The CEO's Abused Cover Girl

Ch. 8: Nonsense On My Desk (Pt 1)

(Erin’s POV)

“Seriously? That’s awesome! When?”

I’m talking with my Aunt Tina, who has just informed me they’ve decided to move out this way. Understandably, they’ll be living closer to Ryan, but it’ll still be nice having them a bit closer. I wish they could all be here with me, but that’s just not possible right now.

“Next month. We’ve already contracted to rent a condo in Cornwell Heights. We’ll be about twenty minutes from Ryan and about an hour and thirty minutes, maybe two hours from you. Depending on the traffic, that is”.

She sounded so excited and I was really happy. Not just because they were coming, but also because they deserved to be happy too. They’ve been miserable since Ryan and I left home. They flew in when I had Katie and stayed a while until I got back on my feet. She misses Katie, something awful. I know she does. But she also misses Ryan and me too.

Uncle Rory told her he could set up shop anywhere if he was of a mind too, but he’s thinking about retiring early and just enjoying life for a while. They’ve got the money to do it, after all. My Uncle and dad were trust-fund babies, so working was more something to keep busy than something that was needed. Though neither of them ever lived like they had money and, as far as trust funds go, theirs weren’t exactly huge.

Think up-middle class.

I know this because everything my parents had was left to me, so the lawyer explained it all quite thoroughly. Which is why I was able to live so long without working, too. Honestly, I don’t need to work now, but this is what I want to be doing.

“So… Have you met any nice young men yet?” Aunt Tina asked, making me laugh. Thankfully, she couldn’t see me rolling my eyes at the question. “I told you, Aunt Tee. I’m not in the market. I have no desire to find myself a man. I don’t need taking care of or protecting. We’re doing fine all on our own”.

“Erin, sweety. Don’t let that sorry excuse of a man stop you from finding love, baby. He’s had far too much control over your life for far too long as it is. Now I’m not saying to go jumping into bed with the first guy who bats his eyes at you. I just think closing yourself off to being in love will lead to a very lonely life in the long run. Not every guy out there is a sick sorry so-n-so”.

I just sighed softly and let her go on. She’s never going to understand that I don’t want a man in my life. I can’t even stomach the idea of letting anyone touch me in too intimate a way. Even women.

No. I’m just better off leaving it alone. I don’t want or need anyone to be with. That’s just an old romantic idea that little girls and older family members have for their children. I’m fine as I am. But am I going to tell her that and break her heart? Nope.

“I’ll give it some thought, Aunt Tee. I have to go now. Dinner is done, and my Angel is waiting so patiently I think she deserves a dessert tonight.” I smiled at Katie, who was sitting at the table swinging her little legs back and forth as she waited for me to get off the phone.

“Yay, dessert!” She shouted with a happy little giggle, making my Aunt laugh a little too. They’d already spoken, so my Aunt just said, “Alright, sweetheart. I’ll call you again in a few days. Give that little Angel a big hug from her Aunt Tee”.

“I will, Aunt Tee. Talk to you soon. I love you!” I told her while Katie shouted, “I love you, too, Aunt Tee!”

“Oh, bless her little heart”. My Aunt said, and I could hear tears catching in her throat as she sniffled a little and told me, “Goodbye, sweaty. We’ll talk soon. I love you both to the moon and back!”

She hung up after that, and I put our dinner on the table. “Mommy? Is Aunt Tee really Uncle Ryan’s mommy?” Katie asked, and I nodded as I answered, “Yes, sweaty. Why?”

Then I wished I had been recording our interactions because my darling angel said, “Well, because she’s so pretty and Uncle Rye isn’t.” I almost choked on my chicken bre*st. I tried not to laugh, hiding my laughter behind my napkin as I turned my face away from her so she wouldn’t see my reaction.

Of course, she wasn’t done yet. “Maybe Uncle Ryan was adopted. My friend at daycare says his mommy and daddy adopted him and that’s why they don’t look like each other. Everyone says I look like you. Which means I look pretty. I like that”.

Kids do say the darnedest things.

I was both amused and flattered by my little girl's comments. And I couldn’t wait to get Ryan on the phone and tell him he’s adopted.

After dinner, it was bath time, then story time, and, of course, bedtime. Once she was fast asleep, I went in to take a shower, then laid across my bed scrolling on my phone for a bit. I couldn’t resist calling Ryan and telling him he was ugly. At least by a four-year-old's standards anyway.

He got a chuckle out of the whole thing before asking if I knew about his parents' decision. Which, of course, I did. He was really excited too, and we talked for a good while about it all. Until I heard a very female voice poutily saying, “Rye-Rye? I woke up and you were gone, baby. Come back to bed. I’ll help you relax real good”.

I wanted to gag. Her ‘f*ck me’ tone was like nails on a chalk board for me. I don’t know why guys go for girls who are that easy to get into bed. There can’t be any substance there. I think I’d be running for the hills if the guy were that easy to lead around.

“Dude, I’m gonna go barf now. Talk to you later”. I said, then hung up before he could answer. Of course, ‘Rye-Rye’ then texted me real quick, saying, “I’ll call you tomorrow. Night Cuz”. I just rolled my eyes and put my phone on the charger, then sat it on my nightstand and slid under the blankets myself.

The next morning, I got up, showered, and laid out my clothes for work, then went in to wake my daughter. As I walked down the hall towards her room, I could hear her talking, and smiled. I peeked into her room and my smile grew as I found her with her back to me, sitting at her little table with her stuffed toys, having ‘breakfast’.

“Mrs. Dimples, you haven’t eaten any of your pancakes. Mommy makes the best pancakes ever. With bananas and chocolate chips. I love them. And when I get a daddy someday, he’s gonna love them too. You’ll see!”

Her words broke my heart. I had no idea she wanted a father. I mean, it’s not really so surprising. Especially at her age. But it’s not as though I can just order one online for her. And even if I wanted to try to find someone, which I don’t, what man would want a woman with a four-year-old in toe?

Not many, that’s for sure. And the ones that would are likely few and far between. I decided to just try and take her mind off the idea, so I gently pushed the door open and said, “Good morning, Angel. What’s going on here?”

“We were just having breakfast, mommy. Am I going to daycare today?” My daughter loves going to daycare. I only hope she continues to love it once she starts school. I also hope she loves school the way she does daycare. But I won’t hold my breath on that one.

“Yes, sweaty. It’s Friday, so after today you have two days home with me. What shall we do?” I asked, picking her up to take her in for her breakfast. “The zoo!” Came her excited shout as her face broke into an enormous smile.

“Sweetheart, we were just at the zoo a few weeks ago. Don’t you want to go do something new?” I asked as I began pulling out the makings for pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips. I mean, how could I not?

“But I like the zoo. It’s fun. I especially like the polar bears!” She made me laugh when she began growling like a bear while holding her hands up like claws. “My, my, aren’t you a scary bear?” I teased her with a smile as I mixed, making her giggle.

An hour and a half later we were stepping off the bus and heading down the street. “Mommy? Can we get coffee?” Katie asked, and I looked down at her with a smile. “Sweaty, you don’t drink coffee.”

She nodded as she said, “I know. But you do. And if you get coffee, I get a donut”. She beamed up at me so sweetly and innocently, but all I could do was let out a soft laugh as I said, “Your logic is infallible, my sweet little angel. Come on. Let’s get coffee”.

Coffee and donut gotten, we headed into the office. I dropped her off, as usual, and headed upstairs. When I walked onto our floor, I grabbed the few files on Cindy’s desk and went to my cubby to boot up my computer. Opening the first folder, I realized I had photos to sort and approve for an ad campaign.

I clicked on the light for my desk and smiled when the entire top of the desk lit up, and I began laying the pictures out to look over. I barely had three laid out when one word came to mind: Ghastly.

They were awful. I had no idea who was in charge of this photo shoot, but they hadn’t understood the as*ignment, that’s for sure. I swear, all the models looked like they were in peacock costumes or something. I mean, come on man! We’re selling perfume here, not doing wildlife preserves.

Not that I’d mind doing a wildlife preserve shoot, but still.