She grinned. “Is this a good time?”
“Sure.” He sank into his thickly padded leather desk chair. “What’s up?”
She came to the side of the desk and started to lay the paper down but saw his work there and offered it to him instead. “An itinerary for Bella’s week. When you get a chance, if you could just give me the go-ahead or let me know what you’d like to change?”
He took the paper. “I can look it over now.”
While she stood there waiting, Austin’s gaze rolled over the program. The schedule combined short learning periods in reading, math, science, and computer skills with longer outdoor activities such as swimming, hiking, hopscotch, jump rope, and yoga.
A small smile curved his lips.
“What?” she asked.
His gaze darted to hers. “Yoga?”
“Oh, heck yeah. Not only is yoga challenging for people of most ages, it’s a great way to teach balance and mindfulness.”
He bobbed his head and shrugged. “Okay, I can see that.” His gaze paused on short blocks of time scheduled with Lucia and Renalda. “What are these?”
“So she can learn cooking skills and housekeeping skills, while also learning to take direction from people other than her father and nanny. They’ll also build her self-confidence.”
He pointed to areas delineated with the words Field Trip? “And these?”
“That depends. I understand you’re worried about her security, and I’m on the same page with you there, but she’s going to start school soon, and she’ll fare much better if she’s used to socializing with other kids. I could take her to the park or sign us up for Mommy and Me classes or something. But I think it’s important that she get out from behind these walls and experience people who aren’t in her everyday life.”
His stomach tightened, and he released a tense breath.
“We don’t have to,” she said when he didn’t respond. “I just thought—”
“I know. It’s a good idea, I just…” He paused and laughed at himself with a shake of his head. “Need to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Let me think on it?”
“Of course.”
“Can you make me a list of activities you’re thinking of?”
“Absolutely.”
He glanced over the itinerary again, pleased to see ample play and free time for Bella as well. “This is fantastic. It’s more than her other nanny did with her in a month.”
Smiling, she clasped her hands behind her. “As a recovering overachiever, I thank you. Now that you’ve approved it, I’ll distribute it to the staff.”
He offered the schedule to her.
She waved it away. “That’s your copy.”
He nodded and set it above the other printouts. “Perfect, thanks.” When she didn’t turn to leave, he looked at her again and found her gaze on the data sheets. He took the opportunity of the moment to ask, “How do you feel about having the guys around?”
She lifted a shoulder. “They don’t bother me. They seem like good guys.”
“If their teasing ever goes too far or they step out of line, you let me know. It won’t happen twice.”
She nodded, then glanced at the graphs again. “Would I be prying if I asked what you’re looking at? I’m sort of a nerd for graphs, spreadsheets, numbers.”
His gaze dropped to the papers again. Her interest created a flare of excitement in his chest. It was novel to have someone who was actually interested in his work. His teams may love the training aspect of his company, but as soon as he started talking statistics, their eyes glazed over. Even the governments and security corporations that bought his equipment and hired him to train their teams weren’t interested in the nitty-gritty numbers. They only wanted proven results and cost-benefit ratios.
“It’s just the information I gathered from the training op t
his morning.”