Page 56 of Baby Daddy
“…Which brings me to my final point. As I’ve mentioned to you, family values are very important to Gunther. He’s been married forty years to the same woman and has three children plus six grandkids. He condemns drugs, cheating, and frivolous sexual behavior.” My father took a bite of his scrambled egg whites and then looked me in the eye. “He still has a bit of a problem with you.”
Here we go again. The you-better-settle-down-or-else lecture.
“He’s perceives you as a player. Someone who’s got his dick in every It Girl in Hollywood. This image doesn’t sit well with his notion of a family-oriented entertainment company. He believes that image is everything. How can moms trust our products and be loyal to them when the head of the company is screwing every babe on the planet?”
Rage pulsed through me. While Dad seemed to like Gunther a lot, his puritan values irked the shit of me. People like that were self-righteous because they were hiding something. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to stay at the company once he took it over, but I wasn’t about to give my father a major coronary. He wanted this deal more than anything.
“Dad, I’ve been making a major effort to lie low until the deal is done.” I paused. “And I’m seriously involved with someone.”
His brows lifted to his forehead. “Oh, so when were you going to tell me?”
“Well, I guess this is as good a time as ever.”
“Is it Krizia?”
“No.” Never. “Someone new I met through work.”
“Oh, she’s in the kids’ biz?”
“Indirectly.” Moms are in the kids’ biz. “She’s an artist.”
He quirked a small smile. My father liked artists and performers. He’d married my mother, a star figure skater.
“Mom’s already met her.” I paused. “And her daughter.”
Dad’s eyes widened. “Her daughter?”
“Yes, she has a six-year-old. I’m surprised Mom didn’t tell you.”
Dad furrowed his bushy dark brows. “Yeah, she did mention you coming by on Saturday with your new temp and her daughter now that I think about it. She couldn’t stop talking about that sweet little girl. But I don’t think she had any idea the two of you were involved.”
“We weren’t. Things have moved forward quickly.”
“She’s still working for you?” My father’s voice took on a challenging tone.
I took another sip of my coffee, draining the cup. “Yes, until Mona gets back.”
“When will that be?”
“In a few weeks.”
My father narrowed his steel blue eyes. “Just keep things out of the office. I can’t afford for you to screw things up, pun intended. Understand?”
Relieved, I nodded. My fantasies would need to remain exactly that. Fantasies. I couldn’t risk blowing my father’s deal.
He asked for the check as our waiter passed by. “I’d like to meet her, but I’ll be leaving for Germany this morning with Krizia’s father to meet with Gunther’s people and will be there until the end of the week. Why don’t you bring her to the gala at our house on Saturday night?”
“Her name is Dee. And I will.”
Dad clasped his hands together with approval. “Excellent. Gunther and his wife will be sitting at our table.”
My chest tightened. Now, I just had to ask Dee to the event and hope she’d agree to come.