“One more minute… please,” I beg.
Charlotte pulls out the big guns, and in one hot minute, she does that thing to my earlobe causing me to explode in the midst of the chaos. She kisses my lips gently before pushing me off her to attend to Amelia.
“How you can come with her crying is beyond me.” Charlotte shakes her head.
“It’s called my-wife-is-too-damn-hot and my-dick-has-his-own-agenda.’”
She laughs before leaving the room. I grab her phone and read the text. Low and behold, it’s Eric. I reply to him.
Lex: Charlotte was doing yoga all over my cock. Sorry, rain check?
I let out a laugh and hit send. It takes him seconds to reply as I watch the bubble appear on the screen.
Eric: I don’t know whether to be grossed out or turned on. Damn you Edwards and your hogging wang! It’s been a selfish bastard recently. I need my BFF back!
Charlotte walks in carrying Amelia. I immediately grab her from Charlotte’s arms and am met with the biggest gummy smile. At four months, she has gotten chubbier and is starting to smile. Her eyes meet ours, and I know she recognizes us already, hence, why we moved her into her own room. Don’t get me wrong, I miss having her close by, but having a child’s eyes on you while you’re trying to pump your wife is a massive killjoy.
The moment we realized she stares at us from her cradle, we knew it was time for her to sleep in the nursery. It’s the room next to ours, so Charlotte stops fretting but insists we still need a baby monitor.
According to everyone, she looks just like me. Yeah, the eyes are a dead giveaway. Charlotte will throw in her at-least-we-know-she’s-yours banter. That joke lasts ten seconds before I remind her that it could have easily not been.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been riling Eric up again?” Charlotte complains as she takes Amelia off me and latches her onto her breast to feed.
“But it’s fun,” I whine, trying not to get worked up again because her beautiful tits are screaming ‘look at me, look at me.’
“You aren’t the one who needs to listen to him all day. Thank God, we are flat out with three new clients this week. If it weren’t for that, your ass would be his target, and I don’t mean that in a flattering way.”
“Fuck, Charlotte, stop talking about Eric and my ass. Let’s talk about yours,” I tease.
“I will if you stop riling him up.”
I let out a sigh and ask her what her plans are for the day. “Amelia and I have playgroup this morning, then after lunch, your mom will take her for a few hours while I head into the office.”
My mom and dad decided they can’t live more than five minutes away from Amelia. The day they told me they bought a house the next suburb over, I wasn’t surprised. Charlotte’s elated because my mother and her get along like a house on fire. As far as my dad, it makes no difference. He still travels across South America, helping families who require medical help. Adriana is the one left behind, but after much persuasion, they decide to move out to LA, so they will be closer when the baby comes.
I hop into the shower, get changed, and kiss my girls, ready to head into the office. Dreamteam Studios turns out to be a highly successful venture. I find myself getting involved in movie productions, castings, you name it. When Eric got wind of what I’m doing, he begged me to let him tag along. I allowed it only because he was nagging me like a two-dollar whore. According to Charlotte, Eric’s sex life is like a roaring fire in LA compared to the dwindling one back in New York. The moment I heard Eric was blowing some Hollywood A-lister, I warned Charlotte details like that need to remain between the two of them to avoid media scrutiny.
Working without Kate as my assistant has been rather difficult. The thing about Kate is that she is intelligent and has the brains to be more than just an assistant to a CEO. She is thriving in New York, and with the office running well, she still manages to fly to LA every few weeks. The trips over are classified as a business expense, but they are because she and Charlotte miss each other.
Days like that, I know Kate won’t report in to work, but I don’t care. She is one of the godmothers to our daughter and spoils her rotten on every visit.
And so, it means I’m on the hunt for an assistant again. Kate has scoured through the resumes, conducted phone interviews, and is due to fly in next week so she can interview them face to face with me.
When it comes to hiring, I leave it to Kate. Kate knows exactly how difficult I am to work for and my expectations. I have confidence she will only allow me to sit in on interviews with the top candidates. This new assistant has big shoes to fill. Eric, on occasion, will drop hints about how great it would be if we work together. I tell him he belongs to Charlotte, and even if I wanted him, he would be waiting in line after Kate, who said she was next when Charlotte retires. Fat chance, Charlotte loves her job and Eric.
My desk is piled up with manuscripts, and I’m about to read through them when my phone rings.
“Lex, it’s me. Listen, we may need to delay the move. Elijah’s not feeling well, and I’m as huge as a beached whale.”
“Adriana, what’s wrong with him?” The concern in my voice is a dead give-away. Calm the fuck down.
“He’s been feeling off lately. Probably a nasty virus, and he hasn’t been eating particularly well. A few of his students had the same bug.”
“Okay, listen, let me arrange for movers to take care of everything. Just get yourself on the next flight over here, okay?”
“Lex, I don’t think Elijah is well enough to fly.” She sounds stressed and it’s the last thing I want for her in her current condition.
“Adriana, please listen to me… I’d feel better if you were here with us. Please,” I beg.