“She is.”
The child looked at the powder-blue outfit.
Then white heels.
Then at her father’s plaid shirt.
“What broke?”
The CEO answered:
“My car.”
The child climbed in.
“Dad can fix almost anything.”
The father started:
“Not—”
The CEO said:
“He found the problem.”
The child nodded as though this confirmed a universal truth.
“Pizza?”
“Yes,” the father said.
They stopped at a small family restaurant near Henderson.
The CEO almost refused.
Then realized she had eaten nothing since breakfast.
They took a booth.
She sat in a powder-blue designer outfit opposite a nine-year-old coloring a placemat while a tow-truck driver washed grease from his hands in the restroom.
Nobody recognized her.
Or if they did, they did not care.
That felt strange.
The child asked:
“What kind of car?”
The CEO named the model.
The child stared.
“That costs five million dollars.”
The CEO blinked.
“How do you know?”
“My dad watches car videos.”
The father returned.
“I do not.”
The child looked at him.
“You absolutely do.”
The CEO smiled.
The father sat.
“She also reads over my shoulder.”
The child said:
“Can I see a picture?”
The CEO showed.
The child’s eyes widened.
“That is dumb.”
The CEO stared.
“What?”
“Five million?”
“Yes.”
“You could buy like twenty houses.”
The father covered his face.
The CEO laughed.
“More than twenty in some places.”
“That is worse.”
The child returned the phone.
The CEO found herself unable to argue.
The pizza arrived.
For fifteen minutes, they spoke about normal things.
School.
The child’s science project.
A stray cat behind the repair shop.
The father’s inability to braid hair correctly.
The CEO offered no advice.
She watched.
It was not envy exactly.
Something adjacent.
A small world where important meant showing up at five.
Then her phone vibrated.
Outside attorney.
The CEO stood.
“Excuse me.”
She walked outside.
“What happened?”
The attorney’s voice was controlled.
“The security chief has been located.”
The CEO’s stomach tightened.
“Where?”
“A hospital.”
“What?”
“He was in a single-vehicle crash outside Las Vegas around 2:10.”