Page 5 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

Then there was the fact that with the phone missing, I no longer had Haley’s phone number. I had considered turning around and driving back to see her, but I was already ten hours into the drive when I realized the bag was missing.

While I drove back to the city, I had stopped several times along the way to take a few meetings, get some food and coffee, and use the washroom. Somewhere in that time, my bag had been taken, and I hadn’t realized it until I was only a few hours from home.

That’s what I get for driving while exhausted and only getting by on coffee,I thought as I wiped the last of the files before turning to my business partners.

“So, how was being back in Richmond Valley?” Clarke asked, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in his chair.

“Alright. I ran into Haley at a diner, and we caught up for a little bit. I signed the contract on that laundromat, and after your wedding, I’ll be heading back there to start making over the company.”

“I still can’t believe that you thought a failing laundromat would be better than continuing to work in the entertainment industry,” Drew said as he ran a hand through his hair.

I shrugged and kicked my feet up on the edge of my desk. “I want to start slowing down. Being forty and working with entertainment companies isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’m tired of being followed around by the paparazzi because they want to know what studios are failing or what model I could be dating based on a rumor they heard.”

“I don’t know,” Drew said, a small smile spreading across his face. “It seems pretty exciting, if you ask me.”

I grinned and shook my head. Some day Drew would understand. He was seven years younger than Clarke and me—thirty-four to our forty-one—and being in the entertainment industry would be exciting to him. He was still young enough to enjoy the parties and the famous people he would brush elbows with every day.

“That’s why you’re going to take over the entertainment side of Crestwood Capital while I work on growing our small business portfolio,” I said, grinning at Drew. “Camille has been working on the optics of everything and how we will announce the shift to our investors and clients. In a few more weeks, the changeover will be official.”

Drew’s expression contorted at the mention of Camille, the young woman who ran PR for Crestwood Capital. They got along like oil and water. I couldn’t remember a single time they had been near each other for more than an hour without arguing.

Still, a large smile spread across his face at the mention of taking over our entertainment portfolios. He was going to do well. He had a head for dealing with the spoiled brats that went along with the industry.

“What is the plan with the laundromat?” Clarke asked, as he folded his hands together. “You said this is the business to help in Richmond Valley, and I trust your judgment, but you never said much about why this is the business we need to step in and save.”

I opened the top drawer of my desk and rummaged through it until I found the file forRoy’s Laundry. I took my feet off the desk and leaned forward, pushing the file across the desk to Clarke and Drew.

“Roy has been a staple in Richmond Valley for years,” I said to Drew as Clarke nodded along. “If there’s one person you can count on to be there when you need him the most, it’s Roy. He would do anything for anybody.”

“Alright, but nice people don’t make a business successful or profitable to us,” Drew said, flipping through some paperwork. “Are we going to be losing money on this company?”

“Not even a little bit,” I said, pulling out another file and dropping it in front of them. “Richmond Valley and the surrounding area are filled with some gorgeous woods and campsites. With those campsites and the younger generation choosing van life, there’s a greater need for laundromats. Roy has the only clean laundromat within a two-hour drive of all of these towns. The rest are all run-down and in desperate need of a facelift. Roy’s business is failing, but that’s only because he doesn’t have the capital to sink into the company.”

“You want to buy those other failing laundromats as well, don’t you?” Clarke asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he started putting the puzzle pieces together.

“That’s right. We buy out those other ones and give Roy’s a massive update. Once he is updated, we work on the others, expanding Roy into a well-known laundromat with a reputation for being clean and the place to go.”

“There really isn’t a market for him to compete with based on the research you’ve done into the other companies,” Drew said as he looked down at another section of the report. “I can see this being viable, especially with the younger demographic starting to live in their vans and traveling more.”

“Exactly. I think thatRoy’sis the perfect business to start with because there’s nothing quite like it. I’ve known Roy for years and know that he values his reputation and is going to hold his business up to a certain standard even after we pull back from the company.”

Drew’s phone started ringing, and he stepped outside my office to take the call. Once he was gone and the door was shut behind him, Clarke turned to me with a worried expression.

“Are you sure spending this much time in Richmond Valley is a good idea?” Clarke asked as he closed the file and leaned back in his chair. “Have you even told Haley how you felt after she dumped you?”

I laughed and shook my head. “She still doesn’t know about the ring I had back then. I was a stupid kid back then, Clarke. I should have known that we weren’t going to work. We both wanted different things in life, but I thought—like the arrogant little shit I was—that a ring would change everything. I’m kind of glad she dumped me. It gave me a lot to think about.”

“And how about when she walked out on you in the middle of the night four years ago? Are you forgetting about that too?” Clarke asked, pressing the matter like I knew he would.

Clarke was nothing if not a good friend. He had been by my side that summer after Haley broke my heart, and he had been the one to help pick up the pieces. We had thrown ourselves into starting Crestwood Capital, and everything else had ceased to exist for years.

“I’m not forgetting about anything. Just because we’re both going to be living in Richmond Valley again doesn’t mean that I’m going to be falling in love with her all over again. Hell, I don’t think we’ll even see each other much. She owns the only vet clinic there. It keeps her pretty busy.”

Clarke shook his head and rubbed his jaw. “I still don’t know about this.”

“Clarke, I appreciate the concern, but I’m a big boy and can handle myself. Haley was the love of my life years ago, but things changed, and people change. Neither of us are the same person that we used to be. The most that’s going to happen between us is friendship.”

Clarke rolled his eyes as the door opened, and Drew walked back in. Drew took a seat on the other side of the desk, and the three of us went back to analyzing the plan forRoy’s Laundromat.I took notes as they spoke, keeping track of everything they said that I thought might propel the business forward.

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