SEAL of Approval

by Lynn Faye

  From the outside, our office didn’t look like the home of seven millionaires, but we technically did most of our work out of the office anyways. The drab walls and boring furniture weren’t at all like the startup companies we worked with, but then again we didn’t care anymore. Our bank accounts were full, and none of us had the need to impress others with fancy office accommodations. We had one employee, Stewart, our accountant. He kept the books looking nice and did most of his work from home. We didn’t have a big social media presence and certainly didn’t advertise. Our purpose was solely to help other companies and our investments in those companies were now our business. Sooner or later, we would need to hire staff, but at the moment we relished the small size of what we were doing and the relative quiet that we had been allowed to work in.

  My old brown office chair squeaked as I got up and lifted the drone into the air to show the group how it worked. At least everything was so old that I didn’t have to worry if I accidentally broke a light fixture during my little demonstration.

  “It has facial recognition and will follow me without the need to control its every move,” I said as I walked around the room. “I saw the founders on the beach, and they had the drone following them while they were surfing. It was friggin amazing.”

  “What’s their production like?” Jacob asked.

  “I’m really not sure of any details. We will need to visit them and start from scratch. They seemed very green, and I think they’ve just been financing with family and friends’ money. We could put some capital behind them with some advertising, and it would blow up rather quickly.”

  “Where are they located?” Chris asked.

  Chris was the youngest of our group and had just left his job at Google. His coding skills were amazing, and he was itching to start his own company soon. I’d convinced him to hang out with us while he got his own thing up and running. His long beard and scruffy hair made him look more like a homeless man than one who had acquired a multimillion dollar portfolio.

  “Florida, do you want to go check them out?” I asked.

  “Sure, I don’t have much going on this month. I’d like to take a look under their hood and see what type of code they are using.”

  “You know most guys your age are looking under skirts, not coding hoods,” Sergei laughed.

  “Skirts ain’t going to make me rich.”

  “Very true, but they have their own benefits.”

  Sergei was happily married but loved to give the rest of us a hard time when it came to women. He and his wife had known each other since they were children, and their family had arranged their marriage while they were in college. It didn’t seem like a good way to start a life together, to me, but Sergei was happy so who was I to say anything?

  “Thanks, Chris, send out an email after your visit, and we can see if we can set up a meeting with them. I’m not even sure how much they might need in capital, so find out the details while you’re there please.”

  “Will do.”

  My phone started ringing, and I noticed it was Ashley. If she was calling, I had to answer it. She hardly ever called me unless our daughter had been hurt or Ashley needed more money for something. In fact, I hadn’t actually talked to Ashley in nearly a year; instead, she had sent a few text messages, and her parents had been there when I went to drop off Izzy’s Christmas presents.

  “Hey Ashley, give me just a second,” I said as I put the call on mute. “I’ve got to take this. Edward, will you go ahead with your presentation on the company from the last month?”

  “Sure thing Devin,” he said as I left the room.

  “What’s up? Is Izzy alright?”

  “What? What do you mean?” Ashley said with slurred speech. “I’m not calling about Izzy. I’m calling about what you did to me. You made me love you and then forced me to leave. You made me like this.”

  “Ashley, what’s going on? Are you alright?” I asked as I became worried.

  “I’m not alright. I’m stuck raising a daughter alone while you bone every skirt you see. You don’t deserve to party all the time, and I am forced to be responsible. That’s bullshit.”

  “Where’s Izzy at?” I asked. “Are you drunk?”

  “She’s at school stupid. If you were involved in her life, you’d know she goes to school.”

  “Ashley, are you home? Can I call your parents for you? Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine; you’re not calling anyone. I just wanted you to know what a mess you’ve made of everything.”

  “I’m sorry things didn’t turn out between us. I’d be happy to be more involved in Izzy’s life, but you said you didn’t think it was good for her. Do you want me to come and get her? I could have her live with me in Chicago for the school year if that would help you?”

  “No! You’re not taking her from me. You just don’t want to pay me what you owe for her. I’m not giving her up just so you can keep all that money for yourself.”

  It was clear that Ashley wasn’t as sober as I thought she had been. Her slurred words and belligerent tone of voice reminded me why we were no longer together. She wasn’t a nice drunk, which was something I remembered very well.

  “I don’t care about the money, Ashley. I really would like to build a relationship with Izzy. She only sees me twice a year, and anytime I call you’re always telling me she isn’t around.”

  “She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. But you’re saying it’s hard to take care of her, and I want to help.”

  “You don’t want to help. You’re too busy working and traveling everywhere to care about her.”

  “No, I’d gladly stay home if you’d like to have her come out here.”

  “I don’t think so. She doesn’t want to live with you. She hates you.”

  Her words cut through me like a knife. I suspected Izzy had never said such a thing, and it was just the alcohol talking, but I still felt the pain of even the suggestion that my own daughter hated me.

  “If you’re alright, I’m going to let you go. Would you like me to call your parents to come and get you? Are you somewhere safe?”

  “I’m safe. Why are you even pretending to worry? This is none of your business!” she screamed.

  “I’ll call you later tonight to talk with Izzy.”

  “No, she hates you. Don’t call.”

  “I’d really like to talk to her.”

  “Well, you don’t always get what you want in this world, do you?” Ashley said as she hung up the phone.

  My hand shook as I put my phone back in my pocket and went outside to walk off the adrenaline that was rushing through my body. I wanted just to get on a plane and go to Ashley’s house right that moment. I could go to the school and take Izzy out and bring her back to live with me. If this was what Ashley was like now, there was no way Izzy should be around that. But then I had to wonder what Ashley had been telling Izzy about me? Did Izzy really hate me?

  If her mother had been spewing hateful remarks for the last year, or more, surely Izzy would have developed a different opinion. She would only have heard bad things and nothing good about me at all. My stomach continued to rumble as I thought about the hateful things Ashley had probably been telling our daughter.

  Maybe it was out of spite, or maybe it was out of genuine concern for Ashley; I wasn’t really sure, but I dialed her mother’s number. I had to let someone know what sort of state Ashley was in, or I’d feel really bad if something happened to her.

  “Mrs. Edwards, this is Devin,” I said just in case she didn’t have my number in her phone. We didn’t actually talk very much, so I wasn’t sure.

  “Hi, Devin. What can I help you with?”

  “I just had a concerning phone call from Ashley, she sounded drunk and …”

  “She’s had a rough couple of weeks. I’ll head over to her house and check on her. Thanks for calling,” she said and hung up the phone before I could get another word in.

  Obv
iously, it hadn’t been a surprise to her that Ashley was drunk. She hadn’t even seemed surprised that I was the one calling her. But Mrs. Edwards didn’t like me, and I wasn’t about to call her back and push the subject. She was going to check on Ashley, and that was enough for the time being. I made my way back into my meeting and listened while Edward finished the numbers of our last investment.

  “Everything alright?” Jacob whispered.

  “Just stuff with Ashley. Hey, can you get me that number of the lawyer you suggested?”

  “Sure, you going to try for custody?”

  “No, well, I don’t know. I just want to lay out my options.”

  “I’ll text it to you.”

  “Thanks.”

  As our work day continued, I couldn’t stop thinking about Izzy. I’d stayed away for so long because it seemed like it was better for her. Now, I had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to be there for her. But I had been gone from her life for so long, it was going to be hard for me to step up and be the Dad I thought she needed me to be. After my trip to Bali, I was going to stop by Jacksonville and see Izzy; she needed to see more of me. I had decided she had to see me in order to know I loved her and was always going to be there for her.

  Chapter 3

  Lilli

  “I’m coming over to get you,” I said to Anna as I slipped on my tennis shoes and got ready for my run.

  “I’m not going running. You’re crazy if you think I’m going running.”

  It had been nearly a week since our last big night on the town, and I hadn’t been able to find the time to hang out with Anna. Between my work schedule and helping my mother with her new rose garden, I was exhausted. Planting and caring for roses wasn’t at all a priority on my list, but my mother liked it when I helped out and spent time with her, and I liked to make her happy, especially since I was at home now and not even paying rent.

  “I’m literally walking out the door and will be at your house soon. Get ready,” I said as I hung up the phone.

  Before leaving my house, I looked toward Devin’s place to see if there were any signs of him. It had been several days since I’d run into him on the street, and I hadn’t seen or heard from him since. The curtains in his bedroom were in the exact same spot they had been days before, and I had to assume he was off on some sort of a business trip or something like that.

  Anna only lived a few blocks away from me, so it was a great warm-up as I took my time jogging over there. The sky was overcast and looked like some rain might happen at any moment, so I wanted to get Anna out with me before she had yet another excuse not to work out. Not like she needed to work out; she was thin with hardly an extra ounce of fat on her body, but I still liked to get her out and exercising whenever I could. It helped me relax to talk to her, and I knew she felt better too.

  Anna’s house was just as large as mine and just as empty. She was the youngest child and had four brothers, all of which were at college or off living their lives as adults. As the only girl, Anna was spoiled, more than even I was. She got to do whatever she wanted, and her parents never even checked up on her. They traveled often and just left her lots of money for anything she might need. She drank more than I did, partied harder than I did and talked like a sailor.

  “I’m not running,” Anna said as I rang the doorbell and found her standing there in full workout gear.

  “That’s a nice outfit for someone who isn’t running.”

  Anna had on a brilliant pink sports top that looked to be a size too small as her breasts were exploding out of the thing. She had a pair of black leggings on, and her hair was pulled back in a delicate ponytail. If she was going to be taking a yoga class, she looked perfectly dressed, but for running, I didn’t think she was going to be all that comfortable. Her boobs would be bouncing all over the place with the tiny sports bra she had on.

  “It is a nice outfit isn’t it?” She spun around, half admiring her own choice in clothing. “We can walk if you’d like.”

  “Walking doesn’t burn any calories, Anna. Put a normal sports bra on, and let’s go for a jog.”

  “I can’t. Jason might be around.”

  I looked at her in total confusion. I couldn’t remember any guy named Jason that she liked and especially didn’t think there were any that lived around her house. My confusion must have been evident in my eyes as she smiled and pointed to her neighbor’s house.

  “Mr. Hartley.” She laughed.

  “Oh, my God, do you still have a crush on that guy?”

  “Hey, you’ve got a crush on your neighbor,” she retorted.

  “My neighbor is a hot single guy. You have a crush on a married father of a toddler.”

  “He’s not married. Their divorce is final now. I heard some of the other women in the neighborhood talking about him. He’s a hot single dad, and all the women want him, but I’m going to have him before any of them.”

  “Can we talk about this while we walk?”

  Anna was an expert at having crushes. She was all hot and bothered about any and every good looking guy that crossed her path. It was honestly hard to keep up with all the men she liked.

  “Fine, but let’s walk around this way so we can come back on his side of the street,” she insisted.

  Our neighborhood was pretty empty during the afternoon when I liked to work out. Everyone was either at work or in their houses. Even the stay at home mothers tended to be busy with their children from ten o’clock to noon. Anna and I made our way north on one of the side streets and walked toward the paved bike path at the back of our neighborhood.

  “So how are your parents?” I asked just as we reached the bike path.

  “Shhh, don’t say a word, then laugh like I said something funny?”

  “What?”

  Anna grabbed my hand and held it firmly as a man and his son approached us on the path. When they were a few feet away from us, she squeezed my hand firmly.

  “Ouch.”

  “Laugh,” she demanded with a huge smile on her face.

  “Oh, haha, Anna you’re so funny,” I played along.

  “Hey, Jason, how are you and Clyde doing today?” Anna asked as she turned away from me and gave him all of her focus.

  “Hi Anna, we are doing well. Clyde was a little sick today, so I stayed home with him, but of course, he started feeling better. Isn’t it funny how that works?”

  “Oh yeah, those little guys can get better really quickly. You remember to call me if you need a babysitter. I’m available any time of day. Even if you just want some extra hands around so you can get things done around the house,” Anna offered.

  She was standing with one hand on her hip, and her breast pressed out toward him. He couldn’t help looking at her, and who could blame the guy? She was practically offering herself up on a silver platter for him.

  “Thanks, Anna; I’ve still got your number. You two enjoy your walk.”

  “Actually, we were going for a run. Have to keep looking good,” Anna said as she started to jog in place. “See you around.”

  “Have a nice day girls,” Jason said as his eyes fixated on Anna’s bouncing chest.

  I followed Anna’s lead and jogged down the path with her until we turned enough that he couldn’t see us. Then Anna stopped and put her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. It was clear that she wasn’t in shape at all.

  “Well, he’s handsome.”

  “Isn’t he dreamy? I’m going to screw him until my legs shake, and I can’t see straight.”

  “Wow, okay,” I said at her graphic vision of her time with Jason.

  “Isn’t he like the best looking single dad you’ve ever seen? I mean come on that blond hair and those blue eyes. Wow, I’m wet just thinking about his hands on me.”

  “Maybe you should actually have sex before you start seducing single fathers?” I suggested.

  “Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean I don’t know what to do. I’m so ready to do this guy. I could sed
uce him right now if I wanted to.”

  “How about you wait, and we finish our walk?” I laughed. “I think you need to have some sex, but find a nice guy your age so you can have an actual relationship. That guy isn’t going to be someone that stays around.”

  Anna huffed at my suggestion and started to speed up as we walked the path. She had her heart set on losing her virginity but always talked about these older guys. I couldn’t even remember a time when she’d talked about a boy her own age.

  “How’s your old man flirting thing going?” Anna asked as she changed the subject back to me.

  “He’s the last thing on my mind right now. I have to save money for a new apartment. My car went to crap yesterday and is literally sitting in some police impound because I couldn’t pay for a tow off the highway. I swear I work hard and never seem to make enough money.”

  “That sucks. I’m sure your parents would help you get into an apartment, though.”

  “Of course they would, but I’m a friggin adult. I have to get my shit together, and I’m not going to ask them for more money.”

  “Do you want to go out tonight?” Anna asked as if drinking and partying were the solution to the troubles I was having.

  “Going out drinking isn’t exactly going to solve my problems.”

  A few raindrops hit us, and we both looked up at the clouds and turned around to head home. We picked up the pace in an effort to make it back to Anna’s house before we got totally soaked.

  “So you do want to go drinking?” Anna laughed.

  “Yes, actually I’d love to. But I’m inviting Monica to come too. She really needs to get out of the house.”

  “Invite whoever you want. I’ll pay,” Anna offered.

  She had a credit card from her parents and no limit on her spending. I wasn’t one to take advantage of her generosity, but sometimes I really didn’t have the money to pay for drinks.