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I buzzed Rhonda. “Rhonda, I need you to organize an everyone meeting for 2 p.m.”
I heard a breath escape her in an “about time” kind of sigh. “Absolutely, Mr. Jacobs. I will organize it right away.”
***
I was exhausted when my feet finally touched down at home. The day had been challenging, and my staff had been stressed to the max. I believed the meeting had truly helped, and now there was a process for every new wannabee client. Usually, Derringer and I handled all of them, but at the scale we were seeing new ones coming in, that was impossible.
The staff would all sleep soundly tonight, exhausted from the workload. The incentive for each new client that signed on for two years or more was a five percent commission based on the investment being placed. This had made their eyes light up, and a newfound energy buzzed at the company. Most other companies gave their staff about two to three percent, so this was something worth fighting for. Their eagerness to make it work was off the charts, and the three-step process could be followed by a two-year-old.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Alexis had been struggling to eat. She ate about half of her meal before she went to bed early after a warm bath and some much-needed cough medicine. The cold seemed to be worse in the morning and evening.
I felt so grateful Karly was there for Alexis because work was somewhere I needed to be at the moment. It was the peak of our company, a historic time. Being the CEO was wonderful when the clients were banging the doors down to get on board. It was the best time of my entire career at the company. Although Rhonda might disagree about it all.
I waited for Karly to finish in Alexis’s room. I’d read the story tonight, something about a caterpillar who raced an ostrich to the market. Karly had been busy with her chores, putting away some clothes, and was just finishing up.
She walked out and gave me a smile as I sipped on my enjoyable Shiraz. “I’m all done, and Alexis seems to be a little less congested,” she said.
“Come and enjoy some wine with me. It’s a great year.”
“All right. One glass would be nice.” She sat down next to me as I poured her a glass.
My eyes fell to her beauty as she looked deeply into my eyes. My desire for her rose up in me as I watched her sip and smile. The fireplace flickered light onto her beautiful skin, and although I was tired, I was incredibly aroused by her.
“Last night was truly something else, Karly,” I said honestly.
She closed her eyes briefly and then gave me her look of smitten appreciation. “I never thought it could feel so, um, raw.”
That word was the best way to describe it. It had been raw and wild and absolutely perfect. “I can’t wait for us to—”
“I’m not sleeping anymore,” Alexis said. “My bit right here is hurting.” Alexis touched her throat. “I have a frog in my goat, Dada.” Alexis began to cry from the whole situation. She never did like getting colds, and this one was a doozy.
I gave her a warm smile. “Karly can give you something for that, and Dada will come and tuck you back in.”
“I just want to play, but I can’t when it’s yucky.”
Karly smiled at Alexis and cuddled her, making the crying cease. They moved to the kitchen to get some cough syrup, and I went to her bedroom to fix up her bed.
When Alexis got snuggled up again, I sat and read a story about a dragon who made kites, and Karly played with her hair until she drifted back to sleep. She looked as if she would stay that way, especially now that the cough medicine and an orange-flavored lozenge had done the trick.
We moved back into the living room. “Would you like to stay over tonight? The guest room is across from Alexis’s room, so if she needs anything, you’ll be close by,” I said.
“Sure. I think that’s a great idea. If she gets up in the night, I can tend to her.”
I smiled. “Yeah. At the moment I have a ridiculous amount of work on my plate, so that would really help me out. I can get in earlier tomorrow, too. Ever since this big client jumped on board, we’ve been crazy busy. I don’t even think I could’ve dreamed it up.”
“You look so tired,” she said. “Go to bed, and I’ll see you in the morning if you want.”
She was right. My mind was exhausted, and my body was slowly drifting away while on the couch. I wanted to touch her, but the exhaustion had set in. Karly was yawning too. It had been a long day for both of us it seemed.
