Page 1 of Daddy's Intern

CHAPTER ONE

ANNA-BETH

“Ms. Winters,” Mayor King says with a tisk. “I’m glad that you finally made it.”

I grit my teeth and force a smile. God, the man has always known how to push my buttons. I don’t know why I’m working here as an intern, no less. I had a job, one that I adored, working for Harlan Hartford was amazing. I learned so much while I was there, and the pay was amazing.

Leaving my job wasn’t something I wanted, but my mom’s sick, she took a turn for the worse, and had to make the hard decision of putting my mom into assisted living. Her dementia has got to a point where she doesn’t recognize me anymore. There’s few good days. I can’t remember the last time I saw her, and she actually knew who I was.

It hurts like hell to not be known by the only family member you have left. It kills me as every day slips by, and she has no recollection of the fact that she even has a daughter.

I was an oops baby. My mom was forty-seven when she had me, and it rocked her marriage to my father. They had always wanted to be child-free, and they lived their lives without reservation. But when my mom became pregnant with me, it ruined everything that they had. They went through divorce proceedings, and my dad left before I was even born. I’ve never met him, and I have no intentions of ever doing so.

“Sorry,” I reply to the Mayor, continuing to keep my false smile on my lips. “My mom had a fall again this morning.”

The fifth one this month. I know that it can’t be helped, she’s so hell-bent on being independent that it’s hard to help her. My mom is a klutz, always has been, and always will be—unfortunately it’s something that I inherited from her.

The Mayor’s eyes narrow, and his mouth sets into a firm line. “How is Belinda?”

I raise a brow. “Like you care,” I hiss as I move past him.

My mom’s dementia started around about twelve years ago, it was also the same time her husband—who now happens to be my boss—divorced her. They had a whirlwind romance, meeting and getting married only after three weeks. It was ridiculous, they knew nothing about one another. I was nine when they got married, they were divorced before my tenth birthday. Mom said that she wasn’t in love with him, nor was he with her. It was just fun they had. He’s thirty-two years her senior, she wanted to finally have some fun as she hadn’t been with anyone since Dad left.

Tate King is an asshole. He came into our lives promising the world and left us with nothing. My mom was suffering, I was too young to understand what was happening, and I had to grow up fast, especially when mom would forget who I was and scream and shout that I was an intruder. It was horrendous and scarred me. He left a ten-year-old girl to deal with her mom’s deteriorating health and walked away without a care in the world.

“My office,” he snaps, and I sigh as I notice everyone around us watching with rapt attention.

It’s been two weeks since I ended up working for him. I need the money, I have so much debt that I need to pay off. I feel as though I’m drowning in it sometimes. But things between Tate and I are tense, I have no idea why he offered me the job. Hell, up until I set foot in his office, I hadn’t seen him since he walked out twelve years ago.

He’s changed a lot since then. His body is muscular, he’s jaded now, no longer having that fun look in his eyes. He’s beyond sexy, his movements filled with power and exudes sexuality. I hate that I’m attracted to him. He’s forty-five years old, too damn old for me, but Christ, that dark look in his eyes has heat pooling between my thighs.

He slams the door closed the moment I step foot inside the room. “Want to tell me what the fuck your problem is?” he snarls, his hands against the door, caging me in.

I glare at him, I’m not going to be intimidated by him. “Why the hell did you give me this job?” I demand, wanting to know what the hell he’s playing at. I could have brought my mom to live in assisted living closer to me. She was calmer with the one here in Hallow Falls, but she would have coped with being in New Longton with me.

“You needed a job,” he says, a fucking stupid smirk on his face.

“No,” I hiss. “I didn’t. I was perfectly happy working for Harlan Hartford as his assistant. I was making good money. I didn’t need your job. So again, why did you give it to me.” I pause for a moment. “Or should I say, demand that I take it?”

I hate his high-handedness. He thinks that just because he’s the damned Mayor, he can get whatever the hell he wants. No, it doesn’t work that way. I need money, so I have to work for the asshole, he’s practically blacklisted my name, it’s impossible to get a job here in Hallow Falls.

“Your mom’s in assisted living—”

“No,” I growl, my hands pressing against his chest, pushing him away. “You don’t get to talk about her. You lost the right to when you walked out.”

No matter how hard I push against him it’s no use, it’s a wall of muscle. He’s not going anywhere.

“Your mother and I were miserable,” he says through clenched teeth. “I was fucking young and stupid, I should have never gotten married to her. No fucking way.”

“So you waited until the dementia started, it gave you a good excuse to leave.”

His brows knit together. “What are you talking about?”

I roll my eyes. “Of course, you’re going to act as though you’ve no idea what the hell I’m talking about. Mom’s dementia started before you two split. Mom and I know it’s why you broke up.” It was a reason, one of many. But still, it takes a certain type of asshole to leave when the going gets tough.

“That didn’t fucking happen,” he snarls. “I had no idea until I heard you were back in town what the fuck was going on with your mom. Had I known, I would have made sure that she was taken care of.” His eyes narrow as he looks down at me. “Where did you go?”

I blink, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. “What?”

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