Page 4 of Silver Fox's Surprise Baby

I wish that I could say this is the first time my father has overstepped boundaries, but it’s not. The man doesn’t know how to retire, even at seventy.

“Dad, why are you going through my files? You don’t have any business doing that.”

“I had to look for a file on that waterfront property you just acquired.” He closes the drawer and opens the one below it.

“Dad, we’ve talked about this. You can’t just come into the office and start going through my things. This is my company now. You stepped down, remember?”

As he turns to look at me, his eyebrows furrowing, I make a mental note to get all the locks on the filing cabinets changed. I don’t know how many keys he still has hidden at home.

Though I trust my father not to drive the business into the ground, it’s clear that he still doesn’t trust me.

If he did, he wouldn’t be here right now.

“I know that I stepped down but that doesn’t mean I don’t get a say in what you do with my company. I told you that buying that property was going to be a mistake and now I need to know how much money you’re sinking into it to redevelop it.”

I sigh and roll my shoulders back, counting to ten again. “Dad, why don’t you go out and enjoy the day golfing or something instead of looking over my shoulder?”

The statement is a little harsher than intended but I can’t help it. I’ve had control of the company for four years now and he’s still acting like I can’t do the job without him. It frustrates me to no end. I talk to him over and over again about it, but he doesn’t hear me.

“I need to make sure that you aren’t sinking more money into the project than it’s worth.”

“I really don’t think that’s your problem.” I take off my leather jacket and toss it over one of the white suede chairs that face my pale oak desk. “Dad, please just go relax. I’ll look for the plans later and have my assistant mail you a copy.”

He sighs and shakes his head. “I really don’t know about this, Evan. I want you to do well but it’s hard to keep sitting back and watching you make these choices.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him when he has ever sat back and just watched. He has an opinion about everything I do. Each time I make a new business move, he’s on the phone immediately, telling me his thoughts about it.

“Make sure you send me that plan,” he says before walking out of the office.

My shoulders slump as I stand in the doorway and watch him get on the elevator. As soon as he’s gone, I breathe a sigh of relief. I love my father, but having his nose in the business is only holding Tucker Realty back.

I want to start moving forward with buying more land and having it developed, opening new gateways for the company. Dad thinks that we should stick solely to buying and selling properties.

With a groan, I run my hand through my hair and head back to my desk. Today is not going the way I want it to, but hopefully it can only get better.

“Call for you on line one,” my assistant, Bronson, says before the phone on my desk starts ringing. He leaves my office and closes the door as I pick up the phone.

I take a deep breath, hoping it’s not my father. He’s been gone from the office for a couple hours, but I wouldn’t put it past him to call the office and ask where the waterfront files are.

“Hello, Evan Tucker speaking.”

“Very formal,” a sultry voice says. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you have more manners than approaching strange girls in clubs and offering them jobs.”

I smirk as I lean back in my seat. Kendall was stunning at the club the other night. The way she frowned when I offered her a job is burned into my mind. I thought that she was going to start yelling at me, but she kept her composure.

And then there was the way her soaked shirt clung to the curve of her breasts, showing off her lace bra.

In that moment, I had thought about throwing her over my shoulder and dragging her to the darkest part of the club I could find.

“Well, you look like the kind of woman who’s in search of a higher paying job.”

“How would you know what kind of woman I am?”

I swallow hard and look out the window at the view of the lake. My office building is right on the water, giving me a good excuse to spend my lunches on the beach.

“I assume.”

Kendall hums. “What did I tell you about making assumptions?”

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