Page 1 of Twin Babies For The Grump

Chapter One

Owen

ThetopfloorofBale Enterprises overlooks the bustling city of San Francisco.

It's a view that I’ll never get tired of. Fisherman's Wharf, city lights, and the pacific ocean for as far as the eye can see.

Someone knocks at my office door, breaking my concentration.

It’s almost seven which means that there’s only one person it can be.

“I told you that I was running late,” I gripe, but I start putting my papers up all the same.

Jimmy Fallow swings open the door.

He’s a tall man, gone gray early, with his hair slicked back and a single gold stud earring in his left ear.

“And we’ve been waiting for two hours. Come on, Owen. If you don’t get a move on, we’re taking off without you.”

I roll my eyes. “We both know that you aren’t.”

“Carmen can get us into The Dot just fine,” counters Jimmy. “And I’ll say again.” He holds up a hand and taps his diamond-studded watch. “Two hours.”

“I’ll be in the lobby in five minutes,” I tell him.

Jimmy stands there a moment longer, squinting, and then gives in and shuffles back out into the hallway.

He doesn’t close the door behind him, no doubt trying to goad me into joining them even faster. As he rounds the corner, I catch the word workaholic under his breath and give another roll of my eyes.

I’m not a workaholic. I just know that it takes a lot of time and effort to keep a business running.

As the founder and CEO of Bale Enterprises, this business is pretty much my baby. You don’t grow the city’s most successful advertising company from the ground up without being willing to put in a bit of overtime!

But he has a point.

I have kept the guys waiting for two hours—though they’ve been working on a few projects of their own—and I should probably get out of here at some point.

I send the email that I had been writing and then haul myself out of the leather office chair, snatching my jacket off the back of it. I put it on as I step out of the office, pulling the door shut behind me and locking it with a click of the key.

On the ground floor, I find Jimmy and the others waiting for me.

They’re all employees here, outside of Carmen, Tom’s girlfriend.

She owns her own fashion line across the city; a step up from Tom, who works bottom floor here. He’s a great guy and definitely has the potential to move up in the ranks; he just hasn’t been working at the company for long.

She’s the one that spots me first, flipping her long hair over her shoulder.

“About time, let’s go,” she tells the group and then turns her attention back to me. “Next time, I’m going to the bar first, and you can just meet up with me there.”

“Carmen,” hisses Tom.

She ignores her boyfriend, turning and sauntering out of the lobby.

The others file out in due time, and I trail behind them still so much in work mode that I can’t help running a few numbers through my head. It’s a good thing that I don’t actually have to drive myself; Edward handles that.

He’s an older man, and he’s been working for me since I was in my twenties. He glances into the rearview mirror as I slide into the backseat. “Home, sir?”

“The Dot,” I tell him.

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