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Aspen winks and rises as I turn to Caden in disgust. “Do you ever wear a shirt these days?”
Caden looks down at his bare chest and laughs as if he only just realizes he’s not wearing one.
“I could probably use a shower, too,” he agrees. “Want me to show Aspen to her room?”
“Oh! I want to show her!” Lily begs, reaching eagerly for the nanny’s hand.
Aspen purposely avoids both our gazes and fixes her eyes on the little girl. “I would like that.”
“Good. Fine,” I say. “Let’s do a quick tour of the house. I can set you up with the necessary phone numbers in your new phone after you sign your employment contract, and then I have to get back to work.”
The young woman blinks once, as if my litany of instructions has caught her off-guard, but she keeps the serene smile on her face as she nods.
“Okay, fine,” she concedes pleasantly. “Lead the way.”
I glance at the time on my Rolex again and then look at my phone. It’s barely nine a.m., and the emails are already piling in. At least now, with Aspen here, I can focus more on my work and less on Lily. I can’t afford any more distractions.
* * *
Lily plays in the hallway, some game with the shadows that I’ve never fully grasped but is best left alone.
Aspen sits in front of me, gaping over the contract before her.
“Is something wrong?” I ask, trying to keep the impatience out of my voice.
The tour of the eight-bedroom, twelve-bathroom house took longer than I’d planned for, Aspen’s awe entrancing me. I couldn’t bring myself to rush her along when she was so enamored with the décor and Pike’s artwork.
But my phone won’t stop ringing in the pocket of my suit jacket. I need to get back to work.
“It’s… it’s like fifty pages long!” Aspen sighs. “I’ve never had to sign an employment contract this long before.”
“Do you need to get your lawyer to look at it?”
Her dumbfounded expression only expands. “My lawyer?” she chokes, and I stifle a sigh.
“It’s really standard stuff, Aspen. You know who we are, and you understand our situation. This protects us, Lily, and you.”
She raises her chin and looks at me straight, her intelligent eyes fixated on my face. “From what exactly?”
Her direct query catches me off guard, but I maintain composure, careful not to let her see that she’s fazed me. “From the outside. We’ve worked really damn hard these past two and a half years to give Lily some semblance of security and normalcy. But the world out there is cold and cruel. Do I really need to explain this to you? You were in the system, weren’t you? You know how awful the world can be.”
She purses her lips and lowers her gaze.
“I won’t let anything happen to that little girl,” I continue, a fire burning inside me. “Not as long as I’m around to stop it.”
Aspen’s delicate brow wrinkles, and she stares at me, but before she can speak, Lily scampers into my office and throws herself into my lap.
“Papa Flint, are you going to take me on a teddy bear picnic today?”
My mood instantly shifts to embrace the child in front of me.
“Is it Tuesday today?” Brushing her dark hair aside, I smile at her sweet face.
“I dunno. I’m four.”
Aspen smothers a laugh. But when I look at her again, I see the appreciation shining in her eyes, her hands reaching for the pen I’d slid across the desk earlier. She scrawls her name at the end of the contract and rises from her chair as Lily glances at her.
“You can come on our teddy bear picnic too,” she reassures Aspen. “We go every week, down to the creek.”
