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“Ugh, don't remind me.” Kate rolled her eyes. “He's always there, like he's begging for attention. ‘Look at me. I'm so hot. Watch me wash plates. I'm a modern man.’”
I frowned and turned to her.
“What?” She eyed me.
"How do you know he's always in his kitchen if you're not watching him all the time?"
Kate's face turned beet red. “I don't! I just see him anytime I come in here.”
“Really?” I raised a brow.
“Yes.” She dragged me away from the window. “Let's cook.”
I laid off a bit. Kate was vocal about what she liked and didn't like but not to the extent that she whined about Phillip, especially when it seemed unreasonable. She obviously wasn’t over what happened between them, no matter how much she claimed to be.
I watched her move around the kitchen distractedly, seeming to be annoyed that she'd shown any emotion other than complete disgust for Phillip. I would tease her about it later, but for now, I was content to wonder about her issues, not my own.
Chapter18
Shawn
I cracked my knuckles and prepared to get back to work. My back ached. My neck was tight and my chest heavy, but still I stayed in my study all day. My desk chair was custom-made for me—fitted with memory foam, lumbar support, the works. But I was killing my neck and back from sitting for too long and working. There was nothing else to do. If I so much as I glanced up from work, I'd go back to thoughts of...Violet. I couldn't afford that distraction.
Fuck it. I shoved my laptop so hard it tottered on the edge of the desk. Breathing as if I'd just run a marathon, I ran both hands through my hair, and, groaning, forced myself to get up. My muscles ached. I twisted my neck and shook out my limbs. Even going to the gym felt like a chore, so I’d buried myself deep in work, hoping to forget about her. Not obsess over what she was doing every moment. If she was thinking of us. Of me. But it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.
A new nanny—Dina? Wanda?—had replaced her. The boys were taken care of, and she deferred to me. Before Violet, she'd have been a dream nanny, but Violet set the bar so high that Dina, presumably, couldn't reach it. No one could. Nothing felt the same around here anymore.
Even the boys bugged me about when Violet was coming back until I gave up and told them she was never returning. My boys looked sadder than when I confiscated their Xbox for fighting. And those sad faces didn't let up for a whole day. Eventually, they seemed to accept that she wasn’t coming back, and they stopped ignoring me and told me about their day over dinner last night. I should be getting over her, too, but it wasn't so easy.
I sighed and paced the study. It was understood from the beginning that Violet would leave someday. Hell, I would have pushed her to do so, even if she didn't want to. I wanted to see her rise to the top in her career. Only, I hadn't expected that I wouldn’t be a part of her life at all.
Where was she? At Kate's still? I hadn't called Troy and Layla since I first confirmed Violet was safe. That was days ago. What if she decided she was done with Cape Worth? What if she left the area? My body tightened and it had nothing to do with sitting for long hours.
The short period Violet spent in my home brightened my life in ways I could never have imagined. At first, I tried to ignore her and treat her like any other employee. But fuck, she'd gotten under my skin. Into my heart.
I stopped pacing and groaned. That was what it was all along. I cared for Violet more than a boss should care for an employee. More than a dad should care about his kids’ nanny.
Every day, I fought against my conscience. The need to reach out to check on her was so strong that it sometimes felt like a log lodged in my chest. She left me. Yet, no reasoning with myself stopped the need to hear her voice again. I understood her motives. They were noble. But I didn't need her to be noble. I needed her with me.
“Fuck it.” I grabbed my phone off the desk and squeezed it in my fist.
Many times, I considered finding Kate's house. It'd be as easy as a single phone call. I'd get her address, drive over to her home, pull Violet into my arms, and ask her to come back with me. The only thing stopping me was the fact that if I did, I'd be no different than Eric. He'd messed her up. Made her fearful and cautious. She had a right to leave if she wanted, and I had a duty to accept her decision. It didn't matter that I thought differently. It didn't matter that she was safest with me, and I would do all within my power to keep her that way. She had a right to her own decisions, and I would respect them even if it killed me every day.
But she said nothing about not calling. Sitting on the edge of my desk, I blew out a breath and called Troy. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, man.”
“I need to speak with Layla.” My voice came out scratchy.
“My family and I are doing awesome, thanks for asking.”
I sighed. “Sorry. I've been a bit...out of it.”
“Violet?”
Hearing her name from someone else who probably knew where she was spiked my heartbeat. “Have you seen her? Is she doing okay?”
“Haven't seen her. But she's fine,” he said quietly.
