“Okay, thanks Sara. Bye.” I hung up my phone and opened the door to my father’s mansion.

“Leonardo,” my old nanny greeted me with her thick Romanian accent and a face squish, turning me into a sandwich.

“Hey, Tatiana. How are you?”

“So-so,” she gave me her famous answer.

Even though she had been in America for about thirty-five years, she didn’t know a lick of English, which is probably why my father kept her around. She understood it perfectly, but it didn’t translate well when she tried to speak. She once explained it to me — with the help of Google Translate of course — that her brain and voice didn’t mix together when she spoke. She could understand a lot of languages, but couldn't speak them.

We headed toward the dining room slowly, allowing us time to catch up.

“Cum este lucru?”

“Work is work. Following Nico’s agenda.”

She sadly nodded.

“Si prietenă ta?” she raised both of her eyebrows, giving her wrinkles their own wrinkles.

“She’s well, I think. She’s coming over today.”

She hummed in a judgmental way that always got to me even, though she meant no harm.

“Come on now. You know why I have to —”

Her fragile hand rested on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze, expressing that she cared and understood me. She was the only person in my life who understood why I tried to please my father and why I did the things I did.

My dad was already waiting for me at the head of the table eating his salad, piece by piece.

“Don’t you think you should dress up, Leonardo?” his shaky voice scolded me.

I looked down at my blood red shirt and my dark jeans with a black leather belt. I was more dressed up than I had to be for this meal. If it were up to me, I would be in sweats, but I knew my dad would have a heart attack — which wouldn’t be such a bad thing. I looked at my father who was wearing a suit, like he was ready to go to work, even though he retired over two years ago.

I’d always been told I look like my father but I never saw it. I didn't want to see it. Apart from my jet black hair and tall height, I was my mother. I had her fair skin, her square jaw, her dark green hazel eyes that reminded me of our garden and her pure white streak that had been passed down from her father and his father before him and so on. Everything I liked about myself was my mother’s.

“Well, hello to you to, Nico,” I took a seat and grabbed a cherry tomato from my salad and popped it into my mouth.

“You should’ve dressed up, if not for me then for your girlfriend. Where is Kathy anyway?” he barked.

“She worked late today. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

He hummed to let me know he heard me and went back to his salad.

The room was painfully silent while I picked out all the cherry tomatoes from my salad. I hated coming here. Even though I only had to come a few times a month and I got to choose the day, I hated every second of it. It was a waste of my time and a painful reminder of what had happened in this house. Tatiana came over and took our salads, placing our next course in front of us: roasted potatoes and steak. She always asked the cook to make mine rare and I always appreciated it.

“Mulțumesc,” I nodded to her.

My father looked up from his plate with a face I was way too familiar with.

“Yet you still don’t want to learn Italian, hmmm?” he smacked his lips.

I shook my head slowly so he wouldn’t miss a beat. He still resents me for never learning Italian, but I know it’s wasn't one of the top things I needed to worry about. The doorbell saved me from my father’s rant about how I I refused to learn his motherland’s language. Kathy’s sharp heels against the hardwood floor was the only thing that brought a smile to my father's face, along with her actual face and body.

“Hello, Nico.” Kathy greeted my father with a hug then came over to me and kissed my cheek. “Hey, honey.”

“Hey, babe.”

“Sorry, I was late. I was meeting a friend and lost track of time.”

I looked over at Kathy, who clearly knew she shouldn’t have said that.

“Leonardo said you were working late today,” my father narrowed his cold eyes at her, and then at me.

“I-I was. It — it was a friend — a friend from work,” Kathy stammered.

My dad glared at me and went back to his food, not really skeptical of her answer since he loved her. I looked over at Kathy who mouthed I’m sorry with her new unnaturally plumped lips (I guess my money was going to good use). She went to grab my arm but I tore away in frustration.

I couldn’t get caught again.

I couldn’t get caught lying again and Kathy knows that.

The dinner was silent aside from the forced short one-worded conversation here and there between Nico and Kathy. I rarely, if ever, talked at these dinners unless I knew it would benefit me. I looked over to my father who was showing off his grin, almost trying to be seductive. I meant it when I said my dad loved Kathy. He loved the way she talked, the way she carried herself and especially the way she looked, which is why I chose her.

Kathy’s hair was a freshly dyed jet black, and her skin was tanned like a beach bunny who might have been out in the sun too long. Or in her case, a tanning bed. She was well into her mid-forties but tried to look young, which actually made her look older. She wasn’t dumb but when coming to this dinner she had to lose a few IQ points to give her whole setup that “it” factor.

I watched Kathy carefully, but her face and body were soon replaced with Mallory. My cock tingled at the thought of her. Her killer curves, her sassy attitude and her beautiful smile even with that piercing. And that pink hair. God, she was so fucking adorable like a kitten.

My Kitten.

She was supposed to be a one-time thing, but it had been years since I had a steady fuck. The list was a good excuse to have her around a little bit longer. Not to mention, she brought out a fetish I didn't even know I had.

“Big Daddy.”

Mallory’s sweet moans played in my head like a broken record. I could still taste her warm neck and her soft breast in the palm of my hand. It was cute when she tried to push me away, but I felt her quiver under my touch, begging for me to be inside of her again. But she didn’t budge though. I thought I would have at least a second round, but she was determined to follow the rules.

“Don’t you agree, Leo?” Kathy batted her eyes.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, pushing my chair to leave.

“Where are you going?” my father roared.

“What? Do I have to ask your permission to take a piss?”

He clenched his jaw and watched me leave the dining room. I headed upstairs to the farthest bathroom and locked the door. I let out a deep throaty yell, frustrated that all I could think about was Mallory and fucking her once again.

I pulled out my wallet to take the pink sheet out. I read it over, looking at the changes I made and imagining more I wanted to add. If it were up to me, I would make this list last months, if not years, but I’d rather keep it simple so a month was enough. There’s no need to have Mallory in my life longer than she needs to be.

My devilish smile burned the bathroom as I unbuckled my pants, exposing my full boner and took the picture. I knew how to take a good nude, having done it a handful of times, but I never showed my face. It was better that way, even though I knew Mallory wasn’t the type of girl to flaunt it around like a prize. On the other hand, the women my father “highly recommended” would have, but not Mallory. She didn’t give two shits that I had the title CEO to a multimillionaire law firm.

I took a bonus picture while I thought of Mallory on her knees, sticking out her tongue and waiting for my pre-cum to drop. Her soft lips would wrap around me as she struggled to even get halfway down my shaft. I stroked myself, but stopped quickly, knowing that I should probably cooldown. I’d been away for a few minutes now and suspected someone would come after me.

I sent Mallory a short text, followed by the images.

Buzz.

A little chuckle escaped my throat. I was going out on a limb when I called her out for playing with herself, but now I knew she was. She wouldn’t give such a smartass comment if she wasn’t.

I waited patiently for her text but I had a feeling I wouldn’t hear from her tonight. I gave her a countdown to remind her I still wanted to play this game and I took it seriously as long as I got her pussy.

Even if she didn’t answer now, I would find a way to get her again. I did have a personal project for her after all, but needed to make sure she was the right candidate.

There was a knock on the door followed by my name. It was Kathy.

“I’m busy!”

She knocked again louder and impatiently, her high pitched voice calling me out again.

“I’m busy, Kathy!” I screamed through my teeth, gripping the sink and wanting nothing more than to be alone.

“Leo, we need to talk. I can’t be your —”

The door flew open under my grip. I checked the hallways and yanked Kathy into the bathroom by her arm.

“You had one job to do Kathy and you almost fucked it up. What’s the point of paying you if you can’t even read the fucking texts I sent you?”

She inhaled sharply and crossed her arms. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I really am. But I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be your girlfriend anymore.”

I let out a heavy sigh, annoyed with this conversation I’d with her before. I strolled over to the vanity and leaned up against it, waiting for a follow-up sentence that usually involved her boyfriend.

“James thinks it’s time we break up. We have been playing your dad for half a year now and it’s getting too much. He’s going to find out.”

“He’s not going to find out shit, Kathy. Let me talk to James. I’ll figure out something with him —”

“I want my life back, Leo.” Kathy took a step forward. “I can’t keep doing, this especially when your dad talks — when he talks about us getting married. I didn’t agree to that. James did NOT agree to that.”

“I just need more time —”

“More time for what? Listen, maybe it’s time to find another girlfriend.”

“You know I can’t do that, Kathy! You’re the first woman my dad likes who he didn’t choose. You know how long it took to find you.”

Her heels clicked toward my direction again. She was trying to get closer to me to comfort me, but my glare stopped her.

“James doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. He doesn’t like how easily you convince him to do things …” she said in a sheepish voice like it was meant to be a secret, but it just happened to pour out of her.

I stopped her with a cold laugh. What did he expect from me?

“I’ll talk to him.” I stood tall over Kathy’s slender body.

“It’s going to cost you,” she burst out.

“To talk to him?”

She shook her head. “I’m going to talk to him. I can convince him for another month without trouble, but it’s going to cost you.”

Her face was still while I tried to read it. Was James really a problem again or was she just trying to get more money with a lie?

“If you wanted more money, all you had to do was ask.”

Her face didn’t move. Shit. James really was having another baby fit and this time it was serious.

“How much?”

“Triple,” she emphasized the letter p.

“Fine, yeah. But at least have the decency to remember your fucking lines.” I headed for the door as Kathy mumbled something under her breath, probably “asshole” or “bastard.” I opened the door wide and gestured for Kathy to get out.

She clicked toward me, scanning the bathroom. “Not done using the bathroom? What, you have another girlfriend I don’t know about?” she smirked.

“Get out. Now.”