“Nonsense, James. You know you don’t have to check in with her. You’re welcome anytime.” The edge in my father’s voice that he’d had while he lectured me disappeared into thin air.
My head snapped back like he’d slapped me. This arrogant asshole football player didn’t have to check in with his receptionist, but I did? He was welcome anytime, but I had to make an appointment two days in advance?
Fuck that.
I narrowed my eyes and looked straight at my father. “Yes, James,” I seethed. “Don’t bother waiting outside. We’ll be done here in just a second. I’m not taking the bar exam, that’s what I came here to tell you.”
I grabbed my bag and was about to storm out when my father chuckled, actually fucking chuckled, and then spoke like I was a clueless teenager throwing a tantrum. “Of course you’re taking the bar, Gabrielle. You know the rules.”
That was it. The rage had finally bubbled all the way up, and I lost the last bit of self-control that I’d been managing to hold on to.
“Rules? How about this for rules?” I snapped and walked straight to the asshole football player and kissed the living daylights out of him.
Chapter Five
James
Well, shit. That was the last thing I expected when I stuck my head into Richard’s office that morning. My lips still tingled from the force of the blonde’s kiss. As shocked as I was, I had to admit I was a little turned on, too, as she slammed the door shut behind her.
I couldn’t help it. The chick was fucking hot. She had legs for miles, perfectly accentuated by a short denim skirt that hit mid-thigh, decently sized tits that formed just a hint of cleavage visible in her tank top, and blonde curls that actually looked natural and hung to just below those tits. Then there were her eyes.
She had deep blue eyes, almost the color of the sliver of faraway ocean visible from my yard. I had no problem imagining them drunk with lust or hazy post-orgasm.
People thought my expertise was football, but any woman I’d been with would agree that my real expertise was between the sheets. Or up against a wall. Anywhere, really. Making women scream my name as they came so hard they forgot their own.
Richard cleared his throat. It dawned on me that I’d just made out with some girl in my boss’s office. Probably not the greatest idea. “I’m so sorry, Richard. I have never seen that girl before in my life. I have no idea who she is.”
“That’s okay. I should be the one apologizing. That’s my daughter, Gabrielle.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Shit.
I hadn’t just made out with some girl in my boss’s office. I’d made out with his daughter in his office. Just before I wanted to ask him for more money.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
I raised an eyebrow at him, prompting him to explain. He let out a deep breath and gripped his armrests. She must’ve really upset him. “She was trying to prove a point to me. I have this rule against her dating football players, so when I brought up the rules…” He trailed off.
“I get it. You brought up the rules, and I was the fastest way to break one.”
He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts before confirming my suspicions. “Exactly, you were collateral damage to our, uh, disagreement. I do apologize.”
“No worries.” I dragged my hand through my spiky hair and shot him a grin. “Women, right?”
He smirked. “Right. Raising them is one hell of a challenge. I’ll tell you that much. You’ll see. It doesn’t get better after the teenage years. Although, that was also a mountain of fun.”
I blanched, realizing Harper was going to do shit like that to me. I had never really thought about it like that before. She had just turned 2. I was her hero. Everything I did was awesome. Mostly, anyway. As long as I did exactly what she wanted. “Good to know what I have to look forward to.”
I’d fucking kill any asshole who laid a hand on my daughter, but Richard didn’t look like he was about to kill me. He looked resigned, if anything. “Yeah, I’m sure that neither you nor I were easy to raise, but girls. They’re something else entirely.”
“I hear you,” I said, meaning it. I just had no desire to engage in any thoughts about my sweet little baby with football players. Or any other man, for that matter.
My fists clenched into balls at my sides, but I forced myself to forget about it. I had years before I had to worry about that kind of shit. Maybe I could just lock her away forever.
Richard’s voice pulled me from my dark thoughts. “So, speaking of daughters. How is your Harper doing?”
“She’s great. She made a new friend yesterday, not of the male variety.” I joked, hoping that it wasn’t too soon. Richard lightened up immediately and laughed. Clearly, the chat with his daughter had stressed him out, but he thawed a bit as we talked.
Richard had been surprisingly cool and supportive about the whole Harper situation. He’d actually been a big help. It was one of the things that strengthened the bond between us. I always sensed there was a story there he hadn’t told me about.