CHAPTER ONE
Stephen
I sipped my coffee and looked over the papers for my meeting, checking the numbers again. I wanted to make sure that my staff had an accurate idea of the increase in revenue for the growing property management company that we all worked for. I was finance manager for the company and ran all the numbers, staying on top of everything. I kept ahead of everything so we would know if we could purchase new properties, need to raise the rent on current ones based on buildings around it, or let something go and find something that would give us more of a profit.
It was my idea to hire Stella, our purchasing agent.
I heard voices and glanced up as the door opened and Martin, my boss, led the way. His assistant Paul followed as well as a few of the main managers that helped with the properties that we rented out in the Atlanta area. They were laughing as they took their seats and reached for the bagels that I had brought in for these meetings. “Good morning, everyone,” I said as they looked at me, slowly quieting down. I cocked an eyebrow, knowing that I was the serious one in the room.
“Morning, Stephen. How are you today?” Martin asked as he spread some cream cheese on the toasted bread, his eyes sharp on me. I knew he thought that I needed to relax a lot more than I did, but I had a son to raise and support. I had a lot of responsibilities, and I needed to ensure that this job would remain stable for the sake of my small family. I couldn’t afford to lose it at this time in my life.
“I’m great.” I looked around at everyone as they settled in and looked up at me. I was tired. Brandon had woken up with a fever last night, insisting on sleeping with me from 2:00 a.m. on.
I went over the last quarter and showed them the growth based on the new properties that we were acquiring thanks to Stella, the woman that did the shopping for our homes and businesses. I had handouts of everything that I explained to them, praising them for their hard work. Everyone in this office worked their asses off, even though some had more fun than others in the process.
I noticed Paul checking his phone as I spoke, knowing that he was sending texts to his flavor of the week. I think that her name was Brandy, but I barely got to know anything about them anymore. He was thirty-two, as I was, but he was definitely living the bachelor life. I liked him, though, and he made me laugh, keeping part of my life light and fun.
A half hour passed and they asked some questions about the numbers I’d given them, which led to a strategy discussion on how to keep things going this way. I praised them again and watched as everyone slipped through the door of the small conference room to return to their desks. Martin lingered, smiling at me as he reached for his coffee. I took my cup and finished it in one long swallow, needing more. “Great job, Stephen. You did a great job with the monthly reports.”
“Thanks,” I replied to his praise, only giving the exhaustion in my body a fleeting second before I smiled at him. “I think we’re going to take over the market if things keep going this way.”
“Absolutely. That was a great idea to hire Stella to look over properties and buy what works for us. It was hard for Paul to do in addition to his other duties.” That made me smirk, knowing that he got easily distracted at times. He’d end up with a phone number more than new properties most of the time.
“She knows her stuff,” I agreed as I looked outside over the Atlanta “I should head to my office. I have to check on Brandon. He was sick last night.” Martin gave me a sympathetic gaze, having three kids of his own. The only difference was that they had a proper mother that lived for those kids. Brandon wasn’t so lucky.
“Nothing is worse than that,” he told me as I smiled weakly.
“I am lucky to have a great nanny.” I found Danielle through a friend of mine, and at twenty-one she was energetic and as sweet as she could be. Brandon adored her as much as any kid could love a nanny, though I saw the sad look in his eyes that made me hate his mother all over again. I excused myself and walked across the floor to my office, closing the door before I sat down to make the call. “Morning, Danielle. I just wanted to check up on my boy.” I smiled when she answered as happy as ever.
“He’s a little tired today, Stephen. I got him to eat some fruit, but he’s home for the day, just resting. I think we’ll stay in all day. Did you have plans this weekend?” Her voice was curious as well as a little worried.
“I told him that I’d take him to the aquarium tomorrow afternoon. Do you think that’s out?” I asked, frowning. Brandon had been so excited about it. He was seven, and not the little boy that I was used to.
“I’d keep an eye on him. Maybe Sunday?” she offered in a small voice as I leaned back in my chair. I gave Danielle the weekend off if I didn’t have anything to do for work, and she also went home to her boyfriend every night. I didn’t want someone living with us, because I was Brandon’s dad. I needed to take care of him, and if I needed help, I had Mom and my brother, Kevin, nearby. I had been alone with him early on and figured it out.
“I’ll check him tonight when I get home. It might be a movie day tomorrow,” I acknowledged as I ran a hand through my tousled hair that Danielle taught me to work with, telling me that women loved that look. I didn’t do it for any woman, since I didn’t have that kind of time. I was either at work or at home with my son, though I knew I spent a lot of time working. A lot of the activities that he did were with Mom or Kevin, and I’d go if I were free. I always told myself that giving him a good home at the edge of town was something a good dad would do; somewhere he could play and be outside. That was why I bought the house, but I wasn’t usually the one playing with him. “Thanks for taking care of him, Danielle. You’re a lifesaver.”
“I get paid to take care of the sweetest boy on the planet. I’m the lucky one,” she responded, telling me that she’d see me later. When Lacy left when Brandon was just one, I was completely thrown off my game. I had this job, which was new at the time after I graduated. I didn’t know the first thing about being a single working parent, and my family had full-time jobs as well.
Danielle was a godsend. She stepped right in, and Brandon fell in love with her. She made sure that he learned everything he needed to know to start school and took him all over the place when she had him all day. Now she dropped him off and picked him up at school, mainly when he wasn’t sick. I made it clear that Danielle was just his nanny and that she went home at night. We were a team, and I loved the little bit of time that we spent together.
It just wasn’t that much time. I had to work a lot to keep us in our house and keep Brandon clothed and fed. It was expensive to have a kid. Lacy didn’t do shit for us, and last I heard, she was traveling with her latest boy toy.
I got back to work, updating some charts and tracking how the new properties were doing. Since I’d started six years ago, we’d added several more properties and businesses as well. Those brought in more money than the houses and condominiums that we rented out, but both seemed to be needed equally. I fixed a few cups of coffee throughout the day, eating a sandwich that Paul brought me at my desk for lunch.
I decided that it would be pizza for dinner tonight if Brandon was up to it. He tended to eat light when he was feeling sick, just wanting to be cuddled while he slept. I noticed that he seemed clingy with me since Lacy left us, seeing the same thing with other people he was close to. It was exhausting, but I lived for my boy, and there wouldn’t be a day that I wasn’t there for him.
I left work after six, helping Martin with some issues before I called Danielle and asked her if she was okay staying just another few minutes. She always was. I asked Brandon if he wanted pizza and grinned when he told me that he was starving, knowing that Danielle kept him well-fed. I grabbed a few on the way home, knowing how much I ate. I was looking forward to relaxing on the couch tonight with Brandon, just letting the week go.