Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“It’s professional. You should try it instead of saying yo.” I pull away from the daycare and head straight to the coffee shop.
Now it’s his turn to laugh. “You see, old man, I say yo when I know who it is. We have something called caller ID. So, I can see who’s calling me.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m only five years older than you,” I remind him.
“That is thirty-five years in dog years.”
“Is this what you called me for, to tell me how old I am in dog years?” I ask him, pulling into the drive-through.
“As much fun as that was, no,” he says, and I move my head to the side, counting how many cars are in front of me. “I’m reminding you that you have your new assistant starting today.” I put my head back on the rest and close my eyes, groaning loudly. “I see you forgot.”
“I don’t know why Martina has to retire,” I huff.
“She’s seventy-five,” Nash reminds me, “and it’s not like she didn’t give you warning.” The car in front of me moves forward one spot. “She told you last year she was retiring.”
“I know,” I say, tapping the steering wheel, “but retiring is overrated. It’s boring.”
“How would you know anything about retiring? You aren’t even forty yet.”
“Whatever,” I huff. “Do we know who this new girl is?”
“I saw her résumé quickly since Loren,” he mentions our human resources director, “hired her. She said she’s overqualified, so you know what that means.”
“Ugh, it means she’s going to think she knows everything.”
“No,” he says, laughing, “it means you can’t be the barbarian you are. This isn’t Martina, where all you had to do was grunt and she knew what you meant. This is a new person and you and her will have to learn to work together. You know, like when you teach Meadow about making new friends.”
“Don’t you know the rule? Do as I say, not as I do.” I shake my head. “That’s your wisdom for the day. I’ll be in the office in about twenty.”
“Grab me a coffee too. Not the fancy shit you drink, just a regular coffee.”
“I don’t do fancy shit,” I deny. “It’s an iced shaken espresso with milk.”
“Whatever. See you in twenty,” he says, hanging up the phone.
I shake my head as I order our coffees. I’m driving past the office building when I see a woman walking toward the big glass door. Her blondish-brown hair is wavy and blowing in the wind. She looks like one of those fairies from the shows Meadow watches. My eyes go straight from her hair that reaches her waist to her ass. The beige skirt she’s wearing goes past her knees, but it hugs every fucking curve. She reaches out and opens the door with her free hand while the other hand holds her black purse. I pull into the garage driveway, hitting the red button before I look back over and see she’s already inside. “What is wrong with you?” I ask myself. “Ogling strangers is a new low.” The garage door opens, so I drive into the underground parking.
I park in my designated spot, seeing my name right above the company name, Cottrell Group. A company my parents started when Nash was born. They were both working for investment firms and decided they would take their portfolio and see what they could do on their own. They worked out of an office at home for many years until they outgrew it. They then decided to open a branch in New York because of Wall Street. Their portfolio only grew bigger. I got the bug to follow in their footsteps, so I graduated from the University of Philadelphia with a bachelor’s degree in finance. I then went on to Harvard Law School, where I graduated with a master’s degree in finance with an undergrad in law.
During this time, my parents expanded to California, Chicago, Texas, and Washington, DC, where I run the show. I’m the managing director and portfolio manager. My brother, who just got his bachelor’s degree, wanted to take over California. Even though we have our own branches, we still like to occasionally drop into each other’s offices.
On one of my trips to California, I met Meadow’s mom. It was a whirlwind affair or more like what I thought would be a one-night stand, but a month later, she was still there. It was two weeks after that we found out she was pregnant. A baby was not in the plans, especially since I didn’t really know her. I did what I thought was best, I asked her to marry me. The marriage lasted a whole year, a little less if we are honest. We were too swept away by the fact we were having a baby to see we had nothing in common. I liked to stay home on the weekends, while she wanted to hit up all the posh places. She hated living in Washington, and most of all, she hated being a mother. Two months after Meadow was born, she told me she was leaving. She gave up full custody of Meadow, leaving me to figure out how to be a dad and a mom all at the same time. She relocated in a matter of weeks, and in the past four years, she’s seen Meadow twice. Let’s just say Meadow isn’t high on her list of things to do.