The CEO Daddy Next Door Read Online Free Page B

home, as the Americans loved to say.
    â€œWe’re just off to a slow start,” he said, steeling himself. They would get out of this, and he would lead the way. He wouldn’t let anyone down. “Distribution is getting better every day, and we’re making inroads. It’s just going to take longer than we’d hoped. People don’t change their drinking habits overnight.”
    â€œThey do if there’s a reason to. Like a big piece of media attention or a celebrity endorsement. Something that could go viral.”
    â€œThe media plan is solid and very aggressive. We just got confirmation that International Spirits wants to interview me and put it on the cover. That’s big.”
    Joanna closed her eyes, rested her head on her shoulder and unleashed a snore. “I’m sorry. Did you say something? I was so bored by the thought of International Spirits magazine that I fell asleep.”
    â€œHey, that’s a big coup, and it’s an important player in our industry. Oscar Pruitt is a very influential journalist. Dad’s been courting him for years.”
    â€œIt’s not going to set the world on fire. We need to find something for people to get excited about. Really excited. Something unexpected. Something sexy.”
    Marcus sat back in his chair. Viral videos, memes and celebrities were not at all what he’d envisioned for Chambers No. 9, but he could be onboard with sexy and unexpected. “You’re right. Tell you what. We’ll do some brainstorming with the rest of the marketing team tomorrow. Perhaps we just need to get a bit more creative.”
    Marcus’s phone lit up with a text. The message was from Ashley, their first interaction since the night before, when she’d grabbed his arm and managed to annoy him with her nonsense about hiding.
    Busy? I need to ask you a question.
    He tapped out a reply. What is it? The last thing he wanted was Ashley springing a surprise on him, like asking if her contractor could start running saws at five a.m. tomorrow.
    An invitation. May I call? Ashley replied.
    â€œWho are you texting?” Joanna asked nonchalantly. At twenty-eight, she might’ve been three years younger than him, but she could be a mother hen. She’d certainly kept close tabs on him since things went south with his marriage.
    â€œMy neighbor. Ms. George. Something about an invitation.”
    â€œAn invitation? From Ashley George? Have you two patched things up? Whatever it is, you should say yes.” Joanna sounded entirely too optimistic for his taste. And pushy. Joanna hadn’t even tried to disguise her hope that Marcus would jump into the dating pool with both feet, starting with Ashley. She was, after all, the toast of the entire city, drop-dead gorgeous and, conveniently enough, right across the hall.
    Ashley also wasn’t a real option. He’d learned that on their date. Their conversation sent up red flag after red flag, culminating with the story of how she and her last boyfriend had broken up because she wasn’t ready to have children. That had prompted him to ask for the check and give her nothing more than a handshake at the end of the night. It wasn’t like he’d been on the verge of proposing marriage, but he had no business spending time with a woman who didn’t share his vision for a relationship. He and Lila were a package deal. No getting around that.
    And there was great urgency to his situation. Lila would soon be old enough to remember growing up without a mum. His mother was one of the most important people in his life. He wasn’t about to let Lila go without. Watching that would be even worse than seeing Chambers Gin go belly-up. “No patching anything up for me and Ms. George. We’re doing our best to tolerate each other.” He looked down at his phone again. How he despised texting. Dialing Ashley’s number, he shooed Joanna away, but she shook her head, making