Page 42 of Stuck Together

“Of course, the plan is still for you to take over this client. Since Mr. Bennington was so eager to come to us, I’d say that’s a good sign we’re going to win the account. So, I hope you’re ready.”

“I will be.” I smiled; thankful he was still going to let me take the lead on this. “Oh, wait. Isn’t next Friday the office holiday party?”

“Yeah. I debated on trying to postpone the meeting, but when I mentioned that to Mr. Bennington, he got excited. He and his nephew will probably join us at the party.”

“Sounds good. That will be a great opportunity to put on the charm.” Just then a little head poked around Logan’s leg and looked at me. “Is this Rylee?”

“Yep.” Logan smiled and looked down at his daughter and patted her head. “I need to get her settled in the conference room with Gigi before my next call, so I better get going.”

“She can stay with me.” I pointed to the small table in the corner of my office. “I’d be happy to keep her company for as long as you need.”

“Are you sure?” Logan asked.

“Absolutely. I'm just reading through some of the material you gave me. I could use a break from it honestly. Assuming Rylee doesn’t mind hanging out with me.”

Logan squatted next to Rylee and asked, “Do you remember Madison from last week?”

She shook her head yes.

“Would you like to hang out with her while I make my calls? I’ll just be right there in my office. You can see me through the glass.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Rylee wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck and kissed his cheek. Then she just as quickly let him go and skipped over to the table. “Bye.”

Logan and I both chuckled at her excitement and eagerness to hang out with me. Logan stood and directed his gaze back to me. “Thanks. This should take long. Thirty minutes or so.”

“No, rush. We’ll be fine.” Logan nodded and walk next door to his office. His shoulders slumped and the smile he wore moments ago for his daughter was gone. I hated seeing him like that and a part of me felt like it was a private look that wasn’t meant for anyone else. A downfall of the glass walls that separated us. Nothing was private from onlookers.

I looked back to Rylee and she was staring at me with a huge grin on her face. “Hi Rylee, it’s very nice to meet you in person.”

“You’re prettier in person. I like your hair.”

“Thank you. You’re very pretty too.” This girl was too cute. I couldn’t imagine how any woman could abandon this little doll. “So, what would you like to do while we wait for your dad?”

She shrugged. “What were you doing before I got here?”

“Just reading some files that your dad gave me on some projects that I'll be working on with him on.”

“That sounds boring.”

“Well, I suppose to you it would be, but I enjoy it and think it's fun.”

She grimaced. “How is work fun?”

I pulled a chair up next to her at the table. “The type of work that I do is very creative, so I get to come up with ideas and images to help clients sell their products. The creative side of it makes it fun.”

Her face lights up. “Like art?”

“I guess you could say that. Yeah, there's an art to it.”

“I like art. I have an art book. Do you want to see it?” The eagerness in her eyes made me smile.

“I'd love to see it.” Rylee opened her backpack and pulled out a little notebook.

She scooted her chair closer to mine and flipped through several drawings. Most of them were of little girls playing outside in open fields covered with flowers, but the last few were drawings of Christmas trees and Christmas lights.

“Looks like you're excited about Christmas, huh.”

She shrugged her shoulders again, her expression solemn. “Christmas is okay.”