“Something like that,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.
“Good. So you realized not hiring me at first was bullshit, right?”
“What?” I laughed.
“It was. I like Frankie and she likes me too. You were the problem.” She shrugged and looked up at me.
“You’re about to be the problem if you don’t watch your mouth.”
“You’re Frankie’s daddy. Not mine.” Her sharp attitude was enough to needle under my skin and make me question my decision-making skills. When I thought about the fireflies in Frankie’s eyes and the smile on the face when she talked to Xari, I realized why I hired someone with no experience and a cocky little mouth.
“Oh my god, you’re back?” Frankie walked through the door with a Target shopping bag hanging around her wrist. I saw the faint outline of snacks through the white plastic. “Wait, did you leave something, or did Daddy finally come to his senses and hire you?”
“I don’t know if I’d call it coming to my senses or losing my mind but I hired Miss Lucas…part two,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets. Xari’s rich espresso eyes bored into me, playing in the background of Frankie’s ecstatic squeals and laughter. She took me in slowly and I did the same to her. We were sizing each other up. We’d be living together for at least a month and I needed to get a feel for her.
“I will say this,” I said, pressing the pause button on Frankie’s happiness. “Miss Lucas is only hired after she comes to the house and gets to know our environment. Even after that, it’s only for a probationary one-month period.”
Frankie’s button nose scrunched into a wrinkle. “What does that mean?”
“That means,” Xari said, stepping closer to me. Her perfume was light but distinctive. It seemed to emanate from the pulse point at her throat. It smelled floral. Almost like jasmine flowers. “You get a thirty-day trial. If you like it, you buy it.” She narrowed those caffeinated pools at me and I smirked a little.
“Exactly,” I nodded.
“Well, that’s fine because I already know I like her. Look at her, Daddy. She’s crazy pretty and she has the best clothes. Please tell me I can go through your closet when you move in.”
“You can look, you can even touch but you can’t borrow. Deal?” Xari placed delicate hands on firm slender hips and Frankie nodded eagerly. I could never get her to agree to anything so easily. I had to learn Xari’s tricks.
“Alright, Miss Lucas…”
“Call me Xari. Miss Lucas makes me feel old and I’m not.”
She wasn’t old at all. In fact, she was new. Probably still wet behind the ears.
“I’ll call you Miss Lucas.”
“Do you call Navy that too? Wouldn’t it get confusing?”
“He calls her Navy, so I don’t know why he wants to call you by your last name,” Frankie shrugged.
Wow, my own kid snitched on me gladly for the new nanny. Well, possible new nanny. She had to make it past the one-month mark to be official. I was sticking to that no matter how happy Frankie seemed to be with her.
“So, I’m the one you’re discriminating against. Cool.” Xari muttered something else under her breath. Something that sounded like it was in another language. My ears burned and I wanted to demand that she tell me what the fuck she said but it would have been unprofessional so I swallowed the words and forced a smile.
“Nobody is discriminating against you, Miss Lucas. We’ll see you tomorrow at seven sharp.”
“In the morning?” Xari’s expressive eyes grew wider before she reigned in her shock. “I mean, yes, of course. I’ll be there at seven,” she muttered through gritted teeth. Something told me she barely rolled out of bed before ten on most days.
What the hell was I getting myself into with this girl? She’d better make one hell of an impression on me over the next thirty days.
…
When I woke up the next morning, I heard music playing in Frankie’s room. I forgot what having her live with me meant. I forgot about the giggling on the phone, loud music, dramatic outbursts, and constant power struggles. I had to adjust quickly. Hopefully, having Xari around would help calm the tornado that was a preteen girl.
I pulled my sleep-laden body out of bed and looked at my nightstand. An empty bottle of Jameson blurred the numbers on my clock. To my left, my laptop was still open but the screen was black. I must have fallen asleep writing. I’d have to go back and check my novel for mistakes. I slid my hands down my face then trudged down the hall. The sun hadn’t even risen in the sky yet. I prepared my best Dad speech then opened Frankie’s bedroom door.
Frankie was sprawled out on her bed. One earbud in, one out. The white cord that used to be plugged into her phone was dangling off the side of her full-sized bed and her Bluetooth speaker was pumping music.
When she shifted positions in her sleep, the cord must have come out and the speaker ended up pairing to the phone as a result. I shook my head and paused the song before groaning.
“No more falling asleep with music on, Frankie. Come on. Get up.” I shook her leg and she whined before curling into the fetal position and burying her head under the comforter. “Okay, I want you up and in the shower by the time I’m done with my workout. Don’t forget Miss Lucas comes by in an hour.”
I went to my room and tossed on a
