Downhill From Here (#1)

2. I'm so Getting Fired

Bowie's POV

I was frozen in place, my mouth agape.

It must've been a dream. None of this was real. And before I could even say "somebody pinch me please", I felt a tug on my hair pulling me back to reality.

The little girl was beyond fascinated, smiling and playing with my curls.

But I was a little too distracted by the sight of Nathan Greeves standing at the entrance of the hotel apartment. He was even more gorgeous in person with messy curly brown hair and a solid frame.

His brown eyes followed my expression and then they went to the little girl I was currently holding.

My inner teenage self was currently screaming. The man I'd admired and idolized for so long was only a few feet away from me and I could barely say anything.

I could see his face change from surprise to anger quickly. His brows furrowed as he said through clenched teeth, "Who the hell are you?!"

I blinked at him, the reality of the situation coming back to me. The little girl clinging to my shirt had been abandoned and by the looks of it, he was the one who was supposed to be looking after her.

"I work here and I answered a noise complaint," I said as the initial surprise wore off. "And when I came in here, the stove was on with some kind of tea burning."

He blinked and then the anger faded from his face and he appeared taken aback.

"You know you can't just leave a child unattended right?" I bit out angrily. "She's like barely 4 and you just left her here. Imagine if I hadn't gotten the call."

He still said nothing, instead, his eyes traveled around the kitchen and then the living room as if he was in search of something. It was like he was ignoring me.

He moved into the closed bedroom and checked inside, cursing under his breath.

"Helloooo?" I said impatiently. Rude. "I don't know if you're watching this kid for a friend and it's your first time or something but---"

He passed me quickly, moving into the bedroom behind me, looking again.

What the hell?

"Excuse me," I said turning with the child still on my hip.

He came out of the room and ran a hand through his hair, looking pissed and realization falling over his features.

"How long have you been here?" He asked with a sense of urgency.

"I've been here about 7 minutes, but the noise complaint was made over 15 minutes ago," I said finally sounding calm.

Why in the world would someone leave him with the care of their kid when he could barely remember to stay with her?

"Look I'm not gonna call child protective services on you," I said eyeing him.

His expression was stone cold and speculative. Then he looked at the little girl, noticing something.

"C-Cully," She said looking at me and then at Nathan.

I nodded quickly, trying to sound light-hearted. "Yes, sweetheart it's curly."

"Eh cully juss like mines," She said smiling excitedly. Gosh, she was cute.

I turned back to Nathan and saw the way he blinked and stood absolutely still like he was in disbelief.

"Umm...you should probably call her parents and let them know she's fine," I said handing him the girl. She gripped onto my collar but I carefully pulled her off.