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So I stepped up. What else could I do? Lucy was my life. I would have done anything for her. And I did.
During the week, Lucy spent her time at school and then in various activities until I was done with work. On the weekends, she tagged along for any business obligations I had. I’d tried to get help before in the form of nannies, but they always seemed detached and had their own lives to attend to. None of them really formed a bond with Lucy. And no one could replace her having a mother.
Lucky for me, Lucy was an angel and always made a good companion on trips like this.
“Daddy. It stinks in here.”
I glanced around the first floor of the building. It was dingy and dusty beyond belief. There was glass on the floor from a recently broken window, which Danny was trying hard to clean up. And Lucy was right. The smell was terrible. Musty with a hint of rotting garbage.
“Sorry about the mess here. It’s a recent addition to our roster, so we haven’t been able to bring the cleaning crew through.”
I heard Cara grumble to herself, “That’s why I thought I was able to see it before the rest of your clients.”
So here I was, high-powered CEO, doing a walk through with a naive, inexperienced young woman. She was adorable with her wavy brown hair and freckles to boot all over her nose and cheeks. But what business did she have buying a building like this?
Danny stepped into the center of the room. “What I love about this building is how much potential it has.”
Heard that one before.
“Just picture it. A reception desk right here. Conference rooms to the left, offices upstairs —”
“Is this loadbearing?”
We turned to find Cara standing against a column in the middle of the room.
Danny scratched the back of his head. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to check the property notes.”
“Because this would get in the way of the playroom.”
I raised an eyebrow.
Lucy perked up. “A playroom?”
Cara smiled at my daughter brightly. “I’m opening a daycare. So there’ll be lots of playing.”
My daughter squeezed my hand and looked up at me excitedly.
“A daycare, huh?”
Cara flushed prettily as she looked my way. “Yes. I have plans to open a daycare that specializes in high-quality, comprehensive educational opportunities that focuses on low-income families.”
That was a big undertaking. An admirable one, but still.Big.How could she possibly have the capital for something like that? “That’s an honorable thing to want to do.”
She flinched at the wordhonorable. “Um. Thank you.”
Danny physically put himself in the middle of our conversation and patted me on the back. “Let me show you upstairs.”
Upstairs was more of the same. Dingy and dank. But the windows let in enormous amounts of light. I could imagine that would be a good morale booster to the employees of Readly. Danny explained more of the details of what the building boasted, but I didn’t hear much of it. I was focused on Cara. Though she seemed very green at this, she was intent and interested in everything Danny talked about. She took notes in a little notebook, scribbling quickly with excitement and determination.
I admired her spirit. It was clear she really wanted this and had the gumption to see the project through. All that tenacity would take her far. And I couldn’t help but notice Lucy seemed enraptured of Cara as well. She watched her and tried to follow her around, asking questions about her daycare. Cara must have some experience with children to be taking on such an endeavor; it was obvious she had an ease with children just from the way she spoke to Lucy, like she was a full-fledged person. I appreciated that.
And I had to admit, I was also watching her just because I wanted to. Cara was a beautiful girl. I had the urge to peel off her heavy winter coat so I could get a better look at her voluptuous curves.
Shake it off. Don’t think with your dick.
Finally, I stopped. “Okay, let’s get down to specifics, shall we?”
Danny smiled.Yes, the price.“Let’s walk and talk, Mr. Taves.”
