I’ve booked the presidential suite at the Fairbourne and the bed waits silently in the other room, taunting me. Am I really doing this? Am I really a sugar daddy now?
Ever since Josie came to my office and I came in my pants like a school boy, I’ve done some research and these arrangements are not unusual. In fact, they’re common for men of my ilk. That doesn’t make me feel any better. If anything, I feel worse.
Josie is the furthest thing from common. She’s bright and sharp and warm. Her laughter has always been a source of joy in my home. Her wit can match anyone. She’s always fussing over me, telling me I work too much. Bringing glasses of warm milk or herbal tea to my office when I’m working late and she’s hanging out with Paul.
Paul.
Jesus, how would I explain this to my son?
That I’m out of my mind with lust for his best friend since middle school. He would think I’m a sick motherfucker—and maybe I am. I barely made it twenty minutes after Josie sailed out of my office before I started making arrangements for the following night. I’ve been watching the clock, waiting for this. Aching. Jesus, the things she said to me. The way she tugged me off through my pants, her perky tits on unabashed display. I’ve never been so hard in my life, throat closing, palms sweating, spine in a vise. She owned me.
And afterward…
I’ve never wanted to hold someone so badly.
Josie has always been the breezy one. She has a quip and a wink for everyone. But she was vulnerable sitting there on my desk. She needed…
Christ, I can’t believe I’m even thinking this.
She needed her Papa.
She needed me to rock her against my chest and kiss her forehead. I’ve never had this kind of relationship with anyone, nor have I wanted one. Where I’m the father figure and the lover. With Josie…I don’t know. It feels inevitable. Feels right. Like something we both need very badly. I’ve regretted not rocking and soothing her since she left my office and I won’t have those same regrets after she leaves tonight.
Our plan was to meet at nine o’clock and there is still ten minutes to go.
I turn from the window, planning on pouring myself a drink, when my phone rings.
Work.
I’ve never let a work call go unanswered in my life. It’s how I’ve built an empire. And I’m not changing now, even if the board member’s name flashing on the screen of my phone causes something acidic to flare in my chest. I take the call and assuage the man’s concerns about the price of wheat skyrocketing in China due to a storm destroying forty percent of the country’s crops. I assure him that we’ve already maximized the potential of an investment—such is the cutthroat world of finance—and end the call with him calmed down. But by that time, there is a pounding in my temple. I toss my phone onto the closest surface and massage the throbbing spot, trying to remember the last time I wasn’t stressed—
There’s a knock at the door.
Every ounce of blood in my body rushes south, my mouth drying up.
I’m moving to the entrance before I acknowledge the command to my feet, trying to come up with something to say that won’t make me sound desperate. Even though I am. God, I just want to spread out on her hot, little body and pump the stress away. But when I open the door and see the beautiful blonde standing there in what amounts to sheer tights, a T-shirt and high heels, I can’t deny there is a throbbing in the center of my chest, too. A sweeping of relief and comfort mixed in with desire.
Josie purses her lips and cocks a hip. “You’re working, aren’t you?”
I clear my throat hard. “I took one call.”
And just like that, here I am answering to a teenage girl about my work habits.
Josie shakes her head at me and saunters forward, into the room, closing the door behind her. She tosses her purse onto the entry table, reaching up to loosen my tie and that sense of relief multiplies, the pounding in my temple slowly ebbing. “You have to leave the office where it belongs sometimes.” I open my mouth to speak, but she keeps going. “Yes, I know you have to be aware of what’s happening in every corner of the globe every second of the day, but you also have to care for yourself.” She throws my tie over her shoulder. “We need to realign these chakras. If you aren’t balanced in your personal life, your professional one will eventually teeter and topple. We can’t have that, can we?”
My lips are twitching.
Damn. When was the last time I smiled?