Chapter 5

JADE

The office was quiet on a Friday, as if everyone had decided to start the weekend early. I’d also wanted to take some time off, but I couldn’t with the thin ice I was on. If anything went wrong with Hannah now, I would be out of a job. I couldn’t afford that yet. I wasn’t ready to start anything on my own, and I lived paycheck-to-paycheck.

My inability to manage my finances was something else I had to take care of as soon as possible, but I wasn’t going to figure that out overnight any more than I would figure out what to do with the rest of my life if I didn’t work here.

I sighed heavily and opened my emails. Marlene was out on the road again today because she had more au pairs to interview. I had a feeling she wasn’t doing her job all the time. She interviewed so many au pairs, but only a few of them ended up on our payroll. Whenever Hannah asked, Marlene told her that they just didn’t cut it, and Hannah bought it because Placement had high standards, so we couldn’t just hire anyone.

I wasn’t able to call Marlene out and drop her in hot water. I needed this job more than I needed her to be in the office all the time.

Two emails waited in my inbox. An email from Marlene told me she’d found an au pair who could start working with us with a file attached. I sent the file to the right people in HR so that the au pair could begin working for us. The other email was from a new potential client.

I stilled when I saw the name.

Aaron Steele.

What did he need an au pair for?

I opened his email and read through the message.

Ms. Tate,

As discussed, find attached my details. I hope to hear from you about a possible match soon. It’s a matter of urgency.

Regards,

Aaron Steele.

A matter of urgency.

I frowned and opened an internet browser, typing Aaron’s name into the search bar. A whole bunch of articles popped up, everything from who he was in the business world, how loaded the Steele family was, and the mark the youngest Steele brother would make on the world. I also learned he had a son, although there were no photos or more information on him. It looked like he tried to keep his son out of the news as much as he could.

That was admirable.

If he was a single father, that changed everything. I had respect for a single dad. Did he have full custody of his son? Why? Where was the mother? The internet didn’t offer any information that would satisfy my curiosity. Everyone just went on about his future as an investment banker and what he did in the business world.

I didn’t care about that.

After finding whatever I could––which wasn’t much at all––I opened the file with all our active au pairs and went through the lengthy process of reading through every one of them.

I wanted someone right for the job, someone who could give Mr. Steele what he needed. He needed a full-time au pair, since he was always at the office. Someone who could help with school runs, homework, and a few basic house chores like cooking and cleaning.

We had a handful of au pairs who would fit the bill, but as I paged through them, I decided I didn’t like them. I knew some of them hadn’t been a good fit with their past employers, and I didn’t want something like that to happen to Aaron. He was a single parent––he needed someone he could rely on.

When I checked the time, it was almost time to go. I hadn’t found anyone I figured would be a good match. I would carry on again on Monday. I’d hoped to have found someone, but it would have to wait until after the weekend.

“You’ll never guess who just landed in my inbox at work,” I said to Olivia when I called her on my way home.

“You’re right. I won’t,” Olivia said. She was distracted, and the sounds of the kitchen in the background grew loud.

“Aaron Steele.”

I waited for a beat for her to register what I’d said.

“What?”

“I know, right?” I had her full attention now. “Apparently, he has a kid. He’s looking for an au pair because not only does he have a kid, he’s a single parent. I think he was picking up food for him and his son the other night, not for a date like we thought.”

“Single in that context doesn’t mean he doesn’t have someone in his life. It just means he has sole custody of his kid,” Olivia pointed out.

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the facts. I wasn’t saying single like I wanted to date him or anything. I still think the food isn’t for a woman.” “Who are you assigning to him?” Olivia asked.

“I haven’t found someone yet. I want it to be someone who will really give him what he needs, you know?”

“Does he need something weird?” Olivia asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You make it sound like it’s hard to find someone for him, because he has special needs or something.”

“Oh, no…I just want to make sure he ends up with the right person.”

Olivia snorted. “Since when have you cared so much about the clients?”

“I don’t,” I said quickly. “I mean, I always care because the kids are important, but I don’t care more than I should…I’m just trying to do my job well. You know, for Hannah.”

“Right,” Olivia said, and heard the smile in her voice. “Not because he’s hot or anything.”

I rolled my eyes. “It was an email addressed to Hannah; he doesn’t even know that I read the thing. It’s not about how hot he is, even if he is dropdead gorgeous.”

Olivia giggled. “Don’t you just wish you were on the other end of it now, an au pair rather than the one dishing them out? Imagine working for him.”

I sighed. “Yeah, that would be dreamy.”

“I have to go,” Olivia said. “Evan is coming in tonight, and I have to be on my best behavior.”

“Evan loves you. He would never have an issue with you being on the phone.”

“I know, but still. I’ll talk to you later,” Olivia said and ended the call.

I pulled into my parking spot opposite my apartment and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. I unlocked the door, flipped on the light switches, and opened the freezer to look for a ready-made meal. After heating up a frozen lasagna, I sat in front of the television and flipped through the channels, but I didn’t take anything in. Instead, my mind drifted to Aaron Steele.

What would have happened to make him a single father? Did he lose his wife in an accident? Did she get sick? Or was she incapable of taking care of the child, so Aaron was awarded sole custody?

My mind was full of him. Even though I’d never met the man, my heart went out to him. It had to be tough being a single parent. Olivia was probably right, though. He had someone in his life––a man like Aaron wouldn’t be single. He was hot; he had money, and a woman would take on a kid if it meant she got so much out of the deal.

I pushed the thoughts away. What was I thinking?