Page 13 of Arrivals & Assets

I decided it was the way he carried himself.

“See, Victor’s here to take you home,” he urged. Then his voice softened. “I promise we’ll play when I get home. Ok?”

She sniffled against his shirt and nodded. “Ooooook.”

He kissed her hair, then handed her over to whom I had to assume was Victor. She tucked herself against the other man, and the way she blinked made me think she was getting tired.

“Thanks, Victor,” he said. “I’ll call when I’m ready for lunch.”

“Understood, sir,” he said, then he started soothing the little girl as he walked away.

“Your granddaughter?” I asked as I walked in.

He chuckled. “My daughter.”

I froze, hoping I hadn’t insulted a billionaire in our first meeting.

He noticed and laughed. “I understand why you assumed granddaughter, though. Most men my age have grown children. I do have step-grandkids, and I love them like my own, but Jenny and her brother James are my first.”

“How old are they?” I asked as I dared to take a seat without being invited.

He smiled. “Jenny is just under two, and her brother is a few months over three.”

“And your… step-grandkids?”

His smile widened. “Our granddaughter is only a few months older than James. Our grandson is going to celebrate his first birthday next month.”

A smile spread across my face. “Lots of little feet.”

He nodded. “I love it. I thought I was going to be a bachelor forever, then I moved out here and met my David. Now I have everything I ever wanted: a loving mate and family.”

“Grats.”

Something inside hoped that I’d meet my mate soon—that I’d have my own kids to care for.

He grinned. “Thanks. And since we skipped the introductions, can I assume you’re Dylan?”

I laughed. “Your assumption is correct.”

He reached across his desk, and I accepted the handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Mister Beischel.”

“Please, call me Alan. Mister Beischel carries a formality I’ve left behind.”

“Alan it is. And I’m fine with Dylan.”

“Great! Now, Linden and I have already settled the business details. But since you’ll be the man on the ground, I wanted to get to know you a bit, show you around, and let you get an idea of the chaos you’re walking into.”

I let out a nervous chuckle. “Chaos?”

He grinned. “Your interns are about to work with startups, so you’ll be tossing them into the deep end. They’ll need to learn to identify scope creep and push back on it, cause startups shift goals all the time. It’s good for everybody, honestly. Your kids will get experience handling changing needs, and the businesseshere will have to learn how to define objectives when they’re bringing in outside parties.”

I laughed. “That is the deep end. But you’re probably right that it’ll be good for them.”

“So, shifting gears, have you found a location yet?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I only arrived on Saturday, but I have time with the broker scheduled later this week. Do you have any preference about where we set up?”

He stroked his chin. “While I’d prefer you to be close, the real estate market can be tight. Because of the geography, it’s not like you can just find an empty plot to build on. Some spaces might not meet your needs. So… as much as I hate to say it, you might just have to take what you can get, even if it means my startups are driving across town to you.”