Chapter Seven
Reed
I woke up a bit earlier that day. I wasn’t sure why but I felt the need to make sure that the house was clean and that I was presentable before Kennedy came over. I couldn’t remember if I had felt the same way when I’d hired Linda, although I was sure it was just the same. When Trinity walked into the kitchen, everything was clean and a bowl of cereal was waiting for her on the table.
“Morning, beautiful. Are you ready for your first day with Kennedy?”
“YES!” she said. “I’m going to wear my new dress.”
I smiled sadly at her. It was sad that she felt the need to dress up for a complete stranger, but I was glad that she was at least happy with the arrangement. I still couldn’t believe that we’d found Kennedy in a supermarket while all the actual applicants had been so horrendous. It made me think that she was meant to work for us, even though I didn’t normally believe in fate.
“Great idea,” I said to Trinity. I looked at my watch. “We still have about half an hour until she gets here. Eat up.”
“Aren’t you eating?” she asked.
“I already had something. I got up early today.”
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and when I opened the door, I saw Kennedy standing there. I’d forgotten how pretty she was, and for a brief second, I was taken aback.
“I’m a bit early,” she said apologetically.
I smiled and finally snapped myself back to reality. “One of my favorite qualities in someone. Come in, come in. Trinity, look who’s here,” I said, but when I turned around, I saw that Trinity was gone. I peered into her bowl and saw that she hadn’t finished her food. “That’s strange,” I said. “She was just here.”
“Oh dear, has she run away from me already?” Kennedy asked.
“I’m here,” Trinity said. I turned around and saw that she had run upstairs to get changed. She was now wearing her favorite pink dress and twirling around to show Kennedy.
“Oh, you look beautiful,” Trinity said.
I smiled. “She wanted to wear that dress for you.”
“Really? I am absolutely honored.”
“Well, I better get going. Thank you again for coming early. That makes a nice change from the last nanny. I hope you don’t mind, but I have to work a little late today just to catch up on all the work I missed out on last week. I know that’s asking a bit much on your first day.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Kennedy said and smiled. “Seriously, don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you so much. My work number is on the fridge as well as any other number you might need. But call me if there’s a problem.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine. But thank you,” she said.
I walked out of the house feeling confident, and when I got to work, I felt relieved that it was a problem I wouldn’t have to worry about anymore. I went straight to my office and started working on the backlog that I knew would be there. Even though some of the other members of staff had helped me out, there were certain things that only I could do. I was able to work so much better now that I didn’t have to worry about Trinity too. She was a good girl but having her at work was such a big distraction for me.
At lunch time I made my way to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I got a sandwich and a cup of coffee and found a table to sit at. Sometimes I didn’t take the time to eat, but I always felt worse at the end of the day because of it. I forced myself now to take the break because I always came back from lunch feeling ready to continue with my work. It used to be a bad habit of mine that I was glad that I had broken. Not that it was easy, though. It was sometimes difficult for me to force myself away from my desk, especially when I was so busy. Thankfully my next client was only due in an hour, so I had a bit of time to myself.
“Earth to Reed.”
I looked up and saw Warren with his own lunch and coffee. He sat down opposite me and grinned.
“You’re in your own world.”
“I was just enjoying the break. It’s been a crazy morning. Hey, listen, thanks for all the help last week. Today would’ve been even crazier if you hadn’t helped.”
“Ah, no sweat, man. But a lot of your patients refused to see anyone else but you. I managed to reschedule all of them, but I think you’re going to have a busy few weeks. It’s good though; they obviously all really like you.”
I smiled. “Oh yeah? That’s good to know.”
“You seem happy today. Oh, where’s Trinity? Did you manage to find someone? I remember you said you had a list of people to see.”
“I did actually find someone. But not from the list. I cannot believe how awful some of those people were. And because I decided to let Trinity help with the decision, it wasn’t as easy I thought it was going to be. She’s so easy going and I figured she’d be happy with anyone. But none of the women seemed nice. Trinity was a lot fussier than I thought she was going to be, although that’s probably a good thing. I mean, one was downright scary. She came in with a list of her attributes to show me but didn’t once even look at Trinity.”
“Seriously? So, how did you find someone?”
“I found her at the grocery store.”
“What? You asked some random woman at the grocery store to look after your child?”
I chuckled. “Not quite,” I said, and I explained to him how Kennedy had found me looking lost. “Turns out she’s a personal chef. She gave me her card, and we got talking. I invited her out for dinner and gave her a chance to get to know Trinity. She’s not a nanny but she’s very likable, and Trinity took an instant liking to her, which always helps. So, she agreed to come on a trial basis to see if it’s something she wants to do. She was there bright and early this morning. I cannot tell you how relieved I feel to have her there.”
“Is she hot?”
“Seriously? Is that really all you have to say after all that?” I asked even though I wasn’t at all surprised. Warren loved nothing more than being surrounded by beautiful women.
“Is she?” he asked again.
“Actually, she’s beautiful.”
“Oh yeah? So maybe she can be something more than just a nanny.”
“Uh, no. Definitely not. I doubt she’d be into someone like me. And anyway, I’m looking for someone for Trinity, not for me.” The last thing I wanted was to blur the lines. “Also, if something went wrong, it wouldn’t be fair on Trinity. She’s been through enough already.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Oh well, something nice to look at every day at least. But listen, speaking of dating. I have someone for you.”
“You have someone for me? What do you mean? I’m not looking for anyone right now. You know that.”
“Oh come on, if I don’t step in and help you, then you’re going to be single forever. It’s time, Reed. You deserve to finally start thinking about yourself.”
I sighed. “I’m not sure. But tell me more. Who is this woman?”
Warren beamed at me. “She’s a friend of a friend. She’s lovely, and she has a bit of a thing for doctors.”
“Is that just another way of saying that she has a bit of a thing for guys with money? Because I’m not really into women like that.”
“No, she’s really nice. Come on. What’s one dinner? One dinner can’t harm. You had one dinner with this Kennedy girl and you found yourself a nanny.”
“Fair point.”
“Does that mean that you’ll do it?”
I laughed. “Are you going to ever quit pushing me into going on a date with her?”
“Never!”
“I believe you. Okay, I’ll do it. But I’m not promising that it’s going to lead to anything. One dinner!”
“You won’t regret it,” he said and stood up. “And I’m going to get back to work before you change your mind. I’ll send you the details.”
I got home a little late that day, as I knew I would, but I was glad for how much work I had gotten through. It had seemed like a mountain of tasks when I arrived, but it was now starting to seem a lot more manageable. Also, just knowing that Trinity was safe and sound had made me feel less overwhelmed by stress. I couldn’t wait to hear how her day had gone. When I opened the front door, I was surprised at how quiet it was inside. I was expecting Trinity to come running to me with news of how her day went. I frowned and hoped that everything was okay. It definitely wasn’t like Trinity to be this quiet. Had I done the wrong thing by trusting a stranger with my child so quickly?
I found Kennedy sitting in the living room with a book. She smiled when she saw me, and I felt relief wash over me. Nothing seemed to be amiss.
“Hey, everything okay?” I said and looked around. “Where’s Trinity?”
“Hi, Reed. Oh, everything is fine. We had quite the day together. I think she was overly excited because she got tired very quickly tonight. But I managed to feed her before she fell asleep.”
“She’s asleep?”
“Fast asleep. She tried so hard to stay up, but eventually, she just couldn’t fight it anymore. Man, I wish I could fall asleep as easily as she can.”
“Tell me about it. So, did today go okay?”
“Today was great. You have a wonderful daughter, Reed. Like I said before, I’ve never done this sort of job before, but she definitely made it easy for me.”
I beamed. There was nothing quite like getting a compliment about your daughter. It always felt like it was a reflection on myself. “Thank you. She’s great.”
“Oh, and I left you some food too. I thought you might be hungry when you get back.”
“I’m starving. Thank you so much. Kennedy, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.”
“Sure.”
“I know you’ve just started, but is there any chance you can stay a little late on Friday. My friend has forced me into a date. I haven’t dated for years so this is all news to me, but if I didn’t say yes, he wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. Of course, if you can’t, it’s okay. I’m more than happy to have an excuse to say no.”
Kennedy smiled. “Your friend sounds just like my friend. And I definitely don’t mind at all. I have nothing else planned for Friday night, anyway. You should go and have a good time.”
“I’m not sure if I’m glad that you said yes or not. But thank you; my friend will be happy at least.”
“No problem. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“See you tomorrow,” I said and let her out.
Kennedy had such an easy way about her. No wonder Trinity liked her so much. I went over to the kitchen and found a Tupperware in the fridge. I opened it up and smiled when I saw that she had made chicken stew for me. I scooped it into a bowl and warmed it up. Then I sat in the living room to eat it. The moment I took a bite, I smiled. The food was amazing.