Page 25 of Don't Call Me Daddy
I bury my face in my hands. “Please stop saying that.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Leo
“Here we are.” The nurse locks the brakes of the wheelchair just as Ivy’s dingy red death mobile comes into view.
She honks three times, then rolls down the window. “Hey there, pookie bear. Are you ready to go home?”
I grit my teeth. I can’t believethiswas my solution.
Of all the plans I could’ve come up with, I chose to hand over all my hopes and desires, everything I’d worked my entire life for, to this woman of all people.
I blame the anesthesia for my temporary lapse in judgment and my delusional proposition back there.
It’s too late now. I can either admit that I lied about being in a relationship—which is only made worse, considering everyone already met her—or I can go through with this obscene plan and hope that she can help me sell it as believable … or at the very least not exacerbate things to the point of destruction.
I don’t have the mental energy to consider how badly this could end right now, but I figure what I’ve been doing wasn’tworking anyway. Maybe shaking things up and doing the opposite of what I normally do is worth a try.
“Everything okay?” the nurse asks as she looks between me and Ivy, who’s now walking toward me.
“Fine. Just a little groggy still.”
Perhaps I should be more concerned with my own acting.
“What’s wrong, snookums? Do you need help getting in the car?” Ivy offers me a hand, but I swat it away, grunting as I stand.
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Okay, Grandpa, whatever you say,” she says as she runs to the passenger door and opens it, then swipes the parking ticket out from under the windshield wiper and tosses it amid the chaos in her back seat.
I force myself to take a deep breath as I mentally count to ten.
Of course she’s going to push my buttons and take things to the extreme.
I know her type. I am very familiar with her type, and I’d be lying if I said that little spark of brattiness isn’t what piqued my interest in her from the start, but that’s not what this is about right now.
The shadow inside of me doesn’t care about my rules or what’s best for my career. No, the selfish bastard caught a taste of something he liked, and I already know I’m going to be working double time to keep his thirst at bay.
I force myself to remember the pain, playing that tender memory in the back of my mind on repeat, and just like I knew it would, the thoughts fizzle out, and I’m the one who’s back in control.
Good. Now, I just need to keep the reminder front and center. I’m nothing if not an expert at self-torment, so this should be easy enough.
Here’s to hoping anyway.
I clench my jaw as I lower myself into the tight space, my knees painfully pressed into the dash. There is no way this is safe.
She closes her door and puts the car in drive. “All right, where to?”
“Drop me off up here at the bank. I’m going to have my driver pick me up there, and you can follow us.” I pull out my phone to send my location to my driver.
“Now, why would I do that when we’re both going to the same place?” She spins to face me and furrows her brows.
I see disappointment flash across her face, but she quickly masks it with a half smile, and all at once, I feel a heaviness in my chest.
How is it that I’ve hardly known this woman for twenty-four hours and I’m already familiar with her facial expressions?
She needs the money—that much is obvious—and if I were a better man, I’d just give it to her, no strings attached. But I wouldn’t need her help if I wasn’t desperate, and selfishly, I can’t ignore the rush I get from this little power exchange we’ve agreed to. So, I’ll bite my tongue and play along, if only for curiosity’s sake.
