Daddy's Contract : A Single Dad and Nanny Romance Read online

  After what feels like minutes of tense silence between us, the woman eventually sighs and puts her sunglasses back on. "You know, your father isn't going to be happy when he hears about this, Taylor. I'm honestly disappointed in you right now," she declares while shaking her head in dismay.

  I can feel Taylor flinch upon the mention of her father. The stiff and uneasy expression she suddenly has on her face tells me that she's actually afraid of what will happen when her dad finds out. A flicker of fear and regret briefly settles in her eyes as Taylor starts to realize the potential consequences of her actions. But in spite of her slow and late acknowledgment of the situation, the girl tightly purses her lips together and continues to maintain her stance on the issue that this woman isn't someone that she knows. She goes ahead to sit back down at her seat, placing the book back into her hands as a means of distracting herself from her worries.

  Though after seeing Taylor waver at the thought of her father's reaction to her rebellious behavior, I have to ask -- was this really a good idea to step in? I guess it's too late to wonder.

  "And you." The blond-haired beauty looks directly at me. Her unexpected call out causes me to freeze up in surprise. "You might feel like you've won, but you're going to be sorry for sticking your nose in my business. People like you should really know their place."

  A low chuckle from her voice follows after her grim statement is made which happens to send an unsettling chill down my spine. Judging from the cold expression on her face, it doesn't look like she's kidding around with me -- not in the slightest bit. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Her hostile and threatening message catches me so off guard that I can't seem to conjure up a suitable response to challenge her.

  Instead, the blonde simply gives me one last glance from top to bottom with a scoff before she turns around and exits through the front doors. Her departure leaves behind the lingering stench of her heavy perfume which irritates my nose again, but it's not the nauseating aroma which troubles me. It's the nonchalant manner in which she establishes a clear boundary between "people like me" and "people like her" which gets me highly uncomfortable. There's no doubt in my mind that she views herself as some sort of important individual, so I wonder how much truth there is to her words.

  Yet regardless of whatever intimidation tactics she might have up her sleeves to further scare me, I don't think I'm ever going to regret my decision to help Taylor. One look at the little girl's relieved face is enough to tell me that I made the right choice. Now all that's left is to deal with her father, and after seeing what happened with the seemingly crazy girlfriend, I feel like I can conquer anything.

  Nothing can be worse than what I've already had to experience.

  I'm sure of it.

  Noah - 3

  Taylor is in so much trouble when we get home.

  An exasperated sigh escapes me as the car comes to a halt at another red stoplight. What a goddamn headache. No matter how much I try to convince myself to calm down, I can't seem to contain my anger. First, Taylor goes off by herself without telling Jenna that she's leaving, and then when she gets found and caught, she decides to lie about knowing who Jenna is for no reason at all. And because of her little white lie, I'm forced to head down to the library where she's staying to pick her up.

  My eyes are fixated on the bright red glare which taunts me through the car's windshield. I don't understand why Taylor is making it so difficult for me to do my job. In fact, not a day goes by without me having to hear somebody make a complaint about her unruly behavior. If it's not her acting out during her piano lessons, it's her forcing the maids and the butlers into an involuntary game of hide and seek which ends up with me having to come home to find her. Even though it seriously pains me to admit it, she was never this rebellious when Elizabeth was alive.

  I can't help but wonder when she's going to quit acting like this. Hasn't two years been enough time for her to finish grieving?

  A wave of frustration sweeps through my body as the traffic light finally turns green and the vehicle begins moving again. The car slowly pulls up to the front of the library which Jenna provided me the address of over the phone after laying out the situation to me. I peer through the tinted windows where I see Taylor waiting by the entrance and standing next to a woman whom I assume to be the person that gave Jenna a hard time over Taylor's release. They both seem to be having a fun and lighthearted conversation with each other, the laughter and smiles on both of their faces proof of their carefree delight.

  But watching Taylor innocently beam and grin to the stranger like nothing is wrong only makes me feel angrier on the inside. She looks way too relaxed for a little girl who should realize that she's in some serious trouble. And having to witness her happy-go-lucky expression as I'm quietly seething with rage forces me to quickly get out of my seat while loudly slamming the car door shut behind me.

  This time, I'm not going to let her off easy like I always do. This time, she's going to understand that there are consequences to her actions.

  The rate of my heartbeat couldn't be pumping any faster as I approach the two unsuspecting individuals standing by the library doors. I can already see Taylor's face light up even more than it was before when she realizes that it's me getting out of the vehicle.

  "Daddy-" She begins to speak, but I don't want to hear what she has to say. I know she's going to try and weasel her way out of trouble once she notices how angry I am with her endless excuses and with those big weepy brown eyes of hers, but she isn't going to get any sympathy from me. Her reckless behavior is going to be properly punished and the only person capable of doing that is me.

  The excited little girl is in the middle of running toward me with open arms when I stop her by placing my hands firmly on her shoulders. I instantly notice the excitement on her face fade away from my stern gesture. And once I realize that I have her attention, the heated words which have been bottled up inside my throat and heart come pouring out of my lips like a speeding bullet.

  "Taylor, what were you thinking running away like that? Do you know how dangerous it is to be outside by yourself? You could have gotten hurt or even kidnapped. And don't even get me started on what you did to Jenna when she was worried sick about you."

  My outraged voice booms through the quiet night, the critical words sounding a lot louder than they should due to the dead silence which follows after the public scolding. I can feel an emotional fatigue quickly settling into my bones as I channel and voice my anger toward Taylor and her foolish choices. Every furious statement that flows out of me naturally makes my blood boil more and more until I'm completely numb and drained of any sense of feeling. Yet even with the toll of my explosive emotions pulling me down into exhaustion, it's still not enough to stop me from saying more.

  "I honestly can't take my eyes off of you for a minute without you causing trouble for other people. You should know better than this. Your mother would be so disappointed if she knew what a bad girl you've turned into."

  My cold statement strikes a huge nerve with Taylor as she practically freezes up in horror at the thought of Elizabeth's disappointment. Her lower lip is quivering nonstop, her brown eyes suddenly clouded by the tears forming within them. The joyful glow that was once on her face has slowly turned into a distorted expression of immense pain and regret. And it's not long before the weak control she has over her emotions bursts and she begins to cry without restraint.

  A heavy and defeated sigh leaves my lips. Seeing the tears constantly streaming down Taylor's face and hearing the awful bawling noise coming out of her throat fills my heart with a strong sensation of guilt.

  Maybe bringing Elizabeth up like that was too harsh even if I was extremely upset at Taylor. Using Elizabeth's name like that to make her feel bad about what she did is like putting salt on a fresh wound. It hurts, it clearly hurts a lot.

  The hanging guilt moves me to take Taylor's hand so that we can both finally go home, but a loud voice interrupts me: " Cut
the kid some slack, will you? She's only 6 years old. Shouldn't you just be glad that she's okay instead of shamelessly yelling at her like this?"

  My gaze turns toward the bold female speaker who recklessly confronts me with her smug and preachy words. So this is the woman who denied Jenna the right to take Taylor home, the woman who helped Taylor continue on with her childish charade until I was forced to get involved. Young and plain is the first impression that I get of her when I see her. There's nothing remotely special about her appearance which would make her memorable at all aside from that slight sneer that she has on her face as she fearlessly glares at me. I'm actually surprised that a woman like her even opened her mouth to say something in the first place because she doesn't look like the type who would dare to speak up.

  Even though it irritates me to look at the self-righteous expression on her face, I still keep my intent stare focused on her. It seems that young people these days have a lot of time on their hands if they're going to go out of their way to pry into other people's personal lives. Getting lectured by someone who's much younger than me and who knows nothing about me is the last thing I need after a long day.

  "Look, I know I should probably be thanking you for taking care of Taylor while she ran off on her own, but you should honestly mind your own business and keep your opinions to yourself. These are my personal family affairs. They're not yours to casually butt into," I gravely speak to warn her to mind her tongue. But for some reason, she's completely unaffected by my words.

  The young woman lets out a stifled laugh."A family affair? Is that what you're calling it? Because I don't really see a family here to begin with, especially not when you're relentlessly scolding the poor girl in public," she scoffs and rolls her eyes at me. There's nothing but pure hatred in her gaze when she looks at me.

  "Not all of this is her fault, you know," she continues with a shake of her head. "A father that leaves his only daughter behind with a delusional woman who doesn't even notice that the 6-year old girl has been missing for a few hours. Yeah, that's some real responsible parenting."

  I instinctively turn my head to the side while a snort slips out of my nose and my lips. She's a bigger pain in the ass than I expected. The condescending nature of her tone compels me to clench my fist and swallow the first response that comes to my head. There's nothing worse about a naive woman than one who doesn't know when to keep their mouth shut.

  My hardened stare shifts back to the proud woman's face, my legs slowly moving to approach her. I can see a hint of fear flash in her eyes as the distance gap between us begins to close up little by little. And when I finally take my last step forward, I realize that she's not so tough when I'm standing right in front of her. Her weak and timid gaze is evidence of that.

  "You can act all high and mighty like you're right about the terrible father that I am to my daughter, but you know nothing about our lives. You don't know what we have to go through every day," I shake my head while the sound of my voice rumbles. "People like you always love to assume like you know what's best for everybody when you don't have all the details, and I hate to disappoint you, but I'm just trying to do what I think is best for my daughter."

  The woman immediately crosses her arms and scoffs again. "People like me? God, rich snobs like you really enjoying using that phrase, don't you? Well, 'people like me' may not seem very smart to you people, but it doesn't take a genius to notice that your kid's being seriously neglected. Maybe you should consider hiring someone more suitable to take care of Taylor instead of your scatterbrained girlfriend because you clearly have the means to do so," she scowls.

  A tired sigh naturally parts from my lips as I close my eyes. I've had enough of this. Arguing with a stubborn woman who thinks that she's right is pointless. I can't win if she doesn't understand the hard work and effort I put in to provide this life of comfort for Taylor. And I know there's nothing that can ever replace her mother's presence, but I'll give that kid all the toys, all the experiences, and anything else that she wants in the world if that'll make her happy.

  Spoiling her with lavish gifts is the only way I know how to help temporarily ease her grief and put a smile on her face. But I don't expect an outsider to understand that. As long as I feel like what I'm doing is right, no one else's opinion or judgment matters.

  I give the woman one last glance before taking Taylor's hand and leading her back to the car. Her unyielding stare is still defiant and naive as ever, but I can't be bothered by that now when the sound of Taylor's weeping voice continues to trail through the night. After all, my emotions shouldn't be easily rattled by some random stranger, not when I have my heartbroken daughter to worry about.

  "I'm sorry, daddy. I'm so sorry. I won't do it again," Taylor says as she audibly sobs. "Sorry…"

  The unexpected nature of her apology catches me off guard. She's never this apologetic or remorseful, not even when Elizabeth was alive to scold her.

  "Why are you apologizing, Taylor? You never apologize this much when you do something wrong."

  She rubs her eyes and sniffles. "Because you look really angry today. And I don't want you to hate me for making you mad."

  My eyes widen in realization after hearing her reasoning. Was I really that angry the whole time? So angry over some irrelevant woman that Taylor was afraid of me potentially hating her? The unpleasant thought of her anxiety and unease as I harshly reprimanded her in public, even using Elizabeth's name to further my criticism of her behavior, fills me with extreme guilt.

  What the hell am I doing? There are better ways to approach her punishment, and letting my emotions get the best of me isn't one of them.

  I stop in my tracks and kneel down to meet Taylor's teary face. Her nose is all red and her eyes completely puffy from the nonstop crying that she's been doing. Now that I think about it, the last time I saw her this upset was when Elizabeth passed away.

  My thumb brushes a teardrop off of her cheek. "Sweetheart, I'm angry, but not angry enough to hate you. In fact, I won't ever be able to hate you. Not even in a million years."

  "Even if I'm a bad girl?" she asks.

  A smile spreads across my lips as I pet her on the head. "You're not a bad girl, Taylor. Bad girls wouldn't cry this much after doing something they know is wrong. Just don't do it again, okay?"

  Taylor obediently nods her head, "I won't. I promise." She lifts up her pinky for me to swear on it.

  I raise mine up and wrap it around her small finger. "It's a promise, then."

  My finger is still interlocked with Taylor's when the heartwarming moment between us is interrupted by Jenna who rushes over from her parked car. "Well, thank god that's finally over with. I'm so glad that Taylor's fine after that whole ordeal. But honestly, who does that woman think she is taking up your precious time like that?" Her eyes turn toward the library in disgust. "Normal people sure do have a lot of time on their hands."

  Seeing as how late of an hour it is, I couldn't agree more with Jenna's offhand comment. Most people would have handed Taylor off to the police or would have at least considered trusting Jenna to be Taylor's guardian by now, but this woman didn't. She stubbornly yet patiently stayed with Taylor until the very end of the day, even beyond regular work hours, to ensure that the kid made it home to her parents. I can't help but see her selfless act as admirable even if her overall personality and attitude still grates on my nerves.

  I pick Taylor up into my arms and start carrying her toward the car. Her small yet warm body leans right against my chest just like it used to when she was a baby, except now she's obviously much older and bigger than she was before. Even though I have to admit that coming down here was a huge waste of time, I can't say that I'm not glad to be able to hold my kid in my arms. I don't remember the last time I carried her around like this, especially not since I've been swamped with work. Having her in my warm embrace right now makes me realize just how much of Taylor's life I've been missing out on.

  When did she already get this tall?
When did she grow up this fast?

  A steady exhale flows from my lips as I hear the little girl gently snoring within my arms. Her innocent and peaceful expression puts a tender smile on my face. As much as I would have liked to already be within the comforts of my home where I can properly relax after a long day of business, this end result isn't too bad. I'm more than satisfied knowing that Taylor is safe in my arms. However, I know the sentiment is definitely not the same for Jenna because she isn't the type of woman to let things go so easily -- not after how bitter she sounded over the phone. Even now, I can clearly see and hear her stewing over what happened today.

  "Ugh, what a pain. The entire day is wasted, and I ended up missing out on the scheduled appointment that I made months ago," Jenna bitterly grumbles as she stares down at her cell phone. There's a heavy look of displeasure dwelling on her face that personally doesn't suit her gorgeous appearance. Yet her grim expression suddenly turns into one of pure delight as she quietly begins smirking to herself. It's almost like a light bulb goes off in her head, a brilliant thought unexpectedly surfacing in her mind.

  I have no doubt that whatever's currently going on in her head is bad, but I don't have the time nor the energy to ask her about it. It's been a long and tiring day, and all I want to do is go home and knock out.

  Jenna comes over to give me a long farewell kiss on the lips before heading back to her own car. Unsurprisingly, the huge smirk still remains on her face as she happily trots along the street and back toward her vehicle. I can't tell if that simpleminded nature of hers makes her seem more or less attractive to me. Though I guess it wasn't exactly her brains that got me interested in her in the first place.