Single Mom, Billionaire Boss. Sheri WhiteFeather

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       Three

      Garrett headed toward the child care center at the resort. He promised himself that he was going to keep an eye on Meagan, to see what type of person she truly was, so he decided to be there when she dropped her kid off.

      Today was Meagan’s first day on the job, and he’d learned from HR that she’d enrolled her daughter in the day care. So why shouldn’t he be curious to see her with her child, especially on this very first day?

      Besides, it wasn’t as if he’d never popped over to the day care before. He actually did it quite often. This was his resort, his place of business, and he was a hands-on CEO. He made a point of checking on every department to make sure that things were running smoothly, to speak to everyone employed there. He knew the day care teachers by name. He liked being around the kids, too. When he was in foster care, some of the younger children used to come to him for comfort and support. Sometimes it was for something as simple as a skinned knee. On occasion, it was far more serious, like bullying. He used to look out for Max, his tech-geek foster brother, when Max had been too small and skinny to fend for himself. Garrett was good at protecting the rights of others. He handled his own rights just fine, too.

      He sat on a bench in the atrium where the day care was located and sipped his coffee out of a disposable cup. Every workday morning, he got a medium-bodied roast with a dash of milk from the coffee vendor in the food court in the hotel.

      Here we go, he thought. His timing was impeccable. He spotted Meagan entering the atrium and holding her daughter’s hand. He couldn’t help smiling to himself. Her kid was a cute little tyke, toddling along in a denim outfit and pink cowboy boots. In her free hand, she clutched a heart-shaped purse with cartoon characters on it, swinging it as she moved. She walked with a bounce in her step, a ribbon-wrapped ponytail exploding from the top of her head. Meagan was in denim, too, but she looked far more serene in her Western wear. Her long thick hair was plaited into a single braid that hung down her back, and her boots were a neutral shade of brown. She had a hell of a figure. Her jeans cupped her rear like nobody’s business.

      She glanced over, and their gazes met across the open space. Garrett stood and tossed his empty cup into a recycle bin.

      He walked over to her, and they faced each other, with sunlight spilling down over them, courtesy of the glass roof above their heads.

      “I wanted to be here when you brought your daughter to the day care,” he said, being as honest as the moment would allow.

      Meagan seemed taken aback. Clearly, she hadn’t expected his intrusion to be so deliberate. But she recovered quickly and focused on her child. She said to the little girl, “Ivy, this is Garrett. He gave me my job. The one I told you about before, where I’ll be working with horses.”

      The toddler released her mother’s hand. Puckering her tiny face, she stared up at Garrett and made an empty gesture, like an actress playing to an audience. “Where horsies?”

      Instantly amused by her, he motioned toward a window. “They’re outside in the stables.” He got down on one knee, putting himself at her level, and asked, “Do you like horses?”

      She nodded vigorously and tugged at the Velcro on her purse. Once she got it open, she removed a toy pony and showed it to him. The purse was given to Meagan to hold on to.

      Garrett studied the pony and smiled. It looked like a rainbow had thrown up on it, spewing all sorts of colors. “That’s the fanciest mare I’ve ever seen.”

      “Horsie СКАЧАТЬ