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Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Of course.”
“Yay! I’m going to go change into my pretty yellow dress!” She jumped off my lap and ran out of my office, almost running into Autumn on her way out.
“Why is she in such a hurry?”
“She’s—”
“Mr. Locke,” the reporter interrupted. “We’ll be ready to go soon.”
I nodded.
“You clean up nice,” Autumn coaxed, bringing my attention to her. “I’ve gotten used to you looking like you used to.”
“Do you still like me all messy, kid?”
She blushed, bowing her head. “Should we go over what you need to say?”
“No,” I replied, disappointed by her changing the subject yet again. “I can handle it.”
“Okay. I’m going to go answer a couple of emails. I’ll be back toward the end of the interview.”
“Or you could stay, be in the announcement with me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You’re right—it’s a great idea.”
“Julian…”
“What more of a family man can I portray with you sitting beside me? It’s what we’re aiming for, right?”
“Yes, but this is your business, and I don’t need to be involved in that.”
“I’d love to have you involved in everything. Including my company. All I have is for us.”
“Okay, Casanova, I’m going to get some work in. I’ll be back in a bit to check on how things are proceeding.”
Reluctantly, I let her go. What other choice did I have in the matter? At least our daughter would be present on one of the biggest days for my business. Capri hurried into my office, wearing a yellow sundress. Her hair was in pigtails, and she was holding the stuffed animal I’d bought her.
“I’m ready, Daddy.” She posed for me. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful, exactly like you’re mother.”
She smiled, sitting on my lap. “Okay, let’s do this.”
I chuckled, I couldn’t help myself. She was fucking adorable.
Lights.
Camera.
Action.
The reporters sat in their chairs while we were behind my desk. For the next ten minutes, I made my announcement with Capri never moving from my lap. She was smiling the entire time, nodding when she thought I’d said something important, really trying to understand what I was informing the world of.
She was a CEO in the making.
