Page 6 of Single Dad Billionaire Boss

“Believe me, I would. But the fact of the matter is, I like Zoe.”

I half-smiled and purposely raised an eyebrow. “Meaning that you don’t like me?”

“Whether I like you is irrelevant,” Ella said crisply. “I like Zoe. She’s the one with whom I’d be spending most of my time. Not you.”

“Exactly. I don’t require supervision and you’ll be happy to know that I can cut up my own grapes.” I snatched the fountain pen from its holder on my desk and wrote down my home address on a sticky note. “I’m going to hire you on a provisional basis. Be at this address at seven-fifteen tomorrow morning, at which time I will give you all the information you need to know about Zoe’s routine and her schedule going forward.”

I handed Ella the sticky note and her mouth hung open. “You mean you’re giving me the job just like that?” she asked, and I nodded. “I guess you really are desperate, then.”

Ella held my eyes again and her lips turned up a little. I slid her the fountain pen and the pad of sticky notes across the desk. “Write down your email address, please, and I’ll send over a contract for you to review.”

She picked up the pen, started to write, then stopped and looked up at me. “You mean to say you don’t already have my email address?”

“I do,” I said. “But I thought I’d give you the courtesy of writing it down.”

“That’s what I figured,” Ella said. “I’m sure you can hack into my social media and my dating profiles, too. Whatever you want, right?”

“Looking for a long-term, exclusive relationship? At your age?”

“Not everyone goes on apps just for hook-ups.”

I held Ella’s gaze and she smiled. Blushed a little, too, I thought.

“You didn’t check my dating profile, did you?” she asked.

“No, of course not,” I said. “But I can, if you’d like.”

Ella shook her head and made a scoffing sound. Or was it a nervous laugh? Either way, for some reason it made me like her even more. And when she left, I talked with Zoe about how Kristen had to leave and how Ella might be her new nanny for a while. Zoe was sad about Kristen, but she was also excited about Ella. I took that as a good sign and together we went home for dinner.

Chapter3

3

Ella

I had never beena morning person, but despite the less than desirable report time, I managed to arrive five minutes early at Zoe’s house.

The place was unlike anything I had ever seen except in the movies. I knew it would be nice, but here in San Francisco, I had been expecting a tall, expensive townhome, not an entirely detached home with a backyard and fenced-in lawn. Yeah, I will totally look up this neighborhood on Zillow later and I bet the property values end in more zeroes than I can fit on my calculator . Broad windows and deep wood trim contrasted with the pale stucco. The door was a massive structure of carved wood, and when I rang the bell, I half expected a servant to let me in.

Instead, it was Jacob Sanders. He was barefoot and dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, looking like he just stepped out of a glossy ad for designer cologne. He was squinting against the morning sunlight—which was a good thing, I thought, when I realized I was staring. I could also feel the blood in my cheeks. Hopefully, he hadn’t noticed.

“Good morning,” Jacob said, speaking as if it were normal for him to answer the door looking so unspeakably handsome, so comfortable in his worn-in California business casual. His golden tan was the picture of health. So was his lean, athletic—Nope, I said to myself, and I dropped my eyes. What was I thinking checking out my new boss’s body this way? He could probably read minds, too, this Jacob Sanders—him with his CIA skills, his lack of respect for online privacy, and probably a three-hundred-page list of what his kid wasn’t allowed to do.

I snapped my eyes back to his face, squared my shoulders, and reminded myself that if I could get through to a twelve-year-old patient who hates everyone, I could work for someone as prickly and demanding as Jacob Sanders.

“Good morning,” I said, putting my bag down by the door and removing my shoes. “I understand slick shoes are dangerous.” I gave a half-smile at my own joke but Jacob’s expression was like stone.

“Zoe’s in her room looking for her socks,” he said.

“I can help her,” I offered, hoping he’d say yes, but instead, Jacob reached for a manila folder on the nearby console table and handed it to me like some detective on an old TV show.

“Actually, there are a few things we need to go over first,” he said, and I slipped out a copy of the contract I’d already looked over on email. There was also a list of basic information. Zoe’s birthdate and full name, height, weight, peanut allergy, and numbers for the pediatrician and dentist.

“Before I sign this,” I said, “I have a question.”

Jacob exhaled wearily. “Yes, your health insurance is covered.”

“Not that. I was referring to the hourly wage listed on page two.”

---