“Yes,” I say, and then I stop.
“Have you asked your boss who took them?” she asks.
“I don’t work there anymore. I quit when my boss called asking when I was going to turn in more photos. Photos like that,” I say.
“And Zane doesn’t know that I assume…”
“No. I didn’t even have the time to tell him I quit. Considering he won’t talk to me, he probably thinks I still work there.”
Hannah’s lips purse, and then she smiles, reaching over and taking my hand in hers. “Listen. I know that childcare is a sore spot for you, but I have an open position right now. It’s full-time, five days a week, with benefits. You’d be floating from infants tothe fours and fives. It’s actually an assistant manager position. If you want it, it’s yours.”
Tears fill my eyes again. I miss the daycare painfully. But at the same time, I am afraid, and I know Hannah can see that.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” I tell her. “It sounds amazing, honestly. Anything to get away from the paparazzi world.”
“But you’re apprehensive,” she says.
“Yes. I fell in love with Zane’s baby, Hannah. Head over heels. I felt like…” I choke up. “Like he was my own.”
“Where is he now?” she asks.
“With Zane. The mother is still being questioned for abandonment. If it goes to court, I am sure that he will get custody.”
“And he wants custody?” She asks, and I nod.
“He loves him.”
“But so do you,” she says, and I nod.
“So much.”
“I think Zane needs some time to cool off. But once he does, you two will be able to talk, and maybe he’ll be more reasonable. Because chances are, whoever did take those photos is going to be exposed. But until then, I’d love to have you back at the daycare.”
I nod. And while I’m not so sure, I don’t know what else I’m going to do. Even if I can temporarily live with Demi, I need a job. And the further away it is from the tabloid industry, the better.
“Okay,” I nod.
“Okay?” she asks perkily.
“Yeah,” I agree with a small smile. And while I don’t feel any better, I know I need to move in another direction. I just hope it’s the right one.
Chapter 38
Zane
If there’sanything I’ve learned about becoming an overnight dad to a baby who is teething and misses his mom, it’s that you can’t negotiate with them. Turns out the man-to-man moment I had with Bentley over milk and beer wasn’t honored. Or it became null and void once Ashlyn left.
In her defense, I kicked her out.
In my defense, I thought she betrayed me. Of course, I also thought I could handle Little Man on my own. I was wrong about one of those things. Gravely wrong. And I have the under-eye bags and crow’s feet to prove it. It’s so bad that not even the world’s most potent vitamin C serum can save me now. I spent a week trying to find babysitters I trust, only to decide I trust exactly zero of them. Combined with very little sleep, I am starting to think nothing can save me now.
CPS hasn’t been much help either. Nikki is MIA and figuring out what custody is going to look like in the long run hasn’t been easy. Since I am Bentley’s father and no one has seen or heard from Nikki, this is where we are at for now.
It’s safe to say that Nigel is not happy about it. And he’s even less happy when I have to bring Bentley to work with me.
“You do know they have these things called daycares?” Nigel asks as I pull a fussy Bentley from his car seat and cradle him in one arm while trying to prep a bottle with the other.
“You do know how sketchy most of them are, right?” I ask. “Also, those places need a lot of paperwork. And for the most part, I don’t have any of it.”
