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She tugged him up then and patted his cheek. “Sit down. Let me get breakfast ready and then the girls off to school, and we’ll talk about my replacement.”
I perked up, wondering if she was finally going to give us this secret candidate she’d been holding on to.
“That’s the thing; we’ve looked and interviewed, and every single one has failed.” Brad firmed up his shoulders.
By the look on his face, I knew he was never giving up. It was one of his greatest qualities—determination.
Patty threw me a glance, and I shrugged because he wasn’t lying there.
“Patty, there was one who smelled like weed,” Brad said, disgusted. “Mary said she liked her perfume, which is a little scary. My niece was getting high on the fumes. Now, is that what you want to leave your girls—the girls you love, our innocent Mary and Sarah—to?” His stare was fixed on hers, challenging her.
I had to give it to Brad; he wasn’t letting up.
Patty sighed, and her shoulders slumped.
“Let’s just say, no one can compare to you,” I said.
“Well”—she tipped her chin—“that is true. But I think I have a solution. I will not leave my girls to a weed-smoking nanny, all right?”
Brad nodded, looking every bit the winner in this match. “Okay, I’m glad you came to your senses. I’ll make the arrangements to have Eleanor moved here today.”
Brad got out his phone—about to call his secretary, Sonia, most likely—but Patty was quick to pluck the cell out of his hands.
She laughed and then lightly slapped Brad’s shoulder. “I have to get the girls ready. I’ll be back, and then we can talk about my replacement. I think I have the answer to our problem.”
Chapter 5
Charles
After dropping off the girls, I met Brad, Mason, and Patty in the boardroom at Brisken Printing Corporation. We had to be at work for a morning meeting, so I’d suggested that Patty drive to the office, so we could have our discussion and still meet at the scheduled time with our vendors.
Patty had a solution, and we were all ears. After three rounds of nanny interviews, we had nothing, and I doubted that the fourth round would be any better.
Sonia, Brad’s secretary, strolled in and placed a new pot of coffee and some cookies at the center of the table. “Here’s the creamer and sugar.”
She adjusted it on the tray and began to walk out when Brad called out to her, “Hey, where’s the hazelnut creamer I like?”
Brad didn’t take flavored creamer with his coffee. He was baiting her, which was what he did best.
Sonia turned, pushed her glasses further up her nose, stared at him, blinked a few times, unaffected, and then about-faced and walked straight out of the room, as though he hadn’t said a word.
I kept my face steady, but Mason busted out in full-blown laughter beside me. “And that’s why we hired her … because she doesn’t take your shit.”
Which was exactly so. Brad had gone through a phase of dating all his secretaries, who in turn had quit when it didn’t work out because of his playboyish ways, which disrupted our flow of business.
Now, Mason and I were in charge of hiring anyone on Brad’s team. Sonia had been the most recent hire on Brad’s team. She took care of his schedule, kept him in check, and most importantly, didn’t fall for his womanizing antics. She had a boyfriend, which was an added plus. Not like significant others had deterred the other secretaries, but this was Sonia. Sonia was different. She had self-respect and an aversion to Brad’s charms.
Brad leaned back and tipped his chin. “Sonia loves me. She just doesn’t know it yet,” he joked.
Patty sat back and sipped her coffee, eyeing him with this all-knowing look I’d seen too many times before. “Maybe she is exactly what you need to change your ways.”
Brad lifted an eyebrow, smiling, giddy even, and Mason pointed a shaky finger at him. “Don’t even try it. Don’t ruin a good thing, okay? We have this company running like a well-oiled machine since we hired her. We don’t need you trying to screw your secretary.Again. Break her heart.Again.And have her quit.Again.”
Watching Mason’s kick-ass face, I knew this could escalate quickly. I tapped my knuckles on the table. “Focus. We all have a meeting at ten.” I turned toward Patty. “So, you said you have a solution, a possible replacement?”
I quietly prayed this was a viable candidate. Though I trusted Patty with my life—because my girls were my life—I still wondered if whatever she was about to say would truly be a solution. I had become so doubtful that I even doubted Patty.
“I do.” Her confident gaze landed on each of us. “Becky is currently the caretaker of my mother. She has the gentlest soul. Very kind. Very patient. Very loving.”
