She wasn’t used to being bored.When it came to work, she was nearly as bad as Cam.It was a big part of her life, and she didn’t know how to fill her day without it.
Nibbling on her lower lip, she glanced at her laptop.She didn’t want to think about Underhill Associates.Like Roxie, she’d had all the family she could stand for a good long time, but her marketing team was another matter.They’d been right in the middle of a new social media push.And the quarterly report… Had that been delivered?The bean counters would need that, and so would Cam.
Feeling her energy pick up, she unpacked her laptop and connected to the internet.She soon found that her marketing team was doing fine without her.They were professionals, after all.She’d hired them.
Going back to her browser, she looked to see if any of Roxie’s initial contacts with the tabloids had made it into print.Half of her hoped they had, while a more rational side agreed with Cam that opening a can of worms might not be a good idea.In the end, she found nothing.
“Apparently five thousand dollars is a good investment,” she muttered.
Setting her laptop aside, Lexie wandered around the apartment.What was she supposed to do?How was she supposed to spend her time?The pain over her adoption was too raw, and she’d thought about it enough already.She picked up the crystal paperweight and ran her thumb over the smooth edge.If she didn’t find something to do, though, that was right where her mind would go.
Her proposal.
She literally stopped.She had no idea what had triggered the thought, but it was a good one.Her proposal to save Underhill Associates… Now there was something she could sink her teeth into, even if she didn’t know what she was going to do with the idea.
She retrieved her keys from her purse and hurried down to the parking garage.Opening the carryall in her backseat, she grabbed a copy of the proposal she’d never gotten to pitch.She smoothed the clear plastic cover.It seemed like years ago that she’d worked on this.
She flipped through the pages as she headed back to the elevator.She was reading by the time she made it to the top floor, and only the dinging of the bell told her that the elevator had stopped.
“It’s good,” she whispered to herself.
The sound echoed in the empty elevator compartment.
“It’s really good.”
The doors started to close on her, and she jumped.Scooting out of the elevator, she hurried back into the penthouse.
The concept was strong, even though there were a few areas that still needed work.And it was so simple.Julian had been complaining about the changing market for educational toys for months.Kids quickly tired of the things they had and constantly wanted something new.With the economy in the tank, though, parents were cutting back and not giving in to their child’s every whim.
So why not help them with that?Why not let them return toys and use the credit to buy something new?
Wasn’t the point of educational games to teach and advance skills?All of Underhill’s games were level based.The kidsshouldbe moving on to newer and more challenging things.
She opened the proposal on the coffee table and creased it so it stayed open to the pages she wanted.Julian would hate the idea.He was all about reputation and appearances, and he expected others to feel the same.He never bought anything used, but was recycling toys really beneath them?
Sliding off the sofa, Lexie sat cross-legged on the floor as she started to make notes.Things were so much clearer than they’d been when she’d been hurrying to finish up the proposal the other night.
“Maybe pre-owned is a better term than used,” she murmured.
A toy didn’t have to be new to spark a child’s imagination—only new to them.She’d done enough market studies and focus groups to know that sometimes kids even preferred to play with the box the toy came in over the toy itself.
“New to you,” she amended further.Marketing was all in the presentation.
Her creative juices began to flow.She had the used-toy concept down pat, but there were a few things that still had her hung up.
“Grading condition,” she murmured, “and shipping costs.”
She needed some sort of way to assign value.Not all toys would come back in the same condition.She needed a grading system like they used with comic books or antiques.And shipping costs could sink the whole concept.Then there were inventory costs, allocation of storage space in their warehouses, database management issues…
Her pen bounced between her thumb and index finger.When her mind was clicking like this, she didn’t get in its way.She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to pitch this concept, much less execute it, but an idle mind wasn’t her friend.Pushing away everything else, she began to work.
It was hours later when a knock at the door made Lexie look up.A crick in her neck made her wince, and she stretched.She glanced at her watch as she pushed herself to her feet.
She didn’t know of anyone who’d planned to drop by, although it could be Blaire bringing more things.She’d given the address to Roxie too, although it could be something as simple as building management.
She answered the door.
And stared blankly at the person filling the doorway.It was so unexpected, so out of place, for a moment she couldn’t think straight.“Fath—” She stopped herself again, and everything inside her sharpened.“Hello, Julian.”
