Page 39 of Daddy's Princess

She groans. “You decided we didn’t give a fuck what other people think. It’s not you they will think poorly of.”

“Please, have lunch with me?” I change tactics, asking nicely instead of insisting.

“Fine, but I’m not happy about it.” I can hear the smile in her voice. She might protest, but she wants to spend time with me as much as I want to spend my time with her.

“Not even a little happy?” I teasingly ask.

“Well, maybe just a little bit.”

“That’s good because I’m extremely happy to have lunch to look forward to, babygirl.”

“I’ve got to finish getting ready if I don’t want to miss my train.” She sounds reluctant to hang up. I have a feeling that she wishes that she was riding in with me instead of taking the subway, but she’s too stubborn to admit such a thing.

Reluctantly, I end the call. Soon enough, Sugar will be back in arm’s reach. I did my best to convince her to stay with me last night, but no amount of sweet words or orgasms would change her mind. She is resolved that we not ‘make a spectacle’ of ‘whatever this is,’ her words not mine. She’s not ready to put a name to what we’ve got going on, but I have all kinds of names for it, and all of them mean Sugar ismine.

The office is still quiet when I arrive. I like getting in early before everyone else starts trickling in for the day. Despite Janis being beyond competent in her job, I have a dozen high-priority tasks to tackle first thing, not to mention half a dozen messages. Including one from my mother reminding me of her visit tomorrow.

I’ve cleared the most pressing items off my desk by the time Janis arrives with my coffee. Janis has worked for Titan-Rose for over thirty years. She was my father’s secretary before becoming mine. He was old-school. He expected her to wait on him hand and foot. I’m not that kind of boss. I spent the first month talking her out of running personal errands for me. She finally relented on everything but the coffee.

When I asked her why she gave me a sly smile and explained that if she gets my coffee, she can pay for her coffee with the corporate account. I laughed and told her that if she was going to be getting our coffee every morning, she should at least splurge on the good stuff. The woman loves her coffee. She drinks it non-stop all day long. It didn’t take much to convince her to go to Ante Up for our morning cup instead of the chain shop.

“Thank you, Janis. Let me know when Jeff Thompson comes in.”

“Do you want me to schedule a meeting with him?”

I give her a smile that is probably a bit unpleasant. “Nope. I think I’ll just pop over to the design department. I need to check on his progress with the new storyboards.”

She gives me a knowing smile. Janis is definitely not Jeff’s biggest fan. She won’t tell me exactly what happened, so all I have to go on is the watercooler rumors, but from what the gossipmongers say, Jeff flirted with her pretty relentlessly and Janis nicely turned him down. Then one year at the company Christmas party, a drunk Jeff made a pass at her, and she slapped him silly. Of course, those are just rumors. I can’t imagine Janis lifting her hand in violence for any reason. Still, it pleases me to imagine my sweet secretary, who is at least a foot shorter than Jeff, slapping the idiot. “Yes, sir.”

Twenty minutes later, Janis buzzes me to let me know that Jeff is in his office. Time to see if his team managed to do in two days what they haven’t been able to do in the last two months. I’m not as confident as he is that they can turn it around.

After talking with Sugar about Titan-Rose’s newest illustrators, I did a little research—something I should have done before allowing Jeff Thompson to hire them—and she’s right. Both of them are amazing at what they do, but neither of them has the background for storybook illustrations, nor do they have the passion for it.

I rap my knuckles on the doorframe before striding into Jeff Thompson’s office. “How are the new storyboards for Wildwood coming along?” I cut straight to the chase. I don’t have the patience to deal with social niceties when it comes to this man.

He looks up from his computer screen at me with a bit of deer-in-the-headlights. I’m ridiculously pleased that I’ve caught him off guard. Not giving him time to prepare some bullshit excuses is precisely what is needed to keep this jackass in line.

“The s-storyboards?” he asks nervously, then clears his throat, pulling himself together. “Of course, Mr. Titan.” He stands from his desk and straightens his suit. “Barry Goldblume has been working around the clock to improve the designs.”

“It’s not like they could get much worse.”

Famous last words, as they say because they aren’t better. I mean, they’ve at least made the colors of the animals match the fantastical descriptions the author wrote. But the cat is still a cat.

“They are great, right?” Jeff asks proudly as he puts his hand on Barry’s shoulder.

Barry is obviously smarter than Jeff because he knows from just a glance that I’m not pleased. “With more time, I can get it right.”

“You have until tomorrow.” Barry opens his mouth to protest. He knows as well as I do that one day isn’t enough, but a month wouldn’t be enough time for him to get the illustrations right. His heart isn’t in it. What the book needs is someone like Sugar. Someone who will pour their heart and soul into each pencil stroke.

I take the long way back to my office, hoping to catch a glance of a certain intern. I’m not disappointed. She’s got her back to me and seems to be listening intently to whatever Nadine is telling her. My eyes devour her from head to toe. She’s wearing a dark purple dress that is cinched at the waist with a thick black belt that exaggerates her curves. I imagine bending her over my big desk and lifting that skirt up to see what she’s wearing under that dress.

Sugar’s long brown hair is up in some kind of intricate twist that leaves the curve of her neck bare. I scowl when I see no sign of the hickey I left. She must’ve covered it with makeup because there is no way the mark would’ve faded so quickly. I want to storm up to her and wipe the concealer off her skin so the whole world can see that she’s been marked and claimed.

She must feel my eyes on her because she slowly turns her attention to where I’m rooted to the floor, taking her in. I don’t remember stopping to stare, but based on the other eyes on me, I’ve been staring for quite some time. Without a word, I head back to my office. Sugar is a distraction. I should be mad about that, but I can only manage to drum up mild annoyance at myself for having such little self-control when it comes to Sugar.

As soon as I'm safely behind the closed door to my office, I’m adjusting my hard cock and pulling my phone out of my pocket to text her. If I can’t pull her into my arms and claim her lips in front of the whole office, I can at least lay claim in this small way.

Naughty girl. You covered my mark.

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