Possessive Baby Daddy

And we’ll build a family on top of that.

I snuggle against him and feel right.22KlaraTwo Years Later“Higher!” I watch the crane raise the sign up into the air. I shade my eyes and take a step back, waving my arms in the air. “Left, left, left!”

Slowly the sign falls into place. I cross my arms and smile, staring up the words emblazoned on a huge office building… and I own all of it.

“What do you think?”

I look back at Shaun and Melanie. My daughter struggles in his arms before I take her. She laughs and hugs me and I hug her back.

“Hi, baby,” I say.

Shaun gives me a kiss. “Well?”

“It’s perfect,” I say. “Surreal, but perfect.”

We stand there, a perfect little family, as we stare up at the words Truth Hurts Productions. I lean my head against Shaun’s shoulder and he puts an arm around me.

“Dadda,” Mel says and squirms until she gets into his arms. He hefts her up into the air and she screams with laughter. I watch him throw her and catch her, wincing a little bit each time, but Shaun’s such a good father. I know he’d never let her fall.

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s go inside. They’re waiting for us.”

He nods and we walk together toward the office. I can’t help but smile as we step inside and are greeted by all the Divas franchise signage. There’s a large cutout of busty, beautiful women wearing space suits and grinning like goddesses, and another of beautiful blondes wearing farming outfits. So far there are three spinoffs, with two more in the works, not to mention all the online-only content.

In my first year in charge, Divas took off. I mean really, really took off, even more than I ever thought it would. There are versions of Divas in fifteen countries, with another ten currently filming, not to mention all the merchandising.

And I couldn’t have done it without Shaun.

All through it, he was there by my side. When Mel was born, he took over as the primary parent. He was in the office watching our girl while I did my work. He’d bring her in for feedings, take her out, play with her, put her down for naps. He had his own little office, but we’d joke that it was really Mel’s office.

That first year was insane, but things have settled down since then.

We take the elevator up to the main office and once we step out, we’re greeted with clapping. I laugh and grin at the whole office standing around. They have cake and champagne, and everyone’s excited to see me and Shaun, but I think they’re really here for Mel. She struggles out of Shaun’s arms and goes running around giving everyone high-fives and hugs.

Shaun follows after her and my assistant Carl taps on his glass with a knife. “Speech!”

“Oh, god, no, don’t make me,” I say, laughing.

More calls for a speech ring out and I sigh.

“Okay, fine, I’ll make it short.” I take a deep breath. “I took over Truth Hurts two years ago. In two incredibly long, difficult, and insane years, we’ve more than tripled in size. That’s because of you. Each and every one of you. I mean that, totally and utterly. I wouldn’t be here without all of you. Thank you all for your work, and I hope we make some amazing shows together.”

I grin and everyone claps. I wade into the group, hugging, shaking hands, saying hello, doing the rounds. I spot Shaun and Mel doing the same thing, although it’s mostly Mel doing the talking and the hugging.

When we make it through everyone, I duck out into my new office. It’s a little bit bigger than my old one, but not by much. I didn’t want some huge monstrosity like every other LA production studio. I want Truth Hurts to be different, approachable, real.

I almost wish my dad were here to see this. I can imagine him smiling at me, proud of what I’ve done.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever see my father again. Last I heard, he was living in Florida and drinking and gambling away all that money. I’m betting he’ll either run out of cash or die in the next few years, and I can’t say I’m upset about it.

He deserves worse. But this’ll have to do.

I sit down at the desk and frown at a folder. I don’t remember putting a single folder there, but my name’s written on it. I recognize Shaun’s handwriting.

I open it up. Inside are sketches. Set designs, some preliminary copy, some scripts. I go through it all and when I look up again, Shaun’s leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey. Where’s Mel?”

“Carl has her for a few minutes. I saw you disappear in here and I wanted you to myself.”