Professor Daddy (Dark Daddies 5)

And I feel like finally, after all of this, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He’s giving something up for me. That means he loves me, he really loves me. This isn’t some schoolgirl crush, it’s real, it’s very real. We’re going to build something together.

We’re going to build a life together.

My heart swells with joy as everything falls into place around me.

I thought we were done. I thought I’d never feel this way again.

But I have him. I have him. I really, really have him.

My Professor. My Daddy.

My love and my life.

I kiss him and I know I’m fine.18ClaraOne Year Later“Bet you can’t keep up,” I say, a huge grin on my face.

I turn back to my computer and start typing. I can hear him typing behind me, wildly trying to keep pace.

But nobody here can beat me. When the typing test finishes, my score flashes on my screen.

“Hah! 120 words per minute!”

I look over my shoulder at Raj, and he’s shaking his head. His screen reads “114” in big, bold numbers.

“I was close,” he complains.

“But you’re still a loser.” I grin at him and hold out my hand. “Pay up.”

He forks over five bucks. I kiss the bill and slip it into my pocket.

“Better luck next time.”

He groans as I walk away from his cluster, back toward my office.

Once inside, I tack the five dollar bill to a corkboard next to my desk. Thirty other fives are lined up there, each bill representing a scalp I’ve taken. I’m completely unbeatable in a pure speed typing test, at least so far. I had no clue I was so fast until we hired our first employees a few months ago.

I sit down at my desk and smile to myself. It’s been a crazy few months, ever since I graduated from Monray. We moved fast, much faster than I expected.

Jason unveiled our new offices in downtown Philly the day after I got my diploma. Two weeks later, we hired our first engineers.

Now, the office looks like a real freaking company. We have ten employees, a receptionist, an actual break room that’s fully stocked, all thanks to Jason.

He’s bankrolling this entire enterprise. “Drop in the bucket,” he said to me on that first day. “Besides, we’ll get investors later on. Might as well keep our freedom while we can.”

And so here we are. Zaptech was born and now we’re building our dream company, completely independent, on our own terms.

It shocks me every single day. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and this will all be a dream, but it’s not. It’s real, very real, and it’s because of Jason.

I answer a few emails before I get a little knock at my door. Jason steps inside and nods at my board, grinning. “You really should let them win sometime.”

I grin back. “Raj is a glutton for punishment.”

“Good managers know when to lose.”

“I’m an awful manager than.”

He laughs and shuts my door. He walks over to me and kisses me softly before sitting in the chair in front of my desk.

“How’s it going?” he asks.

“Not bad. Michael and Tricia are half way through their module and I’m nearly done with mine.”

“We’re making progress,” he says. “First useable demo version is going to be ready pretty soon.”

“You keep saying that.”

“I keep meaning it.”

I smile at him, shaking my head. “I keep believing you.”

“Seriously, Clara. Next month, we’re doing it.”

“Good.” I stand up and sit down against next to him, I lean over the space between us and kiss him softly. “What do you think about closing those blinds and making me very, very happy?”

He grins at me. “I have a phone call with an investor in five minutes, but if you meet me in the server closet in a half hour, I think I can make it worth your while.”

I kiss him again. “Deal. Who’s the investor?”

“Some hot shot guy, working out of Kleinman and Schuster. Who knows if he’s real, but I’m taking all leads.”

“Sounds good.” I kiss him one more time. “Sometimes I wish we could just skip work and do whatever we want.”

“We can do that,” he says seriously. “What do you want to do?”

“I want you to take me back into that server room and fuck me right now.”

He grins. “Okay. Fuck it.”

I laugh and stand up. “Come on,” I say, heading toward the door.

“Clara.”

I turn back to him and blink, surprised.

He’s down on one knee.

“I lied about the call,” he says. “I really just wanted to set up your surprise.”

“My surprise?”

He grins bashfully. “Server room, lots of candles. But fuck it. We should do what we want, right?”

“Right,” I say, a little dazed.

He takes a ring box from his pocket, opens it up. “I love you, Clara. You make me happy. You make me feel like I finally fit somewhere. Marry me.”