“Umm… I don’t know?”I wince as the words come out of my mouth.I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t know what else to say.
Jamie never came out and said I could tell anyone about Tali and the last thing in the world I want to do is upset Jamie before I'm even working for him.
“Winnie,” Liliana says firmly, her reporter voice coming through.
“What?I can't hear you.”
I glance around the room, looking for anything that can crinkle and make it sound like we’re breaking up.
“You can hear me!And stop looking for something to crinkle!”
“Are you watching me?”I shriek as I frantically look around my tiny closet like Liliana’s going to jump out and scare me.
“How would I be watching you!What are you hiding from me?”
“I can't tell you!I want to, so badly, but I… I don’t know if I'm supposed to tell anyone.”
“But I'm your best friend,” Liliana says sadly.
“I know!Let me talk to my new employer, then I’ll tell you whatever I can.They’re in a… tough position.The identity of the child is being kept hidden and I'm not sure if I can tell you who they are.”
“What!This sounds like some crazy undercover job.Should I be worried?”Her voice grows frantic with each word.
“Absolutely not.”I chuckle, thinking about how she’d react if she knew I was working for Schmidt.“My new employer is a total sweetheart.”
“Male or female?”
“I’d prefer not to answer.”I grin, knowing I'm going to drive her crazy by avoiding her questions.
“Age?”
“You should never ask anyone over sixteen their age, Lils.You know that.”My grin grows into a smirk when she huffs on the other side of the line.
Liliana hates nothing more than people avoiding her questions and not giving her the information she wants.
“How many kids?”
“One.”
“How old?”
“Under five.”
“Oh my gosh, Winnie!I can't guess who your employer is just by the child’s age!”
“I promise you, Lils, if I gave you a kabillion guesses, you still wouldn’t guess it.”
I smile to myself, thinking about Jamie again.I can't stop thinking about how good he is with Tali.I just can't imagine how difficult his life is when he’s trying to juggle being a professional baseball player and being a single father.Both jobs are extremely demanding and I don’t know how he does it all.
I wonder exactly how many hours a week I’ll be alone with Tali, but she seems like a chill and easy-going toddler.I can't wait to get to know her a little bit better.Everything will be easier when she gets comfortable around me.
My phone beeps with an incoming call.I pull it away from my face to check the caller ID and a smile tugs on my lips when I see it’s Jamie.
“Hey, Winnie, I need to go.My employer is calling me.”
“I can hear the smile in your voice, Winnie!Do you have a crush-”
I end the call before she can finish asking her question.It’s another question I won't ask.One I refuse to give the answer to, even to myself.At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how I feel about Jamie.My job is to take care of his daughter.Nothing can happen between us.
