The Billionaire and the Single Mom

confused and fractious. Noah had a meltdown because his favorite blue cup was at home. Chloe was quietly crying, asking for h

ing with a cheerfulness she didn't feel. "We're going to exp

the anxiety in their eyes remained. She herded them into the

alley. A main street with independently owned shops, a diner, a library, a small grocery st

anted" signs in the window. Waitress at the diner. Part-time clerk at the grocery store. The pay was minimal. I

way in. There was a smaller, temporary site office trailer set up near the

r anyone. I'll be right there," she instruct

in hard hats and steel-toed boots moved with purpose. She felt

harried-looking man in his fifties, with a thick mustache and a

need the engineer on site, now!" He slammed the radio down and looke

ere hiring," Elara said, her v

ou got any experience? Carp

I learn fast. I'll do anything. C

can swing a hammer. The admin staff is hired through the corporate office in the

wing goldfish crackers at each other. This was a mistake. A stupid, naive mistake. She needed

looked like a spaceship that had landed on the muddy construction road

ailored suit. His shoes, polished to a mirror shine, were immediately spattered with mud, but he didn't seem t

ed out of the trailer, his demeanor completely

e weren't expecting yo

e a low, crisp baritone that carried even through her closed car window

nswer, a king surveying his domain. Ed scramb

ame on the sign.

aw it. Noah's beloved stuffed dog, a ragged thing named Bingo, flew out of his hand and ou

" Noah

" Olive

umped out, and ran to retrieve the soggy, filthy t

lutching the dripping dog, her

a startlingly clear shade of gray, like a winter sky, flickered from the stuffed animal to her

ward pause. Ed started

ly neutral. He wasn't being rude, but he wasn't bein

aightening up. "Sorry

but his next que

you l

g to find work. But I was told you're not h

nsparent, as if he could see the three plastic bags, the $147

qualified fo

n. Most people would have said, "What exper

r chin slight

But to her surprise, a flicker of something-interest, perhaps-passed through his coo

needs a live-in caretaker. The work is menial. Cleaning, maintenance, stocking t

live? It was an impossible, miraculous lifeline. It was also ter

on was out before

w arched slight

at to me? You don't kno

-of-factly. "Desperation makes people either exceptionally honest or exceptionally treacherous. I'm bett

eady back to discussing concrete and steel, a

ed dog, her heart hammering against her ribs. It was

her choice

in the van. Their home. T

her with a new, bewildered sense of curiosity. "I'll ta