Page 52 of Don't Call Me Daddy
“I thought he was scared of heights. Wasn’t that one of his fun facts during last year’s holiday party?” Ricky, the only other man on the twentieth floor, asks.
“No, it wasn’t heights. I’m pretty sure he said claustrophobic,” Janice adds.
“Really, Janice? Now, you’re the expert, are you?” Ricky snaps back, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.
Clearly, there’s some unresolved tension between these two, as they haven’t stopped arguing since we sat down for lunch. We’re in the cafeteria, and I’ve drawn quite the crowd around me, as everyone wants to get to know Leo Kingsley’s mystery lover.
I’m a good time. What can I say?
“Oh, well, he put on a brave face before we jumped, but one of the workers ended up having to push us over the edge because he tried to back out. He clung to me and screamed like a little girl the whole way down,” I say with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
In the twenty minutes since Leo left me unattended for lunch—he’s taking a working lunch that’s too important for mydistractions—I’ve managed to meet all the staff members working on his floor and some of the people in HR. I’ve told them how we met. I even stuck to Leo’s boring script, but I took some creative liberty with some of the other stories, like the first time he’d told me he loved me—while we made love in his car on the way back from the airport. It was so romantic; he couldn’twait to get me to the hotel, just swooped into a Walmart parking lot, and I rode him to high heaven.
Sometimes, my imagination terrifies me with how quickly I come up with these things.
“He’s got quite the wild side to him when he lets himself detach from work,” I say with a shrug.
“Wow, I wish we could see fun Leo every now and then. Maybe then he’d actually be able to keep an assistant,” Fran, from HR, says.
“What do you mean? His assistants quit a lot?”
Fran continues, “Oh, yeah. He’s got about a three-month limit before he either overworks them, or pisses them off bad enough for them to either transfer to another department or outright quit.”
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. It’s not that I can’t see Leo being hard to work for; his expectations must be through the roof, as he demands perfection from everyone around him, especially himself. But I’m surprised because this place seems so good to its employees. I see the way Frank’s personality and gigantic heart for this company and the community shine through everything. How is Leo still missing the mark? I know he cares; it’s why he pushes himself so hard … but isn’t he smart enough to see he’s making his staff miserable, that they have to walk on eggshells around their boss?
No wonder his dad decided he wasn’t ready to be promoted.
“Hey, you know what? We should do something after work on Friday! Like a team-bonding activity. What do you think?” I blurt out the idea as soon as it pops in my head.
Everyone’s so tense around here; maybe if we shake things up with some after-work drinks and games, they’ll be able to see Leo’s not so bad.
“We stopped having happy hours after work when Leo moved over to our floor two years ago. He said he didn’t wantto be liable for someone getting hurt or something like that,” another woman says.
“That’s ridiculous. It’s after work, and everyone is responsible, right? Leo might have decided that two years ago, but I’m here now, and the man doesn’t tell me no about anything. What do you think we should do? Does anyone have any ideas?”
“Ooh!” Janice raises her hand excitedly, so I nod for her to share. “We could play trivia at Restaurant. Leo’s brother Jett owns it, you know. I bet he’d make sure we had a table and enough space for everyone to join!”
“Yeah?” I look around as everyone nods in agreement, chattering among themselves, and dare I say, for the first time since I stepped in this building, there’s a buzz of excitement in the air. “Let’s do it then. I’ll call later today and ask Jett to reserve a space.”
“Reserve the space for what?” Leo’s husky voice asks from behind me, and suddenly, everyone falls quiet.
The room feels ten degrees colder as he stands over me with one eyebrow cocked up. It’s like he’s a real-life fun sucker, a Dementor for joy.
I flash him a big smile as I try to boost the energy back to its previous level. “There you are. We were just planning a trivia night after work on Friday. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
I bat my eyes and nudge my head toward his staff, but his scowl only deepens.
“Absolutely not.” He shakes his head, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“But I haven’t even told you the theme?—”
“It’s a liability, and my decision is fin?—”
I don’t wait for him to finish before jumping up and wrapping my arms around him. I grip his tie and pull his head down so I can whisper in his ear as his heart beats violently in hischest. “You want to prove to your dad that you’re ready, then just go with it. Or I can entertain them with more scandalous stories about us … let them know your favorite pet name …”
“I swear to God, if you even mutter a single syllable about that …” His voice trails off in a growl underneath his breath.
“See, you keep saying that, but here’s the thing …” I trace my fingers over his rough stubble before grabbing the knot of his tie in my fist. “I don’t think it’s having the desired effect you think it is.” I quirk a brow, tightening my grip on his tie.
