Page 5 of Daddy’s Accidental Little Fighter

"Not at all," I reassured her. "After all, my brother's motto is family doesn't pay."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hannah

The way Ashton spoke made me wonder what he actually meant and if this was truly just a boss-assistant meeting over dinner or if it was a date. After all, with the fancy restaurant and the valet, I felt severely underdressed in my professional business suit that had been a graduation gift from my grandparents, who told me that dressing for success was the best way to get my foot in the door. Realizing that Ashton was dressed the same as I was, except his suit was silk rather than cotton, I felt a little better as we made our way over to the table. As soon as we were seated, I picked up the menu and looked down.

The menu was full of all sorts of fancy, extremely fancy dishes, a lot of which I had never heard of. Between the pricing on the menu and every option there, I couldn't tell which overwhelmed me more. The longer I looked, the more a cold sweat built on my spine, and I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack. After several long, uncomfortable minutes, Ashton looked up at me with a good natured smile.

"Any idea what you want to order?" he asked, seeming genuinely interested, and I tugged nervously at the necklace I was wearing around my neck: a thin chain with my parents' wedding rings on it. Even though, thanks to their fate, it didn't seem lucky, I always wore it for luck.

"There's so many things on here," I droned on, still searching for a reasonable meal that wouldn't make me sick with guilt. "It's almost impossible to choose what to get." He shrugged casually as he set down his menu.

"Would you like me to make a recommendation?" he asked, and I looked up at him, appreciative of the gesture.

"I'll just take whatever you get," I told him, deciding that the less I knew about the order would be better on my conscience. "After all, I know absolutely nothing about anything on the menu." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Are you going to ask for everything I order?" he asked, and I nodded.

"With a Sprite," I told him. "I have a feeling that you're the kind who doesn't like to have soda or water with a dinner like this." He smiled and nodded as he looked back down at his menu.

"Good girl," he purred, his voice smooth and low, and I shifted my weight, trying to ignore the fresh wetness in my panties.

As soon as the waitress came over to take our order, Ashton ordered us the fried scallops with breaded mushrooms as an appetizer, a ribeye steak meal with the baked potato with everything on it, the green beans, and the Caesar salad on the side, then told the waitress to bring a dessert menu after bringing out the main course. The whole time he was ordering, the waitress, who looked just a little bit older than me, kept batting her eyelashes at him and flirting with him, which enraged me beyond comprehension. Much to my surprise, despite how much taller, bustier, and mature she was in comparison to me, Ashton never paid much more attention to her outside of placing our order, and, as she turned away, she gave me the evilest look I've ever received from anyone since high school, and I turned red in anger. To my horror, Ashton noticed.

"What's the matter?" he asked calmly, having not seemed to notice the waitress's biased behavior. Since we weren't together or anything, I didn't want to come off a jealous and immature, so I quickly came up with an excuse for the redness in my face.

"I just feel so embarrassed," I lied. "This place is so fancy. I've never been anywhere like this before." He chuckled and shook his head at me.

"Don't worry about it," he instructed me. "Just be yourself. Forget what everyone else thinks." He then leaned forward with a mischievous smile. "Especially forget about what that waitress thinks." I burned in embarrassment as I stared at him.

"You noticed that," I asked, and he nodded.

"Oh yes," he replied. "I noticed." He looked around the restaurant before continuing. "Trust me, that happens to me everytime I come here, but nothing ever happens. Instead, I just ignore the waitress and give smaller tips." I frowned as I looked back at the waitress, who was flirting with another table.

"She's pretty," I remarked, prompting the conversation further. "I can imagine she's really into you." He shrugged as he dipped his water.

"Maybe," he commented as she disappeared into the kitchen again, "but she's not my type." I shrugged as I casually looked back at him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your type?" I asked him. He tapped his finger against his chin as he thought for a moment.

"Short, pretty, adorable," he said, counting off the qualities. For the briefest second, I thought he was describing me, but, before I could ask him to specify, the waitress came out with our appetizers and drinks. Again, she did everything she could to get his attention, but, just like before, he ignored her. As soon as she was gone, he looked back at me. "So, what exactly is your type?" I thought for a moment before realizing that he seemed to have feelings towards me.

"Look, I don't know if what you're implying is right," I said as I lowered my gaze. "I thought that coworkers weren't supposed to date." He raised an eyebrow at me as he stared me down.

"So, are you not interested?" he asked, and I felt something nudge my foot. Realizing it was his foot, I smiled and pulled away.

"Believe me, it's not that I'm not interested," I admitted, feeling awkward about the situation. "I'm just new to all this, I guess. I don't even know if this is even legal." Realization dawned on him, and he smiled reassuringly at me.

"As an actual lawyer, I just want you to know that, since you're of age, it is completely legal as long as you consent," he informed me. "As I guess you noticed, Lance and Bianca are together, as are a few other people in the office. Company policy is that, as long as work gets done and no one starts drama, we don't really care. It saves us the gray in the legality of it all." Taking this into consideration, I bit my lip, thinking it over.

I couldn't stand how much I wanted Ashton. He was extremely attractive, and I didn't mind the age gap. He was so confident and smart, and the wetness in my legs kept growing when I listened to his smooth, calming voice. Finally unable to resist, I smiled at him.

"You promise it's legal?" I asked, and he nodded. "Alright, I'll admit that I would love to see what being with you would be like." A smile spread across his face as the waitress brought out our food.

"You won't regret this," he said, his foot grazing mine gently in an interesting game of footsie. "When I'm done with you, you'll never want anything ever again. I'll be taking care of you forever."

CHAPTER EIGHT