Page 10 of Single Dad Billionaire Boss

We said our goodbyes and I gave Zoe one last hug before heading to my office. On the way, I replayed in my mind how Zoe had reacted to Ella’s presence at the play. I was impressed. Oh, who was I kidding? I wastouched. Ella really cared about Zoe. My decision was made: Ella Clark would take care of my daughter while I was in Singapore. And now, with that settled, I could move forward with my plans.

That evening I talked to Zoe about the trip again. I showed her the pictures of the build site and the place where I’d be staying. We sat on the couch, her hair braided and her Bluey look-and-find book open in her lap.

“Ella will stay here at the house with you while I’m gone,” I said. “We can FaceTime after school and at bedtime, okay? Singapore is fifteen hours ahead of us here in San Francisco, so it will be afternoon for you and morning for me. I’m going to write on your dry-erase calendar which days I’m gone and when I’ll be back so you can mark them off.”

“Kristen isn’t going to stay with me?” she asked, brow furrowed.

“No, she’s moving to Sacramento with her new husband,” I said. “Remember when we talked about that?”

“Yeah, I just—you said Kristen would keep me for a long time and now she’s gone.”

My heart twisted. “That’s right,” I said. “It was a bad surprise when she left all of a sudden. Do you feel okay about staying with Ella?”

“I guess so. Yeah. I like Ellie. She’s nice to me. But I’ll miss you, Daddy. I miss you at school, now I gotta miss you all the time, too.”

Zoe leaned against me and I hugged her. “I’m going to miss you so much. We will call each other a lot, and I’ll be home as fast as I can.”

“How many sleeps till you’re home?”

“Four or five. It takes a really long time to get to Singapore, and I’m only going to stay a couple of days. Then I’ll come straight home.”

“You’re gonna send me a picture of the drawing I made you?”

Zoe had made me a special drawing of Dustin the Hamster to take on my trip. Dustin looked like a lopsided potato with orange and brown hairs sticking out all over. He was also holding a bunch of balloons near the pencil sharpener. Thankfully, Zoe didn’t draw any poop.

“Absolutely,” I said. “I’m going to put the drawing up in my hotel room and send you a picture of it as soon as I get there. I love it!”

We talked more about what Zoe would do while I was gone and what we would do for fun when I returned. Then I put her to bed and messaged Ella. I offered her time and a half to come to the house tomorrow to go over the logistics for my trip. She replied that she could be here at eight in the morning. I agreed and set to work putting together everything she would need to take care of Zoe while I was gone.

The next morning, by the time Ella arrived, Zoe had been awake for an hour and I’d had three cups of coffee. I had been up most of the night making sure everything was ready for Zoe’s week. Lunch box notes for the days she didn’t like the cafeteria menu. A jacket hanging with her uniform for when the weather forecast called for rain. Money in a baggie for the bake sale Friday with a note about her nut allergy. And my masterpiece, the updated Zoe binder.

Ella came into the kitchen and gave Zoe a big hug. My daughter had been sitting at the table for some time, stirring her cereal into mush as she watched a show on her tablet. Ella and I sat down across from her with my binder.

“You see here that I’ve listed my flight numbers and accommodations,” I said, turning pages. “This here is the information for the bilingual assistant I’ll be using. Call her if for any reason you can’t reach me on my cell. Next page is information for the temporary medical power of attorney authorizing you to consent to treatment if Zoe has an emergency.”

“In case I fall off the roof or drown or something,” Zoe droned, never looking up from her tablet, and Ella cleared her throat to cover her snort.

“She’s a savage this morning,” I said dryly.

“Thanks for being so thorough,” Ella said. “I’d rather have information and not need it than face an emergency unprepared.”

A knot in my chest that I hadn’t realized was there loosened a little. Ella understood, at least to some extent, why I was being overprotective and acting like I would be gone for six months instead of six days.

“Exactly,” I said. “The housekeeper does meal prep, so all you’ll have to do is heat things up.” I turned to a pocket in the binder and slipped out an envelope. “If you want DoorDash, and for any expenses while I’m gone, there’s some cash in here and a credit card.”

“Wow,” Ella said. “As long as there’s enough gas in the car, I can’t imagine needing more than twenty bucks for drinks or snacks.”

“You mentioned taking her to the tea garden or the aquarium,” I said. “Those aren’t free. Throw in snacks, souvenirs, and who knows how many times she’s going to want to ride the”—I stopped myself, swiveled my eyes to Zoe, and then spelled out, “C-A-R-O-U-S-E-L.”

“That’s thoughtful of you,” Ella said. “But I don’t mind paying for the aquarium and stuff. I want to take her there. It was my idea, after all.”

I breathed in deeply. Last thing I wanted to do in front of Zoe was argue about who was boss. “I appreciate your enthusiasm for enrichment activities,” I said, forcing myself to speak calmly. “You’re putting in the effort to plan the outing as well as taking care of my daughter. All that has value to me—which meansIpay for the expenses.”

Ella smiled playfully. “You did that pretty well,” she said. “I could tell you wanted to say something like, ‘How dare you oppose me, peasant!’”

Ella snatched the envelope and slipped it back into the binder. I cleared my throat.

“I’ve never called you a peasant,” I said, and Ella winked.

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