“What the company needs.”
“What the board wants.”
“Not what I want.”
The Single Dad waited.
She looked at him.
“I don’t know anymore.”
He understood more than she expected.
“I spent eleven years taking care of my father.”
“Then my daughter.”
“Then work.”
“Sometimes you stop asking what you want because wanting something becomes another obligation.”
The Female CEO studied him.
“What do you want?”
He smiled faintly.
“Tonight?”
“In life.”
He thought.
“A house.”
“Small.”
“Garage.”
“Enough land that my daughter can have the dog she keeps asking for.”
“A restored pickup.”
“Not expensive.”
“Just mine.”
The Female CEO smiled.
“That’s it?”
“No.”
“What else?”
The Single Dad looked at her.
Bad idea.
Still.
Her expression changed when she understood.
“Say it.”
He shook his head.
“You first.”
She laughed softly.
“Coward.”
“Yes.”
The Female CEO stepped closer.
“I want mornings where nobody knows where I am.”
“I want dinner without someone asking me to approve something.”
“I want to wear clothes because I like them, not because someone photographs me.”
“I want…”
She stopped.
The Single Dad waited.
Her voice lowered.
“I want someone who talks to me the way you did when you thought I was wrong.”
He smiled.
“That sounded unhealthy.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.”
She stood inches away now.
Neither touched.
The Female CEO whispered:
“And I want to know what happens after tomorrow.”
The Single Dad looked toward the car.
“After the contract ends.”
“Yes.”
He returned his gaze to her.
“So do I.”
For several seconds, the room held them.
Then the Female CEO stepped away first.
“Goodnight.”
The Single Dad smiled.
“Goodnight.”
She walked toward the door.
Then looked back.
“This waiting thing is terrible.”
He laughed.
“You suggested it.”
“I regret everything.”
Auction day arrived.
Lot 147 was no longer Lot 147.
It had a stage.
Dedicated lighting.
Security.
Large screens showing archival photographs.
The Female CEO stood at the podium before bidding began.
Different outfit.
Black tailored suit.
Hair loose.
No sunglasses.
The Single Dad stood beside his daughter near the side of the hall.
She wore headphones because the room was loud.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the car.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“You found that?”
“We found it.”
“Who’s we?”
He looked toward the stage.
The Female CEO glanced toward him at the same moment.