L exi

A fter my shower, I got out and stared at myself in the mirror, looking at the remnants of the red lipstick that still stained my lips. I put my hands down on the sink and shook my head, taking in a deep breath. I had slept in since I wasn’t scheduled to work on Wednesdays. It was a busy day, and they put their more experienced barista, Gabby, on the schedule to handle the crowds. I was more than happy to get some extra sleep and take my time easing into the day, especially after the night before .

Everything had been going so perfectly with Hunter. We had been laughing, telling stories, and had both decided that whatever was going on between us was definitely worth exploring further. I couldn’t believe that we’d almost gotten caught by my father. Everything could have turned out so badly for both of us. I could see it playing out in my head like some terrible scene from a movie .

My father would have marched over, grabbed me from the table, pulled me to my feet, and screamed at me. The entire restaurant would have stopped and stared. Then, knowing my father and his pride, he would have screamed at Hunter, letting everyone know how old he was and how young I was. Not only would my father have embarrassed the hell out of both of us, but he would have completely cut me off. Then there would have been the issue of everyone knowing who Hunter was, considering the clientele of the restaurant. My father would have made Hunter out to be some kind of pervert for dating someone who was young enough to be his daughter. Hunter’s reputation would have been ruined .

Ugh, it was such a terrible thought, and I definitely knew we needed to sit down and talk about how to do this safely the next time .

I pulled on some clothes and walked out to the kitchen to scrounge around for some fruit and a bottle of water. My father was down the hall in his office, where he worked from home several times a week. Being the CEO of his own billion-dollar company had its perks, and he always hated being in the office. I leaned against the breakfast bar and ate my banana, thinking about how I did not want to talk to my father this morning. Of course, as if he could read my mind, he called for me from down the hall. I threw my peel away and took a drink of water as I turned the corner, heading for his office. I stood in the doorway and smiled, feeling my nerves twisting and turning in my chest .

“No work today?” he asked .

“No. It’s my day off,” I said .

“Good. Those are important,” he said. “Any plans ?”

“Yeah. I was thinking about going down to Fifth Avenue to do a little shopping,” I replied .

“Wonderful. Have fun,” he said, looking back down at his computer .

I turned to walk away but froze when I heard him call my name again .

“Lexi,” he said, taking off his glasses and looking up at me. “I missed you last night. I was going to see if you wanted to join me for dinner. Where were you ?”

“Huh?” I turned back around and smiled. “Oh, I went to hang out with Mandy .”

“Oh, okay,” he said, staring at me as I walked away .

As soon as I was out of sight, I rolled my eyes and let out a deep breath, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I wasn’t used to lying to my father. We had always been honest with each other. I didn’t necessarily feel bad, but I definitely didn’t enjoy lying to him. I thought about his expression as I’d told him where I had been, and I felt like there had been something strange about it. Maybe it was just my conscience, but for some reason, I felt like he hadn’t believed me when I’d told him where I had been. That was silly, though. He hadn’t seen me leaving the restaurant, and he’d been locked in his office when I had left .

I shook my head, trying to get the paranoia out of my mind. I forced myself to believe that I was making it up in my head because I was terrified that he was going to find out about Hunter and me. Besides, if he knew, he would have said something to me about it. That wasn’t a secret he would just keep to himself .

I walked into my room, shut the door, and leaned against it, letting my heart slow down. I needed to get it together, and I needed to talk to my best friend. She would know what to say, and even if it were negative, I would feel better about getting this off my chest. I walked over and picked up my phone to dial Mandy’s number .

“Hey, girl,” she said, yawning. “What’s up ?”

“Meet me at the Avalon,” I said. “I want to go to Fifth and do some shopping. And I desperately need to talk to you .”

“Okay,” she said. “Be there in thirty .”

I got myself ready and headed out, kissing my father on the cheek before leaving. Once I made it to the elevator, I let out a deep breath, glad he hadn’t asked me any more questions. Mandy was standing in the lobby, happily chatting with George, the older doorman, when I walked up to them. She finished her conversation and then we headed out, deciding to walk since it was so close. Fifth Avenue had some of the best, but most expensive, shopping in all of New York, but I didn’t plan on buying much. I just wanted to get out of the house .

“So, what is this news you have,” she said as we walked along the Avenue .

“It was terrible,” I said. “I met Hunter for dinner last night, and everything was going so perfectly. We both said that we wanted to see where this was going, and we were talking and laughing. Then it happened .”

“What? Did you spill your wine in his lap or something ?”

“No,” I said, laughing. “My father walked in .”

She gasped. “Oh my god. Did he see you ?”

“Luckily, no. Hunter tipped a server, and he snuck me out the back door. But it was so humiliating. I felt bad for leaving Hunter there as a diversion .”

“Dude, that is crazy,” she said, shaking her head. “I mean, what would happen if your father actually found out ?”

“I mean, he would be so hurt,” I replied. “But mostly he would be pissed. He would definitely cut me off completely. I don’t know if he would kick me out right away, but there would be no more slow transition into life for me, and definitely no more money in my bank account from him .”

“He’s that against Hunter, huh ?”

“It’s not just Hunter,” I said. “He made it very clear to me that he didn’t want me dating anyone at all. He wants me completely focused on my future, and he thinks any guys in my life will be a distraction. Mostly, I’m worried about what it would look like to the rest of the world if they found out Hunter was dating a twenty-one-year-old .”

“I never even thought about the fact that he is pretty well-known,” she replied, shaking her head. “I mean, he was the most eligible bachelor in Time Magazine one year, wasn’t he ?”

“Yeah.”

“So what would you do if the news came out that the two of you were seeing each other ?”

“I don’t know exactly,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean, I would definitely stand by him no matter what. I would do whatever he needed me to do to make things easier for him .”

“Even if that meant not seeing him anymore?” Mandy asked .

“Yeah,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I guess so. I mean, he has so much more than me to lose .”

“What would you do without your father’s money ?”

“I don’t care about the money,” I said. “I know you think I would die without shopping sprees and dinners at the best restaurants, but I would be okay. I mean, I don’t really care if my father cuts me off and I have to work three jobs and live in a one-room apartment in Brooklyn. I made a choice, and I have to be willing to accept the repercussions of it. Believe it or not, I actually gave this some thought .”

“I know you did,” she said. “And, Lexi, I know you would be just fine without your father’s money. If I had that, I would shop all the time, too .”

“I know,” I said, smiling. “In the end, my biggest concern would be standing beside Hunter. Hopefully, though, it won’t come to that anytime soon. I don’t want him to look like some kind of dirty old man, and I’ll go out of my way to make sure that doesn’t happen .”