Page 96 of Love In The Spotlight

“Not right now,” West said. “But anything is possible.”

West glanced at Jamie, letting him take over this interview. It was probably for the best.

“You know me, Simon. I’ve always had to be the best. If I didn’t go all in, it wasn’t worth it.”

“We all know that,” Simon said. “So the best had to be West.”

“Of course,” he said.

“I’ll admit I don’t have any ventures into children’s lines,” West said, “but I loved everything Jamie stood for. His drive for perfection. His willingness to work hard. Those are the things I look for in a partner.”

“I know nothing about business,” Jamie said. “If you ask me how to get in the red zone with twenty seconds left in the game and we have sixty yards to go, I’m your man. But hiring, firing, production, supply and demand. No. And I just learned half those words in the past months thanks to Nelson and Laken. Two people in West’s company who have worked hard to get us up and going and need to be recognized.”

Laken sent him a huge grin and he winked out of the corner of his eye.

“So tell us more,” Simon said. “You’re up and running. You’re in stores, right?”

“We are fully stocked,” West said. Jamie let his partner talk business. Where to find the product and their website that went on the screen.

“Let’s get up and move over to all the products,” Simon said. “Explain them to me, Jamie.” Simon was smirking at him.

“Well, we’ve got some animals. Penelope got to pick the animals. She has had a big hand in this.”

“And we see one monkey with a pair of adorable glasses. I’ve got two teenage daughters. Both need glasses and hate wearing them. They begged me for contacts, and of course we do those things for our kids.”

“We do,” he said. “Just like keeping our children out of the public eye. As a parent, it’s our job to protect them. She’s young, she needs to learn it’s okay to be different and live her life without people hounding her over her father’s job.”

“But she sees her father on TV?” Simon asked. “We did the same with our children when they were young. Didn’t let them get photographed. Their faces were covered when they were out in public too.” Simon turned and looked into the camera. “We are people just like everyone else. I signed up for this life, my children did not. When they were old enough to decide to be out in the public eye, we allowed some pictures to be released.”

“I’m no stranger to keeping my life private,” West said.

There was a lot of laughter in the audience. “As we all know. Congratulations on the engagement. Though it’s been news for a few months, we later found out it’s been longer.”

“As Jamie said, we are entitled to our personal lives with our loved ones.”

“Well said, West,” Simon said.

Jamie talked a bit more about the product, joked with Simon about the off-season and getting together. When they broke for a commercial, he turned to his buddy. “Thanks. That went great.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Simon said. “I get it. I’m still shocked and don’t know how the hell this was kept so quiet, but you’re entitled to that. Maybe your story will reach people more than just on your products.”

“I hope so,” he said.

Jamie and West got up and went to talk to some of the audience. He signed autographs and then left the stage, Laken meeting them in the back.

“That was great,” she said. “And Nelson texted that the website is blowing up. It was the minute Simon said the name of the company.”

“Great news,” West said. “Let’s hope it continues. Ads started yesterday, but the uptick will be from this.”

“It’s going to start now,” he said. “I expect everyone is trying to find out more about Penelope. There is going to be a lot of curiosity.”

“Think of it as free advertising,” West said. “I know it sucks, but don’t respond. You don’t owe anyone anything.”

“I have no plans on answering anything in regards to Penelope. I did what I said I was going to do and that is it. At least for now.”

“I need to get back to the office,” West said.

“I’m going to take the day off,” Laken said.

---