Page 4 of Who's Your Daddy?

I know I have to get my life in order. I’ve been trying to get a job, but the very thought is disheartening. I’m a young high school dropout with no talents, so I don’t qualify for many jobs, and the ones I qualify for don’t pay much.

If I tried to get the same kind of life on my own, I would have to work myself to the bone. According to my calculations, I would have to work at least twelve hours every day for the next thirty-two years to even afford the penthouse I was living in. And that’s if I saved every penny and only ate one meal a day.

I don’t want to wait thirty-two years. I need to get my old life back, and in order to do that, I need to get Teddy back. He promised he’d take care of me, so I’m going to hold him to that promise. I gave him things that I can’t take back, like myvirginity. He shouldn’t be able to take back that promise. He told me he loves me, so I’m going to ask him to prove it.

Teddy owns the Bayview Country Club, and he usually plays golf with some of his clients there on Wednesdays. So, today I’m going to go there and ask him to reinstate my penthouse with all my princess privileges. He doesn’t even have to leave his wife. I’ll just pretend that I never found out about it and go back to living a blissful life completely oblivious to this fact. It’s obviously not a long-term solution, but if I compromise until his kids are old enough, maybe he’ll reevaluate the situation in the future.

With my mind made up, I finally find the strength to open my eyes. It still horrifies me every time I think about how my life flew off the rails with no warning. I still can’t believe I’m living in this dirty motel. Maybe I could’ve gone to a slightly better one, but I have to spend as little money as possible. I’ve been putting all my expenses on his credit card, and I’m low-key panicking that one big purchase will alert him to the fact that I still have it. I haven’t been able to find a decent job yet, and I’d probably starve to death if he canceled it. The plan is to fly under the radar and only use his card to buy the absolute basic necessities until he takes me back.

And he will take me back. He has to. He knows that I have no family. And he also knows that I’m ill-equipped to handle the big bad world all on my own.

As I roll out of bed, the photo on my nightstand catches my eye. I lift it up and take in the details for the millionth time. The excited smile on my dad’s face, the love in my mom’s eyes. We were so happy. I trace my finger around the arm she has around my neck, down to her wrist. Once again, time expands and the seconds I spend staring at the bracelet on her wrist feel like hours.

She wore that bracelet every day, never taking it off even when she showered. The two ends of the bracelet were joined together by a butterfly-shaped clasp. She always believed that butterflies were our ancestors’ way of communicating with us. Seeing a butterfly was their way of saying hi. After she died, I went crazy trying to get that bracelet. I begged the cops. I begged the coroners. No one could find it. I wanted it so desperately because having it with me would mean thatshewas with me.

But she’s not with me. I have to face this world alone, and right now, asking Teddy for another chance is the only viable plan I’ve got.

After brushing my teeth, I rummage through the trash bags that contain all the designer labels he bought me. I’m bringing out the big guns today and going for thesexy-without-trying-to-belook, exposing all my assets with just the right amount of modesty. I match a pair of Daisy Duke denim shorts with a pink, white, and blue checkered shirt (from the Burberry Spring collection). It’s tight enough to accentuate the contours of my breasts. I leave the top two buttons undone to show off an enticing amount of cleavage and leave the last two buttons undone to make sure he catches a flash of my belly ring. I know his weaknesses, and I’m not above exploiting them to get what I want.

Next, I do my makeup, keeping it natural because Teddy hates caked faces. For the finishing touches, I apply a slight dusting of pink to my high cheekbones, a tiny bit of mascara to add more length to my already long lashes and top it off with just a hint of gloss. I scoop my hair up into a high ponytail and add a pair of hoop earrings. I initially complete the look with a pair of heels, but that looks like I’m trying too hard, so I swap it for a pair of Versace sneakers instead, the pair he bought me for my birthday back in May.

One last look in the mirror and...yes! That’s perfect. Casual yet smoking hot. He’s going to be salivating, begging me to come back.

* * * * *

THE WIDE FOYER NARROWSto a lightwood, semi-circular reception desk. To the left is a bar, which opens up to a restaurant and extends out further to an outdoor dining area. On the right are large glass doors that lead out to the golf course. Teddy always has a beer with his clients after a round of golf, so this is the ideal spot to wait for him because he can’t get to the bar without passing me.

I thrum my nails on the reception desk, not sure if I’m impatient or nervous. I’ve asked the receptionist fifteen times when he’ll be back, and she keeps telling meprobably in the next ten minutes. She’s a liar because I’ve been waiting here for forty-five minutes already.

My eyes move idly across the foyer, taking in every detail as I try to pass the time. From the beige stone cladding and contemporary paintings on the wall to the sleek hardwood floors. I wonder how much he paid for this place or how much it rakes in each month. What takes some people thirty-two years to earn comes to him so easily. People say money can’t buy happiness, but I vehemently disagree. I was infinitely happier when I was wrapped in the safe cocoon of money. You can’t put a price on how much mental distress you endure when your basic needs are not met. Money provides stability, which in turn translates to some degree of happiness.

The sound of his voice behind me makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I freeze, too nervous to even breathe. I turn and his steps falter when he sees me. Somehow, seeing him again does weird things to me. He looks familiar, yet I don’t recognize him at all. Those soft brown eyes used to look at me with longing and adoration, and now they’re filled with disdain. Those supple lips used to kiss me for hours and now they’re pressed into a hard line. The sharp features and distinct eyebrows that once made him so handsome now only show his irritation.

He looks away, pretending as if he didn’t see me as he walks with a group of men toward the bar. That stung me more than I could’ve ever imagined, but I keep a brave face as they stroll past me.

I’m still trying to compose myself when he stops and glances back at me. “I’m just gonna run to the gents. I’ll meet you guys at the bar,” he says to the other men.

He waits for them to be out of earshot before he charges toward me and catches my arm in a firm grasp. He’s seething when he lowers his lips to my ear. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Aren’t you happy to see me,Daddy?” I use my sultriest voice to ask the question, not really knowing what the outcome will be.

The pet name used to turn him on, but today it only serves to spike his anger. His nostrils flare and his jaw clenches. He casts a glance at the receptionist to make sure she didn’t hear that before his fingers tighten around my arm, and he all but drags me to the exit.

Once we’re outside, he abruptly releases me. “What are you doing here?” he asks again.

“I miss you, Teddy bear.” That’s another term of endearment he used to love, so I try my best to ignore the agitated breath he lets out when he hears it. “I know you were mad the last time we spoke. I realize now that I was asking for too much too soon, but let’s just forget about that stupid misunderstanding...”Misunderstandingis more euphemistic thanyour wife and kids. “...and find a way to make it work.”

His eyebrows draw together, and he looks at me as if he thinks my brain is made of sawdust. “Lia, what are you talking about? I thought I made myself clear the last time. We’re not going to make it work. I have a wife, a family. I had to end it because the whole situation was getting out of hand. You were just supposed to be the side chick, and side chicks are supposed to remain on theside.”

“I can remain on the side.” I sound pathetically desperate, but that’s because I am.

“You showing up here is not remaining on the side. This is my business. My friends, my clients, my employees – they’re all here. You need to get the hell out of here before anyone sees me talking to you.”

The words are sharp and jagged, slashing right through me. “This is not you. You’ve never treated me like this. Why are you speaking to me this way?”

“Because you and I are over, but something in your young, naïve brain just doesn’t seem to get that.”

Well, that’s because right now my young, naïve brain is having a really hard time trying to reconcile this information with the affection and sweet talk he was smothering me with just a few weeks ago. “You told me you love me, Daddy.”

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