Cool Mom

26: Date At Meeting

My parents left on their road trip about ten days ago and since then we've all fallen back into our daily routines. Today is Thursday which means Hazel has a play date.

I ask the driver to bring out my car to the front. The two minutes that it takes for him to do this, Hazel manages to get dirt all over her jeans as she runs after Hazel in the back lawn.

"Hazel!" I scold her as I lead her back inside and quickly change her jeans for leaving the house.

After making sure that she's safely buckled into her car seat in the back, I double check my things before getting to the car and driving off.

It takes twenty minutes to get to Hazel's play date venue where I hand Hazel and her bag pack over to one of the attendants and wave goodbye as she walks into the building. I feel a slight pang in my heart watching her walk away even though she's excited to see her friends again. Thoughts about Hazel leaving for college and getting married flash through my head.

A horn behind me jerks me back to reality and I drive out of the drop off lane, scolding myself for thinking so ahead in time.

Daniel's office is another twenty minutes away where I'll be meeting with the architect that the company hired to evaluate the Paris office options. This isn't the first time that Daniel's getting my input on a new project because he believes in getting a second opinion from someone who does not have financial motives.

I park my car next to Daniel's Mercedes in the parking space that is reserved for his cars, right in front of the office entrance. I get slight jitters as I step out of the car and get my laptop and files out of the boot of the car.

I straighten my coat and dress before walking across the marble floor to the doors. They automatically slide open before me and corporate activity greets me. I know my way around so I make my way to the elevators and press the button to call a lift. While waiting my phone vibrates, notifying me of a message.

It's from Hazel's swimming instructor, reminding me that the deadline for the contest registration is in two days. I completely forgot to discuss this with the other two, so I quickly type in a reply saying that I'll let her know by tonight.

"Hey!" Daniel's voice says.

I look up from the phone to see him step out of the elevator.

"Hi! I was going up to your office." I tell him as he holds the lift open for me and I step inside.

"When did you get here?" He asks, taking my laptop bag from me and putting an arm around my waist.

"Just now." I reply, smiling at him as he plants a kiss on my forehead.

When the elevator reaches the floor his office is on, Daniel takes my hand and leads me out. The whole floor is just his office, several conference rooms, Jeremy's office and a waiting area, so it's empty at the moment.

"You didn't have lunch did you?" He asks.

"Not yet. Why?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

He pushes open his office door and sitting on his desk are two McDonalds paper bags. I smile at the sight before turning to him only to find him already bending down to meet my lips.

A moment later Daniel has me backed up against the wall, his hands on waist and mine in his hair. He plants a kiss on my neck which makes me push myself closer to him but it also reminds me.

"We're at your office." I say pushing him away slightly, but he doesn't budge he just stands in front of me, his body propped on an elbow against the wall.

"I wish me weren't." He says, winking at me and leading me to the table with the food as I feel my cheeks warm up.

"The floor offers advantages that none of the other places do." The hired architect concludes before the directors.

Daniel thanks him and looks at me, handing over the ball.

"Firstly and most importantly, the floor does not offer enough space for the company to conduct its activity as it does at its headquarters here and in Bangladesh." I pause and meet the architect's eyes to let him know that I'm hot on his trail.

I explain in detail about all the various limitations to the structure of the building and how they made hinder the business from reaching its full capacity. I also analyze all other options to make sure there is no room for question.

After the meeting, everyone leaves the conference room including Daniel who is talking to the architect. Jeremy stays back and asks if I need anything so I ask for a coffee and wait for him to come back. Daniel gets back before he does.

"That was amazing." He says, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Thank you." I smile at him just as the door opens and Jeremy steps in with two disposable cups of coffee.

I take mine from him and so does Daniel after which Jeremy leaves the room and we're alone again.

"I meant to talk to you about this swimming competition coming up that Hazel's swimming instructor told me about." I say, taking a sip of the coffee.

"What is it?" He asks, stirring his drink.

"A few races. Trophies for the first and second place. Just usual children stuff." I reply, looking at him.

He sighs and looks at me. "Is she ready? I don't want her to get disappointed so early on in life and give up something that we can both clearly see she loves and is good at."

I nod in understanding. "Her instructor says she's the best in the class, even better than some of the children older than her. I know it's important not to let her get disappointed but isn't it also equally important to motivate her to continue swimming?"

We both sit in silence for a moment before Daniel says, "You're right. I agree."

"So we should let her do it?" I ask.

"Yeah. Have you talked to her?" He asks.

"I mentioned it in passing the day I found out about it and she got really excited, hyper-excited to be accurate so I didn't mention in again. But she's going to be really happy to participate." I assure him.

"Okay then. Hazel's first swimming competition!" He grins at me.

Hi everyone! Yes, Cool Mom is officially back and I'm not going to stop till I reach the end which won't be any time soon :)

I loved reading all your comments and messages before I took it down, so please leave your feedback and ideas because I would love to know what you all think of the story!

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-T