Daddy's Contract : A Single Dad and Nanny Romance

by Melissa Chetley

  Despite the odd turn of events involving Cassie's mysterious companion, I close the front door and try to forget about what happened. There's not much that I can say about my first impressions of Chase except that he's a bit of an odd one. One thing is for sure though: his loose behavior and conduct put me in a bad mood. It's not only the way he acts like there are no personal boundaries between us, but also the way he deliberately toys with Cassie's emotions. I feel a heavy knot in my stomach just imagining the smile on his face as he provokes her. And it doesn't help that my own daughter is clearly infatuated with him as well.

  Ugh. How pathetic do I have to be to feel such overwhelming jealousy over a guy like that?

  This is not like me at all.

  Unable to withstand the blushing smile spread across the young girl's face, I pick Taylor up into my arms and start to carry her up to her bedroom. A strong feeling of guilt mixed with resentment fills me as I watch her gleefully twirl the flower given to her by Chase within her fingertips. I can't help but feel defeated and bested. None of the gifts and presents that I've ever gotten Taylor has ever brought her as much joy as this single flower does. The main difference is who the person was that gave the gift to her.

  "I really like him," Taylor suddenly states with a giggle. She throws her arms around my neck for a hug while she continues to softly laugh at her own private musings.

  "What? Like who?" I hesitantly ask even though I'm well aware of the potential answer to her statement.

  "Cassie's boyfriend. I really like him."

  Hearing Taylor's innocent words cuts a hole right into my heart. Boyfriend. Now it makes sense why and how Cassie's been acting like everything is okay and normal between us. She's managed to find someone else to take her mind away from me, a man who's much more suited for her in terms of age and experience. She's successfully moved on from me.

  I should be more than happy for her current circumstances because I was the one who shamelessly took her precious first time away when it meant little-to-nothing to me. It was all me, me who was the one who took away that initial experience of intimacy that she'll always remember for the rest of her life. And when it was all said and done, I was the one who told her how insignificant that moment was to me. I was the villain who told her that it was just meaningless sex.

  I'm clearly the bad guy in this story -- so why does my chest slightly ache at the thought of her being in the arms of another man? Why do I feel such a strong resistance and repulsion to the idea of it? It would be selfish to say that I'm not glad to see her proudly move on from our passionate mistake, but it would also be a lie if I said I was genuinely happy about it when I'm not. The rushing wave of emotions in my heart is vehemently rejecting the truth that's being presented in front of me.

  But I know I have to put these ugly thoughts and feelings aside in spite of their powerful influence over me. I can't allow my bitterness to ruin the professional atmosphere between us. I just have to keep my distance from Cassie and treat her as coldly as I did in the past because she isn't special. She's only a nanny to me, a nanny that I made the grave mistake of sleeping with once.

  Cassie - 12

  Another disgusting chuckle bursts out from Chase's throat as he stares at his cell phone in amusement. I naturally roll my eyes at his loud and obnoxious laughter. He's been looking at his phone all morning which I assume to be because he's been chatting and flirting with many different women in hopes of hooking up with them. There's no filter to his shameless behavior, especially when he makes an unnecessary comment out loud about the kind of provocative images these women are sending to him. I can't recall how many times he's mentioned in detail to me about their perfect breasts or their huge asses within the past hour.

  I can only shake my head and wonder what women see in Chase. He's shallow, proud, reckless, and a bit of a moron, yet he still manages to convince attractive ladies to sleep with him. It's baffling to me that sex comes so easy to him when his only redeeming qualities are his face and his body. But I suppose those particular features are all he really needs to get what he wants.

  Even though I don't fully approve of Chase's gross behavior, a light bulb goes off in my head when I think about his frivolous sexual endeavors. He's definitely more experienced in that area of life compared to me which means he can give me some insight from a male perspective.

  "Hey, Chase…" I start to speak as I take a seat right next to him on the couch. He gives me a mumbled response of acknowledgement while he continues to text on his phone. "Is it crazy to fall in love with someone after sleeping with them once? I mean, why would a guy have sex with a girl and then tell her he's not interested the next day? What are your thoughts on that?" I cautiously yet curiously ask.

  My question brings a sudden pause to his actions. "What, did you fuck your boss or something?" Chase scoffs which is then followed by a bit of laughter. He looks at me from the corner of his eyes and raises his brow at me. He knows there's no way in hell that I would admit it to him, even if it was the truth.

  "What? Why the hell would you say that?" I stammer. My cheeks begin to flush and warm on both sides.

  "Because we both know your social life is non-existent, and all you do is go to work and come home. There's no way you have any spare time to interact with men, especially since you're babysitting Taylor practically every single day. The only man who you could possibly be talking about is your boss and even considering him as a possibility is a bit of a stretch with your situation."

  Chase eyes me from top to bottom with a very judgmental and disapproving look on his face which forces me to instinctively shove him in the arm. However, my bitter reaction to his rude tone and gesture only succeeds in making him laugh even more. I irritably cross my arms in front of my chest and maintain my silence while he continues to give me that snide look as if he's gotten everything figured out. Although Chase isn't wrong about what he said, it's still aggravating and annoying to listen to him talk.

  "Look, you don't have to feel embarrassed. I don't even blame you, Cass. The dude is one good-looking man, and I'd be all over him too if I was a chick," Chase openly admits with a loose shrug. "But for a rich and handsome guy to want to have sex with you, you were definitely just a piece of ass to him. Definitely."

  My heart immediately begins to sink once I hear those stinging yet blunt words from Chase's mouth. Now that I'm hearing it from someone else, I realize that I've just been in denial about what happened this whole time. I was just a warm body for Noah to hold, a warm body used to satisfy his sexual desires and pleasures. It's a truth that I didn't want to accept out of stubbornness, but one that I desperately needed to hear.

  "Is it really that easy for a man to have sex with a woman without any attachments?" I quietly say.

  Chase nods his head as if it were a well-known fact. "Yeah. Besides, why would a man like him seriously go for a girl like you if it wasn't just for some quick sex? He can have almost any woman in the world, and he chooses you? I feel like I must be missing something here if that isn't the case."

  I angrily roll my eyes and then glare at him. There's no end to his ruthlessness when it comes to my unusual situation. Everything that he's been mentioning and bringing up hasn't been too far off the mark or wrong. There's a sort of painful truth hidden behind his crude words. It's just his insufferable way of speaking which undoubtedly makes my blood boil and my muscles tense up in frustration.

  A defeated sigh escapes me as I accept the grim reality of my circumstances. "You know, I really want to tell you to fuck off, but you're right. The last woman I saw him with was definitely some kind of a supermodel. I would definitely look like an average nobody standing next to her," I miserably admit.

  "See?" A slight frown forms on his lips after he makes his cold yet brief remark. He unexpectedly throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. "Don't get too torn over it, though. At least you can proudly say you aren't a virgin anymore," Chase smirks. He jumps off of the couch and runs into t
he spare bedroom before I can land my clenched fist on him.

  "Screw you, Chase!" I shout from the living room as I hear him loudly chuckling from behind the closed door.

  But I give in to my grief and exhaustion when I realize that he isn't going to change his childish ways. I should have known that it was a bad idea to let him stay over in the first place in spite of him going out of his way to come to my rescue last night. He always makes it a mission to drive me insane whenever he visits. And even though my foot still hurts a little bit, I'd rather tolerate the physical pain than listen to Chase audibly express his desires for the women he's exchanging flirtatious messages with.

  God forbid I have to listen to him rate and criticize these women until he decides to leave the house because he finds one of them worth pursuing. I'd rather excuse myself while I'm ahead.

  And seeing as how I can't spare myself from the heartache of the truth behind what happened with Noah, I can at least try and spare myself from the headache of Chase's miserable company. I get up from the couch and throw on a jacket while the sound of obnoxious laughter trails out from behind the closed bedroom door. There's a dull ache trapped within my ankle each time I walk forward, but I head out of the front door regardless of the pain. It seems that my heart is set on going to work today, even if I've been given permission to take the day off.

  After consistently showing up for work every single day since I got the job, taking a personal day just doesn't sit right with me. My mind keeps on wondering how Taylor is coping without me by her side, my restless arms and legs itching for something to do. There's only one answer to resolve my situation and problems -- I need to go to work.

  ***

  I'm greeted by a frozen and baffled expression as soon as I walk through the front door of the Bishop household. The green-eyed man stares at my appearance with his steaming coffee mug in his hand as though he had just grabbed himself another cup of it from the kitchen.

  "Cassie? What are you doing here?" Noah questions with confusion written all over his face.

  He doesn't seem exactly pleased to see me at all.

  "Uh, I couldn't sit still at home. I was getting pretty bored and restless just doing nothing all morning, so I thought it might be better to come in and do some work," I reluctantly chuckle and shrug. But the vexed look on Noah's face doesn't change which forces me to awkwardly change the subject instead. "So, why aren't you at work today, Mr. Bishop? It's a little unusual to see you at home this late during the day."

  "I took the day off because I didn't want to leave Taylor at home by herself on such a short notice. But I have to leave if something urgent comes up."

  "Oh! If that's the case, you can just go to work. My ankle is in pretty good condition. I can probably watch over Taylor for the rest of the day, so you don't have to worry," I state with a big smile that urges him to leave and do what needs to be done for his company.

  Yet my mindful proposal appears to fall on deaf ears as Noah's expression grows grim. I can see him lightly scoff and mutter something underneath his breath while he slowly shakes his head back and forth in dismay. An unsettling feeling begins to bud and spread in my chest from the look of exasperation briefly displayed in his green eyes which happen to intently glower at me. Even though he hasn't said anything yet, it doesn't take much to realize that he's getting visibly irritated with me for reasons which I can't seem to quickly figure out.

  My heart noisily pounds against my chest in the tense silence. I try to swallow down the anxiety that's swelling up within my throat, but the large lump remains situated at the end of it. I can't help but wonder and worry if Noah's displeasure happens to stem from the rude presentation and introduction that came out of Chase's big mouth last night. My entire body physically cringes and recoils thinking about the overly casual manner in which Chase decided to greet Noah.

  That embarrassingly painful moment is a bad dream that I want to forget ever happened. Especially when the secondhand embarrassment of Chase's shameless conduct still vividly stings in my chest.

  With the tension of his unyielding gaze weighing down on me, I attempt to gather the courage to apologize for Chase's behavior when Noah suddenly steps forward. "You? Watch over Taylor when your ankle is still sprained?" the man poses the question as if it were a rhetorical one. He sighs and then shakes his head in frustration. "Cassie, you shouldn't even be here today. Not when you're still injured. What if something happens to Taylor during the day? How will you make sure she's okay if you're still hurt? Can you guarantee that you'll be able to protect her when she needs you most?" he snaps.

  I blankly stare into Noah's piercing green eyes while my jaw hangs in slight awe of his aggressive barrage of questions. He seems genuinely upset by my bold claim to take care of Taylor in his stead, the anger practically spewing from his cold gaze. A wave of shame swiftly surrounds my heart as I speechlessly stand in front of him. It only makes sense that he would be extremely worried and concerned about his daughter's well-being when she's basically his entire world.

  Still, I can't find it completely within myself to tolerate the heat that I'm getting from Noah. I understand that he's troubled by the fact that I'm not at my best right now, but kids will be kids. They all get inevitably hurt by being the young and curious children that they are. It's impossible to protect them forever, and it's ridiculous to think that it can be done. And even though I'm getting annoyed and fed up with Noah's pointless lecturing and nitpicking, I bear the injustice through my clenched teeth. There's no point in making him even angrier than he already is with my clever and mouthy comebacks.

  "You know, it's reckless and irresponsible for you to think that you can take care of Taylor when you can't even completely take care of yourself," Noah continues in a disappointed tone. "You should just go home and let me handle Taylor for the rest of the day-"

  "Cassie, you came!" a young voice interrupts from down the hallway.

  My face naturally turns toward the direction of Taylor's voice where I immediately furrow my brow in utter shock and horror at her appearance. Strands of her hair are sticking out in every direction around her head in spite of her hair being pulled back into some sort of hairdo. And as the girl draws nearer, I notice that there are huge clumps and pieces of her long brown hair hanging out of what looks to be a poorly-done attempt at a French braid. I clench down on my teeth to stifle my amusement. It takes every ounce of willpower within me not to laugh in pure astonishment at the terrible hairstyle sitting on her head.

  "What happened to your hair, sweetheart?" I cautiously ask with a stiff smirk as the clueless little girl approaches me with an innocent smile on her face.

  "Daddy did it for me!" Taylor proudly states. Her pleased grin shifts over from me to her father who looks a lot less thrilled than she does about the hairstyle. In fact, he seems rather uninterested and unenthusiastic compared to Taylor to own up to his sorry attempt at it.

  "Did he? It doesn't look too bad!" I lie with an impressed look on my face. Ignoring the obvious grimace on Noah's face from the corner of my eyes, I bend down to meet Taylor at eye level. "Let me fix it up a little for you, though. Some of your hair isn't tied together, and I would hate to see your braid fall apart."

  The little girl happily obliges my suggestion and turns around for me where I instantly start undoing her entire braid in silence. She remains none the wiser while I redo the mess that Noah made with her hair, the energetic child rambling on and updating me about her day so far. I give her curt responses throughout her one-sided conversation, but I mainly focus my attention on fixing and perfecting the braid. I'm so concentrated on the task at hand that I temporarily forget about the minor dispute between me and Noah until Taylor suddenly asks without hesitation: "Are you two fighting?"

  I pause with her hair in between my fingers. Her abrupt yet intuitive line of questioning takes me by surprise. "No, sweetie. Why would you say that?" I ask with a nervous laugh.

  However, Taylor responds without missing a beat. "B
ecause daddy's been in a bad mood since you left last night. And it sounded like you guys were still fighting earlier. It's not good to fight. Everyone should get along and be happy."

  My heart warms and flutters at the sound of Taylor's young albeit insightful words of wisdom. Even if I wanted to stay mad at Noah for scolding me over what I consider to be a petty reason, I suppose part of his gripe with me is due to Chase's awful first impression which would leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth. The flustered look on Noah's face is clearly proof of Taylor's nonchalant remark about his foul mood being true. He's so taken aback by his daughter's casual betrayal that he has nothing to say for a few long seconds before he can finally come up with something to challenge her statement.

  "Hey, don't you think you're a little too young to be worrying about these things?" Noah grumbles as he tries to change the topic to hide the truth behind her words.

  "And aren't you a little too old to be having fights when you're a grown up? You should just make up with Cassie and be friends with her again," Taylor fires back with a firm cross of her arms in front of her chest. There's a fierce look in her eyes as she looks up at her father with strong conviction. "Besides, that's what you and mommy used to always tell me when I got into fights with the other kids. Both of you said that forgiving each other is the grown up thing to do," she adds with a single nod of her head.

  The explicit defiance in Taylor's tone of voice has my eyes bulging out of their sockets. I never thought that she could revolt against the father that she adores so much, especially with the amount of confidence that's exuding from her small stature. She's almost like a different person from the first time I witnessed her cowering before her father as she meekly accepted his public chiding of her actions with tears in her eyes. It seems like she has him cornered this time around, and she's not planning on backing down from her position at all.