My bed shakes, and a high-pitched voiced fills the room. “Daddy, get up!’

Rubbing my eyes, I roll across the king-sized bed. Mia bounces on her knees at the edge, making the whole mattress shake.

“What time is it?” I ask, running a hand through my hair.

“Um.” She stops her bouncing to think about it. “The little hand is on seven. The big hand is halfway…and the really little hand is…is…”

I glance at the clock on my phone. Seven-thirty.

“Good job,” I tell her, hauling myself up to sitting. “Come on. Let’s get you dressed.”

“I did my hair.” She raises her face with a smile, showing off the two pigtails she attempted. Kay will have quite the job of getting those tangles out.

“Looks good, baby,” I tell her, ushering her down the hallway and to her bedroom. “You didn’t go in the closet, did you? You know that’s not safe. There are—”

“I know,” she shrieks. “There are things that can fall on me in there. You told me, Daddy.”

“Just making sure. Here. Put on that dress Kay set out for you and brush your teeth. Don’t forget the leggings. It’s not warm enough to go without them.”

“There’s no school today,” she reminds me. “It’s a teacher-not-work day.”

“A teacher workday,” I correct her with a chuckle.

Leaving Mia to getting dressed, I trudge back down the hall and get myself ready, listening the whole time for the door to open. My nanny has her own key and should be letting herself in any minute.

As I jump in the shower, I do a quick briefing of the day in my head. Meetings all morning. Golf at the country club in the afternoon—though that’s another meeting there. I just like to use my second favorite hobby as an excuse to multitask.

“You ready?” I call down the hall as I quickly towel off.

“Yeah,” Mia shouts back.

Dressed, I glance over the banister. “Hello?” Still no sign of Kay.

“Where’s Kay?” Mia asks from below my elbow. She has several dolls in her arms.

“I don’t know,” I mumble, unlatching the baby gate at the top of the stairs. Mia’s probably old enough that she could figure out how to undo it herself, but I keep it up since it serves as a reminder to her to not go downstairs by herself.

I check my watch as we descend the stairs. Ten to eight. My first meeting is in an hour downtown, and I have a dozen other things I should get done before then.

In the kitchen, I check the fridge. There are dinners for the next two days, courtesy of my chef, Ray, who comes a few days a week and meal preps. As far as breakfast, though, it looks like I’m on my own.

I consider calling Eddie in the guest house, where he permanently lives, and having him come make breakfast for Mia, but I decide against it. My butler is pushing seventy. The man needs to sleep in every once in a while.

“Waffles? Eggs?”

“French toast!” Mia sets her dolls on one of the chairs at the breakfast table nook.

“I don’t have time to make that this morning, honey. Maybe Sunday. You’ll like these waffles and eggs. I’ll cut up some cantaloupe, too.”

I check the clock on the wall. Eight. Kay should be here by now.

A gnawing feeling begins in my stomach. I try my best to ignore it as I scramble eggs and drop frozen waffles in the toaster, but by the time I’m setting breakfast on the table, the sensation has doubled.

In my pocket, my phone beeps.

“Eat your fruit,” I tell Mia. She’s devouring the waffle and ignoring everything else.

“More waffles, Daddy? Pleeeeease?”

“Eat everything on your plate first.” Turning away to brew coffee, I pull my phone out. As I see the email, my hand freezes halfway to the filters.

Shit. Shit, shit.

It’s just as I expected. The email is terse and to the point.

Benjamin,

Having given it some deep thought I have decided it is best if I no longer work for you. I have come to care for you and Mia a lot—too much, I’ve realized. I would have given you everything, if only you’d have let me in.

Luckily, your issues are no longer mine. Consider this my resignation letter. I’ve already told the agency that I can’t work for you any longer. I didn’t tell them exactly why; I just said that there were differences.

I hope that you one day figure out what you want—for Mia’s sake.

Sincerely,

Kay

Screwing my eyes shut, I put the phone back in my pocket. Looks like I fucked up again. No surprise there.

“No, I don’t like fruit,” Mia is saying in a squeaky voice. “You eat it… No, you eat it.”

I look over to see she’s making her dolls fight over the cantaloupe.

“Eat the melon, Mia,” I snap, sounding grumpier than I want to.

She frowns and spears a cantaloupe slice with her fork. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I whirl back around.

Take a deep breath.

I do; it doesn’t help. My temples still pound, and I can’t figure out if I want to punch a wall or crawl back into bed. Either way, as much as I want to be angry with Kay, I know I can’t completely blame what went down on her. It takes two to tango.

What happened between us was supposed to be casual. That’s what I told Kay the first time we hooked up, a month ago. Apparently, I hadn’t been specific enough. I should have outlined the exact terms of our relationship and had us both sign a document. For not the first time, things had been lost in translation between myself and a woman.

Gritting my teeth, I turn back to face Mia.

“How would you like to come to the office with me today?”

Her eyes light up. “Really, Daddy?”

“Uh-huh. It’ll be fun.”

I have a secretary and two assistants working full-time. Between the three of them, they should be able to keep a six year old occupied until the nannying agency can send over a replacement.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. I know the way it’s going to play out by now, but that’s fine. The agency I use knows I have a high turnaround of nannies, but they don’t ask questions. They charge too much for them to do that.

It’s Mia I’m worried about. I have to tell her, yet again, that another nanny won’t be returning.

Sighing, I take the seat next to her. “Hey, Mia. I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.” She’s busy braiding a doll’s hair, not fully listening.

I touch her arm. “Mia. Pay attention, please.”

She stops braiding, though her lips twist. “I am.”

“Kay’s not going to be watching you anymore,” I say quickly, wanting to explain before Mia becomes upset. “She found another job.”

Mia blinks, hurt crossing her face. “But why?”

I rub her shoulder. “She really likes you, honey, but she didn’t plan on being a nanny her whole life.”

“What is she going to do?”

“I—I don’t know.” I purse my lips, hoping she doesn’t ask any more questions. I’ve lied enough as it is.

“But I like her,” Mia protests. Her bottom lip starts quivering.

I sigh. “I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry. Finish your breakfast, okay? We need to get going soon.”

Sullen-faced, she goes back to her untouched eggs and melon. I stand, annoyed with myself.

First Emmy. Then Lauren. Now Kay.

That makes three nannies I’ve gotten involved with—and all in the last two years.

It makes me look like a shitty person, but in my defense, it’s not all my fault. Prestige Nanny keeps sending over the hottest women, and I don’t have time to date. I’m a single parent running my own company. I’m lucky on the days I make it to the gym—and that’s saying a lot, since I have my own gym down the hall from my bedroom.

Maybe I need to try a new agency. The problem with that is that I don’t have time to register with a new agency. I need someone today.

Stepping onto the back patio, I close the door behind me and stare at my phone. I’ll just have to deal with whoever they send over next. It doesn’t matter how hot she is; the dick stays in the pants. For real, this time.

Pulling up the agency’s booking number, I make the call.

“Prestige Nanny. This is Rebecca.”

“Hi, Rebecca.” I cringe as I realize I talk to the agency’s booker way too often. I probably owe her a couple of Christmas cards at this point. “This is Benjamin Glen.”

“Oh. Yes.”

Just from those two words, I can tell she’s been expecting my call. Does everyone at Prestige’s office wonder just what I do to drive my nannies away? Do they assume I’m just mean, and that’s what makes the girls leave? Or do they know the truth?

“We received word of Kay’s resignation,” Rebecca went on. “Would you like us to send someone over today?”

“Um, yes, but I’ll need to interview her before I make a final decision.”

“Of course.”

I look through the glass doors. Mia has abandoned her breakfast and gone into the living room beyond. Remote in hand, she’s turned the TV to the cartoon channel.

“Any specifications for the new nanny?” Rebecca asked.

“No.”

Then, like a bolt of lightning, one hits me. It’s crazy, and I almost don’t want to say it out loud…but this is one of the most high-end nanny agencies in the world. If they can’t fulfill this request, maybe I really should look elsewhere.

“You know what?” I say. “There is one.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Can you send me a girl who’s a lesbian?”

“A…a lesbian, Mr. Glen?”

“That’s what I said.”

She daintily clears her throat. “I’ll see what I can do, sir.”

“Great. I’ll be at my downtown office all day. You can send the right nanny there.”

“Mr. Glen, just to be clear…I am not entirely sure we will be able to locate what you’re looking for.”

My irritation spikes. “Out of all the nannies you have, not one of them is gay?”

“Well, I’m sure they are. It is just that we don’t usually ask such personal questions.”

“This is San Bravado. I’m sure you have just what I’m looking for. All you need to do is start asking the right questions.”

There’s a long pause. “We’ll be in touch soon, Mr. Glen.”

“Wonderful.” I hang up, a sense of pride rising.

So, maybe I do a shitty job of controlling myself around beautiful women, but it looks like I might have just found a way around that problem. With a gay nanny, any advances I feel compelled to make will be pointless. She’ll be completely disinterested in me.

I smirk to myself as I go inside. I knew I’d find a way around this. I’m Benjamin Glen, a year shy of thirty and the billionaire founder of a megalithic software company. I worked myself to the bone through school, started a company from my apartment, then started raising my daughter by myself after her mother made her worst and last mistake.

I know how to get shit done.

This nanny issue? It’s nothing but a tiny hiccup in my perfectly designed life.