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It was too dangerous to be near him. His world wasn’t made for soft, weak things. And while Victorjia was his daughter, he saw her mother so ingrained in her every nuance that he imagined there wasn’t much of the tough, hardened man he was in her.
But she was here now. Nothing he could do about that. So he’d just have to make sure nothing happened to her.
Men had already been assigned to her detail. She would go nowhere without eyes tracking her every move and the moves of those around her. His daughter would not become a casualty of the wars he waged. She would remain as untouched and clean as the day Paola birthed her.
“Mija, how was your trip?” he asked as he opened his arms and his little girl stepped inside to wrap her arms around him in a giant hug that caught him a little off guard.
“Great,papito. The drive was long but worth it.” She pulled away and looked up at the house again. “And wow, this place is huge! Did you build it yourself?”
“It was an inheritance of sorts,” he said smoothly as he turned and began climbing the stairs once more. “Come, daughter, let’s take this discussion inside.”
“Okay, just let me grab my bags.” She spun around, fully prepared to retrieve them from the trunk, which made Manuel smile because it was such a common thing to do. Something he hadn’t done in years, because when you climbed the social ladder, certain things were expected of you, and since acquiring servants, there wasn’t much that he did for himself anymore.
Grabbing her arm, Manuel towed his daughter back. “No need,mija. That’s what I have people for. Come, let’s go inside. I need a drink,” he muttered to himself as he began leading the way.
They weren’t more than a foot over the threshold when Victorjia began commenting on the décor, the flooring, the expansive space, the lofty ceilings, and every other big and small detail that he had long grown immune to.
“I never imagined I would be surrounded by such majesty,” she awed, her head tilted back so far and for so long, Manuel wondered how she kept her footing.
Then again, she was his daughter. Maybe she’d inherited his instincts.
“It’s nothing less than you deserve,” he told her. When they reached the kitchen, he directed her to sit at the long, curved counter. “What would you like? Margo can whip up anything you’d like.”
Running her palms over the sleek granite’s black, mirrored surface, her reply was distracted. “I’m not hungry. Maybe just a glass of water.”
Manuel cast a look at his maid. “Water for her, and my usual please.” No matter how far he’d risen, it didn’t mean he had to be a dick to those he employed. Respect, not fear, are what garnered loyalty. That was a lesson most in his world never learned, and it earned them a dirt nap pretty damn fast.
Manuel had no intention of meeting his maker until he was damn good and ready.
After their drinks were placed in front of them and Margo made herself scarce, Manuel stared into his glass of chardonnay, markedly avoiding eye contact with his daughter. “How was your trip down?”
“Pretty decent,” she said happily. “I made the driver take me around the downtown area before we came here so I could explore a bit first.” He flashed her a disapproving look, and she twisted her lips. “Yeah, because of that right there. I figured I wouldn’t be getting out much.”
Despite their lack of in-person contact, she knew him well. “It’s not safe to go out alone,” he lightly scolded her. “That’s why you will have someone with you at all times, wherever you go.”
“Even to the bathroom?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He scowled at her, but it was without malice. “In this house, you are free to do as you please. Outside I must stress caution.”
She gave him a look he’d seen on her before during one of their infrequent video chats. “When are you going to tell me what you do for a living? I assume it has everything to do with how you can afford all of this, as well as why you have armed security around every corner.”
“It’s not as serious as you make it out to be,” he said, purposefully dodging the question. She would do better not to know the intimate details of his life.
“Right. And you say that as if I didn’t notice all the cameras in every corner of every room, and I’m sure that the guy you had carry my bags to my room isn’t outfitting everything I own with tracking devices either. I’m not stupid,papito. I know you’re not as clean as this house would suggest.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “This isn’t a discussion for today.”
“Is it for any day?” she pressed.
He ignored her question and touched his feet to the floor, pushing the barstool back. “Forgive me,mija, I have some business I need to attend to.” Leaning in, he pressed a brief kiss to the side of her head, ignoring the way her dejected look made him feel. “I’ll be down later for dinner.”
“Sure.” Her quiet reply trailed after him as he left the kitchen, eager to get out of there and away from her. The overload of emotions was overwhelming. He needed space and time to regain his composure and organize his thoughts.
When he reached his study, Manuel closed and locked the door behind him before pouring a stiff drink from the collection of liquor bottles on the ornately carved credenza, and then seating himself behind the sprawling desk in the corner overlooking the expansive and immaculately tended lawns.
Somewhere out there laid the decomposing body of his female predecessor.
Interesting how such morbidity didn’t affect him as it would with most people. He’d grown immune to so much in his lifetime. Yet, the vision of his only child still rendered him virtually immobile. That was a weakness, and one he couldn’t afford to have or be known.
