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She hopped off his lap and James stood to gather her into his arms. When he bent his head and captured her lips in a long, lingering kiss, everything inside of her went gooey.
“Be good,” he murmured and dropped a kiss on her nose.
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too, Livvy.”
James wasall but whistling when he walked into the office. Everything was back to normal between him and his little girl. The business was booming, which it had been for a while, but success was sweeter when he wasn’t feeling so out of sorts at home.
Unlocking the door to the darkened building, he let himself in. The lights automatically brightened when he walked through the door and down the hall to his office.
He loved this time of day. Those few precious minutes of quiet before the office became a bustling hive of activity. Before the phones rang, before there were people knocking on his door demanding answers. It still baffled him some days that there was anybody to come knocking. Employees who looked to him for help and guidance, who relied on him to keep things running as smoothly as possible. He had built his brokerage from the ground up, with Olivia by his side, and he never took that success for granted.
At the mere thought of her, an image of Olivia popped into his mind, naked and draped across his lap with her bottom turning pink from the firm application of her hairbrush that morning, and he couldn’t help but grin. His little one would be testing him over the next few days, if not weeks. It wasn’t unusual when he tightened the reins for one reason or another. And if he was being honest, he was rather looking forward to what she might be getting up to.
“All right, enough daydreaming,” he lectured himself, pulling his laptop from his bag and placing it on the desk. “You’ve got a business to run.”
“Sir?”
He considered it a testament to his strength that he didn’t jump at the unexpected voice. Turning around, he found MaryAnn standing in the doorway to his office watching him with those wide, perpetually terrified eyes of hers.
“Good morning, MaryAnn. I’m afraid you caught me giving myself a bit of a lecture. You’re early.”
Her eyes went even wider and she immediately looked at the floor. “I had some things to take care of, so I figured I’d get an early start. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course. I appreciate your dedication to the firm.”
She nodded without looking up and turned on her heel to flee. James didn’t even bother to sigh. After a year with her at the front desk, the prospect of her gaining any confidence seemed increasingly less likely. Of course, if Olivia had been giving her a hard time on a regular basis, that might explain some of MaryAnn’s continued timidity.
Making a mental note to keep a closer eye on his wife for a bit where MaryAnn was concerned, he docked his laptop and powered everything on. Jesus, how did he have so many emails since yesterday? Didn’t people ever turn their computers off these days? Settling in, he began working his way through them, deleting trash and spam and flagging the ones he would need to address sooner rather than later.
He was nearly finished cleaning up his inbox when the scent of coffee pulled him from his work like a siren’s song. He looked over and found MaryAnn again standing in the doorway, this time holding a mug and a brown box.
“If that coffee is for me, you’re getting a raise.”
Pink immediately stained her cheeks as she nodded. “This package also came for you just now.” She set both the coffee and the box on the desk and took a step back. James picked up the package and grinned at the return address.
“I was hoping these would get here this morning. Liv is going to freak.” Setting the box back on the desk, he grabbed a letter opener to slice through the tape. When he opened the flaps, his wife’s face stared at him from the glossy cover ofMaryland Homes Today.He couldn’t help but grin as he picked up one of the magazines and studied the picture. The photographer had managed to capture not just her natural beauty, but the confidence and trustworthiness that made her such a fantastic realtor. The magazine was running a piece on local women in real estate, and Olivia had been beyond ecstatic when they’d asked not just to include her in the piece, but to put her on the cover, so he was glad to see they’d done her justice.
The sound of heels clicking down the hall alerted him to the possibility of her presence and he quickly moved the box to the floor, hiding the magazine he held behind his back.
“Morning! Did you—oh.” Olivia stopped in the doorway of his office when she spotted MaryAnn, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink as she glanced over at him. He simply raised an eyebrow in response, secretly adoring the resignation on her face.
“MaryAnn.” She smiled politely at the now visibly panicking receptionist. “I just wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I was rude and I never should have raised my voice or used the language I did. Forgive me?”
MaryAnn looked over at James, and he nearly burst out laughing at the confused look she sent him. “It’s not a trick, MaryAnn.” The Daddy in him wanted to elaborate, but as they’d discussed the night before, he would never humiliate her that way at work.
“Oh.” Still visibly nervous, MaryAnn looked back at Olivia. “Um. Thank you. I know it was my fault for missing the deadline and everything so it’s not a big deal.”
Olivia shook her head and his heart swelled with pride. “No. Regardless of what happened, my behavior was completely unprofessional and uncalled for. Nobody ever deserves to be berated like that at work, and I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s okay. Really. I, um, have to get back to work.” MaryAnn darted out of the office before Olivia could say anything else.
Cheeks still slightly flushed with embarrassment, Olivia turned to him. “Was that okay?”
“Yes. Thank you, Liv.” He dropped his voice so only she could hear him. “Daddy’s very proud of you.”
The pink on her cheeks darkened, but he had a feeling it wasn’t embarrassment turning her olive skin that beautiful dusky rose. His hunch was proven right when she responded with a soft, “Thank you, Daddy.”
