I Won’t Be In On Monday (The Annoying Hot Bosses Club #3)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

R emington

Canyon’s giggles carry throughout my apartment as she and Juniper make a mess while cooking breakfast in my normally immaculate kitchen. I am grateful that Juniper has saved my ass yet again and that she’s not carrying over any resentment from what had angered her the day before.

This is the second day in a row that Juniper has been in my apartment, and I kind of like it, even though I'm not gonna question why. I think my life has already been through way too much volatility in the last couple of days.

"Daddy, come look!” Canyon squeals in delight, and I jump up and rush into the kitchen to see what has her so excited.

"What's going on?" I stop next to her. "You haven't burned down my house, have you?” I tease her, and she giggles loudly.

"No, Daddy. Look, we cut the toast into soldiers, and I'm gonna dunk it into my egg," she says, beaming up at me, her eyes shining. "Do you want some?"

"Umm, I actually…” I pause as I look at Juniper, who gives her head a slight shake, telling me to just go along with whatever Canyon is asking. "Sure, I would love some eggs and soldiers, or whatever you call it," I say quickly. "Is there an egg ready for me?"

"You can have mine, and then we'll make two more,” Canyon says, walking over to Juniper and looking up at her. "Thank you for making them for me, Ms. Juniper.”

I stare at my daughter, who is being awfully polite this morning, and my heart surges with love for her. It's weird to love someone I didn't even know existed a couple of days ago. Well, that isn't exactly true. I knew she existed a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't claimed her as my own until the DNA tests had given me the cold, hard truth.

It made me feel weird to know that I hadn't even realized that somewhere out there in the universe was a child who shared my DNA. My child. I swallow hard as I gaze down at her. I didn’t think I could feel a connection like this to anyone, and certainly not so quickly.

When she said she loved me, I froze. She loved me purely, like only a child could do, and I felt guilty about not saying the words back to her. I’m not sure that she'd noticed, but I saw the look on Juniper's face, wondering why I didn’t say anything back. She didn’t say anything, though. She was far too intuitive.

I haven't said I love you in decades. The words are foreign to me. I’m not the sort of man who tells women I love them just to win them over. I’m not a douche. In fact, the only people I have ever said I love you to are my mom, dad, and grandparents. And that is only after they tell me. It isn’t something I volunteer.

"Hey, so the new soft-boiled eggs will take about six minutes," Juniper says as she gazes at me. She brushes some loose tendrils of hair away from her face. "Is that okay?"

"Sounds perfect," I say and nod. "Who wants a breakfast smoothie?" I ask as I head over to the fridge.

"What's a breakfast smoothie?" Canyon says, rushing over to me. “Like a strawberry milkshake? I prefer chocolate milkshakes, but…"

"Unfortunately, no, it's not a milkshake, darling." I pause as she grimaces. "It's a little healthier for you and full of nutrients that will..." I notice that Juniper is listening, and she winks at me. I grin back at her. I could get used to these secret glances. "We’ll call it a milkshake if you want. We can add milk and strawberries and some ice, and we'll add chia seeds and spinach and..."

"Yucky. Spinach." Canyon pretends that she's puking. "I don't like spinach at all. It is so gross."

"But don't you want to be strong?"

She blinks as she looks up at me like I'm crazy. "No."

"You don't want to be strong like Popeye?"

"Who is Popeye?"

I burst out laughing at her question. "I guess I really am old, aren't I?" I look over at Juniper and run my hands through my hair. I’m quickly learning that kids will bring you to your knees very quickly.

"I guess I'm old, as well,” Juniper says. “Because I know who Popeye is.”

“Who’s Popeye?” Canyon asks again.

“Popeye’s a sailor,” I answer. “He was in a lot of cartoons when I was a child. And there was a saying that if you want to be strong like Popeye, you have to eat your spinach.”

“Oh. I’m a Barbie girl,” she says, spinning around. Her hair goes flying, and she giggles as she loses her balance. "I like being here," she says. "Do you like me being here?" She pauses and frowns as she looks up at me.

"Very much so," I say with a quick nod, realizing that it's true. I look over at Juniper, who is just staring at us with a wistful smile on her face, and I wonder what she's thinking. Is she wondering what’s happened to her stern and unemotional boss? I can only imagine what my partners at work will say when they see me with Canyon. They’ll probably make fun of me, but I suddenly realize that I don't care. While my entire life has changed, I don't hate it.

"What do you want to do today, Canyon?"

"I want to go shopping, like Juniper said. I want to get a bed and clothes and teddy bears and a burger or maybe pizza and jelly beans."

"Hold up," I say, putting my hands in the air to stop her. "I don't know that we're going to have time for all that."

"But you promised." Canyon squeals. "I want to go to the store."

"Hey, Canyon," Juniper says softly as she walks over and puts her hand lightly on Canyon's shoulder. "What if we go and look at furniture for your room and then grab some lunch? Maybe we can get a burger and then see if we can get a toy at a toy store or something?"

"Okay," Canyon says, looking up at her. "That would be nice. Wouldn't it, Daddy?" She turns back to me, and I nod slowly.

"Sounds like a plan. I do have to do some work later, but..." I look over at Juniper who's shaking her head. "But I guess I can postpone it?" Juniper gives me a wide smile, letting me know that was the right answer. "I guess today is all yours, Canyon." I frown for a second. "But I suppose we've got to plan out what's going to happen next week."

"When I go to school?"

"Yes, but I have to figure out how you're gonna get to school and how you're gonna get picked up and…" I stare at Juniper, and she shakes her head.

"I can't do it, Mr. Parker. I do work for you, and you demand that I get into the office early." She shrugs.

"I wasn't gonna ask you," I lie. She just grins in response. She knows me too well. "I'll figure it out."

"Okay, Daddy. I'm hungry," Juniper says as she heads back over to the plates. "Can I eat the rest of my eggs and soldiers, please, Juniper?"

"Of course." Juniper carries her plate and places it on top of the island. "Come on." She grabs Canyon's hand, and Canyon sits on one of the stools.

"I'm ready for my strawberry smoothie, Daddy." She stares at me.

"Coming right up." I open the freezer and grab a bag of frozen strawberries and place them on the countertop.

"Yes, get to work, Remington," Juniper teases me.

"I think you quite like bossing me around," I say to her, and she blushes slightly.

"I mean, do you like bossing me around? You sure do it every day."

"I think I do," I say softly as I walk over to the cupboard and pull out the chia seeds. I'm standing right next to her now and look down into her big, beautiful blue eyes and lean down to whisper in her ear. “I quite like being dominant.” Her face turns red, and I chuckle slightly. Maybe it's because she's wearing a T-shirt that is quite snug in the bust area or maybe it's because her tight jeans are calling attention to her ass, but I'm quite turned on. Juniper has become more than just my role model assistant. She's become an object of admiration, as well, and I'm going to have to do everything in my power not to act on that because I can't afford to fuck around and lose her.