Page 90 of Baby Daddy
CHAPTER 37
Drake
Acocktail of guilt, remorse, and anxiety whipped through me as I sat in the back seat of the Town Car that was inching up Park Avenue in the stop-and-go rush hour traffic. I felt like a total shit for not flying back to LA with Dee for Tyson’s graduation. And Dee’s reaction only made feel like a bigger dick. Balls. I never thought her little girl would cry like that. I could lose them both; the possibility was very real. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out.
I had one more shot to score a major toy deal for Mighty Girl. My pitch to Sarah Greene-Golden. I inhaled a steeling breath as the car finally pulled up to her majestic apartment building on the corner of Park and Eighty-Fifth Street.
After I slid out, the doorman pointed the way to the elevator, which took me directly up to Sarah’s penthouse apartment. It was the epitome of Park Avenue elegance with spacious hi-ceiling rooms, Art-Deco furnishings, and sweeping views of the city.
“Thank you for letting me meet with you tonight instead of tomorrow,” I said as she ushered me into the antique-filled living room. The attractive, twenty-something rising star in the toy industry had just had a baby with her billionaire husband, Ari, who headed up a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company. She was on maternity leave from Ike’s Tikes, where she was Vice President of Development. Tall and lanky with a mane of long dark hair, it was hard to believe she’d recently given birth.
She laughed. “No, thank you. You’re saving me a trip downtown. I’m sorry I had to cancel our meeting today. I totally forgot that our nanny wasn’t available to watch the baby.”
I began to relax, taking a seat on a velvet armchair next to her. My laptop bag was on my lap. “Your place is amazing.”
“Thanks. We’re actually going to redecorate shortly to make it more kid-friendly. Antiques and toddlers don’t mix well.”
I chuckled, reminded of all the damage little-demon-me caused in my parents’ grandly furnished house. I shared this silly tidbit with her and then we chitchatted a little about the licensing show and the kids’ biz. It was time to get down to business, but as I unlatched my laptop bag, Sarah’s husband strode into the room. Tall, muscular, and casually dressed in khakis and a polo shirt, the movie-star handsome golden-haired man closely resembled Chris Hemsworth. I stood to shake his hand as Sarah introduced us.
“I’m about to pour myself a Scotch. Can I get you anything?”
I declined, content with the bottled water and hors d’oeuvres that Sarah had laid out on the coffee table. As I took a sip of my Evian, a child’s voice drifted into my ears.
“Daddy! Guess what!”
I looked up and racing toward us was a cute little boy wearing a karate gi. About the same age as Tyson, he was the spitting image of Ari with sandy hair and bright blue eyes. Beside him was a buxom Hispanic woman with sparkling dark eyes, who I assumed was the nanny.
“What, buddy?” asked Ari, lifting the boy into his arms. This must be Sarah and Ari’s son.
“I got my yellow belt!”
“Way to go!” Ari’s eyes flickered with pride and joy as they high-fived. Fatherhood. A twinge of envy zipped through me as Ari introduced me to his son, Ben. The youngster’s eyes lit up.
“Cool beans! You make the Danger Rangers cartoon? I watch that show all the time. It’s on in a few minutes.”
Still smiling, Ari affectionately ruffled his son’s unruly hair. “C’mon, let’s get you washed up, into your PJs, and we’ll watch it together so Mommy and Drake can do their work.”
“I’ll get dinner prepared,” said the nanny in Spanish. “Señora Golden, will Señor Hanson be joining us?”
I politely declined and then pulled out my computer, setting it on the coffee table so Sarah could see the screen.
“What’s your new show about?” she asked as the others disappeared.
“The demo piece speaks for itself.”
Bending forward, I loaded up the CGI snippet our animation team had put together and hit play. My stomach knotted as Sarah watched it.
An animated little girl with a red cape and long pigtails flew onto the screen, morphing into different characters, one after another.
“I’m Mighty Girl and I can be anything I want when I wear my magic red cape. A fireman! A policeman! An astronaut! A superhero!”
She leapt into the air, her cape flying behind her. Whoosh! Our company logo appeared, and before the screen faded to black, I shut my laptop.
Sarah met my anxious gaze, folding her hands on her lap. “Drake, I’m going to cut to the chase.” My heart thudded. “I love this. It’s exactly what Ike and I have been looking for.”
YES!She was referring to her boss, Ike Abrams, the head of Ike’s Tikes. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as she continued.
“An aspirational girls’ series skewing to girls 4-6. It’s so empowering. And the possibilities are endless. I totally see this. It’s the next Dora the Explorer. I want to be a partner. What inspired this?”