Chapter 28
Felix
I was fuming at the same time as feeling shocked. Nobody, except my mother, spoke to me that way. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been reprimanded for my actions. I walked slowly back to the poolside, where I saw Nora patting Cici dry with a large towel.
When I walked up to them, I noticed that she was refusing to meet my eyes.
“Daddy, Nora says that she will take me to our room and get me properly changed for the pool.” Cici smiled. I stroked her hair and nodded.
“That’s good,” I told her. She caught Nora’s hand, and they began to walk away.
“I have a meeting,” I called after them. I didn’t know what else to say. Nora half-turned to me, narrowing her eyes proudly at me.
“Of course you do,” she replied. I clenched my jaw, trying not to give away the tumult of emotions rushing through my body.
“I’ll be done with it in a few hours,” I added, and I saw Nora grip Cici’s hand tighter.
“But Daddy…” Cici began to complain.
“We’ll have dinner together, baby girl,” I told her with a smile and that seemed to satisfy Cici. She looked more interested in spending time with Nora anyway.
“I’ll watch her till then,” was all Nora said, and then they turned and walked away from me. I couldn’t take my eyes off Nora’s ass in the tight white pants she was wearing. I gulped and forced myself to look away. Was she really going to quit the job?
I asked for Naomi to be sent to me again, and when she arrived, I told her to arrange an office space for me in the hotel. I needed a quiet spot where I could work for a bit and prepare for the upcoming meeting. In the past few days, I hadn’t been able to get any work done.
Naomi said that she had an office ready for me already and took me to it. I also told her to make sure that Cici and Nora were both looked after, that their lunch and entertainment was well taken care of.
“Nora Stevens, sir?” Naomi looked surprised.
“Yes, she’s watching my daughter for the day,” I said.
“But sir, she’s an employee, she’s in training. She’s in uniform; we can’t possibly serve her lunch in front of the other guests!” Naomi looked shocked and horrified.
I met her eyes sharply.
“You will all treat her as every other guest at the hotel, the way you treat my daughter. She doesn’t work here anymore,” I snapped. Naomi apologized and left the office immediately.
I sat down at the desk, staring at the computer screen in front of me. This was the longest stretch of time I had spent with Cici since she was born. With no help from Anne or the nanny, since Mom had given both of them time off — getting Cici ready for this trip had been a task.
I helped her choose the things she wanted to pack, helped her get dressed and brush her teeth, and then she sat with me on the flight. I’d spent hours with her already, and I felt exhausted. I had always been a loner; I liked to spend time by myself…but I quickly realized that being a loner was not an option if I also wanted to be a good parent to Cici.
I didn’t know my daughter. I didn’t know what clothes and toys she owned, or how to do her hair or how many times she was supposed to brush her teeth. I didn’t know what she liked to eat or what she was supposed to eat, and what I was to do if she wanted to go to the bathroom. Everything was new to me. She was six years old, and to me, it felt now like I had just become a father.
Nora, on the other hand, was a natural and now she hated me. I didn’t know what exactly I’d done, but I had ruined everything with her. I couldn’t stop thinking about the things she had said to me back there…that I was treating her like a puppet on strings, that I had found myself a punching bag. Even though I had been shocked by the way she spoke to me, I was also beginning to get angry with myself. Did I really do something to make her feel that way? She didn’t deserve that.
Nora was a good person, and she had always meant well, right from the start…had I used her?
I didn’t want to think about the rest…about the fact that I fantasized about her at night, or how she had tasted when she came in my mouth, and how her body was so delicate and soft, her breasts big and juicy. I wanted to leave my physical desire for her out of this. That was what had gotten me here in the first place.
In all these years of running a multi-billion-dollar, international company, I hadn’t slipped up once. I hadn’t slept with an employee or colleague once, and yet Nora, this fresh-faced trainee at a hotel, had made me lose my senses.
She deserved an apology. I knew that. She needed to know that I respected her and that I never intended on treating her poorly.
I picked up the phone on my side and dialed Naomi’s number.
“I want you to arrange a special dinner for me tonight, in the Crystal Room. It’ll be just my daughter, Nora Stevens, and myself. Please inform Ms. Stevens of the arrangement. Everything should be ready by eight,” I spoke quickly into the phone, before Naomi could hurl other questions at me.
When I looked at my watch, I realized that it was time for the meeting. I wasn’t prepared.