Second Chances

"grandmother"-------->chp1

"Grandmother"

"Daddy?"

Adrien looked down at his four-year-old. He gave her a smile then picked her up and set her on his lap. "What is it, Emma?"

She hugged him tight in a way that got him to worry. "I don't like the new babysitter," she whispered.

His eyes shut as he sighed. If Adrien recalled correctly, they were on nanny number eight. Ever since the original nanny-the one he wouldn't dare belittle by assigning a number-had given her two-week's notice, he'd been desperately trying to find another nanny for Emma. His father had immediately given Nathalie the task of finding a suitable replacement, but no matter how qualified the nannies Nathalie had found were, Emma just didn't like any of them.

She was a picky child, a trait curtesy of her mother. But, if Adrien was being honest, he wasn't certain he liked any of the replacements, either.

"Why don't you like her?" Adrien asked, just as he did every time.

"She said I couldn't go in your office."

Well, that settled it: the nanny was out. If Adrien was working at home-which was less often than he would have liked nowadays-Emma was allowed to come visit him. That was their agreement. Emma understood that she couldn't come in all the time, but she wasn't not allowed in his office.

Emma turned her blue eyes up to him. "She scares me."

Adrien gave her a tight hug. "Then we'll try another nanny, okay?"

She fussed. "I don't want another nanny. I want you."

That always squeezed his heart like a vice. He didn't like not always being there for Emma, but he'd learned that he was only one man, not an army. He couldn't do everything alone. While there were days that he could manage balancing Emma and housework and regular work on his own, there were far more days that he couldn't. While housework was always the first to go, there were times that Emma had to come in under work.

And that was absolutely unacceptable to Adrien.

His best friend, Alya, had proven herself to be an amazing superhero by finding a good nanny for Emma, one who he'd employed for the past three years or so. But four months ago, she'd handed in her two-weeks, leaving Adrien once again juggling work, housework, and Emma.

He was so thankful that there had been a lull in his job so he could balance it all until he could find a replacement. Unfortunately, that lull didn't last long.

But then again, neither did any of the nannies he'd employed.

"Daddy."

"Yes, Emma?"

"I'm hungry."

A glance at the clock told him that it was time for lunch. The nanny should be making Emma something very shortly, but a quick peek at his schedule said he was free for lunch. The pile of paperwork could wait. "How about we go out for lunch?"

She lit up at that. "Can we go to Mimi's?"

He grinned. "Okay. We can go to Mimi's."