Page 45 of Daddy's Reckoning

THEO

She got a job at a fucking diner. Of course she did, because she was stubborn as fuck, and really, what was I going to do about it? I understood why she didn’t want to take the job at The Penthouse, but she was wrong. It hadn’t been created for her. We had a real need and now we’d have to fill it with someone else.

I hated the idea of her working anywhere. But I also understood it. So I pasted on a fake-ass smile and drove her to work every day. When she came home, dead on her feet, I poured her a cup of hot tea, and rubbed her feet and back. I packed her a lunch so she wouldn’t have to eat greasy diner food. I hated every second of all of it, just on principle, but I did it, anyway.

Wednesday, her third day of work at the diner, I dropped her off just before the lunch rush, and drove across town to The Penthouse offices. It didn’t feel the way it used to, dressed in a designer suit, striding through the halls of a place that was home for many. I didn’t feel the same sense of pride at what we’d built that I usually felt. My suit, a clothing choice I wore regularly, even on my days off, felt hot and constricting. And I felt like I wanted to jump out of my skin with every step. But if Erin insisted on going back to working and normal life, there was no reason for me not to.

Still, as I stepped out of the elevator onto the floor that housed Penthouse LTD’s business offices, I knew I was in a bad mood. I tried to paste on a smile, to fucking fake it ‘til I made it. Once I stepped through those doors and sat down in my office, I’d feel like myself again, right? Right?

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Nyla looked up from where she and Lennon were hunched over a computer, probably working on the latest website upgrade or something.

At her greeting, Lennon also looked up. He didn’t say anything, just raised his eyebrows and grinned. I scowled and looked at my watch. What the fuck was Lennon even doing here so early, anyway? He rarely came in before noon.

I walked past them with no more acknowledgement than a half-wave, and strolled past them, and also Bain and Bas on my way to my office. Once inside, I shut the door behind me, hoping everyone would get the hint that I wasn’t in the mood to chat.

No such luck. I’d barely removed my suit jacket and opened my laptop bag when there was a knock on my office door. Glaring at it, I considered not saying anything.

Whoever it was knocked again. I sighed. What was wrong with me? Work was normally my happy place. Aside from the club, that is. It always had been, for the last ten years. But now, everything had changed. My happy place was my new home, with Erin beside me. Too bad she didn’t feel the same way.

“What?” I called, bewildered at the annoyance in my voice.

The door pushed open and Bas stuck his head in. “Hey, I was just wondering if we had last quarter's financial reports so I can send them down to the accountant for taxes.”

Shit. I was a month behind on profit and loss statements. “I’ll have it by the end of the day,” I told him. How had I gotten so behind?

Bas raised his eyebrows, nodded slowly, and stepped further into the office. “You okay, bro?” He sat down on the edge of my desk. “Haven’t seen you in the office in a while, and you don’t seem like yourself today.”

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

But Bas was my best friend for a decade and a half. He wasn’t buying my shit, and I could read that clearly on his face.

“Bro, you haven’t been to the office in over a week. And then you come in with a chip on your shoulder the size of Texas.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just glowered and hoped he’d go away.

He didn’t, though.

“Things aren’t going well with Erin, I take it. Nyla said she refused the club job.”

“She’s working at a diner. A fucking diner. She's on her feet all damn day and she’s exhausted at the end of every shift. She won’t tell them she’s pregnant. Doesn’t want them to know until she can’t hide it anymore.”

Bas just nodded. “It’s illegal for them to ask. And the likelihood of her getting hired if she’s up front about it is low.”

“I fucking hate it. And…” I paused, trailing off. Did I really want to bare my heart and soul right now? I had a feeling Bas wasn’t going to leave until I did. “She was a med student. She’s supposed to become a fucking doctor, and she’s working in a fucking diner. Is it my fault? Did I fuck up her life by getting her pregnant?”

Bas leveled me with a deadpan stare. “It takes two to tango. And didn’t you tell her she didn’t have to have it, even though that was the last thing you wanted?”

“Don’t reason with me when I’m having a pity party.” I glared at him, but I couldn’t help the smile that turned up the corners of my mouth. He was right. I wasn’t at fault and I hadn’t pushed her in any direction. I’d been ready to support no matter what choice she made. I just didn’t think she’d make this one.

“Sorry.” Bas shrugged and it was clear he wasn’t the least bit sorry. “Are you guys a thing yet?”

I scoffed. “I wish. She agreed to let me be her Daddy, but it hasn’t gone any further than that. It’s basically a meaningless agreement because we have no rules and I’m afraid to breathe wrong because I think if I do, she’ll leave.”

“I mean, Nyla did leave. Remember that? And you were the one that told me to pull my head out of my ass and go after her, if I remember correctly.”

I shrugged. “So?” In my mind there were no similarities between our situations.

“So pull your head out of your ass, dude. If Erin is the one you want, go after her. Stop pussyfooting around. If Daddy is your only foot in the door at the moment, lean into that. Daddy up, my man.”