DALTON HURRIEDLY DROPPED the kids off at school and rushed downtown. The man who is always busy had been even busier than normal. Baxter connected Dalton with his publisher and Dalton published his first fictional business novel, loosely based on his own personal experience. It was a labor of love and very time-consuming but he was very proud of the final product. In fact, sales in the first month of publication had been higher than expectations, and with the work of his agent, Dalton was about to make his television debut with an interview on a local morning show. He loved speaking in front of groups but television was a whole new ballgame. He was extremely nervous, yet—as he mentioned to the kids all the time—if you are nervous, it just means what you are doing is important, so have fun with it. This made him smile.
The kids enjoyed the concept of writing a book so much that they were working with their dad on a book on communication skills for kids; they even thought of a catchy name (Kid-Centric Skills). They planned on publishing it sometime over the summer. Business and life continue to clash but Dalton is continually working on better balance.
Normalcy for the kids was helped by Leslie getting settled into her own routine after the divorce. She was dating a nice, religious, older gentleman who was more her speed. The kids seemed to like him or at least tolerate him, which was a step in the right direction. Dalton and Lauren saw each other once a month and she had met the kids a few months ago. The kids liked her spunkiness and energy. The two still dated other people but were both just filling time until they could see each other again.
Dalton continued to work with Kelli and her team and expanded their work throughout the organization. With SoJo's new technology, the company was rapidly expanding and Dalton and his team were being used in multiple ways.
Brandon and the board of directors weighed their options with Julianne and chose to pursue charges against her. The company initially took a small hit to their reputation but their handling of this situation was publicly lauded and, internally, it helped strengthen the culture immensely.
As Dalton pulled into the parking lot of WFEA-TV near the American Airlines Center (where the Mavericks play), he thought of a client meeting he had scheduled that afternoon with Barry at DCL Technologies. He was meeting to discuss how to continue to assist in their change management efforts. He thought through how most people loved their routines and hated change. Dalton did not mind routine, but there was nothing too routine about his life anymore. That thought made him grin at the irony; he was assisting DCL with change management and his life, normalcy was change.