Page 14 of Daddy's Game

Brock picked up before the second ring had fully gone off.

“Hello, Grace. It’s so good to hear from you. I had a great time last night. Is the crew there?”

The sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine, but I was determined.

“Look, Brock, I’m sorry to have to do this, but I’m going to have to go back on our deal. I’ll pay the crew for the parking lot repairs. It would be a bad idea for us to go out again.”

“I disagree,” he said. “I think it will be a very good thing. But the point is moot. You made a deal, and you can’t back out of it now.”

“I most certainly can,” I said.

“I’m afraid I must insist.” Brock’s tone grew firm, and I felt my willpower collapsing like a house of cards. I realized then that I really didn’t want to call off our second date. I just felt like I had to. “I will pick you up at five thirty tonight.”

“Well–”

“I’ll see you then. Now, I’m terribly sorry, but I have to go. I’m in the middle of a board meeting.”

“You can take phone calls during a meeting?”

“I can when I own the company. What am I going to do, fire myself? I’ll see you tonight. I’ll count the seconds until I can see you again.”

Then he ended the call, just like that. I sat the phone down and sighed.

“That went well,” I said, shaking my head. I was learning just how hard it was to prevent Brock from getting what he wanted. And if he wanted me, well…it was going to be hard to convince myself to say no.

I moved through the rest of my day in a haze. Even normal, mundane tasks I did all the time seemed strangely foreign to me. It was as if my life felt totally different post-Brock. I found my thoughts lingering on him.

I stopped working at one point and clapped a hand over my eyes. Then I laughed, more out of a need for relief than actual humor. Though, it was really a ridiculous situation. How could I be so enamored of a man whose goal was to take my center away from me? Not to mention our age difference, and the difference in our backgrounds.

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth. I remembered reading somewhere that Brock’s father was pretty successful. Not billionaire successful, but successful nonetheless. How could we possibly find enough common ground for a relationship?

I was getting way ahead of myself. We’d only been on one date, after all.

I thought about just sleeping with him and getting it out of my system. The only problem with that was I feared it would be like an addiction. A little wouldn’t seem like enough, and before I knew it, I’d be in too deep to get out even if I wanted to.

I never could reconcile all of the tumultuous thoughts and feelings bouncing around inside my head and chest. When I glanced up at the clock and saw it was nearly four thirty, I knew I had to get ready for our second date. I didn’t want to think of it in those terms, but what else could you call it?

This time, I didn’t dress quite as provocatively. I suppose I wanted to see how he would react if I went a little more business casual. Not that my hip hugging skirt and slim fit blazer weren’t flattering, just not in the same way as my little black dress.

I was just putting on a pair of rhinestone pendant earrings when I heard the knock at the door. I glanced outside and saw a black stretched limo, a different one than before. I wondered how many of them he actually owned.

I opened the door and found myself confronted with the situation that is Brock Richards. It was the first time I remembered seeing him without a necktie. He still wore a dark charcoal blazer and a white silk shirt fit for the office, as well as tailored slacks that showed off his narrow waist and muscled legs. But for Brock, this was dressing down.

His eyes captured me before I could speak. Brock’s gaze made no pretenses at all about what he wanted. The smile on his face seemed genuine as he took in the sight of me.

“You’re so lovely,” he said with an appreciative sigh, like he’d just seen a double rainbow in the sky. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

I blushed. I wasn’t sure what to say, feeling awkward and out of sorts.

“So, what are we doing tonight?” I asked at last.

“Oh, I can think of…” his eyes ran up and down my body, then returned to my face, “several things I’d love to do with you.”

Heat broke out on my body. I had to look away for a moment, my hand going up to smooth my hair on reflex.

“You sure know how to get under a girl’s skin,” I mumbled.

“Oh?” His face lit up like the fourth of July. “Is that what’s going on? Am I getting under your skin, Grace?”

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