Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Don’t you fucking touch him!” I hiss, making her rear back. “He’s just a baby, and there’s nothing wrong with him wanting to feed himself.”
“Excuse me?” the nanny says. “I don’t appreciate you telling me how to do my job.”
“And I don’t appreciate you laying your hands on a little boy,” I argue. “And I’m sure Lorenzo won’t either.”
I pull out my cell phone and dial Lorenzo’s number while Bri, Dani, Peyton, and Nicole surround us, all glaring at the nanny, who only looks annoyed that I’m interfering with her job and not at all concerned about the fact that I caught her smacking Leo’s hand.
“Vanessa, is everything okay?” Lorenzo asks. “I’m in the middle of a meeting and—”
“No, everything is not okay,” I tell him. “Your experienced nanny just laid her hands on Leo.”
“What?” he barks. “What are you talking about?”
“He was trying to eat his lunch, and she didn’t want him touching it because it would make a mess, so she smacked his hand.”
Lorenzo goes silent, and my heart drops. He probably doesn’t believe me. I mean, after everything I’ve done, he has no reason to believe me, but—
“I’m on my way,” he says. “Put Mrs. Frederick on speaker.”
I click the speaker button. “Go ahead.”
“You need to leave my home right now. And I will be reporting you to the agency. I don’t know what made you think it would be okay to raise a hand to my child, but it’s not okay.”
“I didn’t—” she begins, but he cuts her off.
“You didn’t what? Touch my son?” he snaps. “Are you calling Vanessa a liar?”
My heart swells at the way he’s blindly believing me when nobody would blame him for not doing so.
“This is absurd,” the nanny huffs. “I don’t need to put up with this nonsense. When your child is an unruly, out-of-control brat, you’ll wish—”
“Leave now,” Lorenzo says, his tone brooking no room for argument.
With a shake of her head, she collects her belongings, and Dani sees her out, telling the guard to make sure she isn’t allowed back.
“Thank you,” Lorenzo says once she’s gone. “I need to cancel this meeting and then—”
I would offer to watch him, but I already know he wouldn’t want that. It’s the reason he insisted on hiring that witch of a nanny.
Thankfully, Dani cuts in, “I can watch him.”
“Dani? What are you doing at my place? Were we supposed to meet?”
The exhaustion in his voice has me wanting to reach through the phone and give him a hug. He’s such a good dad, but trying to raise a baby and run a company is clearly taking a toll on him.
“I’m here with Nicole, Peyton, and Bri. We came over to see Vanessa. But I can take him to my house with me. And I can watch him until you find another nanny.”
Lorenzo sighs. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Reluctantly, I lift Leo off my shoulder so I can hand him over to Dani, but like the adorable little monkey he is, he clings to me.
“C’mon, Monkey,” I say gently. “You have to go with your aunt Dani.”
Leo holds on to me harder and nuzzles his face into my neck.
“Sorry,” I murmur. “It’s his nap time, so he tends to get clingy.”
Even though Lorenzo doesn’t trust me to watch Leo alone, I’ve been spending a lot of time with him since Lorenzo couldn’t fully use his right arm, and I’ve learned his routine.
Dani smiles softly at me and reaches for Leo, who starts to cry when she takes him from me.
“No, no, no!” he cries, reaching for me.
“What’s going on?” Lorenzo barks, concern for his son laced in his tone.
“Nothing,” I tell him, rubbing Leo’s back to soothe him. “Leo’s just tired.”
Leo’s cries increase, and when he throws himself back, Dani almost loses her hold on him. I quickly catch him and take him into my arms, and he instantly calms.
“He just needs a minute, Lorenzo,” I say. “We’re good here. You can go back to your meeting.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, sounding torn.
“Yeah. He’s just hungry and tired. Once he’s fed, Dani can take him to her place to give him a nap.”
“Okay, thanks,” he says. “I’ll pick him up after work.”
Once he hangs up, the four women look at me.
“What?” I ask, rubbing circles on Leo’s back as he snores softly on my shoulder.
“You’re good with him,” Dani says.
“We’ve just spent a lot of time together since Lorenzo got hurt.” I shrug. “He’s a heavy sleeper, so you should be good to take him now.”
“Normally, I blame Lorenzo for being unable to keep a nanny, but in this case, he was in the right to fire her. I can’t even imagine someone touching my baby,” Dani says. “Matteo would bury them alive.”
Bri’s hand goes to her belly. “And I wouldn’t blame him. Andrey used to hit us, and when I saw that woman smack Leo’s hand, it brought back so many horrible memories.” She glances at me. “Andrey was our father … a man who didn’t deserve the title.”