Page 37 of Daddy Christmas

I’d made a pasta salad last night, so I ate and worked through my lunch. Wyatt was at a business lunch anyway, and his whole week was going to center around their upcoming trip. Actually, so was mine. I had his itinerary now and knew exactly where and when his assistant was going to pick up the correct material.

My phone rang, and I saw Mom’s name on the display. I inserted one of my earbuds and answered while I categorized all the graphics into two folders. London and Luxembourg.

“Hey, Mom.” I stabbed a cherry tomato and some pasta on my fork and shoveled it into my mouth.

“Hi, sweetie. Are you busy?”

“It’s all good. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know we changed our flights,” she said. “We’re flying in late tomorrow night instead of early on the fifteenth. We’re having breakfast with Emmy and Levi, and then the rest of the day is all about you.”

I grinned and dragged another set of graphics into the Luxembourg folder. “I don’t get off work until four, so you have my permission to give Em some attention until then.”

Mom laughed softly. “You’re kind, darlin’. Speaking of which, I spoke to Emmy, and she said we’re adding a plus-one to the dinner reservation?”

Oh yeah, crap, I was totally gonna get to that. “Yeah, would you mind? I’m sure she also told you I’m seeing someone.”

“She did. Will you tell me about him?”

Try’n stop me!

DECEMBER 14

I did my best to tame my hair on the way to Mr. Williams’s conference room next to his office, but it was of no use. Maybe I could tell him that it wasn’t my fault I looked freshly fucked. It was Wyatt’s.

“Fuck—I forgot the Brussels folder. I’ll be right back.” I hurried back to our corner and picked up the folder from my desk, then jogged through the cubicle area once more.

Mya and Kim entered the conference room just a second before I did, and we took our seats next to one another at the table that seated eight. Mr. Williams had his assistant here too.

“You can leave the door open, Oliver,” Mr. Williams said. “Mr. Abrams is joining us soon.”

Word?

Hot Daddy in work mode. That could be fun.

“To prevent any confusion, let’s proceed with this meeting by using the Abramses’ first names,” Mr. Williams instructed.

“Yes, sir.” I nodded. Probably for the best.

True enough, Wyatt entered with Suravi shortly after, and I did my best not to get smirky. He did too, and he was much better at acting than I was. The affection and the amusement mainly showed in his eyes, and they were gone within seconds.

Mr. Williams totally kept an eye on me, and it was important to me that I didn’t veer off course. I was a professional and whatnot.

“Parker, you go first,” Mr. Williams told me. He turned to Wyatt. “For the sake of getting all information right, I asked them to use first names for this.”

Wyatt inclined his head. “Of course. There are a few of us to keep track of.”

Luckily, we weren’t dealing with the other freaking Abramses flying out from New York. Kim, Mya, and I had worked on the material for Clarke, his children Sean, Mary, Joey, and Christian, then Wyatt, and Clarke’s grandson, Toby.

I stood up and headed over to the whiteboard, and I fanned out the five folders that belonged to “my” three Abramses.

“I’m saving Sean for last since he will fly directly to Luxembourg and then to Brussels,” I mentioned. After grabbing one of the markers, I started making notes on the whiteboard, and I could only hope Wyatt didn’t have too many adjustments. We wanted to get this cemented and sent out as soon as possible. “Okay, so Clarke, Wyatt, and Toby are flying out to London on the seventeenth—and with the time zones and middle landing in New York, you arrive in the UK late in the afternoon on the eighteenth,” I said. “The print place in Archway will deliver your personal material to the hotel, and your assistants can pick it up in the lobby.” I side-eyed the London folder and flipped a page, making sure I started with the right meeting. “Clarke has a dinner meeting scheduled for that night, but we didn’t receive any notes or speeches, so I’m assuming it’s informal…?”

Wyatt nodded. “It’s with the other organizers.”

Right. Okay. Yeah, I bet there was plenty of coordinating going on, considering all seminars in all venues, all dinners, all luncheons, and all workshops were estimated to attract over six thousand people. And it was all these invisible fields you never heard about. Attendees came from companies that provided software and products for other companies in order for them to bring out their own products, and the Abrams family covered so many sectors. From entertainment logistics, event services, and branding in the food industry, to studio production and product development—and then marketing and print design to wrap it all up in a nice bow.

“In that case, your assistants can pick up the first material on the evening when you arrive at the hotel in London,” I said, adding that to the board. “So that brings us to the breakfast meeting the morning after. Wyatt, sir, you’re speaking at Grosvenor House before you’re heading straight to the convention center, and Toby will be with you.” I looked to Suravi. “I’ll make a note to ensure the Grosvenor House material is separated from the rest—it’s mostly his speech, a few pamphlets, the reports, and the flash drives with the presentation for next year’s ambitions.”

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