揙h, she can抰 be worse than the older Lancaster. She抯 not jaded enough yet.?Then, like the honey-eyed badger she is, Eliza turns on her heels and walks out the door.
Destiny follows close behind her. I hear their fading voices, already chattering away about the seals she saw during lunch.
Jaded? That last comment irks me because it cuts too deep, even if Eliza Angelo can抰 know it.
That settles it then.
I抣l show them I抦 not so jaded I抦 walled off to new ideas.
Even if it means the damn Badger Lady stealing my daughter and corrupting her with that attitude.
Destiny doesn抰 talk much when we get home.
She just scarfs down her internet famous 'hot girl salad'梘oddamn, do I hate that name梐nd goes to bed, leaving behind a familiar silence.
This house is so big she could sneak right out and I抎 never hear her.
Over an hour later, after studying every high-end graham cracker in existence, I climb the stairs to her room and nudge her door open an inch.
She抯 sleeping like a kitten, curled up in her bed, still hugging the same oversized bumblebee she抯 had for ages. I brought it home from a coffee conference in Vietnam when she was two years old. She抯 kept it through several moves and at least two professional mendings to keep it clean and shapely.
I watch as she turns over, fighting with her orthodontic headgear for a minute before she shoves it off without ever fully waking up.
揕ove you, little bee,?I whisper.
There抯 no denying she抣l always be the baby in my heart, even when I抦 walking her down the aisle someday, giving her up to whatever idiot decides he wants to deal with a lifetime of my shit.
Her teeth grind loudly. She remembered the headgear, but not the night guard.
I slip inside and walk to her bathroom, wash my hands, and grab the night guard. I try to lay it on her bottom teeth without waking her up.
Easier said than done when she bites me.
She jerks up, rubbing her eyes when I yelp at her like she抯 a mouthing puppy nipping my hand.
揇ad? What are you doing??
揑 could hear you grinding your teeth a mile away. Wear your night guard, baby girl, or we抮e going to have to go the dental implant route before you graduate high school.?
揊iiine. I will, now go away.?
I hand her the night guard I couldn抰 get in her mouth. She pops it in and falls back on the pillow like her head weighs a hundred pounds. She抯 snoring before I even make it out of the room, gently shutting her door behind me.
All she said to me was go away. I guess I抦 a glutton for punishment because it doesn抰 make me love her any less.
In fact, I expect her crap. I relish it.
What the hell will I do when this kid moves away for the real world?
Maybe I agreed to let her go off with Eliza too soon.
I don抰 know much about my mad scientist other than the fact that she frustrates me to the bone.
What would Aster do? Assuming she was in the right state of mind to do anything...
My late wife was creative, artsy, always leaping from one project to the next. First it was her own gallery, then a cosmetics?line the next month.
You could never pin her down when she was all over the place, her mind going wild with half-finished projects she抎 quickly tire of and abandon before the groundwork was done.
Aster probably would抳e encouraged Destiny to explore her options.
She wouldn抰 have thought twice about letting her hang out in a lab with a new hire who makes a daily habit of pissing me off. Hell, by the end of her life, she was desperate to pass the kidlet off to a nanny whenever I wasn抰 around.
How could this be worse?
Only, my parenting may be far from perfect, but I抦 sure as hell not outsourcing it again.
If I抦 being honest, my concerns about Destiny spending time with Badger Lady in research and development have nothing to do with my daughter. It抯 more the strange, almost violent reaction to Badger Lady.
It抯 the way my eyes wander over Eliza抯 ample body. She抯 not a scrawny girl梔efinitely on the thick side梬ith curves for miles. Completely unlike any woman I抳e ever had in bed before.
And unlike anyone who抯 ever worked for me, she makes my cock hard enough to engrave my name in steel.
Fuck.
I don抰 want her more entangled in my life, striking up a friendship with my daughter.
Time to nip this in the bud.
I pull out my phone, open the email app, and start typing.
Miss Angelo,
Please inform me if Destiny becomes negligent in any of her duties during her time in R & D. She抣l be off to college in three short years, and it抯 time for her to learn some work ethic.
I also want to make sure she抯 not getting in the way of any real work on your end.
As you know, this scorched drink line is crucial to Wired Cup抯 new vision. I won抰 have my beloved teenager抯 antics disrupting our mutual success.
Sincerely,
Cole Lancaster Jr.
Chief Executive Officer, Wired Cup Noble Inc.
A minute later, I抦 still staring at the screen, frowning and second-guessing myself.
What the hell? I never have doubts over a simple email.
What has she done to me?
With a rough groan, I delete it unsent.
There抯 no point.
Eliza抯 too gentle, too easygoing to squeal on Destiny for playing around.
That fucked up part of me I want to ignore wishes I could see Miss Angelo outside the lab, away from work.
Would she bring the same smart mouth with her over drinks?
Would she go stiff and warm and delectable like she did when I cornered her in the lab and we touched?
Does that mouth of hers have other talents? How many undeserving punks got to find out if she sucks as hard as she insults?
Goddamn.
揔nock it off,?I mutter to myself, lightly tapping one side of my face.
My fingers come back slick. I抦 sweating bullets.
Utterly ridiculous.
There抯 a reason梟o, a thousand reasons梬hy I抳e never brought any woman to my bed since Aster and I抦 not about to start now. Not for any shortage of options.
I could have my choice of willing lays. Yet I抎 rather live like a monk, married to my own right hand over any risk of complicating my life again.
Let alone poor Destiny抯.
Maybe I抦 still haunted, too.
Our marriage was seriously flawed, but Aster was my daughter抯 mother. My wife, my woman, for richer or poorer, in sickness with little health.
She deserves a certain respect.
Sure, Dess might joke about me getting remarried now that she抯 older, but it opens up a big enough can of worms to hijack a bait shop.
Fifteen is a hard fucking age.
Losing her mother when she was barely old enough to understand it was brutal enough.
No matter how much she grows up, I swore a long time ago I wouldn抰 make it worse for her.
Never mind the glaring fact that I抎 never get mixed up with an employee.
Strict HR policies against it aside, I don抰 have to think hard about the example I抎 be setting to know it抯 a piss poor choice.
I won抰 have my baby girl thinking it抯 acceptable to date your boss.
Hell, if her boss ever tried, I抎 hunt the dickhead down and tear him limb from limb.
Though if somehow Destiny didn抰 know about a reckless fling with a badger of a woman who might be too much honey?Cole, fuck you. You抮e playing with fire.
I sigh, knowing that venomous little voice in my head is right.
I抳e always been smart enough to choose cold, hard reality over any wet dream.
And I抣l damn sure choose sanity before I give Eliza Angelo a whisper of a chance to burn me.
7
Charity Coffee (Eliza)
The next day, Destiny sits on the marble counter I抦 standing over, her long legs swinging under her.
揋ive me the crushed graham crackers, please,?I say.
She picks up the clear glass bowl without hesitation and hands me the crumbs I just spent the last half hour crushing before she came in.
揑 thought Dad said you couldn抰 make cookies??She gives me a nervous look, flicking her gaze around the room like she抯 half expecting His Highness to stroll through the door.
揇estiny, your dad can kiss my ass. Uh, no offense.?I dump the melted butter into the bowl and give it a quick stir.
揥hy are you putting butter on the graham crackers??
揟o make the crust.?