“Where are you going, Daddy?” Maddie asked.
“To a meeting.”
“Is it a good meeting?”
I thought about that.
Then I said, “I think it might be.”
Claire looked up from her coloring page and gave me a serious nod like she was sending me into battle.
“Be brave.”
That one almost undid me.
I kissed the tops of both their heads and left.
Daniel Parker’s office sat downtown in a brick building with huge windows and the kind of clean, calm lobby that tells you somebody in charge actually understands first impressions.
No gaudy logo wall.
No fake energy.
Just quiet confidence.
The receptionist looked up when I approached.
“I’m here to see Mr. Parker. Evelyn Parker sent me.”
Her face changed immediately.
“Of course. He’s expecting you.”
Of course.
Those two words nearly made my knees weak.
I was led to a conference room with a long wood table and a view of the city that made my old office look like a storage closet.
