Daddy's Boss

“Honey, life is … so short. I could tell you that it feels like yesterday that I met my wife. That I fell in love with her instantly. Too many young people think they’ve got so long to live, but believe me, it goes by so fast, and no one really has enough time. Don’t waste a moment doubting yourself. Put yourself out there, and if he doesn’t like it, then you’ve lost nothing.”

“What about a broken heart? They hurt.”

“Broken hearts can be glued back together. A lifetime of regret cannot.”

He tapped her hand, and she watched him go. She released a breath and closed her eyes. It was lunchtime, so she excused herself, leaving the building where she worked and breathing in the fresh air as she left.

She loved Dawg.

As she stood watching people pass, she thought about the way he was always there. She saw him in the kitchen cooking for her, being teased by herself and by Paul. Then she thought back to the sex club, then to the nights they’d gone dancing. He was different with her. He smiled for her, and held her close. Whenever his arms were around her, she felt safe, warm, comforted.

“Lori.”

Turning to her left she saw her father limping toward her. He had several bruises on his face, and she noticed his hand was bandaged up. He also held a crutch, which helped him to walk.

Aware that her bosses were just past that door a few feet away, she became nervous. She tried her hardest to always avoid Sean.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I was hoping we could go and get a coffee.”

“Why?”

“You’re still my little girl.”

She scoffed. “Wow, seriously.”

“It’s what your mother would have wanted.”

This made her hands clench into fists. Her anger rushed to the surface, but she didn’t lash out. “You’re right. Let’s go and get coffee.” She stood beside him and let him take the lead. It was still warm, so they sat outside at one of the tables.

Taking a sip of the scalding liquid, she wondered, not for the first time, what he wanted.

“So, you clearly wanted to talk, so talk.”

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he said.

She raised her brow. “You want to know if I’m okay?”

“Yes.”

“Cut the crap, Sean. What is really going on here?” She wasn’t used to him playing the fatherly role, nor showing any concern for what she’d been through when it came to him, and to be frank, she wasn’t interested either.

She just wanted to move on with her life and one day forget about him.

Sean bowed his head. “I know I’ve not been a good father to you.”

“Really, you’re just thinking that through.”

“I know you’ll never forgive me for what happened to your mother.”

She glared at him. “You have no right to talk about her.”

“She was my wife.”

“Who you cheated on time and time again, and she knew it. She knew what you did, and all the times you did it. I had to sit and watch her wish for you to come home. When you did, you barely showed her any attention.” She gritted her teeth, wanting to hurt him.

“You’ve never forgiven me.”

“I stopped hoping you were a better man a long time ago,” she said. “Long before that monster came to our home. You’re my father. I share your blood, Sean, but to me, I have no father. He died a long time ago because there’s no way he’d have ever let anything bad happen to his woman.”

“Is Dawg treating you right?” Sean asked.

She shook her head. “You come near me, wish to see me again, I will tell Dawg that you’re bothering me.”

He smiled. “You two are a very good match. I’m pleased you two finally found each other.”

After that, she didn’t even stay to listen to any more. Without looking back, she sent up an apology to her mother, but her time of protecting her father was over. She was done being the person he could rely on.

Chapter Nine

“All the money came from one bet. Louis Saint,” Paul said.

Dawg listened to his brother as he stood back inside the gym going through old betting tickets and notes that Ortiz had left out for him to go through.

“So this was more than two fighters getting greedy?”

“Yes. Louis Saint has been all mouth, and not a lot of fist, for a long time. He’s got a few women on the streets, and he’s tried to poach from us before.”

Dawg was aware of who Louis Saint was. He made it his business to know the men who thought they could take what was rightly his. The city had been his for a long time, and their father’s before them. He had no intention of ever giving it back.

Investment was the key, and he had a lot of high people in his pocket. He made shit happen for them, and in doing so, they looked the other way.