Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
“Okay. I contacted you all because I wanted to know if you got the invitation to Blaze’s orientation meeting for new members,” Gemma said after selecting the speaker option on her cell phone and setting it down on the counter. Quietly, she dashed around the counter to hug Jordi.
“Daddy told me this morning that we were invited,” Nicoya answered.
“Same. We’re going. That’s why I visited this morning,” Jordi added.
“We’re going, too,” Gemma shared. “You have to come, Nicoya.”
“If you two will be there, I don’t want to miss it,” Nicoya said quickly.
“Who else do we think got the invitation?” Jordi asked. “I talked to Valerie. She didn’t get an invitation. We looked at the date given and checked with her Daddy. They’ve been members for too long to qualify.”
“So let’s talk to the Littles who joined after us. They all had to get invited,” Nicoya said. “I’m on my way to pick up more stickers for my reward chart. Daddy said I was so good this month I can pick them up myself. I have a gift card for Craftastic.”
“You can talk to Nora!” Gemma said, mentally crossing that name off the list developing in her mind. “I’ll run to La Havana to pick up lunch today, and I’ll talk to Maya.”
“We know Aria’s going. Cameron works at Blaze, but I’ll call her. Her Daddy had a question about adding some custom shelves in her playroom,” Jordi shared.
“Maybe I need some shelves in mine,” Nicoya said.
“Just let me know,” Jordi responded with a smile. “I’m off to create beauty and storage.”
“The next time you’re in, I’d like to talk to you about something to make my back area more efficient,” Gemma said. “Could we set up an official time?”
“Yes. I’m off. Stickers are calling my name,” Nicoya said as Jordi pulled out her phone.
“See you soon!” Gemma called.
Chapter Two
“No running off to the daycare,” Cameron told Aria just before opening the door. “There are all sorts of activities planned today for everyone.”
“Okay.” Aria wasn’t sure how much she was going to like Blaze if she didn’t get to hang out with her friends in their special area. “Are you sure you get to be here? You’ve belonged to Blaze for a long time.”
“They made an exception for couples,” he assured her.
“Thank goodness.”
“Everyone is gathering in the bar area first,” he told her as they chose a locker and stashed all their things there.
“You don’t have to work, do you?” she asked.
“Nope. Riley has it covered.”
Walking into the bar, Aria slipped her hand into her Daddy’s. There were so many people there. She scanned the crowd before spotting some familiar faces. Leaning that way, she towed her Daddy toward the group.
“I was going to say hello to Riley,” Cameron said, chuckling.
“Sorry.”
“Hi, Aria! You all got here just in time. They’re going to have everyone draw for groups. I hope some of us are together,” Nora said, after rushing forward to hug her friend.
The group had finished greeting each other when Tarson called for everyone’s attention. “Welcome, everyone. I’m so glad you could join us for the first newcomers’ orientation. Many of you are very familiar faces. I know you attend regularly, but others, not so much. Tonight’s goal is to introduce you to all the possibilities here as well as give you the chance to interact with new people you’ll look forward to seeing each time you gather here.”
He paused for a minute to wave Ellie up to stand with him. “This lovely lady is usually my boss. Today, Ellie has volunteered to be my assistant. She’s a regular here at Blaze.”
Aria clapped her hands with the others who cheered to give Ellie their support. Her friend smiled and waved.
“Ellie is going to bring around a sack filled with different shapes. Each of you will choose one object from the sack and that will put you in a group. Go ahead, Boss,” he urged.
Working her way around the room, Ellie finished where the Littles were grouped. One by one, each chose an object and showed each other as their Daddies selected. Nora and Jordi both had pyramids, but the others were different.
Aria looked down at the green ball in her hand. Her Daddy had a red cylinder. She was going to be in a different group. Cameron squeezed her hand as if he could read her mind and she looked up to smile at him bravely.
“You might think that because you have a square that you’re in the same group as all the others with that same object; however, that is not correct. You might think that yours is blue so you’re in the blue group; however, that isn’t correct,” Bear teased them.
“So, what are we looking for?” someone in the audience asked.
“Look for a number hidden somewhere on your item,” Bear told them.