Falling Into You (Geek to Chic) (19 page)

Alex: Nothing much, been quiet with the
nerds away from the castle today.
 
Plus
no raging CEO monster was a plus
J

Derek: Well the place is louder when we are
there because we are actually working.
 
While you, number jockeys are learning addition and subtraction.

Alex: If we don’t learn those skills
someone, namely one CEO, is never getting paid again.
 
J

Derek: That’s fine, I can write my own
check.
 

Alex: I may be adding one to the number
jockeys.

Derek:
 
Who would agree to work for you?
 

Alex:
 
Funny asshole. Since Roni quit working for you and she is magic with
numbers I sent her an offer.
 

Derek:
 
WHAT THE FUCK MAN!!!!!

Alex:
 
Listen to me, this can work for both of us. I get her brain to do all
those estimates and you get her after hours. On the flip side, she gets a
well-paying permanent job and does not have to engage with the CEO asshole
version of you.
 
See, win-win!
 
Say it… I am a genius!

Derek could
see the logic behind Alex’s plan, which scared him.
 
He knew that if he was agreeing with Alex
that must mean he had either lost his mind or was out of options.
 
Rather than inflating his friend’s ego, he
decided to ask the question he almost hated to have the answer to.
 

Derek:
 
Did she accept your offer?
 

Again he put
down his phone and nervously paced his kitchen.
 

Alex:
 
She said she would think about.
 
I
think she is worried you will be mad if she takes the offer.
 

Now he felt
like an even bigger asshole.
 
Not only
was he such a fucktard that she quit, but now, Roni didn’t even feel
comfortable accepting an offer to do a job she would be great at because of his
attitude.
 
With nothing left to say to
anyone he put his phone away and went to work in his office.
 

***

Roni had to
read the text from Derek a few times not sure if she was reading it correctly
in her drunken sugar high state.
 

“I think he is
trying to be funny and apologize. But men are stupid, so who knows.”
 
Izzy slurred.
 

“I should have
answered him before the third bottle of wine was opened.
 
Now typing is too hard.
 
Those letters are so small.”
 
Roni said as she stared at the small text
keyboard on her iPhone.

Izzy fell off
the couch laughing.
 
Then she turned
serious.
 
“They must have made the
keyboard so small to keep people from drunk texting.
 
It is a safety feature.”
 

“Those Apple
people think of everything.”
 
Roni
agreed, nodding her head enthusiastically.
 

“Well, one
text does not right the world.
 
He should
have called, or stopped by… with more wine.”
 
Izzy giggled.
 

“It’s not the
fact that he sent a text, which is a chicken shit way of apologizing.
 
It is the fact that he was a complete ass
munch because I told him to take care of himself and then he told me he
shouldn’t have hired me.
 
Like I was
responsible for wrecking his day and his team being so tired they barely knew
their names.”
 
Roni huffed out.
 
“His split personality is giving me a
headache.”
 

Izzy chugged
more wine.
 
“He is a nice guy.
 
He really does seem to care about you.
 
I just think he needs to learn to live a
little.
 
From what I understand, his
whole world has been that company.
 
He
rarely goes out and has not had a real date since college.”
 

Roni sobered a
little staring at her friend with her mouth wide open.
 
“Izzy, how do you know all of that?
 
Did you guys talk the other night when he was
here after I fell asleep?”
 

Izzy chugged
about half the bottle of wine and fidgeted.
 
“No, I… um…. I talked to Alex.
 
He
called to talk about dinner this weekend.
 
You know the one I
have
to
make him since we lost a bet?
 
Anyway, we
got talking and he said he was happy to see Derek breaking free of his bubble.
That’s all, no biggie.”
 
The entire time
she spoke, Izzy refused to meet Roni’s eyes.
 

“Dinner?
 
Because of the bet?
 
That is the only reason you talked to
Alex?
 
I have a feeling you are hiding
something.
 
I think you like him and
can’t admit it.”
 
Roni slurred out.
 

“Nope, just
living up to my end of the bet.
 
He is
not my type.
 
Plus, he is a player only
interested in a night and you know I don’t do that.”
 

“Whatever you
want to tell yourself.
 
If I had to guess
Alex is more interested than you think.
 
Maybe you should give him a chance.”
 
She knew she was pushing, but hey her love life was in the toilet so she
felt she had to get Izzy to have one.
 
Someone in the house should be getting some.
 

“Never.
 
Going.
 
To.
 
Happen!” Izzy drag out the
words.
 
“He is everything I hate in men
all rolled up into one beautiful annoying package.
 
Let’s drop it.
 
What is your next move with Prince Geek?”

It was Roni’s
turn to chug the wine.
 
“No idea.
 
The drunken horny part of me wants to take a
cab to his house and show him what taking time off can be like.
 
The angry drunk part of me wants to be
immature and ignore him.
 
I know I need
to send some sort of text back though.”
 
She tried, again to focus on the small screen of her iPhone.
 

When she
received no answer from Izzy after a few moments she looked over at her friend
to see she had passed out.
 
Great, now
she had lost her drinking buddy.
 
Sighing, she tried to stand, nope, not happening.
 
Instead, she grabbed the blanket from the
back of the couch and laid it across Izzy and herself.
 
She grabbed her phone one last time.
 

Roni:
 
Drunk and still mad talk later.
 

She sends the
text off to Derek and passed out, hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

Derek had
spent the day working, trying to get his mind off of Roni.
 
He checked his phone every five minutes
hoping to see a text or a missed call from her.
 
Every time he looked at his phone he saw the same thing, a blank
screen.
 
He had tried to construct a
couple of texts apologizing to her, yet again.
 
None of the short text seems to come out right.
 

He did send
her a picture of himself holding a piece of paper that said, ‘I’m a bad CEO, I
yelled at my wonderful girlfriend for no reason.’
 
But even that did not earn him a
response.
 
So he did what he always did,
he buried himself in work.
 
He figured if
he didn’t hear from her by the time his babysitting gig was over he would go
over to her house and beg.
 

The doorbell
rang, signaling the arrival of his beloved niece.
 
Caroline had been making jokes all week about
Derek watching little Netty.
 
Caroline
even sent him a YouTube video on diaper changing.
 
Ok, so he may have watched it a few times,
but really how hard could it be to take care of a 6 month old for three
hours.
 
He figured babies sleep most of
the time anyway.
 
She would sleep in the
nice portable crib he had set up in his home office for her and he would work,
win-win.
 
“Are you sure you know what
you’re doing Derek?”
 
Caroline asked him
as she walked into his house handing him his beautiful niece.
 
His sister was dressed casually in a nice
sweater, jeans and black leather boots.
 
He rarely saw her in anything other than her weekend mom attire, jeans
and an old sweatshirt.
 

Derek laughed,
causing Netty to laugh. “Yes, Caroline.
 
I am sure I can manage to care for a baby for three hours without having
to call in the National Guard for help.”
 
Seriously why did no one think he could manage this? Netty was quietly
staring at him.
 
Her little fist shoved
in her mouth, drool pouring out.
 

Caroline shook
her head at him. Laughing, she stated, “You have no idea what you are in
for.
 
She may look all cute and cuddly
now, but just wait the witching hour is almost upon us.”
 
Derek had no idea what that was supposed to
mean, so he just smiled at Netty.
 
Playing like he was biting the side of her fist that was not in her
mouth.
 
Netty laughed again.
 
This kid was seriously cute and happy.
 
“Anyway, she’s eaten, had her bath and is in
her jammies.
 
All you have to do is
entertain her for about an hour, change her, give her a bottle and put her to
bed.
 
Can you handle that super geek?”

“Yes of
course, Netty and I will be fine.
 
If all
I have to do is change her once and give her a bottle why do have that huge
bag?”
 
Caroline had a diaper bag the size
of the luggage he would take on a weeklong business trip.
 
How much stuff did a 15 pound baby need to
survive three hours with her uncle?
 

“Trust me,
this bag may weigh more than she does, but you will need all the goodies inside
of it.”
 
Caroline walked through his
house to his kitchen in the back.
 
He had
a ranch house with an open floor plan.
 
The house was sparsely decorated in muted colors and masculine leather
furniture.
 
Nothing much, but considering
most of the time he lived more at the office than at his actual home, he didn't
care.

She deposited
the bag on the dark oak kitchen table. As she began to pull stuff out of the
bag, he began to wonder if he could do this.
 
“First, we have diapers and wipes.”
 
She deposited a small stack of diapers and a container of wipes on the
table.
 
“Next, we have extra clothes in
case of a blowout.”

“A
blowout?”
 
Derek asked, looking at his
sister as though she was crazy.

“Yes, a
blowout.
 
It is when she shits so much
that the diaper can’t handle it all.
 
Those are the fun ones to change, shit runs down her legs and up her
back.”
 
Caroline was smiling in amusement
at the look of pure disgust on his face.
 
“Those are rare these days you should be fine.
 
Finally, we have the entertainment section of
the bag.
 
Here is her doll and
binky.
 
Very important items.
 
They must be with her when you lay her down
or trust me, you will hear about them missing.
 
She can be very demanding.” Again she laughed.

“You are
enjoying this way too much.
 
Really
Caroline, we will be fine.
 
I will manage
if she has a ‘blowout’, bottle time and bedtime. Trust me.
 
Just go have fun.
 
You are not dressed for a bar or club so what
is on the agenda for the night?”
 

“Just dinner
with friends.
 
An adult conversation! I
can hardly wait. Thank you so much for this.
 
You know I won’t leave her with anyone.”
 
She sighed, looking a bit sad.
 
“This is the first time out since she was born. I am warning you I may
call every five minutes to check on her.”
 
She kissed his cheek and took Netty from him.
 
“Ok Netty, you are good for your uncle. I
love you baby girl.”
 
Caroline gave Netty
a hug and kiss, then handed her back to Derek.
 
His heart broke seeing his little sister so sad.
 

“Go have fun,
don’t worry.
 
We really will be fine.” He
walked Caroline to the door.
 
He
practically had to kick her out before she would stop kissing Netty and leave.
 

“Now that your
mommy is gone, let’s party.”
 
Derek
tossed Netty in the air.
 
Causing both a
giggle and burp.
 
He brought her into his
living room, sitting her on the floor with some of the toys that he had in the
house for when Caroline came over.
 
Laying on his stomach in front of her.
 
Derek grabbed the remote to put on the hockey game.
 
He could totally do this.
 
Netty was a happy easy going baby.
 
This would be a breeze.
 

His cocky
attitude toward his babysitting gig lasted exactly ten minutes.
 
His sweet niece had suddenly and without
reason turned into a crying mess. He had spent the past hour, walking his
screaming niece around his house.
 
Up the
hallway to the bedrooms and back to the living room.
 
He even tried to put in one of the crappy
videos Caroline had ensured him calmed her.
 
His sister was a big fat liar.
 
Nothing was going to smooth this beast.
 
“Oh, Netty baby what can I do to help.”
 
He said in a soothing voice, kissing her on the forehead.
 

That is when
the screaming stopped.
 
Derek took a deep
breath and smiled, thinking the million miles he had walked around his house
had done the trick.
 
Netty’s face
scrunched up a bit and she made a little grunt sound.
 
Suddenly his eyes were burning from the worst
smell in the world.
 
A house full of frat
boys could not create the smell in a bathroom his little niece just had
inflicted on him.
 
He even gagged a
little. Netty’s screaming resumed.
 
“Oh
Netty what on earth is your mother feeding you?”
 
He idly asked as he held the screaming stinky
baby at arm’s length.
 

Derek had
thought ahead and placed a towel on the carpet in the living room.
 
Along with the diaper changing supplies.
 
He laid his niece down, determine to
eliminate the foul smell as quickly as humanly possible.
 
He began to change her and suddenly
understood the term ‘blow out’. “Really Netty?
 
You couldn’t save that one for your mom?” He quickly stripped the baby
and began the job of cleaning up all the shit that had come out of her.
 

As Netty
screamed and Derek frantically cleaned her off, he realized he needed
backup.
 
Alex would be no help.
 
The only person he knew who could come save
him was probably still mad at him for yesterday.
 
Sighing, he decided to make the call
anyway.
 
As Netty tried to crawl away
from him again as he tried to put a new diaper on her, he grabbed her with one
hand and his phone with the other.
 
“Roni,
oh thank God you answered!”
 

“What is it
Derek?” Roni’s pissed off tone was expected. After all, he was a complete
asshole to her yesterday.
 

“Look, I know
you’re pissed, I don’t blame you.
 
I
wouldn’t have called except I really need your help.”
 
Yes, he was begging, but he was at Defcon 1
and needed reinforcements if Netty and he were going to survive this evening.

“What is that
noise?”
 
He thought he heard laughter in
her tone now.
 
He knew he could use that
to his advantage.

“That noise,
is Netty, the demon child!
 
The first ten
minutes were fine. She has been screaming for an hour now.
 
No matter what I try she screams.
 
Now she is shitting all over the place!
 
And I do mean all over the place. I don’t
know what to do.
 
I can’t call Caroline,
and Alex would be well Alex.
 
So I called
you to beg and plead for you to come over and help.
 
Please Roni!”
 
Derek knew he sounded like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Roni was
laughing in his ear. “I thought you said this was going to be a breeze?” She
mocked. Then she said nothing for a long period of time.
 
He held his breath, ready to beg more if need
be to get her to come help him soothe the beast.
 
Finally, in her original pissed off tone she
spoke softly.
 
“For Netty I will come
rescue you. Text the address and I will be there.
 
I am in my pajamas with no makeup and my hair
is a mess.
 
So you will just have to deal
with that look.” With that she hung up.
 

Derek let out
the breath he had been holding.
 
“The
Calvary is on its way little one.
 
Just
hang on a few minutes, Roni will know what to do.”
 
Derek hoped anyway.
 

***

Roni had been
snuggled in her bed eating candy to heart's content and watching a bad action
movie when the phone rang.
 
She had debated
if she should answer it after seeing who it was.
 
But who was she kidding, she had no will
power when it came to Derek.
 
Now she was
walking up to the door of the beautiful ranch style house, in her pajamas for
the love of God.
 

The
landscaping was perfect with large trees surrounding the house and small pine
trees lining the driveway.
 
She took a
deep breath and rang the doorbell.
 
Before her hand had even left the button the large oak door opened,
revealing a much disheveled Derek.
 
He
was shirtless. His hair was sticking up in every which way. His facial
expression was one of pure terror. And was that baby poop on his cheek?
 
In his arms was a screaming baby in only a
diaper.
 
A diaper that looked as though
it was on backwards.
 
She couldn’t help
herself, she burst out laughing.

“I...I...I
don’t know what to do.”
 
Derek sounded
and looked totally overwhelmed.
 
A look
he did not wear well.
 

“For starters,
you can let me in.” She walked past him taking the baby from him as she
did.
 
She regretted the fact that she had
taken a breath in through her nose.
 
Pushing back the gag that wanted to erupt.
 
“What is that smell?
 
And what happened to the living room?”
 
Knowing Derek was a neat freak based on his
office, she could not believe the mess she had walked into.
 
Toys, baby clothes, his shirt and diapers
littered the room.
 
“Netty, you have done
quite the number on your uncle’s perfectly organized life.”
 
Netty rubbed her eyes with her little
fists.
 
Looks like this screaming
marathon had taken its toll on little Netty too. Turning to look at Derek, Roni
said.
 
“Here’s the plan, you’re going to
go shower because I think you have poop not only on your cheek but in your hair
too.
 
While you get defunked I’m going to
clean up Netty and try to settle her down.”
 
She put up a hand as he started to protest.
 
“Go! You stink and you look like you need a
time out.”