66

Two years later

Maddox

MY PHONE CHIMED with a reminder of my three o’clock meeting. Not that I needed reminding. Every Friday, same time, no matter what else was happening.

It was the most important meeting I had every week.

I shed my suit jacket and unbuttoned my vest, hanging them over the back of my chair. I kept on my shirt but removed the cuff links and loosened the sleeves.

I headed down the hall, my smile already wide, knowing what was waiting for me behind the closed door at the end of the corridor.

I passed the office that now belonged to Emmy, waving at her as I went by. She chuckled and returned my salute, a smile playing on her lips. Across the hall was where Dee worked, though she wasn’t in the office today. We had convinced her to join the company. She worked with Bill, our lawyer, as his paralegal; she was excellent at research and a real asset to our company.

I opened the door and stepped inside. What had once been two large offices was now a nursery/playroom, filled w