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“You enter rooms like emergency services responding to a disaster.”
“I prefer to think of myself as energetic.” Theo drops into a chair and stretches his legs out in front of him. “I like her.”
“Congratulations.”
His gaze settles on me. “That’s all I get?”
“That’s all you’re getting.”
He studies me for a few seconds before shaking his head. “You know her.”
“We’ve met.”
Theo laughs outright. “That answer belongs in a witness protection program.”
“It’s the truth.”
“It’s a tiny fraction of the truth.”
I don’t respond.
Theo grins. “You like her.”
“Leave.”
His grin widens. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Theo.”
“I’m going.”
He pushes himself out of the chair, entirely too pleased with himself, then pauses at the door. “You hiring her?”
My gaze drifts toward the folder sitting on my desk. “I haven’t made a decision.”
“You have.”
Then he leaves.
The annoying part is that he might be right.
I spend the next hour answering emails, reviewing contracts, approving budgets, and reading the same paragraph often enough that I should be able to recite it from memory.
By the time I finally close the document, I’ve accomplished far less than I intended, which is unusual for a man who built an entire career around keeping personal distractions in their proper place.
Emma was unusually disruptive.
By five thirty, I’ve done very little beyond confirming that my ability to focus stayed somewhere back in the office.
The elevator opens directly into the penthouse. Within three seconds, every problem from the office disappears.
Blankets cover most of the living room. Cushions have been stacked into defensive walls. Several dining chairs have been recruited into architectural projects that would give a structural engineer nightmares.
Somewhere during the day, my daughters have apparently established their own sovereign nation.
Sprout sits in the center of it all with half a grilled cheese hanging from his mouth.
Mom occupies her usual armchair with a glass of wine, watching the proceedings unfold with the satisfaction of someone who has chosen entertainment over intervention.
