I take Taylor's small hands into my grasp which happens to grab her attention. "I know you're upset, but your dad is right about this. There's more to hiring someone than just liking them or needing them. And as much as I would love to be your nanny, I'm sure your dad can find a better nanny that will take real good care of you. Someone who's even more fun and even more nice than I am."
My lips curve upward into a gentle smile. Although I would have been overjoyed with getting a job that I'm probably unqualified for, I'm already plenty satisfied with hearing Taylor profess her fondness for me. There's just something about receiving a child's honest compliment which surrounds me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. And despite the persisting sour look on the girl's face as she considers my words, she ends up obediently nodding her head in acceptance of them.
"Take care, okay?" I say as I pick myself up and give Taylor one last smile. She promptly returns her response in the form of a hand wave, albeit a sad one.
Feeling as though I've intruded on the father-daughter duo's date with my presence for long enough, I swiftly cross the street as soon as the crosswalk allows me to do so. It was a much needed and pleasant respite for me to be able to briefly bond with the charming young girl. But now that our fateful encounter is over, it's back to reality for me. It's back to the seemingly never-ending job hunt.
My footsteps slowly shuffle across the road in pure dread of my resumed job search. When I finally make it to the other side of the street, I whip out my phone and begin searching for any nearby coffee shops. I'm in the middle of thumbing in my search result when I hear something unusual coming from across the street. I look up and see Taylor running toward me with a frantic expression on her face.
"Cassie! Wait! You forgot this," she shouts from a distance as she holds her hand up with my paper list between her fingers.
I immediately shove my hands into my pockets to check and see if it's there, but there's nothing to be found in them. The piece of paper must have somehow dropped out of my pocket when I bent down to comfort her. But my eyes abruptly widen in fear when I realize that Taylor is running across the road by herself. There's no sign of her father trailing behind her, and the cross light is flickering red.
My body jumps into high gear as soon as I recognize the potentially dangerous situation. I try to warn her to go back and wait for me on the other side, but my voice gets jumbled up in the panic. By the time I can regain a bit of my composure to say something, she's already more than halfway across the road. However, her small yet speedy footsteps are chasing toward me without paying any attention to her surroundings -- especially not at the speeding car which is trying to make a right turn as she's crossing.
A shot of adrenaline sweeps through my body and before I know it, my legs are simply moving on their own. There's not a single thought in my head. My mind is just completely blank, and all I can feel within my body is the natural instinct to protect the little girl from danger. I can already see Taylor's large brown eyes grow wide with fear when she finally sees the vehicle rushing at her. The sudden realization brings a spontaneous pause to her footsteps which gives me the opportunity to grab her and pull her out of harm's way with all of my strength.
I lose control of the direction in which my legs move in and end up stumbling backward onto the street with Taylor safely within my arms. The car stops to honk at us and shout a few unintelligible words through the window before driving off in a hurry. But my body feels way too exhausted to yell back at the driver, especially since I'm still trying to catch my breath with how fast my heart is rapidly beating. I naturally drop down to the floor in defeat.
With the amount of adrenaline pumping in my system, nothing feels real right now.
"Are you okay, Cassie?" Taylor hesitantly speaks. Her tiny voice trembles as she bites down on her lower lip in uncertainty. On her face and in her eyes is the look of a child who clearly knows that she's in deep trouble.
I nod my head and deeply exhale. "I'm okay. But Taylor, sweetheart, you can't just run out into the street like that all by yourself. It's dangerous, and you can get really hurt. Both me and your dad would be really sad to see you get hurt."
The little girl lowers her head in shame and apologizes with a heavy frown on her lips, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to give this back to you because you dropped it." She shakily holds out the crumpled list for me to take out of her hands. There's nothing but pure remorse on her face as she stares down at her feet.
Seeing as how guilty Taylor already looks, I don't think there's any need for me to yell or scold her. Besides, her heart was in the right place. It's just her hasty and poorly-thought out actions that need some extra working on.
My hands reach out to grab both sides of Taylor's small face. Her eyes instinctively look up from the warm presence of my palms. "Thank you," I tenderly state with a big smile.
It's obvious from the startled expression on her face that she wasn't expecting me to thank her, but she eventually returns my appreciation with a shy smile. Unfortunately, the touching moment is interrupted by her father who happens to rush over unexpectedly and in a panic.
"Taylor…" he calls her name out in a grave yet worried tone of voice. There's a flush of red on his cheeks while the rest of his face is ghastly pale. It's the first time I've seen his coldhearted poker face crack, an expression other than stern and strict clearly displayed on his face.
The flustered man breathes a huge sigh of relief when he sees that Taylor is unharmed and uninjured. He shakes his head and instantly pulls his frightened daughter straight into his arms for a hug. The young girl almost seems shocked and overwhelmed by his affectionate reaction, her expression like a deer in headlights. My heart melts at the heartwarming reunion.
I take back what I said earlier about not being able to accept that these two are father and daughter. There's no doubt in my mind after seeing the love and concern in his actions that this irritable and distant man is, indeed, her father.
"I'm sorry, daddy. I already know I did something very bad, and I promise I won't do it again," Taylor anxiously speaks. Judging by the stiff look on her face, she's still obviously wary of her father's unusually gentle response.
But he slowly releases her from his embrace to look into her eyes. "As long as you know," he plainly says while the brown-haired girl enthusiastically nods her head.
A low chuckle slips past my lips. Even though I feel like I'm still trying to catch my breath and get a hold of the situation, I'm glad their fight and disagreement was resolved without tears this time. I try to pick myself up after letting my emotions from the huge fright settle into my body, but an aching pain in my ankle prevents me from properly standing.
"Ouch!" I grit my teeth and grab my ankle. It actually hurts more than I thought.
Shit. I probably sprained or twisted it while I was rushing to grab Taylor out of traffic. I guess this is why people emphasize the importance of wearing shoes that actually fit your feet. These half-a-size-too-big heels aren't doing me any favors.
"Are you okay?" the older man suddenly asks as he comes over to offer me a hand.
My heart naturally tenses up from the deep and gruff sound of his voice. It's the first time that he's spoken to me all day without the same hostility that I was greeted with that night in front of the library. I have to admit that it feels a little strange. His voice just sounds so much gentler when he's not acting aloof, even if his tone does seem a bit awkward.
"I'm fine," I stubbornly state out of embarrassment as I force myself to get up in spite of the immense pain surrounding my foot. My body somehow manages to fully endure the stinging discomfort around my ankle which I bear the ache of through my teeth.
"Your ankle doesn't look fine to me. You should get that checked out at the hospital before it gets any worse. I'll foot the bill, so you don't have to worry about the medical cost," he swiftly suggests.
"No, no. That's all right. Thanks for the offer, but the last thing I want to do is feel like I owe you someth
ing. It's probably just a minor sprain anyway. No big deal," I quickly respond.
My eyes make contact with his green irises for a brief second before I subsequently lower them toward the ground. Although the pain around my ankle feels worse than anything I've ever felt before, I can't seem to bring myself to shamelessly agree to his offer. After all, how can I really accept the kindness from somebody like him when his girlfriend is the reason why I'm out of a job and desperate to get one? Even I have my pride to keep sometimes, and this is one of those few moments in life where I feel the need to stubbornly preserve it.
"Cassie, right?" the handsome man casually asks after a little bit of quiet deliberation.
Whoa.
The sudden mention of my name from his lips completely catches me off guard. I'm so surprised by the fact that he even caught what my name was without asking me that all I can do is nod my head yes in response. For some reason, I feel strangely nervous and self conscious after hearing my name being spoken and said out of his gruff voice.
"Thank you for helping Taylor out -- again," he humbly speaks with a stiff expression on his face. "There's not many people who would risk their life like that to protect a stranger, much less react quick enough to jump in and save her. I'm glad that you were there for her."
I blink and stare at him with my mouth slightly agape. Having any sense of gratitude toward other people isn't something I thought he was capable of, especially given his first impression. However, the unexpected nature of his grateful words end up gently tickling my heart. I can feel my body temperature slowly rising and warming up from the creeping impact of his thanks, my heartbeat steadily racing from the intensity of his green gaze.
A weak exhale trickles out from my throat. Honestly, it should be a crime to be good-looking, rich, and mysteriously aloof to the point where it's almost enticing. At this point, I can't deny that I'm not even the least bit interested in him because the attraction is definitely there. He has some sort of a natural charm and hidden allure which pulls me toward him regardless of my initial and lasting distaste for him.
It's just too bad that we're worlds apart from each other. I would have enjoyed getting to know him better under a different set of circumstances. That air of mystery which is floating around him is practically begging for me to solve it. But he knows how to keep his distance and his guard up well enough so that no one thinks twice about trying it.
Though I'd like to think and believe those tender words of appreciation are just the first cracks in his iron façade.
"There's no need for that kind of gratitude," I modestly shake my head. "I only did what I felt was right at the time, and that was getting Taylor out of harm's way. Besides, hearing something nice come out of your mouth actually gives me the creeps," I smirk.
My lighthearted comment elicits a slight eye-rolling chuckle from him. Even he seems partly embarrassed by the disconnect between his rough and cold exterior and the gentle compassion that he's currently showing to me. Yet despite his pompous attitude and his bad temper, I can't imagine him to be that terrible of a person. There's no way an awful man could ever raise a daughter to be as considerate and respectful as Taylor is. She must have gotten and learned her kindness from somewhere or someone.
Wait a minute.
Shit, this isn't good.
The smirk I once had on my lips quickly falls from my face. It seems the more I think about Taylor and her father, the more I find myself naturally wondering with selfish intent -- what about her mother? Where is she in the picture? It's these private and intrusive questions which happen to be swarming through my mind that fill me with unease. This isn't like me. I'm getting too invested. I'm getting too curious.
"Anyway, I have to go and make a few phone calls. Take care of yourselves," I quickly say.
The man glances at his watch and nods his head in agreement. "Yeah, it's about time we get going as well."
A bittersweet feeling enters my heart as we exchange our last parting words and gestures before we both start to head off in opposite directions. Even though the pain in my ankle certainly has most of my attention as I force myself to continue walking along the busy street, there are other thoughts occupying my mind at the same time -- thoughts which I shouldn't be having.
Thoughts about an older man who's already in a relationship and who already has a daughter.
Noah - 5
The sound of my voice slightly quivers as I hold the cell phone against my ear and ask: "What happened?" My heart immediately sinks down to my stomach when I hear the uncontrollable sobbing voice on the other end of the line. There's not even a greeting from the hysterical woman who's on the phone line as she begins to dry heave from the excessive crying sounds that she's making. But her lack of a comprehensible response to my question only worries me even more.
"Tell me what happened," I say again, but this time with more urgency.
However, the frantic woman continues to cry while she attempts to explain herself to me in fractured statements that I can't quite understand at all. The persisting mystery behind her loud bawling leaves my head spinning and my chest heavy. I can only imagine that something bad must have happened to Taylor because there's no other possible reason for her to be calling me when she's all choked up like this. Especially since I specifically told her to only phone me for serious emergencies.
"Look, I can't understand what you're saying right now, so I'm going to need you to breathe and then speak. Just breathe. Catch your breath," I coach her until I can hear her start to calm down.
"Mr. Bishop, I'm so sorry. But I can't find her," the teary voice sniffles. "I don't know where she went. I-I lost her."
My hand moves to cover my mouth, my eyes widening with pure disbelief.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
"What do you mean you can't find her?" I slowly ask while I clench down on my teeth and make a tight fist with my hand. It takes everything within my power not to simply yell at the sobbing woman and demand her for some better answers.
"I helped Taylor take her bath and after that, she just disappeared from my sight. I've looked all over the house for her, and I can't seem to find her. I don't even know if she's in the house anymore. What if she just ran off when I wasn't looking?" The horrific realization causes her voice to instantly break. "Oh my god, what do I do?"
I reflexively wince and cringe from the resumed sound of her desperate and sobbing voice. It doesn't help that the nonstop noise of her weeping and crying gradually starts to bear fruit to some unhealthy thoughts in my mind. But even if I wanted to keep myself calm and collected given the dire circumstances, the amount of agony and distress in her crying tone makes it virtually impossible to stay cool. How am I realistically supposed to stay calm when I have no idea what's even going on?
"Okay, just calm down and stay put. I'll be home as soon as I can," I say with a heavy sigh.
My fingers couldn't hang up on the phone call fast enough as the woman breaks out into more hysterical apologies. But hearing her say sorry over and over again doesn't make me feel any better about the situation. Her apologies won't help me find out where Taylor went, and they certainly won't help me break the news to Jenna who I know will be even more upset when she hears that we have to leave. Tonight's supposed to be our special night out without any distractions to prevent us from having fun. It's supposed to be a night away from any stressors and responsibilities that we may have which are holding us back from fully enjoying ourselves.
In short, tonight's the night I force myself to forget that I'm the father to a troublemaking kid who's 10 for 10 on scaring and putting her nannies out of a job. And it's no surprise that the plan only lasted a few hours into the night before I was forcibly thrust back into reality. I was a fool for thinking that I could pretend like I didn't have any fatherly duties or obligations in my life. After all, how can I even imagine removing Taylor from my life when she's such a huge part of my world? It's honestly impossible now that I think about it, es
pecially when everything I do is basically for her own sake.
And the one night where I go ahead and decide to do something selfish for myself is the same night that Taylor happens to go missing. If this isn't some kind of weird omen, then I don't know what is. All I know for certain is that I need to get back home as soon as possible and find out where my daughter went.
I swiftly head back over to where Jenna and our dinner guests are sitting with a heavy and burdened heart. They all turn their attention toward me with smiling faces as I approach the table without sitting back down.
"Noah, you sly dog!" The man whom I recall to be named Hugo boisterously laughs and gives me a firm pat on the back. "Jenna over here was just telling us about how you two met and how it was almost love at first sight for her," he teases with a grin.
"Don't tell him that!" Jenna gasps as she giggles. "It's a little embarrassing considering that it was my first time walking down a runway, and Noah happened to be the one to catch me during that humiliating and horrific stumble."
"Yeah, you really fell for him, huh?" Hugo chuckles as he puts his arm around his wife, Grace, who also earnestly laughs at his comment. "Then, before you know it, the wedding bells are ringing and the shrieking babies are waking you up every damn night. But what the hell, that's just life, right?" he drunkenly cackles and takes a huge gulp of his scotch.
Everyone around the table breaks out into silent eyebrow-raising motions as they nonchalantly glance over to me. And as much as I don't want to notice it, even Jenna's blue eyes appear to sparkle in anticipation of Hugo's joking words. Just from the meek look in her eyes, I can already tell that she's at least considering or imagining the seed that he has successfully planted in her mind. The only problem with that scenario is that I currently have no plans in proposing to her. In fact, the prospect of marriage hasn't even crossed my mind since we started sleeping with each other.
Daddy's Contract : A Single Dad and Nanny Romance Page 5