Page 12 of Her Bossy Daddy

“Good girl.” He kissed my lips twice. “The perfect balance of naughty and nice.” Liam circled around me, then left the room.

Did I have enough time to finish myself off first? I peeked my head into the hall.

“No touching, love. We don’t have time for that now,” Liam called from the living room, showing just how well he knew me.

I’d have to seize the day sans panties along with a stainless steel plug up my ass. Not how I’d imagined my day would play out while I was tucked into bed this morning. This day would tick by with extreme slowness.

* * *

I’d utilized my stand-up desk to its maxed capability today, but was forced to sit down for an impromptu meeting called by Liam. I’d been aware of the plug in my ass before but being seated also pressed on my sore behind. Liam smiled down at me, and I forced one back at him. He paired Milly and me on an important project but it wasn’t okay. My palms showed little crescent-shaped moon imprints on it from where I’d pressed my fingernails into them. The pain distracted me from giving him a piece of my mind.

“What about a more creative location to brainstorm once a week?” Milly shifted slightly in her seat, which gave Liam a bird’s-eye view down the front of the deep V-neck shirt she wore.

“What do you propose?” Liam moved behind his desk, away from the view, then he leaned his forearms casually against the top of his chair.

“An out of office lunch meeting. Nothing fancy, just a change of scenery. You know, to get the creative juices flowing,” Milly offered.

I’d bet more than just her creative juices flowed. Being forced to attend a work lunch in a crowded restaurant while she drooled over Liam? No way. I’d stab her with a salad fork.

“Do you have an alternate proposal?” Liam focused his attention on me.

I wanted to hard-core brat but instead, I shrugged.

“Are you sure, Lacey?” He dropped his tone slightly, and though my colleague wouldn’t understand the real reason behind the inflection change, I did.

“No, I don’t have an alternative. Milly has a splendid idea.” I forced another huge smile. He cocked an eyebrow, another warning at my pretend courtesy, which I ignored.

“Right. Then it’s settled. I expect a separate agenda from each of you before the meeting to fill approximately ten minutes total. We’ll spend the rest of the hour planning the remainder of the week and how to progress. A midweek pulse check sounds best. How does Wednesday at twelve-thirty work?”

“Twelve-thirty works perfectly for me,” Milly quickly agreed.

“Yup, I can make it work.” I nodded.

“I’ll send individual meeting requests for once or twice a week, depending on what stage we’re on, right?” Liam spread his hands, prompting a reply. “And it doesn’t have to be every week. Certainly, if you have something come up, let me know.”

“Why did you pair us to work together?” Milly adjusted herself again, but her attention remained on him.

“Are you questioning my decision?” Liam looked between the two of us. From anyone else, the words might have sounded offensive, but his voice held curiosity, not anger.

“Not at all. I’m curious since we’ve never worked in a collaborative effort like this.” Milly crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair.

“Perhaps the lack of collaboration in the past opened up the door for changes in management,” Liam pointed out as he straightened up. “If you’re talking about skills, then I’ll spell it out. You’ve got the lowest margin of error regarding product design. I’ve heard of only a few flaws resulting in a second draft, otherwise they are exceptional. Lacey’s creativity is outside the box. Her design, features, and knack for flawless execution? No one can top it. So it’s quite a simple choice, right?”

“Yes, thank you for the details.” Milly beamed up at him.

“You’re welcome. I’ll send the meeting requests out by the end of the day. Let me know at least three hours prior if you need to change the time.” He nodded as if dismissing us, but the two of us remained seated.

I had questions for him without her ears around, but she stayed glued to the chair. I glanced at her, and she raised both eyebrows in reply to me. I grabbed my things. Whatever. I’d send him a meeting request later.

“Lacey, I need to speak with you in private regarding another matter.” Liam’s statement stopped me in my tracks.

“Sure, I’m free until four,” I stated with more conviction than I felt.

“I’ve got back to back meetings all day.” Milly gathered up her materials then continued on about how important she was. “I’ve just had a meeting after meeting lately! We can catch up later.” Milly nodded to Liam, and then without so much a glance back my way, she hurried out the door.

“I’d like you to share any concerns you have over my decision.” Liam crossed to the door, locked it, and then returned to his desk.

“Milly and I are barely cordial on a good day.”

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