9

“Breathe, Miguel.” The gentle command had him obeying automatically even as Ward continued. “I just finished training a service dog for an autistic seven-year-old and I was there almost every day. Not that I needed to be, and it’s not typically part of our services, but the little girl was a sweetie and her mom kept second-guessing having a dog around at all. I wanted to show her how good Tidbit—their new Saint Bernard—would be for her daughter. We got through the transition phase and now their little family is doing really well. I’ll ask if she minds speaking to you, as well as get you the numbers to a few of my other clients.”

Leaning forward on the sofa, careful not to disturb the boys, Miguel wet his bottom lip. Was Ward saying what he thought he was? “Does this mean you’re interested?”

“Very.” Ward went quiet. Chuckled. “In the job, I mean. Of course. I’ve been wondering how Boots has been doing and worried he might get out again and not be so lucky. From what you told me, he hadn’t been gone long and immediately made a run for it, so he’s likely to do that again the first chance he gets. He’s curious, which is natural, but we have to teach him some limits. Which will take more than a few weeks, but if you find me suitable I’m more than willing to continue training all the puppies after that.”

“That would be great. And there are plenty of guest rooms on the second floor, between my room and the boys’ room.” His cheeks heated. Talking about where Ward would be sleeping was hard without considering how close he’d be and what could happen between them… But no. Ward would be his employee. Just like any other. He’d seen the kind of mess relationships could cause at work with his sister’s employees. Best not to go there. “You’ll have both room and board and the standard pay for junior staff. Along with whatever you usually charge for training.”

“If I get the job.”

“Yes. Exactly.” Miguel bit back a smile. He could tell from Ward’s tone he already knew he was a sure bet. Now how to get him to start right away without being too weird and pushy? His smile faded. There wasn’t one. As exhausted as he was, he’d have to manage alone for a few more days at least. He bit back a sigh. “All right, well I’ll text you my email so you can send over your references and everything else. Let me know when the best time for an interview would be. I have a new babysitter coming in for the next few days while I check in with the board members of my sister’s company—I hope they’ll be able to manage—but that’s during business hours, so any time after—”

“I’m not busy now.”

“You’re not?” Well, obviously he wasn’t if he was still on the phone, but Miguel pictured Ward as being someone who always had plenty to keep him busy. Then again, he’d mentioned having finished a job, so maybe he needed the work. “All right, if you want to swing by, I’ll write up an outline for the contract and we can discuss the details. I… The boys will be happy to see you again.”

“I’ll be happy to see them too. And hey, Miguel?”

“Yeah?”

“Try not to stress about this too much. I’m good at my job. I have tons of nieces and nephews, so I have experience taking care of kids. Things are gonna be all right.”

“Thank you.” Miguel was tired of trying to keep up the act. He would have his head of security do all the necessary background checks, and follow-up with references, but he hoped Ward could get started soon. He was in over his head, and while he wasn’t really religious, he kinda felt like a higher power had sent the man to him at the perfect time. “One warning though…the place is a bit of a mess. I might have been overly confident thinking I could give all of the staff so much time off.”

“Why did you? With a house that size…” Ward let out an irritated sound. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”

“It’s fine. It’s a valid question.” Miguel leaned back on the sofa, grinning at Alvin who wiggled closer to him, suddenly wide awake and watching him, curiously. “Ms. Valour and Mx. Robinson, the cook and the nanny, have been working here and in love for as long as I can remember. When they finally got engaged everyone was so excited, and all the staff was going to their wedding, so I thought giving them all time to help set things up, and a vacation to recover after, would be nice.”

“But you’re not going to the wedding?”

Miguel chewed on his bottom lip. “No… My parents taught me and my sister it was important to keep some boundaries. I paid for their honeymoon and gave them a card. That’s…that’s how my family’s always done things.”

That soft, soothing voice returned. “And I’m sure the newlyweds appreciate that very much. You sound uncertain, but from this end, it sounds like you’re handling things well.”

Am I? He wasn’t so sure, but it was nice to hear. And removed some of the worry that Ward would think he was a snob for keeping some distance between himself and his staff.

Which would include Ward if everything went as planned.

He still wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but one look at the boys set his priorities straight. He hadn’t had many relationships, only one that lasted longer than a few weeks. After cutting things off with the man he’d lost his virginity to in the most uncomfortable and disappointing way possible, and having the man lash out at him after because he was ‘too sensitive and expected too much’, he didn’t trust himself to find a balance with someone who was also an employee.

As much as he liked Ward, the man was off limits. If he hired Ward, there would be no flirting, no inappropriate behavior, and no wishing things could be different.

In the span of a few months he’d basically become the sole provider and parent to three little boys who needed him to be focused on them and nothing else.

Ward seemed to get it. Which was good. Perfect really.

Because if the man showed any interest? Miguel wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist.

“Send me your email. If you’re available for that interview, I’ll swing by in a bit.” Ward cut through the silence with a light laugh, as though he’d figured out Miguel had no idea where to go from here. “Sound good?”

“That would be perfect. Thank you.” Miguel took a deep breath, needing to end the call and pull himself together. “See you then.”

The idea of seeing Ward again, of having him here all the time, was a lot to wrap his mind around. He texted Ward his email, not surprised when the references and a form granting permission for a background check hit his inbox, along with an impressive resume. He forwarded everything to his head of security, except for the references, which he’d check himself after lunch.

Until then, he’d need to keep himself busy. Stop watching the clock and wondering how long it would take Ward to get there. If he should change into something nicer than plain jeans and a stained T-shirt. This wasn’t a date, or a company interview.

Okay, he should probably change the shirt though.

And clean up a bit.

Damn it, his hands were shaking and he couldn’t seem to sit still, but he was getting absolutely nothing done. He shook his head and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He needed to chill the fuck out.

A buzz from the intercom had him swallowing hard as he went over to the screen by the front door and saw Ward, facing the camera, a neutral smile on his lips. Rather than wrecking his composure even more, that smile steadied him.

Ward was here to do a job. He’d sounded like he genuinely wanted to help. He could make things harder with a bit of flirting or teasing, and Miguel wasn’t sure how he’d handle that.

From the look in Ward’s eyes, he had a feeling he wouldn’t have to.

He pressed the button to let him in.