Page 11 of A Nanny for the Reclusive Billionaire

Chapter Four

Rhys scrawled his signature across the bottom of yet another document and pushed it acrosshis desk. Paperwork was one of his least favorite duties as chairman and CEO of Argos Research and Development, the tech company he’d started from his dorm room at Stanford. He’d much rather be brainstorming ways to expand into new markets or working on the company’s latest gadget to improve lives, like the robotic arm that propelled Argos into the Fortune 500. But as much as he loved the creative side of things, the administrative crap was a necessary evil. “Is that the last of them?”

“One more.” Collins took the signed document and replaced it with another, thicker one. “The employment contract for the new CFO. Legal approved it yesterday. I’ve tabbed where you need to sign.”

“It’s about time.” Rhys leafed through the document, reading as he signed where Collins had indicated. “I gave the board the go-ahead to hire him weeks ago.”

“Legal had to do some negotiating. His attorney had some issues with the wording of the noncompete clause.”

Rhys flipped to that section of the contract. “I take it Legal is satisfied with the revisions?”

“Yes. Baker felt comfortable reducing the term from a year to six months as long as the nondisclosure agreement was in place. He says to call him if you want to pick his brain.”

“I trust his judgment.” Mark Baker had been the head of the company’s in-house legal team since it had gone public. He’d proved his worth time and time again, and Rhys didn’t make it a habit of second-guessing valued employees.

“Nice to know you respect someone’s opinion other than your own,” Collins muttered.

Rhys lifted an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

The sounds of Mallory’s voice and his son’s laughter followed by splashing drifted through the open window—the house had central air-conditioning, but nothing beat a cool late-afternoon breeze—and Rhys had a sudden sinking suspicion of what was coming next.

“Are you still planning on firing Miss Worthington?”

Rhys signed the last page of the contract with a flourish, closed the document, and practically threw it across the desk at Collins. “I wouldn’t exactly call it firing.”

“What would you call it then?”

Good question. If he’d been paying more attention, he never would have hired Mallory in the first place. He was only trying to put things back the way they were. Or the way they would have been if he hadn’t screwed up. Was there a word for that?

“Oliver seems to like her,” Collins continued, not waiting for Rhys to come up with an answer. “I haven’t seen him this happy since…”

He ran a finger under his collar before finishing his sentence. “In a long time.”

Rhys shifted in his seat. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Collins had a point. It had only been a few days since her arrival, and already Oliver and Mallory were almost inseparable. But that didn’t mean his son couldn’t form as strong a bond with someone else.

Did it?

He steepled his fingers under his chin and bent forward. “Shouldn’t you be screening new nannies? I haven’t seen one candidate.”

“I guess that answers my question.” Collins gathered up the papers Rhys signed and stuffed them into a folder. “And technically, Mallory’s not a nanny. She’s a personal chef who has a lot of experience with children.”

Rhys picked up a pen and tapped it against his desk blotter. “It’s Mallory now, is it?”

“I’ll have a list for you tomorrow morning,” Collins said, ignoring the barb. “With résumés. And photos. But for the record…”

“I know, I know.” Rhys traded the pen for one of his ever-present PEZ dispensers—Kermit the Frog this time—then leaned back and propped his feet up on the desk, absently flicking Kermit’s head. Open. Closed. Open. Closed. The rhythm was soothing, almost Zen. To him, at least. From experience, he knew it annoyed the shit out of Collins. Which, given their current conversation, he considered an added bonus. “You think I’m making a mistake.”

Trouble was, part of Rhys was starting to think so, too.

“Got it in one.” Collins tucked the folder under his arm and stood. “Is there anything else you need before I clock out? It’s my bowling night on the mainland.”

“You can go.” Rhys popped a purple PEZ in his mouth. It had its usual calming effect, same as it had since childhood. PEZ and physics, two things he could always count on. “Just be sure I have those résumés and pictures first thing tomorrow.”

“If you insist.”

“I do.” He had to. For his own sanity.

He spent another half hour in the wake of Collins’s departure trying to answer emails and check on the progress of Argos’s newest venture. Trying, but not succeeding thanks to the continued laughter and splashing from the pool, only feet from his open window.