“Thank you for staying at The Orion. Have a nice day,” says the girl behind the front desk with a toothy smile.

I nod and return her smile. I’m in a good mood today, after the success of my plan last night.

The first time I met Daisy, when she yelled at me for skipping the line, I recognized a kindred spirit. Like me, she knows exactly how things are supposed to be done, and she makes sure that things are done in exactly that way. In other words, she’s a control freak.

When I asked to see someone in charge, I bent the rules and made it impossible for things to be done her way. I still remember the second it clicked in her brain that she had to do what I said, and the moment she started glaring at me even as she did it.

Last night, I saw a completely different side of her—a sweeter, more submissive version of her. I like it just as much as the other one.

And it all happened because I knew she was scrambling to hold on to any semblance of control. She needed every useless morsel of data so she could get a better grasp on things, because she was floating around with no direction and she couldn’t stand that.

So I gave it to her. I gave her a few pieces of the puzzle.

It wasn’t a huge sacrifice, all things told. I don’t care if she knows all the details about why we’re here. I just chose not to share them right away, in case I could use them as a bargaining chip. And I was right.

I’ll admit I may have shared more than I originally planned, but who fucking cares? I won’t see Daisy again after the thirty days are up, so it doesn’t matter anyway.

I hand the bellhop and the valet attendant a couple of bills before getting inside the car and pulling the door shut. Daisy is already waiting on the passenger seat, wearing a floral sundress. She’s putting more effort into her appearance. She has a big smile on her face, too.

“You seem happy today,” I say.

“It’s a good day. The sun is out. I’m out.” She laughs.

My lips curl up. That’s funny. I like that she’s starting to find the humor in her situation. Maybe now she’s realizing it’s not the worst thing in the world to spend a month with me.

“That’s why you look happy?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“There’s no other reason? Like getting laid, for example?” I glance to see her smile widen as her cheeks redden. Adorable.

“Hey, your phone is ringing,” she says, seemingly relieved to have the interruption.

“Get the phone from my pocket and tell me who it is, will you?”

Daisy leans over the center console and pulls out the phone from my jacket. Fuck, she makes me as horny as a teenager. Just having her fingers graze against me makes me want to grab her and have my way with her again.

“It says ‘Nathan Graham’ on the screen,” Daisy says, holding my ringing phone in her hands.

That’s probably important, but I can’t speak with Daisy in the car. That’s why I didn’t connect it to the car’s sound system like I normally do. I pull over to the side of the quiet country road.

Daisy hands me the phone and I get out of the car, leaving her inside.

The woods on both sides of the road block some of the sunlight. It’s bright outside the canopy of trees, but only some of the light manages to filter through the tree trunks, branches, and lush leaves.

“Hello,” says a man on the other end of the line.

“Uncle Nathan, it’s Caine.” Smartphones have been around for ages, but I make it a habit to always introduce myself when I call people of my father’s generation, in case they don’t have their reading glasses with them or something.

“Caine, I was just looking for you.”

“Did anything happen?” I really don’t want to have anything going wrong right now, when there’s already so much on my plate.

“Well, yes and no. Everything’s under control. Nothing requires your immediate attention here at the office, but I thought I should let you know someone came here looking for your father.”

“Who?”

“He acted like he was just a client who had an appointment with your father, but I thought he looked like a cop. Nobody has any appointments with your father. You know we’ve cleared all his appointments.”

“Fucking… Is it Paul Brent?”

“Yes. How do you know his name?”

“That was the guy who showed up the other day and got Pop so stressed out he had to be hospitalized.”

“So, he’s a cop?”

“Yes.” I run my fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp to ease the pressure that’s starting to build inside my skull.

“Why would a cop be looking for your father?”

“That moron got it into his head that somehow, Pop has his hands in illegal activities again.”

“Well, does he?”

“What? No!” I’m taken aback by the question. Uncle Nathan, more than anyone else, knows how hard Pop has worked to switch to legitimate means of doing business.

“I’m just saying, sometimes you don’t know everything about someone.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” I mutter. “But I’m sure he’s clean, okay?”

“Okay. Oh, have you talked to HR about finding me a new assistant? They’re taking such a long time.”

“Yes, I have. I’m sure they’re making progress.”

“I thought with the Internet everything’s supposed to be instant,” he says.

“If you want, you can use Sasha while I’m gone.”

“When are you coming back to the office?”

“I’m not sure yet. Soon, I hope. I’ll be in town to see Pop tonight, but I may have to leave again after that. Sorry, there are just a few things I need to take care of because all I did was Pop’s work last week.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call Sasha. Thanks, Caine.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As I hang up, I feel a little tension leave my body. I don’t like to lie to family, and Uncle Nathan is family to me.

I don’t understand why he can’t know about Bertha Jones, but I trust Pop.

Even if both the cop and Uncle Nathan apparently think he’s doing something shady.