Page 54 of Valentine's Daddy To Go
“Sorry. Got caught up.”
“Oh, I can only imagine.” He smirks at me while taking a sip of his coffee. Then he strolls into his office, whistling. Colt can really be an ass sometimes, but it’s always in good fun.
I go into my own office to prepare for our meeting. It’s in a couple of hours, so I’ve got time to review the paperwork that I need to. Slowly, I take in the rows of numbers and profit projections that our accountant put together. Evidently, this merger and its resultant expansion could be really great for Jaybird Choppers. If everything goes according to this proposal, then I’ll be back in the garage in no time.
It’s really been a long time coming.
After all, Colt recently showed me a bike he bought for us to fix up, and it’s a beauty. There are quite a few things that need repairing, but once it’s done, it’ll be one for the magazines. Honestly, it’s a bike that I could actually see Nellie riding.
Which got me thinking that Colt and I should get some bikes for our girls, and teach them how to ride. I floated the idea with my buddy, and he was very much on board. Hot girls and chrome bikes. It’s a combination that can’t be beat.
I’m sure either way Nellie will be a little scared at first, but I know she’ll get used to it. She’s gotten used to being on my bike anyway, and that’s a pretty big hurdle to get over.
The next couple hours pass by pretty quickly, but there’s something I need to take care of in the garage, so I leave my desk and head outside. Once it’s done, I come back to my office when there’s a knock at my door.
“Come in.”
The door is pushed open, and Colt sticks his head in.
“I heard you taking care of that thing just now.”
I nod.
“Yeah, had to be done.”
“Does Nellie know?”
“No, but I’m going to tell her tonight.”
“Great.”
Despite his casual reply, I can hear the judgment in Colt’s response. Maybe he would have handled telling his girl some bad news differently, but I didn’t want Nellie to freak out. I knew she would try to stop me, and I can’t have that. Plus, I needed time to figure out how to tell her. If I don’t break the news correctly, I could see Nellie completely coming undone.
“You ready for the meeting?” my buddy asks in a lazy drawl. Looks like Colt isn’t going to push too much on the subject, which is something I am grateful for. I don’t really want to talk about it either way.
I look down at the paperwork in the open folder on my desk. Everything appears to be in order, so I close it up.
“Yeah, I’ve got everything I need. They should be here in what?” I pick up my wrist to check my watch. “Ten minutes?”
Colt nods.
“Yeah, they’ll be here in ten. Let’s head over to the conference room before they get here.”
“Sounds good.” I get up from my seat, grab my folder, and follow Colt to the meeting room. Our secretary already set up a few things like water and a few snacks. Perfect.
“So, we’re going to carry out this merger, and go through with the expansion then?” my partner asks, his tone casual but eyes sharp.
I nod slowly while steepling my hands.
“Yeah, you know, it seems like a great deal, actually. For us, anyways. We’ll get plenty of money, and we’ll also get back to doing what we truly love. Working on bikes.”
Colt throws his head back and laughs.
“Yeah, that’s right,” he says. “And we’ll finally get a chance to work on that bike I bought. We are this close,” Colt holds up his fingers, placing his pointer and thumb close together, “to having the absolute job of our dreams.”
“I’m ready, man.”
Just then there is a knock on our door. Jane, our secretary, pops open the door with our visitors lingering behind her. They’re a middle-aged couple, the man in a cowboy hat and the woman in a teal skirt suit.
