“Daddy, look, I drew the beach and all of us on it.”
“Gina,” I said, without looking at her picture. “You need to go sit down. I’m working.”
“But look!”
“Not now,” I said, trying as hard as I could not to lose my temper.
Gina stood there for a moment before going back to her table.
And as if she were a goldfish, she returned to my desk every ten to fifteen minutes, wanting to show me something else.
“Do you want to watch cartoons?” I said to her, seconds before I was about to blow.
“Come color with me,” she said, ignoring my question.
“I can’t right now,” I said, standing up. I lifted her from the ground and plopped her onto the couch. I grabbed my tablet and found one of her princess shows on Netflix. “Stay here and watch. I need to work.”
“I’m hungry,” she said.
I ground my teeth together and checked my watch. I had blinked a few times before I registered it was almost noon.
“I’ll order some food.”
“Chicken nuggets, please!” she exclaimed with a big smile on her face.
“Okay,” I said. I went out of the office to the temp. “Elizabeth—”
“It’s Liz,” she said, attempting to hide her cell phone under a stack of paper on Allison’s desk. I didn’t have the time or patience to reprimand her.
“Sorry, Liz. Please order from Anthony’s. A kids chicken nuggets and fries and a Cobb salad.”
“Where’s that?” she asked.
“There’s a stack of menus in the middle drawer.” I pointed at Allison’s desk for emphasis.
“Am I expected to pay for it?” she asked.
“No,” I said, losing patience. I opened my wallet and handed her a fifty. “Get something for yourself and tip the rest to the delivery person.”
She took the bill from me and placed it on the desk, staring at it as if she’d never seen a fifty before.
“I’ll need you to order now,” I said.
“Oh, okay,” she said and picked up the phone. Her fingers hovered over the keypad, and I shook my head, going back into the office. She’d figure it out eventually.
Gina remained out of my way for the rest of the afternoon. Surprisingly, the food arrived without any mess ups or issues. So, Liz wasn’t as daft as I’d thought.
After we had eaten, Gina settled onto the couch again with the tablet while I got back to work.
When I looked up again over an hour later, Gina was fast asleep on the couch. My shoulders finally relaxed. Though with her looking so peaceful, I started to feel bad for the way I’d treated her. It wasn’t her fault I was so busy. And I was the one to fire her nanny.
I wondered what Jess was doing now. Was she with Sierra? Bashing me to eternal damnation? Or was she already looking for another job? I’d paid her well enough over the last few weeks to be able to live comfortably until she found another position. With her credentials, she would be fine.
My phone vibrated, and I picked it up to see Brandon sent me a text.
“Let me in,” it read.
I crossed the room, careful to be quiet while Gina napped. I’d inhaled my lunch while working so taking the time to talk to Brandon would give me a much-needed break. I was finally on track with my work and five minutes chatting with my best bud was my reward.