William
A sleepless night will do bad things to a person.
Something I just discovered today.
Last night I fell asleep at 1:00 a.m., only to be woken up half an hour later by Rosie’s screaming. First she was hungry. Then she soiled her diaper. Then her teeth were bothering her and I spent an hour supervising while she chewed on a teething ring.
I feel like I’ve aged twenty years in the past twenty hours. Now that morning is here, I know I have to get up and work. At least Rosie is currently sleeping. My driver is already on his way to pick up India.
And that’s another thing. It’s as though the Devil himself has planned out my next two weeks. I can’t believe that I have to spend them with India. She has manipulated this to her advantage massively. Three times her usual pay? Ridiculous. Of course I can afford to pay it, but it’s just the principle. She’s a good assistant, but she’s not that good. Still... I had no other option, so I guess whatever she wants, she gets from now on. The thought actually makes me smile a bit. Her ruthless bargaining would make her a good businesswoman.
But I don’t like the idea of India’s having so much power over me. She’s a smart woman. I feel like she’s going to squeeze all she can from me. She knows I can’t refuse her demands, or she’ll be straight out the door.
The doorbell rings and Rosie immediately starts crying again. I sigh. I should make a note to have everyone knock quietly instead of using the bell. I wearily drag myself up from the sofa to let India in.
She looks gorgeous today. Her curls are pulled up into a ponytail. She’s wearing glasses with clear frames and her best suit. It takes me a moment to realize that she’s mocking me. Making a point of turning up in business attire and fake glasses so she looks the part, even though I’m making her work from my home. She nudges her glasses to the end of her nose, pointedly looking me up and down.
“What happened to professionalism? No suit today?” India asks me.
I glance down. I’m still wearing only a T-shirt and boxers. Oh, well. I guess my tired mind didn’t register something as menial as getting dressed. It occurs to me that I haven’t brushed my teeth or hair either. India smirks, pushing past me. She’s even carrying a new briefcase to complete her look.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” she says. “And please put some pants on. That attire is entirely inappropriate for the workplace.”
She’s already trying to wind me up. Fantastic. Just what I need. I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from saying anything. I don’t want to give in to her games.
“Come up to my office. I’ve set up a phone for you, and a workstation.”
“Lucky me,” India says under her breath, flashing me a fake smile. I don’t rise to the bait, ushering her to follow me.
We head through the living room to the stairs. I can sense India’s holding back. At first I think she’s doing it to annoy me, but then I catch her taking in her surroundings in wonder. She looks like she wants to say something about the artwork on the walls, the expensive rugs and the crystal chandelier in the foyer at the base of the staircase, but she doesn’t. For once she manages to keep her mouth shut. But I can see the marvel in her eyes. It does something to me—something like making me want to impress her more.
Don’t be ridiculous, Walker.
We head down the long landing to where my office is. I point her in the right direction.
“I need to go and tend to Rosie. Get yourself set up. I’ll be there in a minute.”
India nods absentmindedly, still distracted by her surroundings.
I leave her to it, rushing to fetch Rosie. I find her red-faced, with tears streaming down her cheeks, and her features screwed up, seemingly in agony. I scoop her up, hold her close to my chest and try to hush her. She refuses to be consoled.
I pace the room, rubbing her back while she wails in my ear. Her cries wake me up a little more, but they’re also giving me a pretty bad headache.
I don’t know how long I’m in the room, but it must be a while because all of a sudden India appears in the doorway, trying to tell me something.
“I can’t hear you,” I shout over Rosie’s screams. India sighs, moving closer.
“I’ve got two clients on hold,” she says close to my ear. Her breath tickles my skin and I have to stop myself from shivering. India winces as Rosie lets out an almost-feral scream. “Are you sure you have this under control?”
“She won’t stop. She’s inconsolable.”
India sighs. “Here,” she says, reaching out for Rosie. “Let me try.”
I’m a little reluctant to hand Rosie over. She’s my niece after all. I should be able to keep her happy, and not have to hand her off to my assistant. But at this point I’m willing to try anything to keep her quiet. But failing that, I think it would be pretty funny to see India try and fail to quiet her. So even though it feels like a failure, I hand Rosie to India.
India’s face is soft and kind in a way I’ve never seen it before. Usually her expression is hardened, like she’s constantly ready for an argument. I guess I must bring that attitude out in her.
Now she holds Rosie close and begins to hum. It’s kind of tuneless, but somehow it seems to work in calming Rosie down. India carries on, perching on the edge of my bed and rocking the baby. It occurs to me that this is the first time a woman—other than my cleaner—has been in my room for a while. Not that the circumstances are particularly romantic—a screaming baby and an ex-employee don’t make for a sexy environment. Still, I’m glad to have India here. Within minutes Rosie is calming down.
I stare in amazement at India.
“How...how the hell did you do that?”
India raises an eyebrow. “No cussing. Children present.”
“That hardly counts as cussing.”
“Whatever,” she says smugly, smiling up at me. She continues swaying Rosie. “My mom always told me that when I was a baby, I was difficult to handle...”
“Still are,” I mutter, but she doesn’t seem fazed.
“She said the trick she learned was to always stay calm. That’s what she did to end my tantrums.” India shrugs.
“So that’s why Rosie responds to you and not me?”
India shrugs again, a wicked smile spreading across her face, her dark eyes twinkling in ways that make me smile too. “Either that or she’s just a good judge of character. She knows I’m cooler than you.”
India catches a glimpse of my surprised expression and chuckles quietly, rolling her eyes. It occurs to me that I don’t often see her laugh. “Chill out, Mr. Walker. It’s just banter. Don’t take it so seriously.”
I want to argue back and tell her I’m not taking her too seriously, but it would kind of prove her point. I don’t know why I care anyway. India is still just my assistant—and apparently a baby whisperer—but her doing this for me doesn’t make us friends.
As Rosie falls asleep, India stands and gently places her back in the cradle. Then she straightens up, looking pleased with herself.
“Well, that’s all taken care of.” She turns to me, that soft expression still on her face, transfixing me. “You shouldn’t keep your clients waiting.”
I blink. I had forgotten completely about work. “Right. Yes, of course.”
India cocks her head to the side. For once she doesn’t look like she’s about to bombard me with witty comments. She even looks a little concerned. “You don’t look so good, boss. Do you need something? Food? Caffeine?”
I allow my shoulders to droop a little. “Caffeine. More than anything.”
“All right. Let’s get ourselves set up and then I’ll take care of you.”
India sets off down the corridor and I have no choice but to follow her lead. I almost have to jog to match her pace. She says nothing, keeping her gaze focused straight ahead of her.
“Is the office okay for you?” I ask awkwardly.
I don’t like the silence between us. I’m used to having a wall of glass between us, and it always felt safer that way. No awkward small talk required. Now we’re forced together whether we like it or not.
India snorts at my question. “Are you kidding? It’s bigger than my entire apartment. Of course it’s okay.”
I bite back a smile. I can’t believe I thought she was going to make this easier for us. Doesn’t she get that I hate this situation as much as she does? It doesn’t matter how cute she is when she spends her whole time winding me up. “You know it wouldn’t hurt to stop trying so hard to push my buttons.”
India looks at me for several seconds. She seems shocked. “Oh, man, William. You blame me?” She shakes her head at me, all signs of humor vanishing from her face. “You got us caught in this vicious cycle,” she says with a pointed jab of her finger in my direction. “I have a right to have my defenses up. If you want to change my attitude, try changing yours first. For longer than two minutes, that is.”
She flounces off again, heading for the office. Damn, that woman knows how to be sassy. I throw my hands up in exasperation.
“Don’t I deserve a second chance?”
India snorts. “I’m here, aren’t I?” is all she gives me. She definitely sounds irritated that she caved in to my request.
I watch her head into the office, acting like she owns it already. Damn this girl. I try to remain calm. It’s just hard not to react when she’s so good at getting under my skin.
But the next couple of weeks are all about proving what I’m worth. I’m proving I can be a good uncle. I’m proving my dedication to my job. But maybe I have an extra task on my hands—proving I’m not the horrible boss she sees me as.
I follow India inside the room. I find her behind the desk I set up for her. She has her work phone in hand and she’s answering in that monotone she uses on business calls. She smiles at me as I enter, clearly smug that she can get away with murder now that I desperately need her help. But I force myself to smile back. She wants to break all of the rules in order to break me. She wants me to snap. Well, I’m never going to give her that satisfaction. I may have earned myself a reputation, but I can be patient when I need to be. And that is exactly how I’m going to handle this nightmare assistant I’ve let into my home.
“Yes, sir. Let me put you on hold. Mr. Walker’s a little behind schedule today, but I’m sure he’ll be with you...eventually,” India says, casting an evil grin my way. I keep my cool as she presses the hold button. She swivels around on her chair like a child.
“Thanks so much for inviting me back to be your assistant,” she says, her tone telling me how much she’s enjoying this. “I’m having so much fun already.”
I return her smile with one of my own. “I’m sure by the end of this we are going to be best friends,” I say.
She doesn’t need to know I’m lying.