Page 30 of The Boss and the Adoption Mess

I sink into my desk chair and shake my head.

What now? Things with her have gotten worse these last few months. She barely takes care of Rosie, and the kid suffers by seeing her mother so rarely. More and more, I feel like her father—except I’m still at the mercy of her mother’s moods. She has sole custody, after all. The father’s unknown. At least I don’t have to deal with him.

When I glance up, Rosie is watching me. The second I catch her eye, she ducks back into her drawing.

"You can have hot chocolate," I tell her. She deserves a little joy. I put the phone down and see her face light up.

"I can? Really?" She drops her pen and pumps her fist. "Yes!"

"Under two conditions." Naturally, Rosie doesn't like this at all. She sighs heavily and gives me that exhausted, annoyed look. "One: you promise never to run away again. Two: you stop trying to set me up with Kim. Deal?"

Her eyes sparkle. "You like her, don’t you?"

"No. She’s just an employee. I’m the boss. The boss doesn’t get involved with—"

She simply cuts me off: "You have a crush!" She looks like I just handed her a unicorn plushie. Or an avocado squishy, which is the newest trend with kids currently. Rosie is very into them too.

"No. And if you want that hot chocolate, we’re not talking about this anymore."

She still grins.

"When Kim comes, you’ll go to the grocery store with her, then you’ll drink your hot chocolate and—" Steven calls me. "—and then Kim will go home."

"But you’ll see her again, right?" She’s going to grow into the kind of woman who drives her husband crazy. She doesn’t listen even now.

"Maybe. I need to take this call. Keep coloring, okay?" She sighs, but I turn away and answer. "Hey. Did you finish, or did she not show up at all?" I ask.

"We’re already done. She made it clear she doesn’t want the job."

That, I really wasn’t expecting.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She thinks you can’t stand her. That’s why she doesn’t want to work for EDL. What happened between you two?"

"Hmm…" How am I supposed to explain when Rosie’s sitting right here, and I don’t exactly want to admit that something almost happened between us?

"Is she your type? She’s pretty. And she’s got fire. Did she flirt with you?"

"No. Nothing like that."

"Hey, you’re talking to me. Be honest. She’s way overqualified for the position I offered. I was already wondering why you sent her my way. Now I meet her and…"

"We just didn’t click. I thought maybe she’d be a better fit for you, but if you two can’t work together either, then it was a complete waste of time."

"All she told me was that she desperately needs money. But she said she’d quit the job with me the second she finds something better. I even offered to pay her more, and she shot that down too."

"So, it’s not really about the money, then?"

"Whatever you did, she doesn’t want to stay because of you. Maybe an apology would help?"

"Hmm. I really wasn’t very nice to her, that’s true."

"To Kim?" Rosie’s eavesdropping again.

"I’ll call you back. Reception’s on the line."

"Alright." Steven hangs up, and I switch to the incoming call.