Anything For Daddy Read online

I grin at the woman just as a large man comes ambling toward us.

  He’s wearing a large shirt, halfway untucked and a strange beige color. His slacks are brown and his shoes are scuffed and dirty. He’s balding and has dark eyes that look like they’ve never once seen a smile.

  “Ken,” Cade says.

  “Cade,” Ken says.

  “I’m Lucy,” I add.

  Neither of them look at me. I glance at Patricia and she just shrugs.

  The men stare at each other for an uncomfortably long time. It’s like a showdown in the Wild West. I swear, one of them is about to draw a gun and shoot the other.

  Finally, Ken speaks.

  “Just a week?” he asks.

  “Just a week,” Cade confirms. “And I’m not making any changes this time.”

  Ken nods once. He doesn’t smile. “Good. Come on. You can sit in on the production meeting.” He glances at me. “Nice to meet you.”

  He walks off without another word.

  “Bye, Patricia,” I say.

  “Bye, hon.”

  I hurry to keep up with Cade. We’re lagging behind Ken a bit as the man barrels his way through the newsroom.

  “Listen,” Cade says softly. “Don’t let that man’s appearance fool you. He’s a wily one. Watch out for him.”

  “Really?” I ask. “He looks homeless.”

  “That’s his thing. He thinks it makes people underestimate him.”

  “Does it work?”

  “Usually.” Cade grimaces like he’s remembering something ugly. “Anyway, just be careful with him.”

  I’m about to say thanks when we’re ushered into a huge conference room with a bunch of unfamiliar faces. Cade instantly starts greeting everyone, that charming smile back on his face, and I sit in an empty chair off to the side in the far corner.

  I watch Cade work, pretty surprised. I pretty much expected this to be the first time he’d visited this place. I know he has a position in his father’s company but I didn’t realize he actually did real work. I figured it was just ceremonial and he spent all his time… well, partying, I guess.

  I’m happy I’m wrong, oddly enough.

  People seem to like him, although nobody goes out of their way to say hello. He works the room over once, smiling the whole time, oblivious to the lukewarm reception. Finally, he sits down near the head of the table and gestures at Ken.

  “Take it away,” he says.

  “Thank you, your highness,” Ken says flatly.

  And then the meeting resumes.

  I sit there listening and watching and taking notes as they go. Cade seems like he’s barely listening, but Ken’s comment keeps bugging me.

  He mentioned something about changes… and now he called him “your highness” like Cade is the boss or something.

  I need to find out what happened here and fast.

  The meeting drags on for another half hour but eventually breaks up. Cade stretches and smiles and waves at everyone as they leave. People give him forced responses and hurry away.

  We’re alone with Ken five minutes later.

  “Want your usual office?” Ken asks Cade.

  “No, thanks,” Cade answers. “We can just stay in here. We’re only shadowing, after all.”

  “Right.” Ken doesn’t look like he cares one way or the other. “Do what you want. Not like I have a say.”

  “Nope. You really don’t.” Cade smiles at the man, but his message is clear.

  Don’t fuck with me.

  Ken grunts and leaves the room without another word.

  I sit there for a second, watching him. Cade sighs and sits down, looking defeated. He hangs his head for a moment before putting his briefcase on the table, opening it up, and taking out a laptop.

  “What the hell did you do here?”

  He blinks, surprised, and looks over at me. “Shit,” he says. “I forgot you were there.”

  I glare. “Seriously.”

  He sighs. “Come on, sit over here. We’ll talk.”

  I hesitate before joining him at the table. I get myself situated then lean back. “Okay. Talk.”

  He looks a little uncomfortable. “I mentioned my father’s little tests, right?”

  “Right.”

  “They were never good things,” he says. “They were always ugly, always the sort of things nobody wanted to do. I guess I did his dirty work for a while, just to prove myself.”

  “What does that have to do with here?” I ask, dread in my stomach.

  “I gutted the place,” he says after a long pause.

  “Gutted?”

  “Laid people off. Lots of people, actually. This place used to stretch over two floors. Now it’s only one.”

  I stare at him, shocked. “You fired people?”

  “Yep,” he says, staring at the table. “I sure did.”

  “Jesus. No wonder they’re all terrified of you.”

  “They hate me,” he whispers. “They’re not afraid. They straight up hate me and I don’t blame them.”

  We’re quiet for a few minutes. I chew on my pen, thinking, trying to figure out how this affects things.

  But I can’t see how it does. If anything, this is the whole reason we’re back here.

  His father is clearly testing him again. What this test is, I don’t know. Maybe there is no real goal or reason for it. Maybe his father just wanted to fuck with his son and put him in an uncomfortable position just for the hell of it.

  I wouldn’t put it past the man.

  A spark of pity blooms in my chest. Cade looks at me and narrows his eyes.

  “Don’t,” he says.

  “What?”

  “You’re giving me that wounded puppy look. Don’t do that.”

  “I’m not.”

  He glares at me. “Don’t feel bad for me. I fired every single one of those people and I’d do it all over again, okay?”

  I lean back, shocked at the venom in his voice. “Okay,” I say. “Man. For a second, I thought you might be human.”

  He stands up. “Think again.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “For a walk around the floor. I want to see how things have changed.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  His eyes pin me to the chair. “No,” he says. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

  And he leaves the room without another word.

  I know I should follow, but I don’t.

  “Shit,” I whisper and turn back to my notes.

  Clearly, there’s a lot more going on here than I anticipated. I didn’t know there’d be a history I needed to learn. I could’ve prepared better if I had been given a heads-up or something, but instead I’m flying blind.

  If this is the first test, I don’t want to know what’s waiting for us later in the month.

  4

  Cade

  It’s a long day, but I get through it.

  Helps that I get to tease Lucy mercilessly most of the time.

  “Come on,” I say to her. “If you sit in my lap, I promise you won’t regret it.”

  “Cade,” she says, glaring at me. “I swear, I’m going to fail you just out of spite.”

  “Your loss.”

  It’s the way she blushes and gets so mad, it’s just so adorable and sexy. I can’t help myself. I know I should be nice to her since she holds all the cards, but…

  I want her.

  Plain and simple. I want her.

  I want to undress her, taste her skin, tease her pussy, make her body feel things I’d bet my fortune she’s never felt in her whole life. I want to sink my big cock between those sweet, virginal thighs and fuck her until she moans all the dirty shit I know she has locked up in that head.

  I want to see that pretty mouth sucking my cock and begging me for more.

  So that’s how I get through the day. I’m surrounded by people that remember me as the guy that fired everyone they used to work with and cut all their budgets in half and basically hate my stinking gut
s, but at least I have her.

  We leave right at five. Patricia’s the only one who waves as we leave. I always liked her. She was supposed to be fired back in the day, but I kept her around anyway. She was old even back then and I figured there’s no way she would’ve found a new job. I’m glad to see she’s still chugging around.

  Lucy isn’t interested in talking as we walk back to the hotel and I’m not interested in forcing her for some reason. We ride the elevator up in silence and head over to our doors.

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” she says.

  “Unless you’d rather see me tonight,” I answer half-hearted.

  She frowns at me for a second. “Good night, Cade.” She slips into her room and shuts the door behind her.

  I sigh and step into my room. My heart wasn’t in that last attempt and I think she sensed it.

  I pour myself a drink and sit down for a few minutes. I’m thinking about how it was back then, firing all those poor fucking people that didn’t deserve it, all at my father’s whim. I hate that I was lumped in with that. I hate that they see me as some monster sent to ruin their lives.

  “Shit,” I say after a drink and an hour. I need to go out.

  I get up and head to the door. I know a place nearby I used to go to, a nice little divey place that does decent food and drinks. I head to the door and pull it open.

  As I step outside, Lucy’s door suddenly flies open as well.

  “Cade,” she says breathlessly. She’s still wearing her work outfit, although the blouse isn’t tucked in anymore.

  I cock my head at her, smiling a little. “Lucy.”

  “What are you…?”

  “I was going out.”

  She blinks a second and I swear she looks disappointed. “Oh. Right.”

  “For a meal. I can’t sit in this fucking room all night.”

  She clears her throat and seems to gather herself. “No,” she says.

  “Excuse me?”

  “No,” she repeats. “You’re not going out. No way.”

  I laugh a little, almost astonished. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m very serious. Part of my job is keeping you in line, and that’s not just a professional thing.”

  I snort. “Come on. I just want to grab dinner somewhere with people around.”

  “Sorry. Tough it out for a month.”

  I frown at her and step closer. “Did you expect me to come knocking on your door?” I ask her softly.

  “Ah, uh,” she stammers. “No, no, I mean—”

  “Why don’t you come with me?” I interrupt.

  She clears her throat again. “To dinner?”

  “Sure. Keep me in line.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Come on.” I reach out and take her hand. She looks surprised as I tug her into the hallway. She stumbles a few steps and runs up against me.

  She’s warm and soft and fuck—

  “Sorry,” she says, pulling away.

  “Come on,” I say again. I walk over to the elevator, trying to keep myself calm, but my cock’s already getting fucking rock hard.

  God damn. Just one simple touch and I’m fucking hard for her.

  She lingers over near the doors but when the elevator comes, she joins me. She glares at me but doesn’t say anything. I smile and for once in my life, I know when to keep my mouth shut.

  We head out into the New York evening. It’s a little chilly and I can tell she wishes she brought a jacket. I take my suit jacket off and offer it to her.

  “No,” she says.

  “Wear it,” I command.

  She sighs, takes it, and smiles. “Thanks.”

  I nod once. The place is up ahead and we step in through the door.

  It’s crowded, but not packed. We manage to find a booth toward the back and sit down. She takes my jacket off and I go get us drinks from the bar. When I come back, there are menus waiting.

  “I didn’t think this would be your kind of place,” she comments.

  “What kind of place would I go to?”

  “You know. Fancy ones.”

  I sigh. “So because I grew up in a wealthy family, I only go to expensive restaurants?”

  “Basically.”

  “Got it.”

  She laughs a little. “Come on. What am I supposed to picture? Just an everyday guy, like everyone else?”

  “No,” I admit.

  “You can’t pretend you’re just like normal people.”

  “Maybe not,” I say softly then raise my glass. “To normal people. May we never become like them.”

  She grins and we toast. She drinks long from her glass and I follow suit.

  I guess her day was as stressful as mine.

  We make small talk before ordering food and a second round of drinks.

  She tells me about her family, about growing up on Long Island. She talks about working for my father and going to school at night.

  “That’s impressive,” I say.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Honestly. It’s a big deal. Not a lot of people can manage that.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I mean it. That’s pretty big. How far along are you?”

  She sighs. “About a year into it. So far, so good, I guess.”

  “But if this goes well, you can probably go full-time.”

  She grins at me, a little twinkle in her eye. “If this goes well, I don’t think I’ll need to go at all.”

  I lean back and laugh. I drink my whiskey and watch her eat, wondering just what I’ve gotten myself into.

  After we’re finished, I grab a final round from the bar. As the drinks are on their way, a dark-haired girl stumbles up against me.

  “Shit, sorry,” she says.

  “No problem,” I answer, glancing at her.

  She smiles at me. She’s pretty in a bland way. Dark hair, dark eyes. North Face jacket.

  “What’s your name?” she asks.

  “Cade,” I say distractedly.

  “Cade, that’s a cool name. I’m Belle.”

  I glace at her. “Is that your real name?”

  She giggles. “Of course it is.”

  “Sounds fake.” I turn back to the bar, getting impatient.

  Belle leans closer to me. “Hey, how about you get a drink with me? I’m feeling a little lonely tonight.”

  “Not interested,” I say.

  Belle pouts. “Come on. You look lonely, too.”

  I frown at her. I’m not sure if she’s a pro or if she’s just some stupid college girl looking to get in some trouble.

  “I’m not interested,” I repeat more slowly.

  Belle is about to protest, but suddenly another person appears.

  Lucy pushes her way between us.

  “Excuse me,” Lucy says.

  Belle steps back, frowning. “Uh, excuse you. I was talking to this guy.”

  “You mean, to my fiancé?”

  I grin huge at Lucy and just watch. I can’t believe this shit is happening right now.

  It’s like Christmas.

  “Uhm, excuse me, fiancé?” Belle looks like she’s never heard the word in her life.

  “I told you I’m not interested,” I say.

  Belle glares at me. “Asshole,” she says, turns, and stomps off.

  Lucy sighs and leans against the bar. I laugh loudly and turn Lucy to face me. She grimaces.

  “Don’t,” she says.

  “Why not? You’re my fiancée.”

  “You put the idea in my head.”

  “Come on, you loved saying it.”

  “Stop.”

  “Oh, sweet Lucy, my darling fiancée,” I croon. “I can’t wait to take you home tonight and make sweet love to you, make you feel things you’ve never dreamed of.”

  “We don’t do that until marriage, remember?” she shoots back at me. “Besides, I need to keep you in line.”

  I grin at her. The drinks arrive and we toast to our fake marriage.

 
We finish the last round and stumble back to the hotel. Lucy wears my jacket this time without protest. It’s chilly but I don’t mind.

  Once inside we ride the elevator upstairs. In the hall, we pause outside our doors.

  “Well,” Lucy says, hesitating.

  “Can’t tempt you in?” I ask. “I’d love to taste the sweet spoils of marriage.”

  “Bye,” she says and ducks inside without another word.

  I head into my room, the bad day forgotten, a smile on my face.

  5

  Lucy

  I’m outside and on the bench at six sharp, coffee in hand, even though all I want to do is go back to sleep and pretend like the world doesn’t exist.

  I groan a little bit. This is why I don’t drink.

  Cade’s door pops open a second after I sit down though, which is a surprise. I figured he’d make me wait again. He steps out into the hallway with a smile on his lips.

  “Morning, fiancée,” he says.

  “Good morning.” I get up, wincing. “Why do you look happy?”

  “Why not? It’s a beautiful day.”

  “But… You drank…”

  He smirks at me. “Don’t say you’re hungover.”

  “I’m hungover.”

  “Poor baby.” He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me against him. “There, there. You’ll be okay.”

  “Ugh,” I say, pushing him off. “Be kind today. Please.”

  “My darling Lucy, the fact that you think I am ever unkind is a travesty and I’ll do my best to—”

  I tune him out and don’t catch the rest of that.

  The elevator picks us up and spits us back out downstairs. I stumble along behind him, glowering at everyone around me. Cade, meanwhile, is chipper and cheerful, like he just won the lottery or something.

  Although I guess waking up every day stinking rich is basically the same thing.

  We head into the office. “Morning, you two,” Patricia says. “The meeting already started.”

  “Thank you, darling Patricia,” Cade answers as he sweeps past her.

  “Do they always start so early?” I groan.

  “Yep,” he says. “It’s a news station. They’ve been at it for a couple hours now.”

  We head into the same conference room as before and take our seats. Nobody bats an eyelash when we join them and Ken barely even pauses in what he’s saying, which is something very boring, no doubt.