trip to Singapore was a lousy idea. I had planned on leaving her with Mrs. Henderson, an older lady who had been looking after her from the time she was two years old. But Mrs. Henderson had retired last August to go live with her sister in Miami, and so the new nanny, a cheerful but unimpressive young woman named Kristen, would have to do.

“Those arrangements look perfect, Marsha,” I said, handing back my itinerary to my assistant as I adjusted the picture of Zoe on my desk. “Any word from Ms. Kristen?”

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