When I entered the hallway, Brandon was on his way toward my office.
I shook his hand, and he grinned at me. “I haven’t seen you this tan since college, man.”
“Take a picture, because once this fades, you won’t see it again for a long time.”
“It suits you,” he said.
“Let’s talk in here,” I said, leading him to an empty conference room.
“What’s wrong with your office?” he asked.
“Gina’s in there. She’s napping. I don’t want to disturb her.”
“Is Jess sick or something?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “I fired her.”
“You what?”
I massaged my temples with my fingertips. The headache wasn’t as strong as this morning, but it still lingered. “Work has been crazy since we got back. And all this week Jess was nagging me about not spending time with Gina. She was getting too attached to my personal life. I had to let her go.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I think you’ve ever said to me,” he said.
“What?”
“You’re being ridiculous,” he said, crossing his arms.
“I’m being ridiculous? I can’t go home from a stressful day at work and have someone up my ass. There’s a reason I hired a nanny in the first place. She even suggested that I retire early and care for Gina myself.”
“Do you remember Wendy?” he asked.
“That’s a stupid question.”
“Do you remember how Wendy used to calm you down when you got crazy about work?”
I opened my mouth to fire something back, but I couldn’t find the words. Wendy was my rock when things were tough. She used to drive me crazy by telling me to “relax” when things were stressful at work. I had been more of a hot-head back then, but Brandon had compared Wendy to Jess. And I silently admitted that he was right. How had I not seen it before?
“Jess is right about you not needing to work,” he said. “I know that’s a hard concept for you.”
“But I don’t want Gina to want for anything.”
“All she wants for right now is her father. And I know you had a rough time growing up, but that’s in your past now. Jess and Gina are your future. Soon enough, you’re going to blink and Gina will be all grown up, and you will be alone, without someone like Jess to be with. Someone who cares for you and that amazing child sleeping in your office.”
“You’re right,” I said, realizing how much of an ass I’d been to both Gina and Jess.
“Damn straight, I’m right. Now, what are you going to do about it?”
I didn’t know quite yet. But something had to change. And the idea of that made my skin crawl, but it was for the best.
After Brandon had left, I went back into my office and sat on the other end of the couch from Gina, watching her sleep. I must have fallen asleep at some point too because sometime later, I felt a tugging on my shirt, waking me up.
Gina’s little face was close to mine and her hands placed with my scruff. “You were asleep, Daddy.”
“I was,” I said, pulling her onto my lap. “You know I love you, right?”
“Yeah,” she said.
I looked over at the side table and picked up one of her drawings. “Show me what you’ve been working on today.”