Page 23 of Daddy’s Little Duckling (Ivory Mountain Daddies #1)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EMMETT
E mmett was in the kitchen making Rae a snack when he heard a phone ring in his room. Knowing that it wasn’t his since the only person who would have called him was Miles, he knew that it had to be Rae’s.
Grabbing the plate of sliced apples and peanut butter he headed to his room to grab her phone off the bedside table. Noticing that the contact listed her scheduler Amanda from work he figured it might be important for her to take it, though Emmett hated the idea of pulling her out of Littlespace.
Walking back into her nursery he set the snack plate beside her and handed her the phone. He immediately watched the dread cross her face when she noticed who was calling her. Emmett listened as she answered the call waiting to see what was going on.
“Hey Amanda, what’s up?”
He couldn’t hear what she replied, but from Rae’s reaction he knew that he wasn’t going to like where this was going.
“Amanda, I worked a sixteen hour shift yesterday and I’m already scheduled for a twelve hour shift tomorrow. I really don’t think it’s fair to ask me to come in on my one day off.”
Emmett could feel his temper rising. It wasn’t very often that something upset him enough that he could feel himself getting fired up, but this was his baby and he was starting to grow real tired of how they treated her.
It was clear that the job had no boundaries and would continue to steamroll over Rae because she was too nice to stand up for herself.
“No, I understand. You’re short staffed and need the help. I can be there…”
Emmett didn’t let her finish the statement before he pulled the phone from her grasp.
“Daddy, no. What are you doing?”
Giving her a look that had Rae’s words dying on her lips, he cleared his throat before speaking to the voice on the other side.
“Hello? Rae? Did I lose you? This isn’t funny, you need to be here within the next forty-five minutes for this shift.”
“This is Emmett, Rae’s boyfriend. Can you please explain what was so important that you called her on the one day off she has this week?”
“Oh, um. Hi Emmett. I’m Amanda, the scheduler at Ivory Mountain Nursing Home.”
“I’m aware of who you are. You can answer my question now.”
He could tell that he caught Amanda off guard. Emmett wouldn’t normally be so curt with someone.
That wasn’t who he was as a person and he knew that it was just as easy to make friends as it was enemies, but at this moment he didn’t really care what Amanda thought of him.
All he could think about was the Little girl who was sitting at his feet, biting her lip, and picking the skin around her nails. He needed to end this conversation quickly, so that he could work on calming her down. He could only imagine what was going on in her brain at this moment.
“We had a call out today and Rae has to come in and pick up the shift. We are short staffed.”
“Did you contact anyone else before calling Raelyn?”
“Well, no. She always comes in, so there hasn’t been a reason for me to ever call anyone else.”
Emmett grunted at her response. He knew that they used her and treated her poorly, but Emmett did realize just how far this place pushed the limits of being professional.
Raelyn isn’t the only caregiver that works at Ivory Mountain, so he didn’t understand why she was always the only one called.
“I’m sorry to inform you, but Raelyn will not be coming in to work tonight. This is her one day off this week before working several days in a row for you. I will not continue to let you walk over her like this. It is unprofessional and down right rude.”
He silenced the mummers coming from his Little Duckling with one movement of his finger.
Emmett knew that she wasn’t going to like this, but she had to understand that if someone didn’t put their foot down and put a stop to this treatment, they would continue to use her until she was burnt out and there was nothing left.
No one got to treat his Little girl that way and he would do everything in his power to stop it.
“Sir, you can’t speak to me like that. Raelyn is a grown adult and she can come in tonight and cover the shift.”
“Let me explain a little bit further about what's going to take place.” Emmett replied to Amanda.
“You are going to hang up the phone with me and call one of the many other aides that I know work at that facility. You will bring them in to cover the shift tonight that you are demanding that Raelyn cover. If you call her again about this, I will be going over your head to the owner of the company.”
“But…”
Emmett continued before Amanda could dig a deeper hole for herself. Emmett was just getting started and he had no problem using his connections at the nursing home.
He didn’t always like to point out that he was one of the big donors at the facility that his grandma lived at.
Emmett didn’t like to brag about the money that he was able to donate to help the facility that she lived in be the best that it could be, but he also wouldn’t hold back about it if that meant that Rae would finally start being treated like a human being and not like the robot that they are so desperately trying to create her into.
“Do you think he would love to hear from one of the biggest financial sponsors of the facility about how his girlfriend is being treated by some of the members of his staff? Because I can assure you, Mr. Hunter would gladly take my call and I’m sure he would love to hear about all of this.”
“Oh no, sir. That won’t be necessary. No need to contact Mr. Hunter. I will reach out to some of the other caregivers and see if we can’t figure out another way to fill the hole in the schedule. I hope you and Raelyn enjoy the rest of your evening. My apologies.”
“See that you do. Have a goodnight, Amanda. Goodbye.”
Emmett hung up the phone and took a deep breath before looking down at Raelyn. It broke his heart to see the tears rolling down her face.
“Oh, Little one. There’s no need to cry.”
He bent down to pick her up and settled them both in the rocker. He heard Rae’s sniffling reply, “I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m crying because no one has ever stood up for me like that. I’ve never been important enough for someone to care. ”
Emmett’s heart broke hearing that statement. Raelyn deserved to be treated and cherished like the amazing person she was.
No one should ever make her feel like she was anything less than that. She has a heart of gold and is unselfish to a fault. He just wished that she could see that too.
“Daddy will always be your rock when you need it, babygirl. I will always be standing in your corner and will spend everyday for the rest of my life showing you just how important you are.”
Raelyn turned and pressed a kiss on his lips. Sliding his hands into her hair he held her there for a few moments longer before pulling away and kissing her forehead. Emmett could tell that this emotional rollercoaster was taking a toll on her.
“I think someone needs to lay down in their crib for a nap. When you get up we can plan to do something fun for dinner before getting you ready for an early bedtime.”
He could tell that Raelyn wanted to protest, but when the yawn crossed her face she nodded her head and settled in again against his chest.
“Daddy, can we just rock here for a moment? I’m not ready to leave your arms.”
Granting her wish, Emmett continued to rock them until he felt her body go slack in his arms.
Shifting her weight, he stood and walked her over to the crib and settled her inside, sliding Bruce into her arms and her paci between her lips.
Taking a moment to slide the side railing into place to secure her inside and making sure the baby monitor he had installed was turned on, Emmett turned off the light and clicked on the fairy lights and closed the door behind him allowing his Little girl to get the rest she so desperately needed.