Daddy's Dirty Boss

“Thank you, though,” he said to me, as though he was rethinking his stance on the car. “Thanks for being so invested in her. We are lucky to have you in her life. Such a generous, kind uncle figure to help keep her safe.”

And that was the spark for a whole new wave of sickness down deep. Sickness that twisted hard, pulsing with remorse for the betrayal of the man I classed as a solid friend of mine. The man leaning across my desk with his hand reached out for a handshake, believing me to be such a good guy on the outskirts of his family.

“Thanks,” he said again. “I really do appreciate you caring about our little princess so much. Thanks for really treating her.”

I could barely meet his eyes as I accepted that handshake. It took everything I had to keep my mask up high and my exterior at its regular calm.

“She’s a good girl,” I told him. “A very talented one.”

He laughed a little. “Gets it from her mother. She’ll make a fine accountant one day, I hope.”

I nodded, but didn’t agree.

I couldn’t.

I’d known for a long time that Colin was hoping for the more conventional route for his daughter. A role in finance with safe number crunching and decent pay-outs. Not a role chasing old furniture and matching it up with buyers for the most money possible.

Colin himself was running the property side of my business, because that too was safer. Steady and practical, with the same tick boxes and agreements every day of the week.

“She’d make a fine auctioneer,” I told him, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

He waved my statement aside.

“She would if she had it her way, but the girl needs more than the antiques dreams to set her up for a career.”

I bit my tongue and kept quiet, knowing well that it was far, far from my position to comment on anything to do with his daughter’s best options or future at this point.

I’d have some fucking nerve if I did.

“You really are sure about the car?” he checked again. “I’m sure I can reimburse you for some of the value.”

“Really sure,” I told him. “I just hope she enjoys it when she passes her test.”

His smile was enough to light up his face. His eyes were glowing, absolutely alive with the love he had for that little girl of his.

Because that was truly how he saw her. As a little girl. A sweet little girl absolutely bursting with innocence.

“Oh, she’s already enjoying it,” he said. “You should have seen her at the dinner table last night, she couldn’t stop grinning and squealing and rattling on and on about your trip to the dealership.”

I wished I could have seen her there, grinning and squealing and rattling on. The mental image was enough to make my heart race.

“I’m glad she was so enthusiastic.”

His laugh was so warm. “She was enthusiastic alright. My little munchkin is such a lively girl, she really is.”

I figured it was time for him to head off soon enough and get over to the property branch, and so it was. He turned and made his way out, and it was certainly a welcome reprieve with my senses being so utterly tossed in a storm, but he stopped in the doorway before his goodbye, and his expression turned darker, clearly weighing something up.

A pang of potential scrutiny hit hard in my chest. But he stepped a little closer back towards me, and his look was tinged with the need to confide, not to accuse.

“Actually, I was hoping I’d be able to call on your help, Miles,” he said, and my breath caught, just a hiss in my chest. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but now I’m here I figure it’s a good idea to bring you onboard.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, so kept quiet as he paced all the way back over to my desk.

“I heard that Faith was working with that warehousing Stephen last week,” he said, and I nodded.

“Yes, she was. I’ve had her shadowing different members of the team, to get some insight on different departments.”

His stare was a different kind of hard when it landed again. “I heard that Stephen has been talking about her. About how desirable she is, in more vulgar language than that. I also heard that he’s planning on dating her.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I imagine he appreciates her attributes and talents. She is quite a personality.”

“And quite a little girl, like I said,” he snapped. “I was hoping you’d please step in to keep him away from her. I don’t want her associating with him.”

My own instincts were very much that I didn’t want him associating with her either, but for very, very different reasons.