“Button,singular,” I warned him. “The highest number on the panel, please.”
He went on his tiptoes to hit the top floor.
“Have you visited the office a lot?” I asked him as we sped up. I took every opportunity to try to fill in the backstory of his relationship with his father.
Noah shook his head. “Just one time.”
Which was good. It sounded to me like Logan took time off when his son was visiting. I wondered how things would unfold as his true workaholic tendencies came back now that he had to be a full-time dad too. After all, living under the same roof was a different environment than fun-dad vacation vibes.
The elevator doors slid open, and there was Logan, waiting for us with a smile that warmed my heart.
“Daddy!” Noah yelled, then ran into his father’s arms.
“Well, hey there, kid.”
He stood up and took me in, so quickly I almost didn’t catch it. I’d dressed up in the one office-appropriate outfit I owned, which was actually a hand-me-down from Tasha. It was a simpleshirt dress with a black-and-white houndstooth pattern, but my heels, belt and updo made me feel like I mostly fit in.
Not that I truly knew how. After a lifetime of working with children, office culture was new to me.
“Mrs. Ashford, welcome!”
I glanced around to see which of Logan’s relatives had spoken, only to find the fashionable woman holding a tablet was staring atme.
“Oh, uh, thank you!”
She reached out her hand. “I’m Bev Carson, Director of PR. We’re so excited to help you craft the perfect headline for your love story.” She glanced down at Noah. “And hello there, you! Do you want a laptop to play on while the grown-ups talk? We could download some games.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” I said before my game-hungry buddy could answer. “We’re limiting screen time during the day. I brought some art supplies for him.” I did a half turn to show my bag of supplies and snacks.
“Perfect! The team is all ready for you, so Logan? If you’re ready…”
He nodded. “Let’s get moving. Busy day.”
And now I was going to get acquainted with yetanotherversion of the man. I’d become familiar with his boss-host persona on board, I’d gotten naked with the drunk version, been charmed by his homebody personality, and now I was probably going to be wowed by the office bossman.
I watched how his employees reacted to him as he strode through the open-plan space. No one ran for cover, which was a good sign.
Bev came to a stop at a glass-walled conference room with every seat filled. Were there a dozen people, or three hundred? My pulse sped up, and I looked over at Logan.
Obviously, the crowd of people had zero impact on him. I hoped some of his confidence would rub off on me because I felt like I was about to go in front of a firing squad. Would they be watching for cracks in our story?
Once the formal introduction was over and the applause had died down, I discovered that no one had planned for Noah to be with us. I tried to find an appropriate spot for him to set up his supplies in the crowded room.
“Hey, uh, where should we put Noah?” I whispered to Logan.
He craned his neck to glance around. “Hmm, good question. Chris, do you know if the Concord Room is open? Or any of the smaller rooms?”
The young man tapped on the laptop in front of him. “Huh…it looks like everything is full. New vendor meetings and some influencer stuff.”
Logan frowned.
“Maybe if he sits in the corner?” I offered.
There was a single empty chair in the rear of the room. It wasn’t going to be easy for him to lose himself in drawing if he had to balance his notepad on his little legs for the next few hours, but we weren’t exactly swimming in options.
“I guess we have no choice,” Logan said.
“Give us two seconds,” I said as I ushered Noah to the chair. I quickly unpacked what could fit in the tight space.
