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I’m happy when he gets home early, but during dinner, he barely grunts at me when I speak to him, and he can barely focus on what his son is saying about his day at school.
While tucking Elijah in, he’s a bit better, the silly voices and familiar stories pulling him out of his slump momentarily, but when he walks back downstairs with me, the sour expression is back on his face.
And I’m sick of it.
“Okay, so what crawled up your butt today? I know work has been rough, but damn it, Noah. You barely listened to Elijah about his next project. And he’s so excited.”
He closes his eyes as he stands by the door, holding it open for me.
“That’ll be enough for today, Olivia. Thank you.”
He’s just going to brush me off and try to kick me out like nothing is wrong? I don’t think so.
“I’m here to help both of you, Noah. Elijah and you. So tell me what’s wrong. Maybe a vent session will make you feel better.”
Noah sighs and rakes his hand through his hair.
“I doubt that. Please. I just need to finish up some work, and it’ll be fine. Sleep and all that.”
I should let it go. This is where the duties of a typical nanny stop.
But I can’t stop myself from pressing the matter. I’ve seen him be different even in the short amount of time I’ve been working for him, and I can’t let a shitty day drag him right back down into the snake pit.
“I think work is the last thing you need right now. What happened today?” I take a step closer to him at the door; the thing hangs open as Noah fights to avoid eye contact with me.
“You can tell me. I won’t completely understand it, but a sounding board helps. I swear it does.”
“Olivia—”
“It’s Liv. It always has been. So don’t try to brush me off like that. This is not the thing to be stubborn about, Noah.”
“Oh, I’m the one being stubborn?” He raises an eyebrow at me. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
I throw my hands up, stepping back from him slightly. “Noah. Just let me in, you grump!”
“Liv.” He glares at me.
“Noah.” I glare back. The challenge is obvious in my tone.
“Christ!” Noah almost slams the door but thinks better of it, considering his son is sleeping. “You just don’t give up, do you?”
“No.”
He exhales hard, walking to the sofa in the living room and leaning against it as he holds his head in his hands.
“Work is a lot right now, okay? The Hawaii deal keeps hitting snag after snag, and I have no backup. It’s just me. I used to have Henry to help do some of this shit, but the divorce has taken my wife and my friend. And it could even take Elijah and the fucking business altogether.”
I lean against the sofa next to him and put a hand on his arm.
“What do you mean?”
“Natasha cheated on me with Henry, my ex-business partner. I haven’t been able to bring myself to replace him because if I do, I have to admit he really did do this. There’s no getting him back. She’s threatening to demand full custody if I don’t pay her an exorbitant amount of money, and I’ve been so distracted by everything the business is suffering. It’s like she’s forcing me to choose between my career, which I built with my own hands, or my son.”
Noah doesn’t look up from his hands, and I can see the full weight of everything he’s been carrying resting on his shoulders. His fists squeeze his hair, and all I want is to make him feel better, to take some of the pain away.
“I’m so sorry, Noah. That’s a lot to have on your shoulders, and I know how much you love Elijah and how much this has to hurt. It’s why I’m here. To pick up some of the slack. But you have to be more open with me about days like today.”
A hard laugh cuts through him from behind his hands as Noah drags them down his face.
