Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Rose dropped into her desk chair and rubbed her temples. She was trembling and looked on the verge of tears.
“Rose…” A knot formed in his throat. He hated seeing her like this. He wanted to round the desk, scoop her up, and cradle her in his arms, rocking her until she calmed.
“Can we talk about this later? I’m too emotional right now, and I don’t want to cry at work,” she suggested.
Adam considered her request for a moment and then shook his head. “No, Rosebud. I don’t think that’s a good idea. It was obvious when I arrived that you weren’t getting anything productive done anyway. I think you need to get everything off your chest right now so I can help you work it out and the rest of your day can be productive.”
She glared at him. “You can’t Daddy me at work, Adam. You can’t boss me around and tell me what to do.”
This was bad. Worse than he’d expected. But he wasn’t going to back down. He set his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. “Little girl, I wouldn’t be a very good Daddy if I left you here angry and near tears. I won’t do that. I’m your Daddy all the time, even when things are tough, even when you think you don’t want me to be, even when you’re mad at me.”
Her lip was quivering. Her eyes were watery too. The dam was about to break, and he thought it might be for the best. None of her employees out front needed to know. The door was closed.
When she didn’t continue arguing, Adam stood, returned to the door, and locked it. Next, he rounded the desk, lifted his Little girl off her chair, and took her spot, settling her on his lap.
He was grateful she didn’t fight him. Small blessings. She curled up and covered her face. “Maybe I’m just tired and I overreacted. I don’t know.”
“I know you’re exhausted, Rosebud.” He rubbed her back. “You work very long hours. Even the forced vacation day wasn’t enough to make up for the stress of your job. That’s why I suggested Deke…” Ohhh.
It suddenly dawned on him what this was all about. Deke. He’d suggested she needed more help.
She stiffened once again and leaned back, scowling. “I can take care of my store without help,” she insisted.
Adam gently removed the crooked bear clip from the top of her head and smoothed her hair back. “I know you can, Rosebud. You can do anything in the world you put your mind to, but at what expense? You’ve been working twelve hours a day for months. Business is going well. I know it’s still new and scary, but I bet if you take a close look at your books, you’d find you can afford some help.” He hoped he was right. Based on the number of customers he knew went through this store every day he was confident in his assessment without seeing the numbers.
“You think I should hire Deke to manage the store.” Her lip continued to quiver. “You think I can’t do it without him.”
Ahh. Adam shook his head. “That’s not true. I know for a fact you can do it alone. You’ve been doing it alone for months. You can continue to do so, but aren’t you tired, Rosebud? Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in some days? Go on a vacation? Read more than one or two pages in a book before you fall asleep?”
She stared at him but at least she didn’t interrupt, and she wasn’t as defensive.
“I would never suggest you can’t do something, Rosebud. Never ever. You’re multitalented and perfectly capable. But you’re also my Little girl, and my job as your Daddy is to take care of you and make suggestions that might help improve your quality of life. That’s what Daddies do.”
She sighed.
Good sign, so he continued, “When you told me Deke was here, ideas formed quickly in my head. Deke is a hard worker. He knows about sales. He’s held a managerial position for many years. I have no idea if he has any interest in stuffies or not. I haven’t asked him, but it’s worth looking into. If you hired a manager, you would still be the owner. You would still get final say on everything that happens in Stuff-It, but a huge weight would be lifted off your shoulders, and you wouldn’t have to worry all the time.”
She lowered her gaze and leaned into him, setting her head on his shoulder.
Adam rubbed her back, feeling the tension ease with every passing minute. He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Rosebud. My heart seized when I realized I’d done something to make you so very unhappy.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she finally murmured.
He leaned her back and met her gaze. “I’m sorry, too. I blundered through my suggestion. I’ll try to do better next time and maybe if I make a suggestion in the future, you could take a deep breath and talk it out with me. My ideas might work for you or not. I know you won’t choose to take my business advice every time, and that’s okay. But…” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles before stroking her shaking fingers.