Page 22 of Nothing to This (Nothing to… #8)

JD seemed distracted during his afternoon meeting with Tom, his personal accountant. She’d noticed when he called her in to sign some papers. From the loose smile on Tom’s face, she guessed he’d known who she was all along too.

The papers were something to do with trusts for the kids, and a bunch of other things she didn’t recognize.

The men talked to each other over the top of her as she put her signature in the indicated places.

That was trust. Hopefully, she hadn’t just signed up to another deal they’d have to undo in five years.

Tom left, giving way to a meeting that involved Greg. All business this time, so she steered clear. Well, she did until the clock on her desk shocked her. The meeting was running way over its allotted time.

Marching into the office, she didn’t even pretend to knock. Those who didn’t know of her relationship with JD could whisper all they liked. She didn’t have to concern herself with being sued anymore; that was the only thing, previously, that held her back from being too familiar with the CEO.

“Time to move on, gentlemen,” she said, striding over to the desk wearing a broad faux smile.

Going around to JD’s side, she rested a hand on his shoulder to lean across and gather up the documents from in front of him.

“Who’s this?” Eli Savoy asked.

“My assistant,” JD said, a smile in his voice. “She’s bold.”

“I see that,” Eli said. The older man was wearing a suit that probably cost more than her apartment. “I love bold women.”

“Don’t we all,” Greg said.

Holding the files to her chest, she cocked her hip toward JD while addressing their guest. “We have a schedule to keep, sir. I mean no disrespect.”

“Disrespect is not when I feel when I look at you, Miss…”

“Hampton,” she said. Her cellphone rang. Shifting the files, she retrieved it from her pocket. The daycare number? A surge of panic hit her. “Excuse me.” She answered the phone, fighting to subdue her worry. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Rylee, don’t panic, but…”

Dumping the files back on the desk, she turned away. “But…?” she said. “Oh my God, Marie. What happened?”

“The kids are fine. There’s nothing to worry about,” Marie said. “But, uh, Kye is… he’s giving us some trouble.”

Edging closer, her hand sought JD’s shoulder, but she couldn’t look at him. “Trouble?” she asked. “What kind of trouble?”

“This is…” The more awkward the daycare nanny got, the more she worried. “He says he owns the building; that Sky is everyone’s boss and… we have to do what we’re told.”

Her panic faded to an irritation that she landed on JD. “You’re kidding me.”

“No, I… I think you should come down here.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “And I’ll bring his father with me.”

Hanging up the phone, she shoved JD’s shoulder.

“Kye?” he asked.

Spinning around, she widened her false smile again. “I apologize, gentlemen. Mr. Savoy, Greg will have to see you out. Mr. Dawes and I have a family issue to deal with.”

“Family?” Savoy asked.

Sidestepping, she gave JD space to get up. “Our son’s gotten too big for his boots.”

JD swept his jacket from the back of his chair to put it on. “I’ll call you with those numbers later in the week,” he said and took her hand. Savoy seemed too surprised to respond. “Excuse us.”

Eager to get downstairs, she tugged JD along, through the bullpen and into the elevator. Alone in there, the doors closed, and she straightened his tie.

“I can’t believe this,” she muttered. “My beautiful baby, my sweet little angel… Just a few weeks living with you, and he’s become an arrogant jerk.”

Adjusting his tie, she busied herself smoothing his lapels. “I’m not clear on what he did.”

Planting both hands on his chest, she wasn’t shy about glaring. “He told the daycare Sky was the boss and everyone had to do what she said.” His grin wasn’t shy, but she wasn’t amused and held up a chastising finger. “No, this is not funny, JD. Our children are not going to be spoiled brats.”

He tried to relax his face but didn’t do a great job of it.

“Right, no, of course. It’s not funny.” His smile twitched again and he bent a little lower.

“I love that he gave his sister the top chair. How do you think they decided? Drew straws? Rock, paper, scissors? Maybe she leveraged some bacon in the negotiation.”

“I think you should stop enjoying this,” she said. “You should consider this your first official daddy assignment. If you think I’m explaining this one to the daycare people who take excellent care of our children every day and have been nothing but kind—”

“We’ll give them a raise.”

“Money is not the answer to everything.”

Resting his hands on her shoulders, he skimmed them down her upper arms. “Trust me, babe, when it comes to underpaid, underappreciated employees, they never say no to a raise.”

She breathed out. “I suppose since we’re there, we should add your name to the approved list… If this is as mortifying as I imagine it will be, I may never show my face there ever again and you’ll be picking them up every day.”

“Our children are spectacular, aren’t they?” he asked, taking her hands in his, holding them to his chest.

“I told you not to enjoy this.”

“It’s tough,” he said, raising her hands to kiss each one. “I like playing Daddy.”

“Yeah, well, you can play Daddy with your kids’ teachers,” she said. His hold loosened to let his arms snake around her, pulling her against him. “Parenting shouldn’t turn you on, JD.”

Lowering to nuzzle her hair, he hummed. She smiled, thank God he couldn’t see her face. She should put up a bigger fight to him holding her. He wasn’t just giving her a hug of comfort, she could feel his mouth in her hair, moving closer to her ear.

“Being part of your team,” he murmured. “That turns me on.”

“I’m the mother of your children,” she said, pressuring his chest with her bent arms trapped between them. “Where’s your show of respect?” His hands glided lower until he cupped her ass to give her a squeeze. “Dawes!”

“Oh, that’s hot.”

She squawked when he squeezed again, but the exclamation was masked in a laugh.

The elevator doors opened. She slithered a hand between his and her ass to link their fingers and guided him from the elevator, through the gaping people in the lobby waiting to use it.

“Excuse us,” she said and dragged him toward the daycare.

Entering the large doors to the childcare reception, the windows behind previewed the daycare kids. None of the dozen or so kids there were hers. Oh, God, was this bad?

Reception was unmanned. Marie, supervising the kids on the other side of the glass, noticed them. The patient woman gestured them through and went to the door at the end of reception where the kids were usually waved through.

“This place isn’t secure,” JD said, glancing around.

The setup had always impressed her. People had to go through a coded door from the reception to the kids. Hence why Marie was currently on her way to meet them on the other side of the window.

“Be polite,” she whispered, then changed her mind. “In fact, no, be an arrogant asshole, then they’ll know where Kye got it from.”

“Thanks,” he muttered.

She patted his ass. “Have you got your wallet?”

“No, it’s upstairs. Why? Do I need it? Think they’ll ask for ID.”

Hilarious. “We might have to pay for their silence,” she said from the corner of her mouth just before Marie opened the door. She pasted on contrition. “Marie, I am so sorry about this.”

Grabbing JD’s hand, she stepped back to put him front and center.

“Mr. Dawes,” Marie stuttered and looked from father to mother.

“Yes, uh…” Introductions. Her job. Formal ones anyway. No one in that building was ignorant of his identity these days. “Jamison Dawes meet Marie.”

“I don’t understand what…”

The daycare provider was at something of a loss. This was it, the moment that would change everything.

Sighing, she surrendered to it. “He’s my children’s father.”

Marie’s mouth opened slowly in sync with the widening of her eyes. Shock. Yep, she recognized it, wouldn’t get used to it though.

“Oh, I…”

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s how I feel about it most days too.”

“I understand there’s been a problem,” JD said. “Are the children okay?”

“Yes,” Marie said, trying her damndest to cast off her surprise while crossing to go into the cubbies room where the kids hung their jackets and changed their shoes each day.

Sky and Kye were seated at the side of the room with a teacher who passed to join Marie.

“Excuse me,” she said, making quick eye contact with JD, signaling him to stay with the teachers while she went to hunker down in front of the kids. “You two are in serious trouble.”

“Daddy owns everything,” Sky said, swinging her legs.

“Daddy does not own everything,” she replied. Kye kneeled on his seat. She picked him up and put him back on his butt beside his sister, continuing with the disapproving eye.

“We told the truth, Mommy,” Kye said.

She breathed out. “Yes, son, Daddy owns the building. This building. Not every building. The people here have taken excellent care of you for a long time.” She gathered up both of their hands.

“Treat them with respect. They’re your friends.

You should always be nice to your friends.

And they look after you. They keep you safe when Mommy and Daddy have to work. ”

“But Daddy is the boss,” Sky said. “He loves us.”

“He does,” she said. “And he would do anything for you. But Daddy is a good boss, who takes care of the people under him.”

Someone touched her head; she tipped up her chin.

JD stood behind her. “There’s more to being a good boss than giving orders,” he said in quite a stern voice, stern to be used with the kids anyway. “Get your things, we’re going home… There are some things we all need to talk about.”

Rising to stand, she stayed by JD when their kids crept away to get their coats. They knew they’d upset their parents, but she wasn’t sure they understood exactly what they’d done wrong.

JD was right. They needed a family meeting.