Eric
It was so good to be home.
Not that work sucked…Well, yeah, work sucked. Part of the problem was that I wasn’t the world’s best sales guy. I did great with angry customers whose bill got screwed up or confused people who had no idea what they bought. I could tell a dramatic twenty-something girl that we could not insure her hearse. I even did great with the drunk guy who thought he was calling in one night ordering pay-per-view porn.
Sales…not so much.
When I’d first started working in insurance, it was in a customer service position. I’d been honest that selling wasn’t my thing, and they’d been fine with that. The company was changing, though. They were moving toward a more sales-heavy structure in every division, and it was making my life miserable.
It was only Wednesday, and I was ready for the week to be over.
Pulling into the driveway, I just sat there for a moment looking at the house. Marcus was going to know how stressed I was. He always did. But I didn’t like always coming home worn out and frustrated. Not that he seemed to mind.
It’d only taken a few days of living together for a schedule to emerge, but I couldn’t decide if I felt bad about being needy or if I was just grateful Daddy wanted to take care of me. It was probably both, but I was going to do my best to focus on how much he loved me and wanted to be there for me and ignore all the rest.
Climbing out of the car, I made my way up to the house. Before I could even get to the door—because I had a key now—Daddy was there opening it. I might have been just a little excited about the key. It was stupid, but it was one of those little things that made it clear he wanted me there.
“You look tired.” Concern was clear in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything else about how completely worn out and battered I probably looked.
“It wasn’t the best day.” Understatement of the year.
“Come sit down with me for a minute and then we’ll get ready for dinner. It’s almost done, but we have a few minutes.” He reached out and took one of my hands in his, then pulled me close so he could cup my face.
I just nodded and leaned into him. I was ready for real life to be done. “Okay, Daddy.”
We’d decided that what worked best for us was for me to start switching over to my little persona as soon as I came home. Some days I’d vent, and we’d talk about work, but a lot of the time, we’d go right into the nursery and change my clothes before having dinner. Today was evidently going to be a talking night.
That sounded good to me.
After leading us inside, still keeping a tight hold on me, Daddy shut the door and took us to the living room. Sitting down on the couch, he pulled me into his lap so I was stretched out down the sofa. “Tell me about work.”
Sighing, I let my head rest on his shoulder and I cuddled in, relaxing for just a moment. “It was terrible. I had a meeting with my manager today, and it didn’t go well.”
“I can’t believe you wouldn’t do your best, Baby.” Surprise was clear in his voice. “What happened?”
“At first we sat down and went over some feedback from customer surveys. The kinds of questions that come up after your phone call ends. Overall, they were great. Lots of great comments, and one guy who was mad with the company still gave me high marks, so it looked good for me.” Daddy’s hands started caressing me in long strokes.
“I can’t imagine anyone having something negative to say about a phone call with you. You’re not the kind of phone representative who’d be an ass and make things difficult.” He squeezed me tight, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Unfortunately, the job isn’t just about keeping customers happy anymore. After the reviews, we started listening to some phone calls I’d taken earlier in the week. That’s where everything started going wrong.” I still wasn’t sure I agreed with everything my manager had said. She might have a point on a few things but most of it just felt wrong.
“What did she say?”
“She kept pointing out places in the phone call I could have turned the conversation to try and sell them something else. I deal with people who already have policies with us so sometimes that makes sense, but these people were calling about stuff that made upselling just not feel right.”
Upselling everyone just made customers frustrated, because most of the time it was crazy shit that reps were just desperate to sell them. “I know now that they’ve changed the departments around that it’s part of my job, but doing it on every call makes me feel like a used car salesman. Some people don’t need anything else. They just need me to change a due date or update something simple.” I felt a little like a failure after the meeting. I know that wasn’t what she was trying to do, but it didn’t make me feel confident about my job.
“Do you want feedback or just to vent?” His voice was cautious, and I had to smile.
“Both.”
He chuckled. “To me, it feels like you have two options. You either have to practice the selling more and try to change how you see it.” Daddy laughed and gave my ass a pat as I grimaced and shook my head. “Or, you can use this as an opportunity to see if there’s something else you want to do. I know you can do the selling if you want to. You listen to your customers well and they like you. I honestly don’t see you as a salesman, though. It seems a bit confrontational for you. And like you said, doing it on every call isn’t what you signed up for.”
I nodded. “I like talking to people but always trying to find them something else is…too hard. It feels like it shouldn’t be…it’s like I’m failing.”
Going to work used to be something that I didn’t mind. I wasn’t going to lie and say it was something I looked forward to, but it wasn’t the worst job I’d ever had. Lately, just getting in the car to go was depressing.
“Why don’t you start looking for something else, then? Even talking to other insurance companies to see if they have departments that don’t have sales requirements might be a good idea. Or a small local office might work, instead of being on the phones.”
“You don’t think it’s quitting? Like I should just try harder?”
“I don’t think it’s just about trying harder. You don’t enjoy it anymore. The company is changing, and you don’t like the direction it’s going. There’s nothing wrong with that.” His voice dropped a little lower and the rumble in his chest was soothing. “Besides, on a selfish note, I don’t like seeing you come home this stressed out.”
That made me laugh. “I couldn’t tell.”
Another smack to my bottom had me fighting off a moan, the pleasure radiating through me. “Daaaddyyy.”
“I think you’re ready to stop thinking. Let’s get you ready for dinner and then we’ll relax.” Loving tenderness was in his voice. I knew what that meant.
“Cartoons and toys?”
“After dinner you can play toys for a while, and once you get your bath, I’ll turn on your cartoons.” One hand came up to caress my face and the hairs around my neck. “We’ll make it an early night.”
Nodding absently, I just snuggled into him and enjoyed his soothing touch. There was just something about being held—something perfect and beautiful. Maybe it’s what loosened my tongue enough to ask something that I’d been thinking about. “You talked about us possibly working together when you find what you want to do next. Is that something that sounds good to you? I don’t want to be a burden or make you crazy.”
My brain must really have been too tired because I kept going. “I think of you more as Daddy and my lover. I’m not sure I could picture you as just my boss or business partner, and I’m worried about being a burden. You’re probably not picturing taking care of me at work, but I don’t know how to separate everything in my head, and what if I called you Daddy in front of the wrong people or needed a hug or—”
“Hey, deep breath, Baby. You’ve been worrying about this for a while, haven’t you?” His arms had tightened around me as soon as the rambling mess started pouring out.
Nodding, I kept my lips pressed together, afraid of what other crazy would tumble out.
Daddy sighed and started caressing my back in long strokes. “First of all, I would love having you with me all the time. I’m the controlling, slightly stalker part of our little family, remember?”
Family.
I loved how that sounded. “Yes.”
“So you being with me at work isn’t something that I worry about at all. I’d love it. As far as you needing more care and attention than other partners who work together, I’ve never even thought about it. We’re not comparing ourselves to other people.” Daddy was starting to sound like he thought I needed another reminder to be nice to myself.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with how we live, Daddy. It’s just…it’s not like other people’s relationships, so I wasn’t sure how you pictured it and maybe the worry got a little…overwhelming. But I talked to you.” Smiling a little, I wanted to tell him I’d remembered to be nice, but I didn’t think a spanking was on the agenda anyway, so I kept it to myself.
His shoulder went up and down like he’d shrugged. “I’ve always assumed our relationship would carry over into our work at least a little. I don’t need you to change. If we’re running a Fortune 500 company and you want to come in and cuddle for a few minutes, that’s perfect. Our relationship will always come first.”
“So it wouldn’t be…” Weird wasn’t the right word, so I tried to find something else that would explain the fears running through my head, “difficult or embarrassing?”
“I’m not going to lie and tell you that working together will be easy. I’m going to drive you crazy hovering and checking on you too often. I’m prepared for that. But as far as embarrassing —absolutely not. I don’t care who knows how we live. I agree that it’s our business and we don’t have to share if you’re not ready. But I won’t work with anyone who isn’t open-minded and who can’t keep some things to themselves.” He paused for a moment, and I wasn’t sure if he was done.
Before I could think of how to respond, because he was so perfect when he talked about how important I was, he started talking again. “I don’t want us to have any kind of a business where you feel bad for calling me Daddy sometimes or where I can’t take care of you. I’m not talking about bottles and diapers, but if I want you to sit on my lap in a meeting, or we take a lunch break to cuddle and talk, I don’t want anyone to make you feel bad about that.”
There was so much stuck in my head, I didn’t know how to explain it. Finally, I settled on something simple. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too.” He turned and kissed my forehead. “We’re going to find something just right for the two of us, and you’re going to try not to worry about it.”
“Deal.” Sitting up, I kissed his cheek. “I’m hungry, Daddy.”
I was also long past done with thinking. He knew that, though. “Because you forgot to eat lunch again, didn’t you?”
Shit.
“Not exactly. I was supposed to have lunch in another meeting, but it got canceled and there wasn’t time to run out and grab something. I had some peanut butter crackers at my desk and there was some fruit in the break room, so I wasn’t too bad.”
Daddy gave me a firm look that made me squirm. “You’re going to take a lunch from now on. No more telling me you’ll go out and grab something or that you have a meeting with food.”
There was no arguing with him when he had that look on his face. “What kind?”
Pictures of cartoon lunch boxes and kiddie snacks danced through my head, and there was a big part of me that thought it would be fun. But showing up at work with a superhero lunchbox probably wasn’t the best idea. Daddy smiled and gave me a kiss. “I won’t send you with anything outrageous. Maybe just something fun occasionally.”
His definition of fun could be interesting.
“Thank you.” It came out slightly hesitant, but I knew he’d take care of me. Just not always how I pictured it.
“Don’t worry.” His fingers combed through my hair and he smiled. “It’s getting longer again.”
“I won’t.” I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. I’d cut my hair a little a few weeks ago, but it was starting to grow out again. No matter how often it got trimmed, by the time I remembered to look in the mirror again it’d already grown out an inch or so. “Should I cut it?”
“No, I like it this way.”
“Just not long enough to hide behind?”
He laughed. “No. Alright, bedroom, Baby.”
Daddy helped me up and took my hand as we walked back to the bedroom. I got another kiss, and he told me to climb up on the bed while he got my clothes. We’d worked out the routine fairly quickly.
On days I worked, which was usually a typical weekday schedule lately, I’d come home and he’d put my clothes on me. Sometimes that would mean a diaper, other nights it would just be the cartoon underwear he’d picked out. Then we’d have dinner, and I’d play or color. Bath time was usually next, and that’s where things might change. Sometimes I stayed little, but sometimes we’d curl up in bed and just talk.
Occasionally we’d go out to dinner or meet up with friends, but that was mostly on the weekends. I think Daddy was worried that I was too stressed and just generally too tired to meet up with people during the week. He wasn’t exactly wrong.
I was ready for something new, and as long as he was okay with the reality of us working together, I thought it could work. We just had to find the right project.
“Your brain is working entirely too much right now.”
Lying back on the bed, I might have squeaked when his hand touched my leg. I hadn’t even heard Daddy come back in the room. I gave him a shrug and tried to pretend I hadn’t jumped. “It’s kind of going around in circles.”
“Let’s see what we can do about that.” His hand squeezed my leg, then gave me a pat. “Diaper, clothes, then dinner.”
It sounded like a good plan to me.
In minutes, I had my diaper on, a pair of pajama pants with superheroes on them, and a matching T-shirt. Unless you looked closely, it really didn’t look any different from a lot of goofy men’s sleepwear. The diaper, and just how everything made me feel in general, took the clothes in a different direction.
I’d felt the stress start to ease as soon as the diaper went on. By the time I was dressed and we were heading into the kitchen, it was like the real world was in an entirely different universe.
Home with Daddy was where I was safe and nothing else mattered.