SOPHIA
Iroll my neck out, then force my hair up in a pony. It’s been a solid three years since I’ve spent more than a weekend with my dad, and something about taking him up on his offer to join him for a bit feels like regressing.
I’m twenty-four, fresh out of grad school, and expected to have a career, a house, and at least a boyfriend to show for it. Instead, I have two diplomas that don’t seem worth anything, even with my experience working in the financial aid department for the last two years. What is an Econ major supposed to do in the world?
“It’s right here,” I murmur.
The taxi driver pulls over, and I hand him my card, letting him run it before I grab my own bags from the trunk. I had him stop two buildings early so I can prepare to see my dad at work because he’s always at work.
And when he’s not at work … I think he sleeps, but that has yet to be verified. I take another deep breath, then look at myself in the mirror. It was a short plane ride, but my auburn hair curls in tangles, my leggings are askew, and my black button-up tank, hardly seems professional.
Oh well. It will have to do.
I shake out my pony one more time, put on the ‘boss bitch’ attitude, and switch from my flats to heels before I walk into Dad’s office. It’s a flurry of activity. I hear people on phones negotiating and trying to sell their services. Others are running around, office to desks, to other desks.
The person at the front desk notices me after a solid two or three minutes. She looks at me, arches an eyebrow behind her glasses, and pushes a lock of her blonde hair out of her face. “Can I help you?”
“Sophia Lane. I’m here to see Miles Langston.”
She sighs, looks at the computer, and shakes her head. “I don’t see a meeting here. Have you scheduled an appointment? Mr. Langston is a very busy man.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t need an-”
“Even if you’re one of his … girlfriends, you need an appointment.” She sighs and shakes her head. “I thought I’d made that clear to the last one.”
I almost choke on that. Holy shit. “Listen, I’m sorry, but if you just call him, I promise he’ll ask you to let me in.”
She stares at me, “no” written across her features. I rub my forehead. Today has already been too long. I start typing on my phone; a text should do the job. I don’t like to play the entitled daughter, so I won’t raise my voice or argue.
I’ll just text my dad and have him take care of this.
“No loitering.” The woman says after another minute. “But if you’d like to make an appointment-”
I groan and call my dad. I hear his phone ring somewhere, and then he picks up. “Hi, baby.”
“I’m at the office.”
“Is it Thursday already?”
“It tends to come after Wednesday.” I sigh. The migraine is already settling in between my eyebrows. “Do you want me to go get food and meet you at the house instead?”
“No. No. I’ll be right there, honey.”
I hang up and continue to stare at the woman behind the counter. She sighs, stands, and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, but I have to call security.”
“Give it one more minute,” I advise.
She goes to her phone anyway, starts to dial, then my dad comes through the door with a wide smile. His brown hair is cut, short like he could never really leave the military behind. And if Mom is reliable – which is questionable – he never really wanted to leave.
His green hazel eyes sparkle at me before he wraps me up in a hug that lifts me from the ground. I gasp, then giggle, hugging him back. I feel twelve, but I don’t hate it. Dad smells the same – the faint scent of cigar and leather under his subtle cologne.
I bury my face in his neck and give him an extra squeeze. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, honey. Come on in.”
“Sir, she doesn’t have an appointment.” The woman says.
“It’s fine, Sasha. Thank you for your diligence.” He keeps one arm wrapped around my shoulder. “My Sophie doesn’t need an appointment.”
She sits down, gives me a sneer, and watches as Dad leads me through the office. He nods to a few people, approves a few things, then ushers me into his office. There are people milling about until he shuts his door firmly.
He sits on his desk and beams at me. “How are you, sweetheart? How was graduation?”
We catch up until someone knocks on his door and walks in. “Miles, we still need to fix the Bella replacement thing, and Matthew is being a dick about it, per normal … and you’re not alone in the office.”
I look up and see one of the most aggressively attractive men I’ve ever seen. I don’t even pay attention to what my dad says because I’m too busy memorizing him. He’s enormous, arms straining against the button-up he has on, which is the first thing I notice. Arms that could protect better than the walls of a castle. His tapered waist, hips, nice legs, god, he’s the complete package. When his hand moves to tousle his dirty blonde hair, I see his deep blue eyes and know that he’s been more than one woman’s fantasy.
Holy shit.
“Don’t be rude, Sophia.”
“Hi.” I squeak.
His lips part in a smile, showing perfect teeth and just the hint of his tongue. “I’m Gunner Henderson.”
“Nice to meet you.” I offer him my hand. And lord have mercy, does he have some nice guns.
His fingers wrap around mine. Warm, rough, big. That’s the theme of Gunner. Big. And I’m kind of curious to know if everything …
“You too.” I choke out before I completely embarrass myself.
A phone rings, and my dad stares at it, sighs, and apologizes before excusing himself from the office, leaving me with Gunner. I open my mouth to ask if I can meet him at home, but Dad’s gone before I can say anything.
I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. It’s been a while in the sex department, but that doesn’t mean I should be throwing myself at the first man to get me excited. Gunner goes to the cabinet behind Dad’s desk.
“Want a drink?”
“It’s … three in the afternoon, and you’re at work, shouldn’t you-”
“I think we’re fine.” He winks, then pulls out a beautiful decanter and a tumbler, reaches into the mini-fridge and pops a sphere of ice into the glass. “And this is the good stuff, so it’s our secret.”
“Okay,” I say simply.
I can’t imagine saying no to this man. He pours the amber liquor over the ice and offers it to me. I hold the cold glass in my hands as he makes another. I take a sip of the smoothest whiskey I’ve ever had, and my eyes drift around Dad’s office.
His military awards, pictures of his business in Scottsdale, of his military buddies, of me, and then the first positive review he ever got from a customer. I smile and lean back in the chair. Dad’s accomplished a lot.
Even if Mom loves to say he’s a workaholic who will only slow down when he’s dead, it’s obvious he’s proud of his business and has plenty of good non-work-related memories.
“So!”
I look over at Gunner and make myself focus on his face. Only his face. Nothing else. He leans his head to the side as he looks me over head to toe. I feel it like a caress and have to take a slow breath to calm myself down.
“So.” I agree.
“You’re Miles’ little girl?”
“I was once.” I shrug. “I like to think I’m full grown now.”
He bites his lip, then looks away, draining the rest of his glass in one go. “I’m tempted to agree.”
I have to be imagining that roughness to his voice. I set the glass on the desk and rub my knees. “You don’t happen to know a good hotel or where my dad lives so I can get settled in somewhere?”
“We all live together.”
This time I do choke on my spit. Dad said I’d have my own room, my own bathroom, my own space. That was part of the deal. “Together?”
“Trust me; you won’t even notice us.”
I doubt that entirely. “So I’ll be on a … separate floor or?”
“The loft probably. It’s like a studio apartment near the living room, overlooking the park.” He says simply. “You might notice us on game nights, but we could watch in another room. There’s plenty of space.”
“How much?”
“At least twenty-five people could live there. And you’ll be invited to the hottest parties that will outdo any frat party you’ve been to.”
Our gaze holds, and I feel my face heat. I have no clue what to say to that. Frat parties weren’t something I ever did. I focused on school work and my friends. A few birthday parties, a few nights out at the bar where I woke up with a nasty hangover, but always alone.
I never did the wild and crazy thing. It never seemed wise to tempt fate between my mom’s unwillingness to back off and my dad’s protective nature. But looking at Gunner, his sinful promises, his everything, I’m very tempted.
“Good to know,” I say softly.
He chuckles. “We’ll go easy on you … at first anyway.”
“Replacing Bella is item one on my list. This meeting with a new client is number two.” My dad says, coming back in the door. He pats my head. “Which is why I asked you to come in, Sophia.”
“Why?” I try to focus on him and only him.
“I know that it’s ridiculous to ask you to help out as an office manager when you just got your master’s from Brown, but … I could use some help right now.”
“Sure!” I nod. “If I start from the office manager’s position and work my way up, then I’ll have a good sense of how the company runs in multiple ways and can keep that in mind.”
“Looking forward to it,” Gunner says before heading towards the door. “I’ll take care of the new client. Send me the information. Nice to meet you, Sophia.”
“You too.” I watch as Dad sits behind his desk. He points to the drink, and I shrug. “I’m not much of a drinker.”
“Good.” He takes it and takes a long drink. Dad savors it and nods. “So, let’s talk work. Bella is here through Monday, and she can give you some pointers and answer any questions you have. Some overlap is good, I think.”
“Of course, Dad.” I nod.
He pats my hand. “I’ll give you the paperwork to fill out, but I can get you a car to take you to the house. Holden is home right now, and he can show you where you’ll be staying.”
“You work with the guys from your platoon?” I remember seeing pictures of them when they were my age. They were all mouthwatering – Dad excluded. Jesus, I’ll have the view of the city and all these gorgeous men walking around? “All of them?”
“Not all. You met Gunner. There’s Holden, his stepbrother Matthew, Nick, and Roman. It’s a lot to remember, and I’m sure you’re tired after your day. We should get you settled in. You can have a nap and get something to eat. Maybe call your mom and let her know you arrived.”
This is an unbelievable opportunity wrapped up in a fantasy. My best friend Daisy would drool at the chance to be in my position. Any position as long as it involves these men.