And Dillon’s daughter was a spoiled brat.
Point blank.
That fire could be a hell of a thing behind closed doors and in bed. But in the real world? It was exhausting.
Dillon let out a low exhale, dragging a hand down his face.
“I wish I could,” he said finally. “But she’s got too many damn connections here. I cut her off, she’ll just hop from pillar to post. Probably end up in one of my associates’ beds just to spite me.”
Marcus and I exchanged looks again.
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat before he noticed the flicker in my face.
“Well,” I said, steadying my voice, “you better do something before she burns through all those bridges too. You don’t need shit like that attached to your name. Toourname! This shit is making me look bad by association.”
He looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly.
“You’re right,” he said, a faint smirk tugging at his mouth.
“Fuck yeah, I’m right.”
“I know exactly what to do.”
I raised a brow, wary. “And that is?”
Dillon leaned forward, elbows on the table.
“I want you to take her in.”
For a second, I thought I’d misheard him. “…Come again?”
Dillon didn’t even blink. “I want Aurora to go to Napa with you.”
“Welp,” Marcus stood up and fastened his jacket. “Was so good to see you both. Thank you for having me at your party and I wish you all the success.”
“Seriously?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Seriously. Two words,plausible deniability.I refuse to witness the outcome of this shit but just know, as a lawyer, I think this is the stupidest fucking idea I’ve ever heard. Have a safe flight, baby bro. Call me when you land.”
I was so thrown off, I didn’t even react to him calling me baby bro.
My whole body went cold and I faced Dillon.
“Hell no. No fucking way, Rodriguez. Have you lost your mind?”
He leaned back, unbothered. “You were right. She needs to learn the value of hard work. And she can’t do that here. She needs to get out of the city. And you want your money right? Make her work for it.”
“I’m not a fucking babysitter,” I snapped.
“It’s not babysitting,” he shot back. “I just need you to teach her the ropes, Wolf. Train her. Groom her.”
The word groom sat ugly in my mind and I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“Dillon,” I said, my voice dropping, “you’re the most hard-headed man I know. You need to control your own damn kid. This is your job. You let her do whatever she wants and now you expect me to clean up your mess?”
That outburst made him go quiet.
When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “When Alice died…”
