Corbin McGriffin was driving to work early Tuesday morning when his phone buzzed in the passenger seat. He reached over just as the light turned red and slightly hit the brakes a little harder than normal. Looking at the screen, he saw it was Jimmy Harry, one of the industry’s top producers and a good friend of the family.

“Hey, Jimmy. How are you?” Corbin greeted him, turning off the radio. He hadn’t spoken with Jimmy in a while and it was always good to hear from him.

“Corbin! Good to hear your voice. Just been busy with this new group I’m producing with a friend. Remember JC Chasez? Sang in ‘Nsync?”

“Of course. He and Justin Timberlake used to serenade Ruby when she was a baby and I would bring her into the studio,” Corbin chuckled at the memory of the two then-young ‘Nsync members singing to his daughter when she’d been a newborn and Corbin had just been a new hired executive with Jive. He’d moved on to a bigger position in the entertainment industry, but those memories of getting to see the most popular bands in the world living out day- to- day life were always good ones.

“Actually, he’s kind of the reason I’m calling you,”

“Oh?” Corbin watched the light turn green and pressed hard on the gas.

“Yeah. Turns out he’s got a kid he didn’t know about –“

“Doesn’t he have a good lawyer or does he need a recommendation?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It was from a an ex-girlfriend, not a groupie or anything. Anyway, the kid’s four or something like that and showed up on his doorstep Sunday. She’s the spitting image of him but he took a paternity test yesterday and is waiting on the results. I’m already thinking he’ll keep her because it’s kind of obvious it’s his and he’s not an asshole. So I was just calling you to see if you could recommend a good nanny agency or knew someone that knows a good nanny that’s available?”

Corbin smiled to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of the Capitol Records building. “Actually, I do. She worked for us up until yesterday,”

“You didn’t fire her did you?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. No, our kids are just getting too old for a nanny. Ruby’s got more activities than she knows what to do with and Henry’s getting to be the same way. Annie was with us for four years and she’s the best in my opinion,”

“She doesn’t have another family already?”

“Nope. Her plan was to go back to Ohio and get into graduate school. But, I think I could call her and let her know about this position. At least put a feeler out there for you,”

“Great, man. Thank you. Just call me if you hear a positive from her and I’ll put JC in touch with her,”

“Not a problem, Jimmy. Always good to hear from you,” Corbin said goodbye, then looked through his contacts to call Annie.

Annie had not slept in past 6:30 on a weekday in four years. Unfortunately, her body clock was up at 6:30 anyway and Annie had been trying to fall asleep yet again. The night before she and Megan had gone out with a few friends for drinks and gotten back later than Annie had been used to staying out because of her job. She’d heard Megan leave the apartment at 6:45 and had been wide- awake since. It was now almost 8:30 and since she couldn’t go back to bed, Annie reluctantly got up and made her way into the kitchen. Megan had left her a note letting her know that she’d be gone all day and to make herself at home. Annie had already planned to spend the majority of today in her pajamas, something that she’d never done on a weekday, either. She immediately poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot that Megan had left for her. Settling herself on the couch in the living room of the apartment, Annie pondered about what her two former charges were doing right then. Ruby was probably bossing Henry around to hurry and eat so they would be on time for their ride to school. Henry was probably being lazy on purpose to make Ruby even more upset at him. Annie couldn’t help but smile at the thoughts she was having. It would take her a long time to forget those two precious kids.

She heard her phone ringing from the bedroom and set her coffee down to go and grab it. It was probably her mother wondering about whether or not she’d scheduled a flight home yet, something that Annie was going to look into later on that day. To her surprise, Corbin McGriffin’s number was flashing across the screen.

“Hi, Corbin,” she greeted him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Annie, all is well. Just calling to let you in on something,”

“Okay?”

“I got a call from a friend of mine who was looking into a nanny for a friend of his. Not sure all of the logistics or details, but he wanted the best and I couldn’t help but pass along your name to him,”

“Oh, wow, Corbin, that’s so sweet of you, but I really want to look into a Masters degree,”

“I told him that, but I also told him I’d fill you in. Would you mind at least hearing about the position from him?”

Annie shrugged. It certainly couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t that she was in anyway dying to get back to Ohio, but she also knew that nannying wasn’t for her anymore. “Well, sure, Corbin. Anything for my favorite boss!”

“I would appreciate it, Annie. Thanks. I’ll be giving your number to Jimmy Harry. He’ll call you with details later today or tomorrow,”

“Sounds good. Thank you for thinking of me,”

“Annie, you are like one of our family. We’re just glad we got all those years with you. I’ll call Jimmy now and let him know you’re interested in talking with him,”

“Okay. Thanks, Corbin,” Annie hung up and went back into the living room, settling on the couch once more. There was no way she was going to take this, but she’d at least hear what this Jimmy guy had to say.

Karen would be landing at LAX at 1:00 that afternoon and JC had never been more relieved about anything in his entire life, or so he felt. The morning with Emma-Claire had gone smoothly, more or less because she’d slept until 9:00 and it had given JC time to collect his thoughts and not have to worry about what she might be getting into. She only had a few coloring books and dolls to play with and he was dreading the moment she would tell him she was bored because he had no idea what to do with that. He had a pool but it was January and he hadn’t turned the heat on because he’d not had time for any sort of pool party. She could watch movies on Netflix, but that would require him going back and forth to the theater room downstairs and constantly checking on her and he had to get work done. Fortunately for him, Emma-Claire had been content coloring in her Smurfs coloring book for the better part of an hour before they’d left for the airport at 11:30. He was grateful that the last 48 hours with her had been more or less worry-free. She hadn’t been very talkative and JC was fine with that. He had no idea what to really say to her anyway.

As he drove along the freeway towards LAX, his phone rang and he grabbed for it, turning the radio down. Emma-Claire was holding on to one of her dolls and looking out the window as the landscape passed her by.

“Jimmy, I’m going to get my mom. She’s landing a lot earlier than I thought,”

“That’s great, C. I’ve got some good news for you, too. I talked to a friend of mine. He gave me the name of his former nanny. Spoke real highly of her, too. You interested?”

“Of course!” JC felt relief come coursing through him.

“Great. Her name’s Annie Leighton. She’s 26 and worked for the McGriffin family for four years. You want me to call her for you or you want to set up something with her?”

“Text me her number and I’ll give her a call after mom gets settled,”

“I’ll do it. How’s the kid?”

JC looked at her through the rearview mirror. She was hugging on her doll and resting her head against the back of the seat. “Quiet. For now. Honestly, she hasn’t been that difficult. I just don’t know what I’m doing,”

“Well, hopefully this Annie chick will work out for you,”

“Hopefully,” JC sighed. “Okay, I’m getting off at the airport exit. Text me that number and I’ll call her later today.”

“You got it, man,”

JC hung up and with every mile closer he got to the airport, he felt more and more relief. His mother would certainly let him know what to do with this child. He was also hoping for the official results to turn up before she went back. Even though he was pretty sure what the results would be.

“Well, the first thing we must do is get her more clothes. I think we should also look into getting a bedspread that is more suited for her, so we’ll go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. And have you even bathed her?” Karen Chasez was surveying the bedroom where Emma-Claire had been sleeping. It had been a sweet reunion between Karen and JC and when she met Emma-Claire she had immediately been taken by her, hugging her and loving on her as though she’d always been in her life. Emma-Claire had been yearning for this kind of attention that she’d not received from JC and had loved every minute with this new woman who was constantly making sure she was being held or hugged on.

JC suddenly felt like an idiot. No, he hadn’t put her in the bathtub. Not that he didn’t want to, it just hadn’t occurred to him, along with every thing else his mother had pointed out. She saw the look on his face and smiled warmly at him.

“Now, honey, you didn’t know. It’s perfectly fine. I think what we should do first is give our little Emma-Claire a bath and go shopping for a few things,” Karen patted his arm and looked down at Emma-Claire. “How about you go with me and Daddy in the bathroom and get a bubble bath?”

“Um, Mom, we haven’t really established the relationship with –“ JC started to say but Karen shot him a look.

“Do you really think a test is going to have to give you the answer that you clearly already know is true?” she whispered to him out of earshot to Emma-Claire.

“I know, but –“

“Joshua,”

Even at 37, when he heard his mother call him by his full name, JC stopped and listened. “Fine. Let’s go into the bathroom,” He followed his mother and Emma-Claire into the bathroom that was adjacent to the bedroom she slept in and watched as Karen started to run the bath water.

“Bubble bath?” she asked him, while helping Emma-Claire out of her clothes.

“No. There’s body wash in my bathroom. Will that do?” he asked, leaning against the sink.

“For today,” Karen nodded and smiled at Emma-Claire. “We’ll get you some real bubble bath later today, okay?”

“Okay,” Emma-Claire beamed at Karen.

JC sighed and left the bathroom. He walked down the hall to the master bedroom and into the master bathroom to grab a bottle of men’s Kiehl’s body wash. When he returned, Karen was just putting Emma-Claire into the bathtub.

“Here,” he handed his mother the body wash. Karen thanked him and then poured a few drops of the liquid into the tub. Emma-Claire giggled when she saw the water turning into foamy bubbles. Karen let the child play with the bubbles for a few minutes and turned slightly to watch her son look at his daughter. JC still looked somewhat perplexed at everything going on. He wanted to feel all of the paternal instincts he was supposed to feel, but he still felt as though this little girl was a stranger. He envied his own mother, who had immediately clicked with Emma-Claire. Perhaps he should try harder and at least give her a better tuck in at night than his usual “sleep tight” that he’d told her the past two nights.

“Josh,” Karen said quietly to him, after she’d dressed Emma-Claire and was braiding her hair into pigtails. “It will come. Remember, when we got you, you were about her age and we loved you from the beginning. And you weren’t even ours.”

“I don’t know if she’s mine, Mom,” JC was sitting on his bed watching his mother braid Emma-Claire’s long, brown hair.

Karen gave him a look and shook her head. “Always having to be practical and logistical. Are you blind, son?”

“Mom,” JC groaned and shook his head. He wanted to say more, but not in front of Emma-Claire. Karen noted this and quickly finished the last braid.

“Okay, Emma-Claire. Now, you’re all dressed and ready to go shopping. Can you go in your room and bring me the shoes you want to wear?” Karen turned Emma-Claire around to face her.

“Yes,” Emma-Claire nodded and ran out of the room.

“I’m not blind.  I know she looks like me and I’m already thinking ahead of what life’s going to be like for me now. But that’s just it. I’ve always been independent and I’ve always done things my way. And I’m scared because I’m going to have this kid around and this project that I’ve worked my ass off on is going to be for shit now,” JC stood to his feet and went over to his mother. “And I don’t feel anything for her. I see her and she’s this little stranger that bugs me because I didn’t want kids in the first place!”

Karen listened to her son and said nothing for a minute after he finished. She had to choose her words carefully and not sound like a nag. “Josh, I know it was unexpected. But you know that life is like that. None of what you are doing will be gone. It just might take longer than you thought. That’s just what happens when children enter the picture. But please, honey, please don’t shun her just because she didn’t fit into your plan for your life. She’s a wonderful little girl and I can tell she wants you to love on her. That’s why I’m hugging on her so much. She needs it. She’s lost two very important people in her life in a very short amount of time and she’s four. Don’t make her lose you just because she’s not what you expected,”

JC sighed and could only nod his head. At that moment, Emma-Claire walked back into the room with a pair of little sneakers. She went over to Karen and smiled, handing them to her.

“Very nice shoes, Emma-Claire,” Karen told her, then looked over at JC. “Why don’t you have Daddy put them on for you and I’m going to go downstairs and freshen up before we leave for our shopping trip.”

Emma-Claire looked warily at JC then back at Karen. “Okay,” her face had fallen somewhat upon hearing that the nice lady was going to leave her alone now.

“Come on over here, Emma-Claire,” JC’s voice was soft and he smiled at her as warmly as he could. Emma-Claire walked over to him and he picked her up, placing her on his bed. He took the shoes from Karen, who watched from the doorway while JC tied her shoes. “There. Ready to go?”

“Uh huh,” Emma-Claire nodded. JC picked her up from the bed and instead of putting her down, settled her on his hip. She smiled at him and for the first time, JC felt a piece of his heart begin to melt towards his little girl.

Annie hung up the phone later that night. She couldn’t believe it. She’d just agreed to go on an interview at the home of JC Chasez. She’d been an ‘Nsync fan as a teenager. Her older sister, Maggie, had had JC’s posters plastered all over her wall in college. Annie had been more of a Justin fan herself, but still. This was very unbelievable. She had been sworn to secrecy by JC not to say anything about this job, not even to family, until the test results came back and his publicist made the official announcement to all of the entertainment outlets. Annie looked at the grad school application that she’d been filling out online before the phone call came in.

She couldn’t help but think that she probably wasn’t going to be finishing it any time soon.