Page 3 of Daddy’s Accidental Little Heartbreak

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked, her excitement as clear as day in her voice. "Should we watch cartoons or go play in the playroom?" Before I could even think of a response, my mouth stretched wide open, almost hurting my jaw, as I gave a long yawn. Seeing the yawn, Xavier shook his head.

"I think Bernice is exhausted, Little One," he told Stephanie, who pouted once more. "It would probably be better to let her sleep." Stephanie looked from Xavier to me and back.

"But you said I could stay up an extra hour," she complained as she stared at her Daddy. They made such a great couple. I didn't want to be a bother.

"You should spend that time with Xavier," I suggested as I stifled another yawn. "I’m pretty tired as it is.” Stephanie was about to protest, but Xavier stopped her immediately.

"If you throw a tantrum, I'll give you an early bedtime tomorrow," he warned, and she stopped mid breath.

"Okay," she finally agreed before giving me a smile. "Good night, Bernice. I'll see you in the morning."

CHAPTER FOUR

Nathan

"Hey, good morning," Derek said as he looked up at me from across the dining room my first morning in his home. "How did you sleep?" I waved a hand at him, still too exhausted to respond as I collapsed into the first chair at the dining room table.

The day before had not been kind to me at all. I had finally gotten my affairs in order, and, by the afternoon, I was at the airport, boarding a flight to Chicago. After that, everything that could have possibly gone wrong went wrong. My flight was delayed several hours, and, by the time I did finally arrive in Chicago, Derek was no longer waiting for me, and I had to take a taxi to his home only to end up at the wrong address. When I finally convinced the driver that it was the wrong address, he took the "scenic route," which made the cab fare far more expensive than it should have been in the first place, and, upon my arrival, I came to the discovery that it was three in the morning. Needing to be up and at the office by nine, that hadn't left me with very much sleep, especially when Derek and I sat up for another hour making plans. By the time I had fallen asleep, there had been no point, and I was up sooner than I had been asleep.

"You okay?" Derek asked as he gave me a playful smile. "You look like you died and crawled out of…" His voice stopped when he saw Skye come into the dining room and sit down at the table. Auntie Rita gave him a warning look as she put Skye's breakfast in front of her before looking over at me.

"If you don't mind me saying so, today might not be the best day to start working," she stated before making her way back to the kitchen, where I watched her pour two mugs of coffee. "After all that happened, you should take today to rest and start working tomorrow." Before I could respond, Derek cut us both off.

"Whether or not you start working or not is completely up to you," Derek informed me as he took a sip of coffee. "No one's going to hold it against you if you choose not to go." When Auntie Rita placed a plate of food before me, I stared down at it, considering what he had just said.

I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go back to the bed in the guest room I had been provided, but I also knew that Derek was too polite to demand that I help him if he truly needed it. Based on the conversations we had before, he was getting overloaded with cases at his firm, and he was unable to handle both the real estate agency and the firm by himself. Furthermore, he was running low on help at the firm, so he was having to do more and more for the firm rather than the agency. Either way, it was getting to be too much for him, and he was desperate for help, which is why he had me move out here right as soon as I could sell my house. The bitter aroma of the black coffee Auntie Rita had placed down on the table next to my plate made my eyes water as it awoke my senses, making my decision for me. Taking a small sip of the bitter drink, I took a deep breath and gave a polite smile.

"I should really head over," I decided as the coffee warmed me up. "You have so much to do at the firm, and you never know who might need legal consultation." Skye frowned as she looked up at me.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "After all, it is a Friday, and we're not open on the weekends." I nodded again.

"I don't mind it," I argued. "After all, it gives me a chance to get used to everybody back at the office." Both Skye and Derek exchanged looks, both silent and confused, but, after a while, Derek finally shrugged.

"Alright," he said as he finished his breakfast. "I recommend the rest of you finish up. We need to leave here in the next thirty minutes." I nodded and started to scarf down the rest of my breakfast.

At first, I thought I was crazy for wanting to start work already. After all, Skye was right. It was Friday, and it would be better to wait until Monday. However, after the crazy night I had, I wanted some normal to my day. There was nothing more normal to me than going to work, even before the weekend. With coffee coursing through my veins, I finished my breakfast and rose to my feet. Once I took my dishes to the sink I smiled and looked at Derek.

"Well, I'm ready to go when you are," I told them. "I can't wait to get back to work." Skye smiled as Auntie Rita took her dishes to the sink.

"Let's go then," she told us as she smiled at Derek. "Stephanie said that she has something important to discuss with me."

CHAPTER FIVE

Bernice

The following morning, after a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit, all prepared by Auntie Marie, I followed Xavier and Stephanie out to the car. Sitting in the back seat awkwardly silent the entire trip, I wondered what life would have been like if Xavier had been as true to me as he was to Stephanie. As much as I hated to admit it, I did still have feelings for Xavier, but I could never do anything to hurt Stephanie. Stephanie was my best friend, and I would never stoop to Bianca's level, no matter what happened.

Last night, I had spent some time looking at houses for sale, and nothing seemed very promising. The housing market sucked at this point, and I was starting to wonder if I had made a huge mistake. After all, I had a decent apartment with Bianca, and Zane wasn't perfect, but he was secure. If I had just sucked up my pride and fought to keep him, would I be better off than I am now? After several long, awkward minutes, I took a deep breath and forced a smile as we pulled up to Stephanie's office. It was time to wow Skye and get a job at the best real estate agency in town.

"Good morning, Skye," Stephanie said when we walked into the office. "I have a surprise for you!" Skye turned to smile at us, her expression going blank when she saw me.

"What is she doing here?" she asked, and I immediately wondered if this was a bad idea. Before Stephanie could respond, I held my smile in place and stuck my hand out.

"I'm Bernice Darling," I told her, keeping my voice calm and professional. "I would like to talk to you about working for your company." Skye stared at me skeptically, her eyes narrow as she looked me up and down.

"What's wrong with your company?" she asked. Never once did I waver.

"I left the company due to a conflict of interest with my twin sister, Bianca," I admitted. Stephanie rolled her eyes and shook her head at us both.