Page 25 of Breath By Breath

“All right, baby boy, are you ready to go see Daddy?” I ask Royce as I lift him out of his car seat.

“Da Da,” he yammers.

“That’s right.” I kiss the top of his head, settling him in the stroller. I make sure to grab my purse, the diaper bag, and the bag filled with our lunch and lock up the car.

“Lena! Hi,” Kathy, our receptionist, greets me. “It’s so good to see you. And you.” She walks around her desk and kneels down to talk to Royce. “You’re getting so big.” She wiggles his foot, and he giggles.

“I know that sound.”

I smile at my husband as he stalks toward us. “Hi, husband.”

His eyes heat, which is exactly what I expected with that greeting.

He wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly before dropping a kiss on my lips. He bends over to kiss Royce on the top of his head. “Not that I’m not happy to see my family, but what are you two doing here?”

“I took some time off. Royce and I decided today was the perfect day to come and have lunch with Daddy.”

“This is a wonderful surprise.”

“Do you have time to eat with us?”

“I’ll make time. Kathy, hold all of my calls.”

“You got it, Mr. Riggins.”

Stanley slides an arm around my waist and pushes the stroller with the other, leading us down the hall to his office. His desk is covered with pounds of paperwork, and there are three coffee cups on his desk.

“Looks like I came just in time,” I tease.

“Yeah.” He releases a heavy sigh. “It’s more than I ever thought it would be, Lena. I knew I would bust my ass to make this profitable for us, but this—it’s so much more. We need to add to the fleet. We’re booked and turning down clients. It’s… crazy, right?” He laughs, running his hands through his hair.

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s time to level up, right? What can I do to help?”

“I love you, wife. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I joke. “But seriously, what do you need?”

“I talked to a business attorney earlier today. I think I’m going to rebrand and go bigger. We have the capital to do both. Now is the time to expand with us having to turn away work, and our waiting list is growing by the day.”

“Okay, so what does that entail?”

“Well, I’m thinking of a new name. Something more than Riggins Trucking. That was small time, and this is going to be huge, baby. I can feel it. We got into the business at the right time.”

“I won’t disagree with that, but it’s also you. You’re good to the staff, and you work tirelessly to make this place what it is. Your grit and determination are what’s making this business a success.”

His eyes soften. “Help me think of a new name.”

After digging into the bag with his lunch, I pass his over to him before handing Royce a french fry. I take a bite of my own burger, tearing off a small bite for Royce, while I think about options.

“We’re thinking big, right? How big? Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I want to eventually expand. I want hubs all over the US, maybe even go global at some point.”

“Right, so an enterprise of sorts.”

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