Page 27 of Love In The Spotlight

“No,” he said. “She’s at a playdate with Janelle.”

He purposely didn’t want his daughter home when Laken came over. He wasn’t sure why but still wanted to keep them separate.

“Oh,” she said. “Well, if you want, we can leave now and go check out the plant. Nelson is going to meet us there in a bit. He was talking with West when I left.”

He hadn’t met Nelson yet but had resigned himself to the fact that he had to let West do what West did best.

“I can drive,” he said.

“I’d appreciate that,” she said. “I’ve got a car but don’t drive much. Normally I’m being driven around by West’s driver to and from the airport. I don’t like leaving my car there. Or I take a taxi.”

They got up and left. He noticed she had tan pants on with little tan sneakers. Not really jeans but not dress pants either. It was hard to tell what kind of top she had on with her jacket, but he was assuming she was more casual today based on where they were going.

He was in his normal jeans and sneakers. He wore his suits on Sunday and that was enough for him.

He was just glad they were in New York yesterday for the broadcast so no traveling in and out of airports.

When they got to the plant twenty minutes later, he saw it was an empty parking lot behind the warehouse building.

“I thought they were going to be doing construction by now,” he said.

“They are starting tomorrow. We thought you might want to walk around it without them knowing who you were,” she said.

“Thanks. I do appreciate that.”

“West is good at keeping things private too. Nelson will be dealing with the contractors while they get things set up in there and until the office is in good shape. Then we’ll start the hiring process for more.”

She handed him the key to unlock the door and they walked in and she flipped the lights.

“This is huge,” he said.

“It is. It won’t feel so big once the equipment is in place, but the floors have to be replaced. Some windows too. We’ve had one of our guys come through with an inspector and that person will be working with Nelson. Do you want his name and contact information?”

“I’d like that,” he said. “If it’s okay I’d like to stop in after hours to check on things.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “I’ll shoot you off that information when we are done.”

They moved around to the top level where the offices were going to be. The place needed a major overhaul for sure, but he could see the vision.

“Laken! Are you in here?”

“Nelson,” she said. “Being one of the youngest, he never outgrew yelling to get attention.”

“Upstairs,” she all but screamed back.

“Sounds like someone else held their own too,” he said, smirking.

She winked at him. “It’s hard being outnumbered.”

He liked that it seemed they were back on the same level they were before. Not really the flirting but no tension at least.

It was better than nothing, he supposed.

He heard the footsteps coming up the stairs and then saw a younger version of West round the corner.

Nelson was just as tall, but a bit more muscular than his older brother. He had an air about him that was like Jamie looking in a mirror.

Cocky and confident for sure.

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