Page 58 of Big Daddy

Eyeroll

What for?

For taking her side. For helping me see myself the way she does.

And for being mine

You’re welcome

But I never said I was yours

Stop texting me and go talk to her. You’re just sitting in your car like an old creep. Go. Call me later.

I almost text her back, only to threaten a swat on her ass if she calls me old again. Instead, I tuck the phone away, still throttling my emotions. I want to make it right with my daughter, but I’ve put even more between us with this Winnie stuff.

Following Dr. Wilder’s advice, I take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand. Brielle, and our relationship. The stuff with Winnie can wait. Right now, it’s about Brielle, and mending what we have, while also trying to understand her choice.

I don’t want to betray Winnie. But I won’t let my daughter be used by her employers, be used by men undeserving of her. I burst out of the car, stomp through the street, up the walk, and find myself hammering my fist into the door.

Augustus and Lance answer in tandem, Lance saying, “kind of surprised it took you this long to show up.” Taken off guard, I follow them inside the house and am ushered into their den. I came prepared to speak with Brielle, but before I can, they confess their love and pure intentions for my daughter. My head spins as they tell me how smart she is, how well she’s doing, and how they love her, and plan on taking care of her romantically.

Two men in love with and dating the same woman? I can’t–I stay nearly speechless, interjecting things I won’t even be able to repeat to Winnie when she undoubtedly asks later. Then, with my thoughts still riding a fucking tilt-a-whirl, Brielle appears.

“How’d you know I was here?”

I can’t help but peer around her, looking at whom I thought were the deviants that want to share my daughter and complicate her life. “You’ve been dodging my calls. I followed you here. They let me in.”

“You waited outside my apartment and followed me here?” she gasps, the veins in her neck bulging as her voice rises. Her blonde hair is up in a messy bun, but she’s still dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse, thousand-dollar shoes on her feet.

“Don’t make it sound that way,” I argue.

“You followed me,” she argues again, suspicion suddenly lining her tone.

“Semantics,” I hiss, waving my hand down in an effort to cut the bullshit.

“Liar,” she whispers.

“You keep dodging my calls, Brielle. Seems like you’ve forgotten who pays for this entire operation. Your apartment, the schooling, all of it.” My old fallback doesn’t feel as good as it used to. In fact, saying those words now almost sours me.

“I told you already, you ghost me all the time when you’re pissed. Now you’re getting a taste of your own medicine and you don't like it. Well guess what?” She steps back, out of the den, into the entryway, and I follow her, until she presses a manicured finger into my chest. “Too fucking bad.”

“Don’t make a fool of yourself,” I hiss, my phone rattling in my pocket. I ignore it, focusing on my daughter. “You’re supposed to be an apprentice. This is not the assignment,” I shout, waving my hand up around the large home where she’s clearly staying. “Get in the car, I’ll talk to Mr. Leon, we’ll get you reassigned and move on from this nightmare.”

“Nightmare? A few weeks ago when we had dinner, you were happy, proud and accepting! But all of the sudden you’veregressed? Is this my punishment for being too busy for you for a while?”

Augustus reappears, dressed to the nines in slacks and a pressed shirt. He’s my age, perhaps younger, and the age difference between them… likely less than myself and Winnie. “Ezra is a personal friend of mine, I’ll see to it that she stays on this mentorship. She’s a great protégé, and rather than fight against what she’s good at, perhaps you should focus on a way to understand and accept it.”

Brielle’s comment hits me, and my gaze slides from this man back to her, her eyes looking so much like her mother’s. They walk me onto the front porch as we argue, and the threshold that separates us feels momentous. “How am I a liar?” I question, ignoring him.

“She didn’t go home last night. She went to a place around the corner first. So, you didn’t follow her here,” Augustus says, as a burn tears through me. “You’re here scolding her, but you’re the dishonest and angry one.”

“She doesn’t belong here with men two times her age! She doesn't belong here! This isn’t right,” I fly off the handle, shouting so loudly that my voice vibrates. I didn’t want to lose my cool and completely unravel. I’m supposed to be working against that habit, not falling into it. Fuck! I smooth my hands down my breast lapels over and over.

Lance reappears, wrapping his arms around my daughter, and anger flares in my guts, scorching and undeniable. Brielle steps out of the man’s arms.

“How did you know I was here? And don’t say you followed me. We already debunked that.” From my pocket, my phone rings again.

“What does it matter?” I lower my voice, attempting to soften it to a fatherly tone and turn this thing around. I fucked it up.I always fuck it up. I just… I fucking want what’s best for her, damn it.

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