by Tyla Walker
Thirty-Five
Sonya
“Mrs. Fields! We’ve already selected the models for your spring collection,” Dorothy, one of my assistants, informs me.
“That’s great, Dorothy. Please have their files sent to my office. I would like to personally review them. Also, as I’ve told you a million times, please call me Sonya. Mrs. Fields is reserved for Gloria,” I tell her.
She smiles.
“Right. Sorry, Sonya,” she says before setting out to do her tasks for the day.
“Oh, Sonya! There you are. I just wanted to tell you that we already booked Spazio Cavallerizze in Milan for the releasing of your spring collection,” Andy, another one of my assistants, says in a hurry.
“Fantastic job, Andy,” I tell her.
She beams at my compliment.
“It’s no problem, Sonya. If you’ll excuse me, I need to coordinate with some of the staff about fashion week,” she scampers away in a hurry.
I smile, knowing how lucky I am to have two hard-working assistants by my side. I make sure to acknowledge them properly so that they won’t feel overlooked as I did.
If they play their cards right, a promotion will be right around the corner for both of them if they ever want it.
Running the company with Grant is quite the experience. It gives me a sense of empowerment but also reminds me that we are responsible for our staff. As such, Grant and I respect each of our employees.
We give credit where credit is due, so a lot of our staff are happy to work for us.
You’d also think that with all the charities that we’ve got, we’ll be hard-pressed for cash, but no. There really are a lot of good people in the world. We have plenty of investors who willingly donate for our cause. They’ve helped keep the charities going.
The company itself is also doing great. With Grant’s financial skills and my designs, we’ve reaped in loads of profits. Yes, life is good. Grant and I are doing pretty well for ourselves.
As for Gloria, I can honestly say, despite her normally cold and reserved demeanor, that she’s genuinely proud of her son. She once thought him to be a man who only cares about frivolous things.
Now that Grant has brought his mother’s company to newer heights, all the while, helping those in need, I can see a spark in her eyes as she looks at him. I can tell that Gloria knows, without a fathom of a doubt, that she left the company in capable hands.
She’s happily retired, taking frequent trips around the world with her husband, Gilbert. Although she still visits the company every now and then, trying to see if there are any problems. But honestly, I think she just misses us but doesn’t want to admit it.
She’s also taken a liking to Lauralee, offering to bring her whenever she travels. Of course, we told her that once Lauralee gets older, she can take her to travel. But for now, she’s still our little baby, and we want her to spend her time with us.
“Good afternoon, Sonya,” Grant’s secretary greets me.
I offer her a smile, “Is your boss in?”
She nods, ushering me to enter Grant’s office.
I see him talking to someone on the telephone. But once he takes notice of me, he quickly finishes up the call and hangs up.
I chuckle, giving him a kiss on the lips.
“You should’ve finished your conversation properly. I wouldn’t have minded waiting for a couple more minutes,” I say.
He shakes his head.
“No, you came in at just the right time. We have family time today. We can’t keep Lauralee waiting,” he says, getting up from his seat.
Grant drives us to Lauralee’s school. And as soon as we get out of the car, I can already hear Lauralee talking excitedly to her friends.
We choose to wait, observing how she is with her friends. She talks so animatedly, eliciting giggles from her friends.
She doesn’t seem to notice us, so I decide to call out to her. This immediately catches her attention. Her eyes widen, trying to look for the source of my voice.
Once she pinpoints our location, she squeals in delight. She runs across the field, launching herself over to us.
Grant carries her in, gives her a kiss on the cheek, and I do the same on her other cheek.
“How was your day, princess?” Grant asks.
“It was great, daddy! I made some new friends,” she says, gesturing to the kids she was talking to earlier.
I chuckle.
“That’s nice, sweetie,” I say, earning a smile from her.
“We got out of work early so we can spend time with you, princess. Is there anything you want to do before dinner?” Grant asks.
She looks excited at the prospect of spending time with us.
“How about we go to the park? We can play on the swings and feed the ducks. Then after, we can get some ice cream,” she says.
I look at Grant to see if the idea is okay with him, and he just shrugs.
I smile.
“Alright, sweetie. Let’s all go to the park,” I say, causing my daughter whooping in triumph.
“What do you want to do first, sweetie?” I ask.
“Let’s buy some bread so we can feed the ducks,” she says excitedly, pulling us to the nearest food stand.
Grant takes care of buying the bread while I look after Lauralee.
“Here you go, some bread for the ducks,” Grant says, handing Lauralee a brown bag with some bread inside.
We head for the pond, Grant holding my hand as I hold Lauralee’s.
I sigh, contentedly. This is the life. I never thought I could be this happy.
We see a lot of ducks in the pond. Lauralee runs towards the ducks. She throws pieces of bread on the ground, and the ducks start gathering around her.
She giggles as some of the feathers brush against her.
Grant decides to join her, while I sit by a tree, watching the both of them.
It warms my heart, seeing the two of them get along. The smile can’t be wiped from Lauralee’s face. She looks so happy, and I’m sure Grant feels the same way. He treats her like a princess. Sometimes, I have to reproach him for spoiling her too much. He’d just say that he’s making up for all the years Lauralee has lived without a dad. It further cemented my belief that I’ve met the right man for Lauralee and me.
They start walking in my direction. It looks like all the bread is gone.
“We finished feeding the ducks,” Lauralee says, running towards me. I chuckle.
“Slow down, sweetie,” I tell her.
“Do you want to go to the playground, princess?” Grant asks.
Lauralee’s eyes light up. “Yes!”
She runs towards the swings, “Mom, can you push me?”
I happily oblige, pushing her so that she can get enough momentum.
“Now, try to move the swing on your own with your legs,” I say.
Grant sits on the swing beside her and shows her how it’s done.
I laugh at how the great Grant Fields, playboy extraordinaire, is using a kiddie swing to teach Lauralee how to make the swing move without anyone pushing.
They both look adorable.
“Mommy! I’m doing it!” she shouts excitedly.
I chuckle, “That’s great, sweetheart.”
We stay on the swings for a bit longer, but as the sun slowly sets, we decide that it’s time to go home.
“Wait, what about ice cream?” Lauralee asks with a pout.
“We’ll stop over to get some on the way home,” Grant says, not wanting to disappoint Lauralee.
I chuckle; he is so whipped. Lauralee has him wrapped around her finger.
“What flavor do you want, princess?” Grant asks.
“Vanilla, please,” she says.
Grant buys her the ice cream. She takes the cone, eager to have the first bite.
“Slow down, sweetie. You might get sick,” I tell her.
She nods, finishing her ice cream slowly.
“How about we eat out tonight? How does pizza soun
d?” Grant asks.
Lauralee instantly agrees. I chuckle, agreeing as well. Grant takes us to an Italian restaurant nearby. We haven’t tried eating here before, so it’ll be a new experience for us.
We order some pizzas, the usual pepperoni pizza for Lauralee, and a meaty overload pizza for Grant and me.
“Did you have fun today?” I ask Lauralee.
She nods enthusiastically.
“Yes, mommy. Today’s the second-best day of my life,” she says.
Grant looks at her quizzically. “Second-best? What’s the first?”
“It was when you and mommy got married, and I finally have a complete family to spend time with,” she says in between bites of her pizza.
Grant and I are shocked by her answer. He holds my hand underneath the table.
I see him watching Lauralee with a look of adoration.
I sigh, content to have these two in my life. I could not ask for more.
Also by Tyla Walker
Honest Man
Million Dollar Fake Wife
Boy Friend
Up & Coming
Country Love
Rushed Love
The Promotion Proposal
The Texas Property Billionaire’s Nanny
The Oil Tycoon’s Surrogate
Fake Forever
Wife Arrangement
Fake Wedding
Not That White Boy
Hate To Love You
Fake Marriage
Love After A Cheater
Always Been You
The Billionaire Professor’s Curvy Student
The Billionaire President’s Love Bunny
The Texas Bad Boy Billionaire’s Forbidden Love
Starlet For the Single Dad
Having the Ex-Military Billionaire’s Baby
A Good Woman
Blending a New Family
Pretend Wife
A Single Mom’s True Love
Marriage of Convenience
The Texas CEO’s Nanny
Time For Family
My Crazy White Boy
