And Dad Makes Three Novel – Ainsley POV My alarm goes off at five am making me groan. Today was the beginning of the holiday season and I knew I would be swamped with work. I had to drop my son Callum off at daycare while I worked my day job as a secretary with Vivianne at MacNee Inc. Then I would start my night shift as a server at Young and Long’s Steakhouse. Vivianne offered to keep Callum for me at night so I could pick up the extra shifts. I wanted to get Callum gifts for Christmas and his birthday coming up in January. Daycare isn’t cheap, and no one is helping me with Callum. His father Nick found out when I was pregnant with him and dropped me like a nasty habit. Ironic because Nick is addicted to meth.
Climbing out of bed, I look in the mirror to see an exhausted woman, dark circles under her eyes. “Mommy!” Callum screams running into my room slamming into my legs. I buckle a little, then reach down and scoop him up. “Good morning, munchkin, did you go potty?” I ask, we’ve been potty training. “Yes.” Callum slams his head onto my shoulder, making me wince. He loves rough play, and with my autoimmune disease I bruise easily. “Good. Let me get dressed and then I’ll help you.” I set him down and reach into my closet, pulling out my typical work look. An empire waist dress with a cardigan, the dress lay over my stomach hiding the baby weight I never could lose. “I do it!” he yells, running back across the hall into his bedroom.
“Pants and a long-sleeved shirt. It is cold outside,” I order, slipping my stockings on. By the time I am dressed Callum comes back stuck in his shirt. I laugh and help him get the shirt over his head. I am not surprised to see he has chosen a shirt with a dinosaur on it. Right now he is on a massive dinosaur kick. Everything he wants for Christmas this year is something to do with dinosaurs. When he gets his hour of television, he begs for anything dinosaur related he sees in the commercials. It hurts me knowing I can’t get him everything he wants. I already struggle with working seven days a week as a secretary during the workweek and server on the weekends. “There we go,” I say when his head pops out. He has white blond hair and my blue eyes, although his eyes are closer to sky-blue where mine are grayish blue. “Is Aunt Viv getting me?” he asks when I bring him out to the kitchenette.
“Yes. Mommy is working extra shifts right now.” I see his frown, but he nods. I know he hates it when I can’t get him from daycare, but I need the money. More bills keep piling up from my doctor visits. Yes, I have health insurance but the copays are still outrageous. I had to get an MRI, and it cost me almost a thousand dollars out of pocket. I am still working on paying it off. “Eat your cereal,” I tell him, pushing his bowl toward him as I pull out yogurt to eat for my breakfast. I put my homemade granola into the vanilla yogurt and lean against the counter. “Mommy.” I look at Callum, with my spoon halfway to my mouth.
“Yes, bud?” “Why don’t I have a daddy?” I shove the yogurt into my mouth, giving myself a few moments to think through the answer. “Why do you ask bud?” “Well, my friend Noah has a daddy and Will has a daddy. Why don’t I have one?” I sigh, I knew this was coming, but didn’t think he would ask so young. “Well sweetie, your daddy wasn’t good for us. Sometimes when people are not nice, you shouldn’t be around them.” I try my best to explain it so he will understand. “Like Una? She bit me last week.” I can see his little brain working hard to make a connection. “Like Una, you remember me telling you not to play with her if she bites you?” I ask, putting my spoon in the sink before tossing away my yogurt container.
“We need to get you to daycare.” I hurry to the door with Callum following. I bundle him up in his coat, hat, gloves and scarf before doing the same for me. I didn’t own a car, so we had to either take the bus or walk. The daycare is close to my apartment, so we walk. It is expensive to live there, but I chose it because it is close to daycare and my job. Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I put Callum’s backpack on him. “Ready bud?” “Yes.” I take his hand, grab my keys, and leave my apartment. We walk the three blocks to his daycare. I drop him off and tell his teacher Miss Trina that Vivianne is picking him up today. “Does he know?” Trina asks me, she is an older woman in her fifties. “Yes. I told him this morning.” “Good. Have a good day, Ainsley.” She pats me on the arm and I rush out the door to my job. It is another five blocks before I come up to the towering building my company uses. The company uses the entire building. I work on the bottom floor as the first person people see before coming into the building. My best friend Vivianne Forth works for the COO as a personal assistant.
Walking into the building I hurry behind the desk, stow away my coat, gloves and scarf along with my bag. I notice there is another woman at the desk setting her things up. I frown and look around. To my surprise Vivianne comes down, hurrying over to me. “Ainsley, I need you now.” Vivianne grabs my arm, pulling from behind the main desk. “What? Why?” I bend down to grab my bag. “Charlotte quit!” she exclaims and I gasp. Charlotte was the personal assistant to Finn MacNee, the CEO. “What do you need me to do?” I ask, gathering all of my things. “I need you to be Charlotte until we can find a replacement.” “Okay.” I won’t say no because first I don’t want to lose my job, second I would do anything for Vivianne.
“Lead the way,” I say. She hugs me and leads me to the top floor of the building. “Go down the hall and knock on his door. He knows you are his temp.” Vivianne points at the end of the hall, to a massive set of double doors. Outside the door sits a desk with a computer and phone set up. My nerves get the best of me, I can’t help but shake as I knock on the door. “Come,” I hear a deep voice call. FINN POV I walk into work and see my secretary’s desk is empty. Frowning, I walk into my office and see an envelope on my desk. I rip it open to see a goodbye letter from Charlotte. She tells me in the letter she can no longer work for a man who does not respect her or her boundaries. She has a family who needs her and can’t continue to work my long hours. Growling, I rip the note in two and yell for Leo. He rushes into my office with his secretary behind him.
“Charlotte quit, get me a temp now!” I roar, dropping into my desk chair. My dad undermines my decisions for my company. He is a stockholder and is trying to start a fight with me. He is just mad because I won’t settle down and get married to some high society chick. He mentioned connecting our families and building an empire. I didn’t want to get married. “I can get Ainsley Gordon to work for you until we hire a new assistant,” Vivianne replies, rushing out of the office. I glare at Leo as he laughs at me. “What, Leo?” “Serves you right,” he answers, picking up the ripped letter to read why she quit. “You can’t expect your assistants to work the same hours as you do. They have lives outside of this building unlike you.” I growl and slam my hand on my desk. “I expect my assistant to want to make my life easier,” I argue and Leo nods.
“Yes, but you can’t have them at your beck and call. Charlotte is married with children, she is needed at home too.” “Then why did she work in the first place? Why not be a stay at home mom?” I ask, that is what my socialite mother did. “Not everyone comes from money,” Leo counters, motioning to himself. I know he comes from a single parent background. We met in college, he was on a scholarship for the boxing team. “I know.” I scrub a hand down my face. “Be nice to Ainsley, she is one of the best girls we have here,” he orders and I frown. I don’t remember Ainsley. “Who is she?” “The girl at the front desk. She handled the incident with Priya,” he says to jog my memory. Then it hits me, Ainsley is the curvy girl who stood in the way as Priya was out for my blood. We’d broken up, and I’d been seen out and about with another woman. The paparazzi had a field day exposing me and dragging my name through the mud. “She kept reporters out too?” I ask and Leo nods.
“Then she will work,” I reply, waiting for the woman to come. “She is only a temp, and has it in her contract she doesn’t work past five,” he tells me and I frown. “Why?” “I don’t know, but I remember reading it in her contract when we hired her.” “I need someone who can help me when I need it.” “She is only temporary. We will find you an assistant who can help you.” Leo waves and heads back to his office to handle his reports. A few minutes later, a soft knock sounds on my door. “Come,” I ordered, sitting behind my desk schooling my expression. I wasn’t ready for her. She walks in wearing a dress of deep green and a red sweater over top. She looks like a walking Christmas advertisement. Checking the calendar on my desk, I notice it is December first. “Hello sir, I am Ainsley Gordon,” she says in a soft, sultry voice. I look up, but she is staring at the floor.
“I remember. You will find a list of things I need to be done by the end of the day in your email. You can use the desk outside. If I need you, you will get a message on your personal phone. Please have it out.” I see her grimace. “Does that not please you?” I see her sigh and look up. Her eyes catch me off guard. They are the stormy blue the sky takes before a thunderstorm. “My phone is not unlimited texting, sir,” she answers, making me frown deeper. “How?” “It is a prepaid plan, sir,” she answers, her cheeks turn red with a deep blush. “Why?” “That is not your business. I’d prefer it if you would email me and I will answer immediately or you can call me on the office phone.” She gives me a determined look and I find myself nodding in agreement. “Good. Do you need coffee, sir?” she asks, clasping her hands in front of her. “Yes, black, please.”
She nods and walks out of my office. I watch the gentle sway of her hips having bad thoughts about her. It amazes me, I’ve passed her every day for a year or so, and never once did she catch my attention. Then she stands in front of me for a few minutes and I am drooling over her like a teenager. Opening my email, I see I have one from my mother telling me about the Christmas party she is planning the weekend before Christmas. I sigh and see another invitation, this one is for the company party next week. “Here you are sir and here are the reports you wanted.” Ainsley places my coffee on the corner of my desk before handing me a thick file of reports. “Thank you.” I take it from her. Our hands touch and I feel a shock. I can see she felt it too because her eyes widened.
“Do you need anything else, sir?” she asks, stepping back from me, tucking her hands into the pockets on her dress. “I need you to make me a dinner reservation at Young and Long’s Steakhouse.” “Yes sir,” she answers and leaves my office. I watch her through the window as she settles at the desk outside my office. I take a minute to watch her, she is checking her email when her phone lights up. I see she looks at it and frowns. I can’t hear her conversation, but she looks upset. It takes less than a minute for her to hang up and stuff her phone back in her bag.