Page 11 of Daddy's Game

Her eyes widened, and I could see her swallow.

“Ah, I don’t know about that,” she said. “I mean, I’m not sure if I can date a man who’s out to get my center.”

“What if I gave you a little something to ease your conscience?”

She looked suspicious.

“Like what?”

“There must be something your center needs.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

“Okay, well, if you pave over my pothole ridden parking lot, then sure, I’ll go out with you again.”

“I agree to your terms.”

Her smile faded, and I felt the need to speak again.

“I mean, it’s going to be my parking lot eventually anyway.”

She laughed, and then pointed a finger at me.

“You never stop, do you?”

“No, I don’t. When I see something that I want…”

My eyes roamed up and down her body, so she knew I wasn't talking about real estate.

“I will do my best to jump on it.”

She looked uncomfortable in all the right ways. Grace licked her lips. Her face was nearly as red as her mouth.

“Good night, Brock.”

“Good night, Grace.”

The door closed behind her, and I smiled all the way down to the street.

I stayed awake for a long time, staring at my ceiling and replaying the dinner date over and over again in my mind. I eventually slept, but it seemed like my alarm went off almost the moment I closed my eyes.

I rose and went through my normal morning routine, which took an hour and a half. The sun had just barely risen when I rode to my Manhattan office building. I took the executive elevator up to the top floor and made a beeline for the largest meeting room.

I pushed the door open and a dozen pairs of eyes turned my way. Most of them seemed surprised to see me. I was not scheduled to attend the meeting.

“Mr. Richards.” Bryan Clark, the sawed off redhead leading the meeting, tried not to look as put off as he was. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Do me a favor, Bryan,” I said tersely. “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining. I know you’re not happy to see me.”

Bryan closed his mouth and tried to recover.

“That’s not true–”

“Oh, I think it is. Or did you believe I wouldn’t find out about how badly Tecchnodyne is hemorrhaging money under your watch?”

He stared blankly for a moment and then tried to make excuses. Excuses make me angry.

“Well, if you look at a variety of factors, I think you’ll see there was nothing management could do in order to stave off–”

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