Page 4 of The CEO

“Sure.”

He held the door open, then closed it behind her.

“I need your help.” He pointed at Lilly, sitting in her car seat. “I don’t know how to strap her in. Do you? You have children, so I thought you could teach me.”

Emily stared at Lilly. She turned toward Adam. “That woman left her baby with you. Why?”

“Apparently, one of my indiscretions had an unintended result.”

“I would say so.” She moved toward the baby and then lowered herself to her knees. “Hello, sweetheart. Aren’t you just the most precious little thing.”

Adam watched as Emily secured Lilly into the car seat. He pulled out his phone and made notes of exactly which strap went where.

“What vehicle do you have today?”

“The Jag.”

Emily shook her head. “You can’t put her in that Jaguar. You’ll have to take my Mercedes.” She looked up at him. “It’s a good thing you pay me well, and I can afford a reliable, four-door vehicle. You always have to make sure you have a back seat in whatever car you drive when you have Lilly.” She rose from the floor. “Come on, I’ll show you how to buckle her in.” Emily turned and walked out of the office, leaving Adam to look after her. “Well, are you coming?” she called from the outer office.

“Yes, we’re right behind you.” He picked up Lilly and the diaper bag, then followed Emily.

In the summer warmth of the parking garage, Adam followed the woman to her car, a beautiful burgundy Mercedes E550 sedan.

Emily pressed the key fob, went directly to the passenger side back door, and opened it.

“You want to put her in the passenger side if you can, so you can see her in your rear-view mirror. It’s just a little more relief to see her as you drive. Let me have her.”

Adam passed the baby in the car seat to his assistant.

She deftly wove the seat belt through the car seat frame and tugged it for good measure. “Now, you can get her home. I’ll have Eric drop me by your place to pick up my car.”

“Oh, don’t bother him.” He reached into his pocket. “Take the Jag and just exchange cars.” He handed her the keys. “And thank you. You went above and beyond today.”

She beamed. “All in a day’s work at Kincaid Holdings.”

Adam laughed. “At least you’re not bored. You couldn’t have been with me for ten years and been too bored.”

“Definitely not.” She grinned. “Take care of her. She’s precious cargo.” She turned to leave and then turned back to him. “Adam what about the Danvers acquisition? How will you care for a baby with all that’s happening there?”

“If my plan works, I’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

He was surprised that he felt so possessive of Lilly in such a short amount of time. Yet, he realized she was already a part of his life, and he wouldn’t let anyone take her from him. “I will. Now that she’s mine, I plan on taking the best care of her.”

“Will you still have a DNA test?”

He shrugged. “That goes without saying, though at this point I don’t know what I’ll do if it comes back negative. Her mother’s gone to the Middle East for some dream job, and I won’t put the baby in foster care. So, she’s mine regardless. Besides, my name is on her birth certificate.”

She placed a hand on his arm and gazed up at him. “And she has your eyes. You don’t get that blue-gray color every day.”

He chuckled. “No, you definitely don’t. You need to reschedule my afternoon meetings.”

“To when do you want them rescheduled?”

“Day after tomorrow.”