Page 29 of Don't Call Me Daddy
“It’s just a name. You’re the one who gives it power. Stop being such a prude,Leo.”She draws out my name with extra emphasis. “I think for clarity purposes, we should keep the language as correct as possible.” She draws a line where the amount should be and looks up in question. “Are you sure you’re okay with paying me one hundred thousand dollars? It feels like highway robbery for what you’re asking of me, even for a billionaire.”
I clench my jaw to suppress the urge to scold her for questioning her worth and finally say, “It’s not your concernwhether I’m getting a good deal or not, Ivy. Now, just write the damn number.”
“Fine.” She sets her jaw and meets my eyes. “Anything else?”
I have to sit on my hand to keep from tracing my thumb over her stubborn mouth.
“I think if we’re going to convince my family, coworkers, and everyone else who could be peeping around town, we should be careful. We need to look like a couple when we go out. So, no dating other people during our agreement. I don’t want to go through all this trouble and have a photo getting leaked, only for all this to blow up in my face.”
No dating, she writes. “That isn’t a problem for me.” She lifts a brow in challenge. “Does that apply to you too or?—”
“Of course it does. I obviously wouldn’t be asking you for help like this if it didn’t.” My retort comes out a little too harshly.
She holds up her hands. “Hey, I was just asking, no need to be so sensitive.”
“I’m not being sensitive. I’m just annoyed by pointless questions.” I look down at her list and tap my finger on the paper, then grab the pen and add,House rules: both parties should be fully dressed at home.
“What about in the shower?”
I blow a breath through my nose, gritting my teeth. “Obviously apart from the shower?—”
“What about in my bedroom? I enjoy sleeping in the nude. Are you planning on sneaking in my room to spy on me?”
“No, Ivy. I have no intentions of watching you sleep or spying on you,” I say, pinning her with a stern glare, to which she innocently bats her eyes.
Great. As if I needed any more temptation, now, she’s giving me something to visualize. Fucking hell, this is going to be harder than I thought, and I can already see she’s not going to make this easy for me. No wonder I was so drawn to her …
I bite my cheek and continue, “Quiet hours are between ten p.m. and seven a.m.”
To my surprise, she scribbles down the rule without protest.
“And I shouldn’t have to say this, but I’ve got a hunch you’ll only follow what’s written on this list and nothing more. Clean up after yourself and don’t go snooping around.”
She quirks a brow. “You hiding something illegal around here that you don’t want me snitching about?”
I shake my head with a laugh. “No. Nothing illegal. Believe me, my life couldn’t get any morevanilla… I just don’t want you digging around, getting your sticky fingers all over my nice things. Got it?”
Her eyes widen a little, but she doesn’t argue, just nods her head slowly and draws two lines at the bottom of the page. She signs her name on the first in big, bubbly letters before handing me the pen.
I quickly scribble my signature and tear the paper out of the notebook. “Come on. Let me show you your room.”
I might be a fool for thinking of this idiotic scheme, but there’s a part of me that’s excited by the challenge. I know trouble when I see it, and Ivy Lane is the most dangerous kind of all.
My favorite kind, if I’m being honest …
CHAPTER SIX
Ivy
“I’ve actually never been to a cat’s birthday party. Are you sure I look the part?” I tug on the hem of my hot-pink micro dress, shimmying it over my nearly exposed ass.
I might have been a little too ambitious with the micro dress, but, hey, how many chances will I get to attend a billionaire cat’s twenty-first birthday party? And I am nothing if not committed to a theme.
His eyes flash over me for the briefest moment before darting back to the road. “They didn’t have anything a little moredecent? You look like a stripper.” He tightens his grip on the steering wheel, and his jaw tenses like he’s biting his tongue from saying anything else.
He’s not wrong. I was pressed for time, and when I came across Adult Store, conveniently located among the conventional shops downtown, I knew that I couldn’t get more Vegas-themed than that. I was hoping it’d make him squirm, and by the way he keeps adjusting himself, I’d say my evil plan is working.
Besides, if I’m doing this for the plot, I might as well have all the fun I can, right?
