Chapter 3

This is not how I imagined spending the rest of my Friday evening...to be honest, I was just thinking of crashing into bed and sleep the weekend away but as usual, nothing ever goes to my plan.

Holding the now, fed and sleepy baby in my arms, I use my free hand to unlock the door to the apartment, pushing the door open with my elbow, I reveal the cosy, warm two bedroom apartment.

Checking for signs of my roommate from college, when I see no indication of her being home, I step aside and let him in.

"If you want..." I mumble, setting the baby in the cot I always had in the corner of the living room. "I can teach you to take care of him..."

Looking up at him, I am surprised when I see him give me a short nod. Crossing over to the kitchen, I grab some of the baby products I"ve been keeping since I took care of Mr King"s baby.

Placing them on the kitchen counter, I spread them out well, including the things I just bought. Diapers, formula milk, baby bottles, pacifiers, teething gel, Baby Johnson"s shampoo and body wash. This should be the basics...

"Okay, these here are the basic necessities," I begin, looking over to Mr Holt but finding him nowhere to be seen. "Mr Holt?"

Going back out to the living room, I find the man snoring softly on the couch, his mouth slightly open, one of his shoes still on and his long frame taking up the entire couch.

Swallowing the sudden lump that formed in my throat, I go into my bedroom to retrieve the spare blankets I keep. I wrap one of my hand knitted blankets around him, careful to not touch him.

A high pitched wail sounds from the cot and Mr Hot stirs, rushing over to the baby, I pick him up and begin to calm him down.

The baby gurgles as I bounce him on my hip, sleepness clouding his eyes as they begin to droop once more, grabbing a bottle and placing it in the desensitiser for just in case reasons, I go to my bedroom and set the baby next to me and go to sleep.

*****

"JANE!! QUICK GET OVER HERE!" Olivia screams from the living room, a loud thump is heard and a groan. Groggily getting out of bed, my work clothes from yesterday crumpled and messy, I clutch the sleeping baby in my arms, I stumble to the living room.

"My cousin is on the couch!" She screeches, one hand holding an umbrella and with the other, she points at Mr Holt who is lying face down on the floor. "What the HELL is he DOING here?!"

Yawning and not making sense of her words, I help Mr Holt up with the arm I"m not holding on to the baby,"Olivia, Alexander Holt. Mr Holt, Olivia Greys."

"I know who he is," Olivia grumbles, gripping the umbrella. "I want to know why he"s here."

Mr Holt"s lips run into a thin line," Still aggressive as ever I see."

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Olivia yells at him, ignoring his comment, raising the umbrella. "It"s been almost three months from your divorce and now then you show up?"

Not catching the flow of the conversation, I yawn and go to the kitchen to make the baby a new bottle of milk. I lost count of the number of time he had woken me up last night either to change his diaper or feed him.

I nearly fall asleep as I shake the milk powder into the warm water, waking up, the baby looks to me with his big brown orbs, opening his mouth as I place the nipple of the bottle at his lips.

"You have the job," Mr Holt decides, announcing his presence. "When can you move in?"

"Mr Holt," I state, staring at him through my sleepy state. "I was glad to help. I don"t want the job..."

"I request, no, I demand you take up the job," he cuts me off. "Lucifer recommended you and I trust his judgement."

Yawning, I close my eyes and lean on the counter for a moment as I recall what he said to me in my office yesterday. "Didn"t you say you think I"m not the one for the job?"

"Don"t tell me how to be a father," he states as a matter of factly. "And I won"t say you are unsuitable for the job."

Taking a moment to let this sink in, I give in for I am not the kind of person to turn down someone in need. I nod.

"I need you to move in by tonight," he continues, not missing a beat. "I"ll have a car come pick you up and send you and your belongings to my apartment at five."

Why do I feel that his conversation is very one sided?

"I need to go to work," he adds as an afterthought. "I"ll leave the child in your care. See you tonight."

WHAT?! "Wait...Mr Holt..."

Too late, he"s already walking out of the kitchen, sliding on his shoes and before I can catch up, moving as fast as I can without hurting the baby, he"s gone.

My jaw drops, How am I supposed to pack with a baby to take care of at the same time?

Olivia... a small voice sings in my head and I look to the fuming redhead in the living room. Yup, I"ll just explain everything and...Hold on...what did she say when I came here...

"My cousin is on the couch!"

"It"s been almost three months from your divorce and now then you show up?"

My eyes widen as realisation dawns...they"re...RELATED?!