Chapter 1

Gage

“Daddy, that tiara is too pink. You need one that’s blue for a boy.” Ollie reached up and took the shiny, plastic crown from my head and then went to the toy box and found a silver one. “Here, this will work.” She placed it on my head, and I smiled big.

“How do you like it?” I straightened the thing as she sat down and poured me a little more tea into the child-sized tea cup.

“Here, have another sandwich.” She put one of the ham, egg, and cheese halves on my tiny, plastic plate.

“Thank you.” I did my best to teach my daughter manners. Even though she could be a pistol at times, she was coming along nicely. Most of the thanks were to her grandmother, Edna, who had cared for her since her mother’s death, but soon, I’d have Olivia full-time. “Breakfast is amazing.”

“Ava makes the best breakfast sandwiches in the world. She’s also very pretty, don’t you think?” She smiled big and waggled her brows. Ava was a beautiful woman, but she was far too old for my tastes. She was also old enough to be my mother, as were the other women on my staff.

“That she is.” I couldn’t disagree.

Helen, the maid who had been working for my family since I was a teenager, walked in and put her hands on her hips. “I specifically asked Ava not to encourage this.” She looked at me with a scowl as I sat there dressed for work in my suit with a tiara and a hot pink feather boa, surrounded by stuffed animals.

Ollie turned and met my eyes, then waited a moment, as if to see if I whether or not I’d take the older woman’s side.

I cleared my throat and pulled off the feather boa. “It’s just now and then; it can’t hurt. Besides, I gave my permission, and since I’m participating, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

She glanced down, and my eyes followed to the carpet where the feather boa had shed and crumbs had fallen. “It’s only encouraging her to have food up here, sir, and then we’ll have pests.”

“As I said, it’s only now and then.” My voice commanded such authority that Ollie cringed.

Helen’s face screwed up like she’d eaten a lemon, and then she turned and walked out without another word.

“She’s so mean. I don’t like her.”

“It’s not nice to say that, Ollie. She’s just doing her job and trying to make sure the house is tidy for all of us. And she’s right; we’re making a mess, so let’s make sure we clean up before Daddy has to leave for the day.”

Ollie stepped around her little table and climbed up into my lap. Her big blue eyes were much brighter than mine, and they made me melt. I was unable to resist her power. “Daddy, why can’t I go with you to work?”

“I’ve got to meet with clients and go to locations where it’s not safe for a little girl. Besides, there are laws and code that say children of a certain age can’t be around some of my tools while they are in use.”

“I want to be big and work.”

“Don’t be in a hurry, kid.” She already seemed much older than her four years, but she would be five in a few months, about the time the back and forth ended and she stayed with me full-time.

I imagined Edna was counting down the days and had probably already ordered tickets to one of the private island resorts that I’d made my fortune building. She’d done me a great favor taking on her granddaughter, and now that I had finally come to my senses and was standing up not only as a father, but as a man, she could have the retirement she’d worked so hard for.

It had taken me nearly dying to see the error of my ways, and my life had changed drastically since that plane crashed down with me in it.

I could still smell the fire and feel the lick of heat against my skin when the wreckage exploded. I’d pulled two men to safety, and although I only did what I felt anyone would do, I’d been declared a hero by my client.

“You saved my life.” James had looked up at me with amazement, his arm smashed, and clearly in shock. All he could do was repeat it over and over. “You saved my life.”

I was still trying to find a way to get help when the rescue crews showed up. Luckily, someone had heard the distress call, and a few boats had seen the explosion.

The pilot, though near death when we were finally airlifted to safety, made a full recovery, but he had a permanent limp. James had continued on without missing a beat. I’d taken on the project with him, but this time, I sent my foreman from the States to go and lead the crew to get the job done.

“Daddy?” Ollie waved her hand in front of my face and smiled.

“Let’s get this picked up so I can go to work.”

She giggled and jumped up and down, singing the clean-up song that she had learned from Edna. I played along until my phone rang, and then I left her to it.

“Hello, Gage. How’s it going?” The man called me at least once a day, but this call was a little earlier than expected.

I took the tiara off my head and unwrapped the boa from my neck. “I’m good. Just spending a little time before breakfast with my daughter.”

“Well, I hate to interrupt, but I need you to come down. I have a big project I’d like you to look over for a friend of mine.”

“Come down? As in fly down?”

I heard the sigh in his voice and then he gave a short chuckle. “I know. I just thought it had been long enough that maybe you were ready to get back on the horse.”

After my airlift and the return home, I’d sworn off airplanes and hadn’t climbed in one since. Despite James’s resilience, he understood my hesitation and had gone out of his way to try and reward me for saving him without being too judgmental. Since I refused to take money, he’d been sending me work left and right.

The sound of papers shuffling came through the phone, and I imagined him behind his desk with a stern look on his face that he tried to hide with a half-hearted smile that never left his voice. “It’s just this client. He wants a few warehouses in three key locations. I know you can do the job, and it’s good money. Besides, it’s a bit sensitive, so I wouldn’t trust it with just anyone.”

He made it sound like he was making me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I couldn’t help but wonder what this client needed the warehouses for. A year ago, I would have taken the job and not thought too much about it, but I had more to think about than money now.

I owed my daughter better, and I was going to deliver this time around. I raked my hand through my beard and felt the line of the scar that I kept hidden beneath the beard from the crash. If I ever needed another wake-up call in life, I’d shave.

I left Ollie’s room and headed for my home office. “This isn’t one of those jobs where I can’t ask too many questions, is it?” I needed to know what kind of situation this was.

“You can always ask questions, my friend, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll be able to give you an answer.”

“I don’t want to build some sweatshop for third-world slaves who are no older than my daughter, so if that’s the case, I’ll pass.”

“Duly noted. So, I have another project. It’s for another friend of mine. I’ll fax you the plans, and you can give them a look. Easy money, legit, right up your alley.”

“Sounds much better.” I grabbed my case and headed back to Ollie’s room as I said my goodbyes and hung up with James.

“All done, Daddy. Ava said I could cook.” It felt good to know she liked at least one person on the staff, though most didn’t have time for children.

“That’s good, honey. You be good and play, and I’ll check on you later. You know you can call if you need anything, right?”

She let out a dramatic sigh and gave me a sassy look. “Yes, I know.” She ran over and hugged my legs, and I bent down to hug her neck and steal a kiss.

“Good girl. I love you.”

“Love you, Daddy!” She ran over to her toy box and grabbed a teddy bear to put in the chair I’d been in. I guessed that was my stand-in. I gave a chuckle and hurried out before she gave the fluffy guy my crown and boa.

On my way downstairs, I passed Helen, who turned away when she saw me. “I made sure she cleaned up her mess.”

“Yes, sir, but I just cleaned the uneaten portion of your food from the sink. Please inform your daughter that we don’t have a garbage disposal.” Her attitude had taken a turn for the worse since Ollie had come into our lives. And it was going to take me to turn it back around.

“Helen, I know you weren’t around me when I was a child, but I’m sure you’re familiar that they tend to need a little guidance. So, I suggest that when you see my daughter, you tell her that yourself.” Her eyes widened. “I’m asking for a little patience. It’s bad enough I don’t want to go into the office these days.”

Helen let out a breath and met my eyes. “Then don’t. You’re the head of the company; you have a nice office here. Trust me, I know. I clean it whether you use it or not. So why not do what your father used to and work from home?” She gave me a pat on the back and then went to the kitchen.

She had a point. Maybe that was the solution. It wasn’t as if I was needed at the office to keep things running there. Hell, I’d spent most of my time out of the country before the crash.

I’d been so determined not to let the crash do me in completely that I had started using my old office, but retiring sounded like a good idea. Let someone else deal with the headaches.

Like everything else, I’d think it over. It wasn’t like me to make a decision in haste.