Her Dad My Daddy ✓

Chapter Six | Let's Talk Business

Despite his headache, Ryan got up and headed down to the gym in the building.

It wasn't anything over the top like most other parts of the building. The gym was usually pretty quiet early in the morning, leaving it as a plus to the brunet.

Ryan didn't mind people, however, when he worked out he liked to be left alone as much as possible.

He warmed up, giving his muscles a chance to get used to the range of motion and not leave him in pain afterward.

He knew today was going to be a long day and it was best to just stick with the simple workout he had planned rather than the hour he ideally wanted.

Horror stories played on his phone in the background instead of music. It gave him a chance not to zone out; instead, it made him think about some of the true and made-up stories people shared.

Putting on a pair of gloves Ryan started out with the punching bag. The quick workout wasn't anything extreme, just something he could do without overthinking how many sets he needed to do.

The horror stories mixed with the loud beat of his heart was all he could hear any more, even after he moved on to jumping rope for ten minutes. Quick cardio that didn't require him having to leave the building was nice to do when he didn't want to run late in the mornings.

When Ryan made it back to his apartment he showered and got ready for work. He made sure to look as presentable as he could given the fact he felt like shit. To add to the stress, he had several meetings for the day, most of which were with new clients.

He made it out to the kitchen and quickly made a coffee putting two teaspoons of sugar in the dirty bean water. He grabbed his keys and made sure he had everything he needed for the day before heading out.

Not even a minute after Ryan walked into the store Carmon was rolling her eyes at him. She looked soberer than he thought she would after last night. Normally she got hungover fairly easily despite how much she could drink.

"You look like shit," she said, looking up from her book.

Instead of answering her, Ryan walked to his office, passing Ember's office that almost constantly glowed green no matter if the lights were on or not. The frosted glass door was open as she worked at her desk.

Ember did all the paperwork and then left sticky notes throughout dumbing the contract or agreements down for Ryan.

Ryan turned to his own office and opened the curtains to let in the morning sun. He took a seat at his desk and got to work for the day. He had three meetings scheduled in the morning but they were all over the phone. Most of which the clients were in Italy or around the same time zone as one another.

Like most the brands Ryan liked were the Italian brands. He liked brands that were unique and even if they didn't have some life-changing story behind the design, it always caught his attention when the designers paid attention to details most would overlook.

Now that the business was going on five years fully legit and legal Ryan felt as if he could finally breathe. All the toxic contracts and agreements were ended and either paid off or loopholes were found in the agreements.

It was one of the more difficult decisions to make. Once Caterina Vita canceled all the contacts it took a hit financially; making it a time where Ryan had to rely on himself again.

Though to his good luck things worked out, Ember was able to take more of an interest in things again and when she bought her half of the business it was on her own. It helped them both focus on something good for a change.