Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance

by Black, Natasha L.

  “Anything you need help with?” she asked.

  “Nope, I got it,” he said, exchanging a look at me over his shoulder. I could swear there was a smirk on his face.

  “So,” I said, without any real idea where I was going with it.

  “So,” she said back, echoing my silence.

  “I heard you did some work behind the bar,” I said, suddenly remembering talking to Ava.

  “Yeah, I did,” she said brightly. “It was a lot of fun. Very intimidating, but fun. You guys know so many cocktails.”

  “They do. I’m mostly the one who just knows about beer. Everything else is a bit fancy for me.”

  She laughed, and I felt my stomach clench. The sound of her laughter was enough to drive me wild on its own. I wanted to hear that sound every day for the rest of my life.

  “Did you hear about the Great Gatsby theme?” she asked.

  “No, I didn’t. I tend not to know what the theme is until I walk in and see it, usually.”

  “Oh, it’s going to be awesome,” she said. “I’m really excited about it. I think I get to wear a fancy dress, and everything’s going to be black and white. It just sounds like so much fun.”

  “I hope they don’t expect me to wear a tux.”

  She smiled wide, and I caught the faintest hint of her looking me up and down. “You’d look good in a tux,” she said. “Or any suit really.” Suddenly, she blushed and turned to the side. I had a feeling she was about to find as flimsy an excuse as Matt did to bolt, so I interjected with the first thing that came to mind.

  “How’s your painting going?” I asked clumsily. I tried to recover by stammering for a second. “I mean, you were saying something about some projects you were in the running for?”

  “Oh, I guess I didn’t tell you,” she said. “The city actually reached out about doing a community mural painting on the side of the library. They’re still waiting on final approval, but that should go through in the next couple of days. I’m super excited about that.”

  “I bet,” I said. “Congratulations. That’s an awesome opportunity, and I know you’ll knock it out of the park.”

  “Thanks,” she said, somewhat bashfully.

  “If you need any help, let me know. I don’t know if you want me walking around with a paintbrush in my hand, but I can help out in any other ways you might need.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “Thank you.”

  At that moment, Ava and Amanda walked in and took Hannah to the side to discuss the theme night. I listened in for a little bit but eventually kind of zoned out, going back into the prep work. We were apparently going to be raising some money for a local cause with drink specials, which I caught, but I wasn’t part of any of that planning usually, so I went back to the tasks at hand.

  The more I thought about Portland, the more I seemed to like the idea. Getting away to a new place would give me a chance to take a breath and figure out exactly what it was I wanted out of life. I was getting too old to just hang around like I had been. If I had some clue as to what it was I wanted, maybe I wouldn’t be so hung up on a waitress I barely knew.

  Then I turned around and we met eyes and I knew that wasn’t true. I could be half a world away, back in the desert for that matter, and those eyes would haunt my dreams. She was gorgeous and she was funny, and she was smart. She was out of my league, for a million reasons. And she was just about the only reason I could think of why I would want to stay, and yet, she might just be enough.

  I thought I heard my name, and I looked over to Amanda. She had been talking to me. She was looking at me somewhat expectantly, and I realized that while I had been meeting Hannah’s gaze, I was being spoken to and missed it.

  “Oh, sorry, what was that?” I asked.

  Amanda and Ava got knowing grins on their faces and looked at each other. Hannah blushed again and looked straight up at the ceiling.

  “I said that you and Hannah will be working that night. If that’s alright with you,” Ava said. “Then Amanda asked if you could handle the floor with Hannah so I could work behind the bar.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said. “I’d be okay with that. No problem.”

  “Good,” Amanda said. “Hannah, what about you? Are you ready for a big theme night on the floor?”

  “Yeah,” she said, looking back at me and smiling. “I think I’d be fine with that, too.”

  14

  Hannah

  I couldn’t wait to get started on the mural. I took some time to sketch out some ideas and come up with a few things I might want to do. I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything specific or plan out all of the details until I finalized my idea, but having a few basic plans let me start to visualize what I might be able to do.

  After a few days of preparing and planning, I packed everything up and headed for the library. Just drawing things out in my sketchbook was a good way to start formulating my ideas. But it didn’t compare to being right there where the mural would actually be and visualizing the scope. It was entirely possible I was coming up with ideas that wouldn’t properly fill the space, or that wouldn’t feel right when it was actually in place. I needed to really see it.

  That afternoon found me sitting on a small grassy hill to the side of the library, staring at the wall I would be painting. My sketchbook was in my lap, and I kept flipping back and forth to look at my different ideas and try to figure out which one was the most promising.

  Beside me, I had books I borrowed from the library spread open to images of the town throughout history. I wanted to try to incorporate some distinct local images and make sure the mural was unique and special to Astoria. It wouldn’t be as meaningful if it could fit in on any library anywhere in the country.

  I was so invested in what I was doing I barely noticed someone calling my name. Finally, it broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to see Becca coming toward me. I was happy to see her and lit up even more when I noticed she was holding her little boy on her hip. Climbing up off the ground, I brushed my pants to get any errant grass off my jeans and smiled at her.

  “Hi, Becca,” I said. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Hey, Hannah.” She looked at her son and bounced him a little bit. “Can you say hi to Miss Hannah?”

  The chubby-faced baby smiled and tucked his head into the curve of his mother’s neck. I was instantly charmed and couldn’t help the happy giggle that bubbled up. Becca turned her head to kiss his cheek and give him a nuzzle.

  “He’s adorable,” I said.

  “Thank you. I’m pretty partial to him.” She looked at me, and her eyes wandered over to my art supplies and the books splayed out on the ground. “What are you up to?”

  “I am actually painting a mural for the library,” I said. “I’m here trying to finalize what direction I want to go in and really get the plans going so it can get underway as soon as possible.”

  “That’s awesome. I love this library. I always have. Now that I have my little buddy, I get to spend even more time here. He really enjoys listening to the stories.” The little boy started squirming in her arms, and she eventually put him down on his feet. “And playing outside doesn’t hurt.”

  He took off running, and I laughed. “I can see that.”

  “Tell me more about this mural,” she said. “I’m really excited for you. And I’m excited to see something new here at the library. A mural is the perfect idea to liven it up a little bit more. Maybe get more people visiting again. It’s not like nobody comes or it’s at risk of shutting down or anything. But I know a lot of people nowadays attend to read on their tablets or computers, so they don’t spend as much time at libraries. It would be great to revitalize it and get more people interested in spending time here and the community programs and everything.”

  “I love that idea. It’s so nice to think about children having a place to go where they can learn and feel safe. I want the mural to really celebrate the community and the town. I want people to see it and fe
el proud to be here in Astoria, and want to be a part of it,” I said.

  “I didn’t even realize you were an artist. Have you been doing it professionally for long?” Becca asked.

  I shook my head. “Oh, I’m not really a professional. It’s just something I love. And I’m not even being paid for this. Not that I care. I’m just really excited they asked me to do it.”

  “Do you have any plans?”

  “I have some sketches. You want to see them?”

  Becca nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.”

  We walked back over to where I was sitting and dropped down into the grass. The little boy was still running around like wild. Watching him made me laugh. He had so much energy and enthusiasm, like he was thrilled just to be out and able to run in circles. But he never drifted too far away from his mother. Every now and then, he would look over and check to make sure she was close by.

  I picked up my sketchbook and turned to the first of the ideas I sketched out. I held it out to her and pointed out some of the details. She nodded and I moved on to the next one. When I got through all the sketches, I took the book into my lap and grabbed one of my pencils so I could do a very quick mockup of the idea I had that combined some of the features from other ideas.

  Becca grinned and nodded. “That looks so good. I love that.” She looked at the wall in front of her and waved a hand like she was displaying the whole brick expanse. “I can see it up there. It’ll be so amazing.”

  We talked for a little longer about the mural, and then I set the sketchbook aside and we just talked while her son played and ran in the warm sun. It felt good to be there with her and just feel like we were hanging out. Having genuine friends here meant the world to me, and I was really feeling like that was happening for me with not only these women, but also Jordan.

  That got me thinking about the conversation between Ava and Amanda again, and my brain was still churning by the time I got to the bar that afternoon for work. Jordan was already there, and I felt a little ripple in my belly when I saw him.

  I put my stuff away and went up to the bar, but before Jordan and I could start talking, Ava came out of the office. She looked relieved to see me.

  “Oh, Hannah. Good, you’re here. I wanted a chance to talk to you before the night really gets started. Jordan, you’re going to want to hear this, too,” she said.

  My stomach dropped, and a rush of heat tingled up the back of my neck. She couldn’t possibly be about to put everything out in the open, could she? Especially not after the talk we had after everything, she wouldn’t just lay it all out and force us to talk about the way we were acting about each other.

  “Okay,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound anywhere near as nervous as I felt.

  “I’ve been working on the Gatsby-themed night and, like I told you, it’s pretty much all finished. But I would really like for you to help with the final details considering it was your idea.”

  “Oh,” I said, the word coming out of me in a rush of breath. “Okay. I can do that.”

  “Great. Now, here’s the thing. I have it set for Saturday night.”

  “Saturday?” Jordan and I both asked, shocked to find out such an elaborate event was set to go on in less than a week.

  Ava nodded, holding up a hand as if to try to stop our reaction so she could explain. “I know. It’s soon. I didn’t intend for it to be that soon, but I pushed it up earlier because of some other developments. Hannah, I told you about the guys going to Portland for that business trip.”

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding.

  “They went because Tom wants to open a new location there. With the success of The Hollow here, he wants to spread out and see if it can grow even more. Everything is happening pretty fast. They were just going on a research trip to see if they thought it was a viable option. But they found a location that was perfect, and Tom just filed the paperwork for it. The Gatsby theme night is going to act as the announcement and a marketing event for the new bar,” Ava said.

  I was stunned. That really was all happening fast. The idea of putting together the theme night in just a few days was intimidating enough. Now I was also thinking about the new bar in Portland and what that might mean. It was exciting to think about introducing the idea to the customers and watching the new spot grow from the ground up. But it was also a major responsibility.

  Now it wasn’t just the theme or customers having fun I was thinking about. Pulling off this night would mean a dynamic announcement of the impending second location and building up hype for customers to want to visit.

  Ava walked away, and I turned to Jordan to gauge his reaction. He was staring into the middle distance like the thought was totally overwhelming him as well.

  “It’s a lot,” I said. He didn’t respond, and I leaned a little closer. “You okay?”

  He looked at me. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear to something like this.”

  I laughed. “That is easily fixable. When I was roaming around downtown, I noticed a costume shop. It might be the perfect place to find something that will work for a Gatsby night. I’d love to help you pick out your outfit if you’d like me to.”

  Jordan grinned, making the butterflies swell again and ticking my heart rate up a bit. “It’s a plan.”

  “Perfect,” I said.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon.”

  15

  Jordan

  Being nervous was stupid, and I knew that. It wasn’t a date, it wasn’t a sign of some relationship goal being met, it wasn’t anything like that. It was simply two friends meeting up, hanging out, and enjoying each other’s company. And yet, I felt nervous anyway. Also excited. Extraordinarily excited. The more time I spent with her, the more time I wanted to spend with her. She was the only person in my life, sans maybe Luke, who got my wheels moving faster in my brain. It was like she made me smarter just by talking to her. More creative, too. The more I was around her infectious energy, the more I felt like pitching in and helping with the more creative aspects of the job.

  Getting to know her was becoming one of my favorite aspects of going to work. Every time we spent any time together, I got to know a little bit more about what made her tick. What her past was like before she showed up in our little bar. Who she was when she went home and took off her waitress shoes and put on her fuzzy slippers. Of course, thinking about what she took off and what she did or did not put on afterward was a thought process that I also enjoyed having, though I felt bad about it. I actively tried to avoid it, in fact, but when I was home, alone, in the dark wasteland between awake and asleep where the nightmares often reared their head, I could think about her and her bare feet slipping into fuzzy slippers and what else she might wear. The nightmares would usually subside then.

  I pulled up to the restaurant near her place that she told me to pick her up and got out. I figured she was either grabbing lunch to bring with us or had already eaten, but she was standing by the door when I got there, menu in hand. I smiled wide when we made eye contact and jogged up to her.

  “Hey, are you going to order something for the road?” I asked.

  “I was actually thinking we could grab lunch here before we left if you hadn’t eaten,” she said. It was casual, something simple that friends did all the time. But I couldn’t shake the significance of it. She was asking me to eat with her. All my arguments about this not being a date were slowly leaking away.

  “Sure,” I said. “I am starving actually.” I found myself surprised to realize I actually was. Knowing the plan for the day, I had somehow not bothered to remember to eat. That was big for me. Years of military life had me eating at the same time every day, like clockwork. Yet, that morning I had my cup of coffee and had just plain forgotten to eat with it. My head was too far in the clouds.

  “Cool,” she said, grinning and turning back to the door. I reached ahead of it and grabbed it, pulling it open for her. “Thanks.” There was a hint of a giggle in her voice, like my
chivalry was silly but appreciated.

  We walked in and grabbed a booth near the window. Hannah lived just off one of the main roads in Astoria, and the scenery was fun to watch. People were walking by, window-shopping and going about their day. I could see inside some of their bags as they passed, could read some of their names on the sides of the cups of coffee they clutched so desperately, too. I could learn so much about them without them ever even knowing I existed.

  But I wasn’t interested in them. Not with Hannah sitting across from me in the booth, kicking her legs occasionally as she read through the menu. She made a sound as she contemplated various dishes, and I realized I hadn’t looked at my menu at all. Hopefully, it wasn’t too obvious.

  I picked the first thing that sounded decent and not too heavy, and when the waiter came, we made our orders. Hannah opted for a sandwich that was as impressively named as it was described in the menu. I went with a boring salad. It was like a cliché movie date with the roles reversed.

  “The Balrog?” I asked.

  “From Lord of the Rings,” she said, as if that should mean anything.

  “I read that in high school. Gandalf and a ring. That’s all I remember.”

  “Didn’t you see the movies?”

  “I was busy in boot camp by the time the first one came out, I think. I missed the rest of them, too,” I said.

  “Well, you are going to have to watch them eventually. And read the books, too,” she said authoritatively. For some reason I had no problem taking orders on what to read when they came out of her mouth.

  “I think I might,” I said. “Still, what’s a Balrog?”

  “Giant, powerful monster. It fits with the amount of bacon on the sandwich. I’ve only been here a few times, but I challenged myself to get that one day, and I figured with a big strong guy like you around, even if I can’t finish it, and I won’t, someone else could,” she said. “Especially when said someone is getting a salad of all things.”