The Baby Arrangement (2 page)

  “I think she may be hungry,” Kayleigh said softly as the child attempted to latch herself to Kayleigh’s breast.  She looked up to see Derek staring at the same spot where the baby so desperately wanted to be.

He certainly couldn’t blame her.

“Look, Miss…um,” he prompted.

“Mitchell.  Kayleigh Mitchell.  I work in customer service,” she supplied and felt a little dejected that he had no idea who she was.  It was no more than she should have expected and yet it still stung.

Derek shook her hand briefly before running it through his hair in frustration.  “Miss Mitchell, what I am about to say is to be held in the strictest of confidence, okay?”
  Kayleigh nodded.  “This baby was left here this morning with nothing more than a note telling us her name, age and that she’s my responsibility now.”

Eileen chose that moment to chime in.  “Well, it didn’t say
you
specifically.  I still think that this has Brian written all over it.”

Derek glared at his assistant and let out a breath of pure frustration.  “That may very well be the case, Eileen,” he growled with irritation, “but I can’t get a hold of him at the moment.  He’s apparently gone off on some African safari trip and will be unreachable for at least two weeks!  For the time being, this child is
my
responsibility!”

At his loud roar, the baby began to cry again.  Kayleigh snuggled the child against her as she turned her back to the two executives and began to rock her and sing softly to her again.  Looking over her shoulder, she quietly asked the child’s name.

“Emery,” Eileen answered stiffly.  “Her name is Emery Sloan and she is two weeks old.  Now you know as much as we do.” 

Kayleigh did not like this woman’s tone for a minute and couldn’t understand why Eileen had an attitude towards her. 
She
at least had the good sense to try and comfort the child while these two had argued and ignored her!

Poor little thing
, she thought to herself as she looked down at one very tiny, very angry, red face.  “What kind of woman leaves their newborn?”  Kayleigh regretted asking that question out loud as soon as it left her lips.  Two sets of eyes turned to her, each more irritated than the next.

“I…I’m sorry,” Kayleigh stammered.

Derek sighed with frustration and sat down behind his desk.  “Don’t be.  You haven’t said anything that we haven’t been saying all morning.”

“Did the mother leave any supplies for her?”

“I have no idea,” Eileen snapped and glanced over at Derek.

Rolling her eyes, Kayleigh walked over to the basket and found one small bottle.  Taking the cover off of the top, she offered the nipple to Emery.  The child eagerly latched on and suckled it with gusto.  Sighing with relief, Kayleigh went to sit on the black leather sofa that sat against one wall of Derek’s spacious office.

“If I’m no longer needed, Derek,” Eileen stated, “I’m going to lunch.”  Without waiting for a response, the woman left the room with the door slamming behind her; leaving Kayleigh and Derek alone.

Kayleigh kept her focus on baby Emery
, but she could feel Derek’s eyes on her.  When she carefully pulled the bottle out of the baby’s mouth so that she could burp her, she looked up at him.

“Do you have any children, Katie?” he asked in a weary tone.

“It’s Kayleigh, sir,” she carefully pronounced, “and no, I don’t have any children.”

“You’re good with them,” he nodded towards Emery.  “You knew exactly what to do.”

“Well, I’ve been babysitting since I was twelve years old and I am the youngest of four children.  All of my siblings have kids of their own now and I baby-sit for all of them as well.”

“I see.”  The silence returned and stayed until Emery gave a hearty little belch and Kayleigh leaned back to feed her the remainder of her bottle.

“She’s so tiny,” she said with wonder as she examined the tiny fingers and then stroked the baby’s cheek.  “How could anyone not want you?” she cooed to the baby.

Derek’s head ached as he watched Kayleigh.  She was exactly what he needed right now.  He had to have someone to help him with this child and there was no time to go through an agency.  If she worked for him and his company, then he had references about the kind of person she was.  It made perfect sense!

“Would you consider helping me out with Emery?” Derek asked suddenly.

Kayleigh’s eyes shot up at his words.  Derek Sloan wanted her – no, he
needed
her.  Her, little Kayleigh Mitchell from customer service!  It was like a dream come true!  “You mean for today?” she asked casually, not wanting to seem too anxious.  “Sure, I’ll just let them know out in customer service that I’ll be in here today.”

“That’s not what I meant.  Not fully,” he said awkwardly.  How was he supposed to ask this woman to help him for an indefinite amount of time?  She had a life of her own, maybe even a husband to go home to.

Damn, but that thought bothered him more than just a little. 

“I need someone to care for Emery full-time until I can get all of this settled.  She may be my child but, as Eileen pointed out earlier, she could very well belong to my brother.  He’s gone for at least two weeks and in the mean time, she needs to be cared for.”

“You could call an agency…”

“No,” he said firmly.  “I don’t have time for that, Kayleigh.  You saw what it was like in here earlier.  I have no clue as to what I’m doing where a baby is concerned and finding someone reputable could take some time.  I’ll pay you double what you’re making out in customer service and I can guarantee that your position will be waiting for you when you return.”

It was quite an offer.  One that she couldn’t take lightly.  Kayleigh was a smart career woman, even if her choice of occupation right now wasn’t showing any real challenge or motivation.  She had graduated from college at the top of her class in interior design, but jobs in the field were hard to come by and starting out on her own required financial backing which she didn’t have.

Five years ago, she had come to Sloan Design with the idea that she would work there temporarily until she found a ‘real’ job.  Now she was ashamed to admit that once she saw Derek Sloan, she all but stopped looking for work elsewhere.  No one in her department had a clue that she harbored a crush on their company president and that’s the way Kayleigh preferred it.  Surely someone would tell her that she was crazy to be wasting her time and talent to stay at a dead-end job just because she liked to look at a man who didn’t know she even existed.

Until now
.

“Kayleigh?”

“Oh, sorry.  My mind wandered for a moment.”  She took the empty bottle from Emery’s still pursed mouth and draped a cloth over her shoulder and positioned the baby there so that she could pat her back and burp her again.

Standing, Kayleigh began to pace around the office nervously.  “Oh, I don’t know, Mr. Sloan.  I’ve never been a nanny before.”

“You’ve been taking care of children for most of your life; you said so yourself just a few minutes ago.” 

He had her there.
  “I suppose I could do it,” she said, thinking out loud.  “I mean, I can get to your house before you leave for work and we can work out a schedule so that I have Emery settled in before I leave at night.  Then…”

Derek cut her off.  “No, I need a live-in nanny.  Babies don’t have regular schedules.  That much I
do
know.  I need someone to be there around the clock to take care of her.  Besides, I don’t keep bankers hours.  I never know when I’ll get out of here most nights.  It would be easier for you to move in and take care of Emery.”

“You want me to move in with you?” Kayleigh croaked out the words, forcing a lump down in her throat.  Could this day get any better?

“Yes.”  His gaze met hers with intent.

In her wildest fantasies, she never could have imagined this.  Living with Derek Sloan; caring
for the child that could be his.  It was insane!

Emery let out another un-ladylike belch and Kayleigh chuckled.  “I just don’t know…”

Derek couldn’t afford to have her refuse.  He had to act quickly to ensure that Kayleigh moved in with him today.  “Please, Kayleigh.  You obviously know what you’re doing and Emery seems to like you.  Please.”  He reached out and grabbed one of her hands and gave it a gentle squeeze.  Her large eyes looked up at him with pure wonder.  “Will you help me, Kayleigh?  It will only be for two weeks, maybe three.  Tops.  I promise.”  At her hesitation, he added, “I’ll triple your pay.”

Kayleigh looked at him and studied his pleading expression.  She longed to reach out and touch his face and promise him that she’d stay as long as he wanted her, forever even, but in the end, she held on to her composure and controlled herself.

Taking a deep breath, she replied, “Okay.”

Derek sagged with relief.  “Oh, thank God,” he murmured.  Giving Kayleigh a pleased grin, he stepped back and looked as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.  As he turned to walk back over to his desk, Kayleigh stopped him with her words.

“Babies need a lot of things, Mr. Sloan.  Do you have anything at home for her to use?”

“Like I said, she showed up here this morning and before that, I had no idea that she even existed.”  He sat back behind his desk and grabbed a legal pad and a pen.  “I suppose we should make a list of what she’ll need and then hit the stores to get it all.”

“May I make a suggestion?” Kayleigh began cautiously.

“Absolutely.”

“I don’t mean to sound like a nervous-Nelly or anything, but…if the mother was cold enough to desert her own infant, I’d wonder about what kind of care Emery has gotten at this point.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you.”

“I think that you should have her checked out by a pediatrician to make sure that she’s healthy.”

Derek braced his elbows on his desk and rested his face in his hands.  After a moment he dragged them back down his face.  “That’s a good point.  I never would have thought of that.  How do I find a pediatrician?”

Kayleigh gave him a smile that filled him with hope for the first time that day.  “You happen to be in luck.  My oldest brother is a pediatrician and has a practice not far from here.”

Without waiting for a reply, Kayleigh placed
the now sleeping Emery back in that ridiculous basket before reaching across Derek’s desk and picking up the phone.  She had no time to catch the stunned expression on his face at her actions.  Dialing her brother’s office, she perched herself on the corner of the desk and waited for his receptionist to answer.

“Dr. Mitchell’s office, how may I help you?”

“Hey, Lindsey!  It’s Kayleigh.  Is Jared available?  It’s an emergency.”  She was put on hold and her brother picked up in less than a minute.

“Kayleigh?  Is everything all right?  What’s the matter?”  Her brother’s voice held a controlled yet panic tone.

Kayleigh gave him the Reader’s Digest version of events and he agreed to see them just as soon as they could get there.  “Thank you so much, Jared.  We’ll see you soon.”  She hung up the phone and related the news to Derek.  “Now we only have one problem.”

Derek arched an eyebrow at her.  “Just one?” he chuckled, and though the sound washed over her like pure silk, Kayleigh could tell he was still nervous.

“We are going to need a real car seat to take Emery in and not this crazy basket.  It’s not legal for a child to ride in the car without an approved car seat.  I could drive over to the Wal-Mart and pick one up while she’s sleeping if you’d like.”

“
No!
”  Derek frantically reached for the phone and ignored her suggestion.  He punched in some numbers before he answered her.   “Eileen?” he barked in to the phone.  “Yes, I know you’re at lunch, but I need for you to run a quick errand for me…No, it won’t take long…Yes, I’ll make the time up to you!”  He went on to tell his assistant what was needed and asked her to please hurry back.  After hanging up, he looked up at Kayleigh.

“Eileen will pick one up and bring it back with her.”  He seemed pleased with himself for solving their problem.

“It really wasn’t necessary to bother Eileen.  I could have gone myself.”

His eyes widened at her words; panic clearly setting in.  It was a side of Derek Sloan that Kayleigh was finding endearing.  “What if Emery had woken up while you were gone?” he asked.

“Mr. Sloan,” she began diplomatically, “you’re going to have to learn to take care of her on your own at some point.  She could be your daughter.  But even if she’s not, then that means that she’s your niece and either way, whether you’re her father or uncle, you’ll have to learn to handle her without being afraid.”

When Derek remained silent, Kayleigh feared that she had gone too far.  After all, not only was he her boss
, but he was a very intimidating man that no one dared to disagree with.  Now, in a short amount of time, Kayleigh had managed to question his ability to handle just about every aspect of his life.  She stood stiff as a poker and waited for him to do or say something – completely filled with dread.  It would really be stupid of her to finally get this opportunity to get close to Derek and lose it because of her own big mouth.