Page 42 of Boss Daddy

I clear my throat before continuing, squaring my shoulders a bit.“So, I want to give back. As corny as that might sound, I want to make the world a better place, instead of just taking up space. It’s the least I can do. It might be a silly reason, but it’s mine.”

My words hang in the air. I’ve never spoken them aloud before.

“That’s a damn good reason, if you ask me.”

His approval shouldn’t matter but it does, and the realization makes me uncomfortable. Time to pivot.

“What about you?” I ask. “How does an ex-Wall Street guy end up running a nightclub?”

He chuckles. “Wall Street was everything you’d expect—money, power, long hours, constant pressure. The kind of lifestyle that chews you up and spits you out if you don’t learn to play dirty.”

I tilt my head, intrigued despite myself. “Sounds thrilling.”

“It was,” he admits. “Until it wasn’t. I got tired of living for numbers on a screen, tired of the bullshit. Moved to Denver, thought I’d get away from it, but the dirty followed.”

“How’s that?”

“You remember what I said about Misha, how he wanted me to launder his cash, do illegal work for him.” I nod. “He wasn’t the only one. I don’t want to sound like an arrogant prick, but I was damn good at what I did. Problem with that is there was no shortage of men like Misha who wanted me to use my skills for their illegal bullshit.”

“How did you even meet Misha?”

“Mutual friends who are friends of mine no longer.” He takes a sip of coffee before continuing. “So I cashed out, found something real, something I could actually build, something that wasn’t just moving money around and watching lines go up.”

“So you chose a nightclub?” I press, sensing there’s more to the story.

He shrugs. “It felt right. I get to work with my hands, look people in the eye, build real relationships. And it keeps me busy.”

It’s an unsatisfying answer, leaving more questions than it resolves, but before I can push further, the doorbell rings, jarring and unexpected.

Samuel frowns, setting his cup down with deliberate care. “Who the hell is that?”

“Isn’t this place private?”

He nods. “It is. Few people know where to find this place. And those who do know they’d better call before just showing up.”

My chest tightens, the sound triggering a jolt of irrational panic. My mind races. Is it Misha? Did he send someone to drag me back into his world? I feel stupid for even thinking it, but the fear is so real that my stomach ties into knots.

“Maybe we shouldn’t answer it,” I blurt, my voice sounding more fearful than I intended.

Samuel takes my hand. “Nothing is going to happen to you while you’re with me.”

I nod, still not sure what to think. I watch as he slips his phone out of his pocket, opening the ring app and pulling up a camera feed.

“You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me.”

“Who is it?”

“My in-laws.”

Chapter 16

Erin

“Your in-laws? What the hell, Samuel, you’re married?”

His jaw tightens. He looks slightly annoyed, like it’s a big inconvenience for him.“I’ll explain later.”He brushes past me and heads toward the door.

“Later?” My anger’s bubbling up.

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