room.
Ty slowly looked up from his work. “I told you I have things I have to accomplish today.”
“Yes, but this is your child now, and I’m not your wife,” she said, then batted down an odd reaction that shivered through her at the thought of getting his sizzling kisses regularly. There was no way in hell she would marry a grouch, and besides, this particular grouch wasn’t interested in her.
“Which means I’m really not her permanent care-giver. After losing her parents and being shifted away from her grandparents, you don’t want her to get attached to me and lose me, too.”
Ty tossed his pencil to his desk. “No, I suppose I don’t.” Madelyn almost cheered, until he added, “But right now I’m swamped. In February, Seth lost a contract for a twenty-million-dollar mansion in Florida. The owner, foreign royalty, paid us for all the work we did, but he never gave us a reason for firing us and he also didn’t pay us the amount in the termination clause. The way he handled this, it was as if we’d quit on him, he hadn’t fired us.”
“Oh,” Madelyn said, taking a seat on the chair in front of his desk and arranging Sabrina on her lap.
“So, we sued this king.”
“You sued a king?”
“He didn’t keep to the terms of our agreement.”
“You’re not afraid of repercussions?”
“That’s just it. There weren’t any. After one preliminary hearing the king buckled under and agreed to pay us the amount in the termination clause of the contract.”
Madelyn nodded.
“Problem is,” Ty said softly, almost contritely, “he sent a twenty-page agreement for us to sign to settle the suit. I have to read it today so that if I make any changes the legal department has time to insert them and we can present our version to our former client.”
Madelyn was nearly speechless at Ty’s humble, apologetic tone until she remembered this was how he got her to agree to be his temporary nanny in the first place. She almost argued that he couldn’t put his business before the baby, but she remembered it was more important for him to care for the baby that night. And if she won this battle with him right now, she would actually lose the help she needed from him that evening.
“Okay,” she said, rising. “I’ll care for Sabrina this afternoon, and you get her tonight.”
He considered that, then said, “Okay.”
“You also need to call a nanny service.”
“Okay,” he agreed amicably.
Madelyn left Ty’s office and walking through the foyer, she saw the newly assembled high chair and baby swing and realized she needed one in the kitchen and the other in the TV room. Juggling Sabrina from one arm to the other, Madelyn concluded she couldn’t carry either the swing or the high chair while she held the baby. So she set the baby in the swing and carried the high chair to the kitchen, then put Sabrina in the high chair while she carried the swing to the TV room.
The entire time that she carried baby items, ordered another pizza for a midafternoon snack since they’d missed lunch, and amused the little girl who was raring to go, Madelyn didn’t hear a sound from Ty. But because he had agreed to care for the baby that night, Madelyn didn’t bother him. At six o’clock when he emerged from his den, looking for “anything” to eat, Madelyn was incredibly happy to see him.
“Thank God!” she said, pulling Sabrina out of the high chair and handing her to Ty. “Do you realize I haven’t even showered today?”
“You should get up earlier,” Ty said, shifting away as if he didn’t see her handing him the baby.
Madelyn frowned. “You can’t get up much earlier than two in the morning.”
He took a piece of pizza and sat at the table. “Why the hell would you get up at two?”
She stared at him. “Because your baby, ” she said, accentingthose words because she was starting to worry she had given him too much benefit of the doubt. “Got up at two and stayed up until right after I
Ty slowly looked up from his work. “I told you I have things I have to accomplish today.”
“Yes, but this is your child now, and I’m not your wife,” she said, then batted down an odd reaction that shivered through her at the thought of getting his sizzling kisses regularly. There was no way in hell she would marry a grouch, and besides, this particular grouch wasn’t interested in her.
“Which means I’m really not her permanent care-giver. After losing her parents and being shifted away from her grandparents, you don’t want her to get attached to me and lose me, too.”
Ty tossed his pencil to his desk. “No, I suppose I don’t.” Madelyn almost cheered, until he added, “But right now I’m swamped. In February, Seth lost a contract for a twenty-million-dollar mansion in Florida. The owner, foreign royalty, paid us for all the work we did, but he never gave us a reason for firing us and he also didn’t pay us the amount in the termination clause. The way he handled this, it was as if we’d quit on him, he hadn’t fired us.”
“Oh,” Madelyn said, taking a seat on the chair in front of his desk and arranging Sabrina on her lap.
“So, we sued this king.”
“You sued a king?”
“He didn’t keep to the terms of our agreement.”
“You’re not afraid of repercussions?”
“That’s just it. There weren’t any. After one preliminary hearing the king buckled under and agreed to pay us the amount in the termination clause of the contract.”
Madelyn nodded.
“Problem is,” Ty said softly, almost contritely, “he sent a twenty-page agreement for us to sign to settle the suit. I have to read it today so that if I make any changes the legal department has time to insert them and we can present our version to our former client.”
Madelyn was nearly speechless at Ty’s humble, apologetic tone until she remembered this was how he got her to agree to be his temporary nanny in the first place. She almost argued that he couldn’t put his business before the baby, but she remembered it was more important for him to care for the baby that night. And if she won this battle with him right now, she would actually lose the help she needed from him that evening.
“Okay,” she said, rising. “I’ll care for Sabrina this afternoon, and you get her tonight.”
He considered that, then said, “Okay.”
“You also need to call a nanny service.”
“Okay,” he agreed amicably.
Madelyn left Ty’s office and walking through the foyer, she saw the newly assembled high chair and baby swing and realized she needed one in the kitchen and the other in the TV room. Juggling Sabrina from one arm to the other, Madelyn concluded she couldn’t carry either the swing or the high chair while she held the baby. So she set the baby in the swing and carried the high chair to the kitchen, then put Sabrina in the high chair while she carried the swing to the TV room.
The entire time that she carried baby items, ordered another pizza for a midafternoon snack since they’d missed lunch, and amused the little girl who was raring to go, Madelyn didn’t hear a sound from Ty. But because he had agreed to care for the baby that night, Madelyn didn’t bother him. At six o’clock when he emerged from his den, looking for “anything” to eat, Madelyn was incredibly happy to see him.
“Thank God!” she said, pulling Sabrina out of the high chair and handing her to Ty. “Do you realize I haven’t even showered today?”
“You should get up earlier,” Ty said, shifting away as if he didn’t see her handing him the baby.
Madelyn frowned. “You can’t get up much earlier than two in the morning.”
He took a piece of pizza and sat at the table. “Why the hell would you get up at two?”
She stared at him. “Because your baby, ” she said, accentingthose words because she was starting to worry she had given him too much benefit of the doubt. “Got up at two and stayed up until right after I
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