Chapter 3
Whitt
Four Years later
“Don’t tell me Gorgio is late again.” My daughter’s voice brought my head up from my phone as she walked out onto the patio where we’d had our morning breakfasts since she was a girl.
“Good morning to you too, Lila.” My daughter’s fresh face was a welcome sight, but I wished she’d work on her attitude. She pushed her long, brown hair back as she approached.
She pulled out her chair and lowered herself into it, careful not to wrinkle her skirt which she smoothed out before scooting forward. “I’m sorry, Daddy, but I’m the only one in this house who should be late for anything. It throws things off-balance. I don’t know what to do when I’m early and how’s a hot breakfast going to settle?”
“The way you make fun of yourself while complaining is an art.” My phone rang as Gorgio came out from the kitchen with a tray. I had never hired a cook that wouldn’t serve, but Gorgio was new to the game.
I answered the phone as he made his apologies. “Hello?”
“Mr. Porter?” The sound on the other end of the phone was making it hard to hear, so I stepped away from the table and the lecture Lila was giving the cook.
“Yes, Megan?” I recognized my secretary of eight year’s voice.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry this is such short notice, but I’m afraid I won’t be back to work.”
“What? Quitting?” I’d just given her a big bonus for her hard work, and now she was going to bail?
“Yes, well, my boyfriend, Craig, he proposed to me, and well, we’re moving. We were actually married this weekend.” There were sirens and bells going off in the background, and for a moment it sounded like she was in the middle of an air raid. She wasn’t fazed by the situation.
“Couldn’t you drop by the office and let’s discuss this. I hate to lose—
“We’re in Vegas, Whitt. I’m sorry. It’s all happened so fast.”
“I understand. Call me later, would you? Take care.” I ended the call and returned to the table in a sour mood. You could have all the money in the world, but bad days were free.
“Who was that, Daddy?” Lila was halfway through her eggs, and Gorgio was gone.
I sat at the table and let out a long sigh. My day was fucked, and it wasn’t even eight o’clock. “That was Megan who apparently took the huge bonus I gave her and went to Vegas where she’s married that loser boyfriend of hers.”
Lila scrunched her nose. “You mean Craig? He wasn’t so bad, Daddy. He owns his own company, and I’m sure he didn’t want her working. Some men are old-fashioned that way.” She was talking about that asshat of a boyfriend she was dating.
“Well, what the hell! What am I supposed to do for a secretary? I need someone to screen my calls, or I’ll go nuts. I’ve got a lot on my plate with the new expansions and remodels and the last thing I need to worry about some trainee.”
She placed her hand on my arm and gave me a sympathetic pat. “You won’t have to hire them, get yourself a temp and they’ll train whoever comes in to take their place.”
“I liked Megan. I had all her lined out.” She was one of the only girls I’d hired who hadn’t wanted to mess around, which told me she had a good head on her shoulders. I needed someone I could depend on. “Why don’t you come and do the job.” Having my daughter at the office would give us more time together, not to mention I could keep her busy enough that maybe her boyfriend would lose interest.
She let out a short laugh. “You’ve got to be crazy. I have a lot to do and working for you isn’t on the list.”
I took a bite of bacon and then wiped my mouth. “You need to settle down into a job and stop chasing that boyfriend of yours.” I had tried to convince her to ditch that pompous jerk for months, but she was determined it was true love.
“Daniel is putting in for a transfer, and if he gets it, he’ll be moving closer. Then I won’t have to travel so much.”
“It’s not the traveling; it’s the spending the night with him. You’re going to end up pregnant and ruin your future.”
“Daddy, relax. I’m on the pill, and he knows what he’s doing. He’s a grown man. Not some silly boy.” I had much preferred she’d been with a silly boy at times.
“I don’t want to hear about that; I just want my daughter to—
“To live here forever and be unhappy and chastened for the rest of her life; yeah, I get it. I wish you’d accept that me and Daniel are in love, Daddy and he’s a good guy. Besides, if you don’t like me remarking on the women you date.” She stabbed her last bite of eggs and crammed them into her mouth.
“Which you do, anyway.” I hated spending the morning arguing, but neither of us had raised our voices once. We were like two old barking dogs, and it was only because we cared about one another.
“Oh, Daddy!” She practically jumped in her seat and then wiped her mouth before continuing. “I’ve just thought of the perfect person to hire!”
“Who? Don’t tell me it’s some guy you met at a party; I’ve already hired Gorgio against my better judgment.” She’d met him at a party where he was the caterer, and they’d hit it off.
“Please, Daddy. You can’t deny those are the best eggs you’ve had and I’m talking about Gemma.” My cock twitched at the name. Gemma had been a constant fantasy since she was eighteen and had thrown herself at me.
“Where has she been lately? You used to have her over every day.” She’d continued to come around after our incident, and her favorite thing to do was taunt me. I’d managed to avoid her, but she hadn’t made it easy. I figured she’d finally given up on me.
“Daddy, that’s been a while. She went to art school, and she’s finished up her degree. She invited you to her graduation a few weeks ago, remember?” I nodded, remembering that I’d had to go out of town for business.
“Oh yeah. I’m sure she’d want to put her degree to use than and not be a phone jockey. She’s always been far too talented to sit in an office.” And too seductive. I thought of her young virgin body, those tight nipples pressing against her little top and that wet spot in her panties and cleared my throat. Fuck, she still made me hot. She’d grown up a lot since then, and though I’d tried to avoid her, I’d noticed that since that night, she’d changed. She started wearing her hair down and styled, and her clothes had taken on a more mature style. She’d been even harder to resist, but I knew we couldn’t be together.
“So, hire her as a designer. You know she’s got skills, you’ve seen her sketches since she was a kid.” She was good, but there was no way I could deal with another designer, not since I was already sleeping with the one I’d hired.
“Then what do I do with Ashely?”
“That’s a good question, Daddy. What do you do with Ashley?” She gave me a narrowed glare. She’d been upset with me ever since she caught Ashley leaving the house.
“It’s not what you think.” I gave her a scolding look. “She had only come by to show me some sketches.” And her breasts. And how well she gives head. And how well she can work a cock.
“Whatever. Then hire Gemma as your secretary. She needs to work.”
“I don’t think the office is the place for Gemma.” I could see that going south fast. Especially when she tried to seduce me. I had a feeling that Lila was only hoping Gemma could play spy, anyway. She’d been suspicious of Ashley and me, and she knew I had to be seeing someone since my last serious relationship had ended six months earlier. Not that it was nothing too serious, but I’d let her meet Lila, which was a risk.
It turned out the two liked each other for a while, but then once Lila overheard her at the club talking about how she was going to marry me for my money, she’d put her on the road. The last I heard, she’d found a new victim. Good riddance.
But Lila had been even more protective about who I saw and her opinions of them. Put that together with the fact that I hated her new relationship and we were quite the pair.
“Daddy, please. It would help her out.”
“I’d rather give her a check than a job if she’s that hard up. But the answer is no. You need to worry about yourself and to get your own career kicked off. I don’t want you having to worry about some guy supporting you. You’re strong, and you can take care of yourself.”
“I know that, Daddy. But, so what if I want my man to take care of me? I’ve always been a daddy’s girl, and that’s your fault. So, maybe I have a new daddy now.” She gave me a wink, and I wanted to punch a wall. I hadn’t liked Daniel from the moment I’d learned he was fourteen years older than my little girl.
I couldn’t say too much though, my last relationship had been the same distance in age and though Lila hadn’t minded at the time, she had encouraged me to see women my own age since.
“I’m the only daddy,” I said with a growl as I pulled my mug to my lips. I sipped the warm coffee and wondered what I was going to do. I’d have to call the temp agency as soon as possible.
“You’re jealous, Daddy and it’s adorable. But you took care of mom. You didn’t expect her to go out and get a job.” She shook her head and gave me a look as if she’d just won the argument.
“Your mother worked until you were born, and if she was still around, I know she’d be working again. She made that sacrifice for you.” She’d made many sacrifices, and one of them had been our marriage. I couldn’t tell Lila that though, she didn’t need to know some things like the fact that her mother’s fatal wreck when she was only five, had happened on the way back from seeing her lover. I’d only found out about the infidelity after she was gone.
I’d never let Lila know, not wanting to tarnish the memory of her mother and I knew that her protective nature about seeing other women was because of losing her mother and the way I’d handled the grief. All of my grief had turned to hate, and I’d used sex to deal with it. It took a lot to trust and I never really thought I’d be that close to anyone again.
“Well, I’m going to look, but not until Daniel and I decided that it’s best. We want to make sure things line out for us.”
“Are you talking marriage?” I dropped my fork on my plate and pushed my chair back.
“Not anytime soon, but in the future, maybe. Daniel thinks we shouldn’t rush and I agree.” Of course, she did. She’d agree if he wanted to feed her poison too. I let out a frustrated sigh and decided that breakfast was over.
“I better get going and call the temp agency.” I couldn’t sit and listen to any more about her and Daniel.
“I love you, Daddy. Have a good day.” She reached up as I approached and put her arms around me as I leaned down.
“Thanks, baby. Promise me you won’t tell Gemma about that job. I really don’t want to cause a conflict.” I planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Yes, Daddy. I promise.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she pulled out her phone. I left feeling certain she’d keep her word.