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Snorting, he threw back the rest of his drink. “That’s not what it feels like. I’m not what that little girl needs for a father. I’m just a fuckin’ shell of a man.”
Why was he telling me all this? Because he had no one else to share it with. I sucked in my breath. “I think what you’re doing is honorable.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t know shit about me yet. But you will. And mark my words, Harlow, you won’t like what you find.”
“Don’t say that. Your brother left you his business and his daughter in your care for a reason. Have you ever thought about that? Whatever demons you have inside, you need to let them go if for no other reason than Lily’s sake.”
“You a damn psychiatrist all of a sudden?”
I had no idea how to answer that. The man was completely confrontational. He had several sides, but I had to admit that I adored the protective part of him. It made me feel flustered, far too attracted to the man. “Maybe I see something in you I do like.”
“Don’t look too hard, sweetheart. All the ugly edges will come out to bite you in the ass.”
Exhaling, I leaned against the counter, trying not to look at him any longer. He had more anger inside of him than I could ever imagine feeling. “I’ll accept your deal if it’s still on the table.”
“As long as you keep your nose out of my business, then you have free reign of the office.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
He tilted his head, debating the answer. Great. While our chemistry soared, we certainly were never going to be friends. “Nah. Lily expects you for dinner and I refuse to disappoint her. She deserves to have everything she’s ever wanted and then some. If I can do that for her, then maybe, just maybe I’ll avoid going straight to hell.”
The quiet was awkward all over again. “What are you worried about, and I don’t mean by needing to become a parent?”
His expression was unreadable. “Look at this house. You glanced at the financials. How the fuck could my brother afford this?”
“Two mortgages?”
“That’s what I’m thinking, but I got a bad feeling.”
“Like what?”
He studied me for a few seconds, which made me think he was trying to figure out if he could trust me or not. “Might be nothing.”
“Talk to me.”
“It’s complicated, Harlow. I don’t want to worry that pretty little head of yours.”
As he walked out of the kitchen, I backed against the counter. What the hell had just happened? And who was this hunk who looked at me as if he wanted to eat me alive?
More important, what horrible things had he been through to turn him into such an angry man?
I’d glimpsed at the financials as I’d gathered them together. Barely. But I could see what he was getting at. Maybe I’d used my expert snooping skills to try to find out what we were dealing with. We. I wanted to be gleeful about the amazing opportunity, but all I could think about was what I’d be forced to do in order to obtain my prize.
Suck his cock under the desk every day?
Submit to him fucking me in the copy room?
A little feast of my pussy before morning coffee, my legs spread wide open on his desk?
I chewed on my inner lip. Okay, so it didn’t sound so bad in the least. Maybe I’d tossed my integrity right out the window. Chuckling, I pressed my hand across my mouth to keep from bursting into laughter.
Before I had time to contemplate the pure sin any further, I heard little feet, several of them, and turned around. “Penny! Would you like to see my room?”
“I would love to.”
Princess barked as she jumped on my leg, her tag wagging constantly. I patted her on the head, thinking about the bunny and bag of puppy food I’d found. He’d become an instant father and business owner, a man yet to grieve. Or maybe he didn’t know how to.
“She likes you. That means you’re a good person. At least that’s what Daddy told me.” As soon as she mentioned her father, I could see her little wheels turning, a moment of sadness sliding into her big brown eyes.
