AllFreeNovel
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It wasn’t hard admitting to myself that I had it bad for the girl.
Sharing that with anyone else, of course, was another matter. Despite my growing admiration for her and obvious attraction, I worked hard to maintain a neutral outward appearance.
But it turned out one lesson I had to learn was that kids were far more observant than I realized. Here I thought they were completely entertained playing corn hole and chasing their new friends around the Fall Fest. But out of nowhere, Olivia casually grilled me about Ellie several days later, just when I thought I was safe.
“Dad?” Her voice was light, innocent, as she sat at the table and erased something from her math homework.
“Yes, honey?” I asked, not really paying attention. I was making my famous grilled cheese, and it was seconds from being done. A few seconds too long and the bread would turn to char. I used a spatula to peek under the pan-side and check doneness.
“Is Ellie your girlfriend?”
“What?” I whipped around, spatula in hand. “Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged a narrow shoulder casually, not raising her gaze to meet mine. “I dunno, she’s nice. You like her.”
My brain spun like wheels in mud, trying to find the right response for this scenario. I wasn’t used to Olivia voluntarily engaging me in conversation, but I certainly didn’t want to discourage it. This felt like progress. “I mean, I do like her, and I agree, she’s nice. But she’s also kind of my boss, honey.”
“So?” Olivia raised her wide brown eyes to mine, questioning this idea in the innocent way only a child could.
“Well,” I gestured artlessly with the spatula. “You’re not supposed to date your boss.”
“Isn’t she younger than you? She looks younger than you.”
Was that a nine-year-old insult?
“She is,” I answered carefully. “Why do you ask?”
“If you’re older, aren’t you supposed to be the boss?”
“It doesn’t always work like that, honey.”
“Why?”
“Because sometimes people change jobs, like I did, and when you start someplace new, you don’t always get to start as the boss.”
“But you will be her boss one day, then? When you aren’t new?”
“No… Ellie’s daddy is the real boss. He owns the resort. But he’s going to retire, and then Ellie will be the boss.”
“So she’s only the boss because her daddy owns it?”
“What? No, that’s not what I said.” I certainly didn’t want her repeatingthatidea to anyone.
“Yes, it is. You said her daddy owns the resort and when he leaves, Ellie will be the boss.”
A sharp, acrid scent reached my nose.
“Dammit, the grilled cheese!” I whipped around and scooped the sandwich out of the smoking pan, but it was already far too late. One side was perfect, the other side was black as pitch.
“I think it’s burnt, Dad.”
I slid the sandwich onto a plate and ran the pan under water to stop the smoke. It would be just my luck for the fire alarm to go off now, too.
“Yeah, I think you’re right, honey.”
Olivia appeared at my elbow and stroked my arm with a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Daddy. You can just make a new one.”
A deep, bone-weary sigh escaped my lips. “Actually, I can’t, Olivia. That was the last of the bread. But thank you.”
