His Jersey Girl

Chapter 10

Gabriel

Apparently my Little girl was a delightful mess after having an orgasm, no matter how much sleep she”d had. It took an amusing hour to get her cleaned up and into one of my shirts. It was hard to ignore her not-so-subtle hints that we stay in bed for a while longer, but I knew if I let her sleep much more it would mess up the bedtime schedule I planned to put her on.

Her grumpy walk from the bedroom had me hiding a smile. Her delight at the cut-up fruit and fluffy scrambled eggs that I”d ordered from room service brought a joy to me that I hadn”t felt in a long time. The way she crawled into my lap and let me feed her was nothing short of perfection.

“You told me you didn”t have work today, but do you have any plans?” I slipped the last bite of eggs between her lips and enjoyed her hum of pleasure as she chewed. The sigh that followed made me nervous.

“Not plans, exactly. But there are things I probably should be doing.”

She didn’t seem enthusiastic about whatever it was that she thought she was supposed to be doing, so I decided to push. “I don”t know what your usual schedule is, but I”d like to spend the day together. If there are things you have to do, we can work them into the plans if you don’t mind my company.”

“Of course I don’t mind your company, but aren’t there things you have to do?”

“No. I’ve cleared my day.”

There were plenty of things I probably should have been doing. Calling the event’s PR team, checking in on our gyms, watching video of my opponent, but none of it was as important as solidifying the growing connection with Alyssa. I couldn’t skip workouts, but everything else could wait. Maybe she would be interested in watching my sparring session later that day?

It was irrational, but I didn”t want her leaving my sight if it wasn’t necessary. It was a balancing act I wasn’t very good at. If I pushed her too hard, she might bolt, but leaving her alone could lead to overthinking and worrying about things that she shouldn’t. Time seemed to stretch as she thought, her hand playing circles on my chest.

“I don”t want to adult,” she grumbled, “but I kind of have to.”

“Nonsense. You say you have to adult a lot, but I’m here to tell you my Little girl can stay Little as much as she wants to,” I said, trying to put as much teasing in my voice as I could. “That”s what a Daddy”s for.”

She chuckled and looked up at me, her green eyes sparkling with humor and her lips quirked up into a smile. “Is that so?”

“Absolutely. It”s in the Daddy contract I signed.”

Her giggle was like music that made my heart pound. She looked down and I didn’t like the way the joy seemed to slip off her face. “So you”re going to find me an apartment? One that is affordable and close to work? I also need to get my mail forwarded though I’m not sure where to send it. Oh, and while you”re at it, are you going to find me new roommates and maybe a new job?” The last part was mumbled but hearing that she was thinking about leaving her job made hope spark in my heart.

I tapped my finger against my chin in an exaggerated manner to make her smile again. “Well, how about you move in here? I think I’d be the perfect roommate and you can absolutely afford it because it”ll be free.”

The eager hunger that flashed through her eyes made me happy but then she shook her head. “That”s too fast.”

The way she said the words felt more like she thought she was supposed to say that rather than it was what she actually wanted. Her hesitation wasn’t unreasonable. But for once in my life, I wasn’t going to let logic override what I wanted if I could help it. I knew deep down that what we had between us was building to something lasting.

“This suite has two bedrooms. If you like, we can pretend that you”re going to sleep in the second bedroom until the appropriate time has passed.” I kissed her cheek. “Please, Alyssa. Let me do this for you. My schedule is gonna get crazy over the next few weeks and I want you with me so we can enjoy every free moment I have.”

“I want to but…”

“There is something special between us and I”m not gonna lie; the idea of you struggling, living anywhere else bothers me on a level I can”t even describe. If you don’t like it here, you can leave and be no worse off than you are right now.”

“I don”t know, it doesn”t seem fair to you. I didn’t agree to go out with you for your money or your fame or anything stupid like that.”

Though I was pretty sure that was exactly what Rocco would think, I knew she wasn’t like that. I squeezed her tight and shook my head to let her know I wasn’t worried. “Since I’m pretty sure you still don’t really understand what I’m famous for, that isn’t a concern. Meeting you at the club was fate. I never realized how much I wanted to find someone who was only interested in me as a Daddy. I know you don’t care about my MMA career or my money.”

I”d been lucky enough to barely avoid getting entangled with women like that, unlike Rocco, but that wasn”t for lack of trying on their part. The thought that this sweet, slightly sassy girl was a gold digger was ridiculous.

“I don”t!”

“I know, princess. Give us a week trial. If you decide you don’t want me as a Daddy, I’ll have my assistant find you an apartment.” I would do everything in my power to make sure that never became a reality, but I would live up to my promises. Talking about her apartment status reminded me there were several things I needed to tell her. In my own defense the surprise of a naked woman running into the bathroom while I was shaving had scattered all thoughts from the morning.

“Okay. I guess you’re right.”

I would’ve preferred more enthusiasm, but I would take the win. I kissed her nose. “Good girl. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you I ran into Zoe and Lucia earlier.”

She cocked her head and the look of puzzlement in her eyes was adorable. “Earlier when?”

“When I was coming back from my workout this morning.”

“When did you work out?” The disgust and horror on her face made me believe she was not a fan of early mornings. She looked around the room until she saw the clock by the TV. “It”s 10:30 in the morning. You’ve been here for at least two hours.”

The blush that colored her cheeks was probably at thoughts of what we had been doing during that time. I chuckled. “Little girl, I get up every morning at 6 am, if not earlier, to work out. It’s very late in the morning.”

Alyssa looked as if I just told her she was going to have to eat liver and onions for a week. Before I could tease her about her dislike of waking early, her expression morphed into one of concern. She banged her head against my chest.

“Oh shoot. I never texted them last night that I was staying here.”

“It’s okay. I told them we had a long night, and you would call them when you woke.”

“They’re going to be so mad at me.”

“I don”t think they”re mad at you, I’m sure they were worried. No fear, though Zoe”s anger is firmly pointed at me. She accused me of kidnapping you.”

Alyssa groaned. “Zoe is the mother hen of the LJGs. You wouldn”t think a Little could be so bossy, but she excels at it.”

“Oh, I don”t know. I seem to remember one Little girl getting very bossy last night about all the rides she wanted to go on.”

“I was not bossy. I was…uhm…” Alyssa looked around as if searching for inspiration. “Enthusiastically vocal about my preferences.”

I laughed and gave her a light smack on the butt. “Okay, my little wordsmith. We’ll pretend those are different things. Your phone is plugged in next to the bed. Daddy will clean up while you talk to your friends.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Alyssa kissed me on the cheek before scrambling off my lap.

I gathered up the dishes from our breakfast and rolled the tray out into the hall. While it was nice not to have to clean up, the lack of a kitchen was inconvenient. Would Alyssa balk if I decided to rent something more homelike for us for the rest of the month? I wasn’t a gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination but there was something satisfying in the thought that I would be providing for her instead of ordering room service or making do with what could be kept in a refrigerator. She seemed like the type of person who preferred the personal touch over luxury.

I could hear her talking in the bedroom but before I could give into the urge to listen, my phone rang. A glance at the display let me know Rocco was checking in, hopefully with good news.

I quickly answered. “Hey, man.”

“You know you’re a pain in the ass, right?” The frustration in his voice was unmistakable.

“What’s going on?”

“The shit I put up with for you should earn me a bonus.”

“Considering we are partners in a business that set us both up for a very cushy retirement and this next fight of mine is going to make you almost a million dollars, I”d say you get paid pretty well. What part of what I asked you to do is causing you a headache?”

He sighed. “There is no amount of money that would make dealing with your girl’s asshole boss worth it. I need to know if you are sure about her.”

“Why?”

“Some of the things the guy said made it seem like the girl might have a less legal side hustle, if you know what I mean.”

Anger raced through my veins. “You had better speak a hundred percent clearly because I’m pretty sure you are trying to say Alyssa’s a prostitute.”

“No, I”m telling you what her boss said. He knew not only that you two went out last night, but that she had spent the night in your room. If she didn’t tell him, then we have a bigger problem. Oatmeal for brains said he expected compensation for the personal services she’d already provided and quoted a ridiculous number as her usual rate to work exclusively for you.”

Anger had my muscles clenched so hard they were practically vibrating. “He’s full of shit. She practically ripped my head off when she thought I was suggesting anything transactional, apart from my paying for the massage. How the hell does he know she stayed in my room last night?”

“I didn’t like what he was saying. I definitely didn’t like the implications that he would let the press know about you two if I didn’t pay him.”

I wanted to lose my mind, but it wouldn’t help the situation. Tempting as it might have been to go down and knock the asshole unconscious, it wouldn’t fix the issue. It came as no surprise that Alyssa had undersold the ‘my boss is a jerk’ information last night. Question was, had she kept information from me because we were new or because she was afraid of the consequences of sharing that information?

“I hope you didn’t give that asshole a single cent.”

“I don’t know what he was thinking. While you wouldn’t want your girl being embarrassed by her name in the gossip rags, it wouldn’t hurt your reputation. He’d be lucky to get fifty bucks for the story.”

My cellphone bit into my hand so hard I realized I needed to relax my grip or risk having to get a new one. “You’re damn right I don’t want her to have to deal with that bullshit. Tell me you took care of this.”

Rocco’s dark chuckle made me smile. “As soon as the asshole started getting slimy, I started recording the conversation. After he dug himself a huge hole, I called the casino’s manager, Michael, and let him know what one of his staff was doing. I reminded him what it would do to his business if it got out that his employees were into blackmail. I also told him that we would sue not only him, but the casino, for breaking the NDA. I told him we’d also hit them with libel, and anything else our very expensive lawyers could come up with.”

“Good.” I wasn’t the type of man to throw money or my fame around but sometimes the fact that I could do so if I wanted to came in handy.

“Needless to say, he promised me Alyssa would be reassigned to be on call for you for the remainder of your stay and that Seth, her boss, would be fired. Thing is,” Rocco sighed loudly, “that guy didn’t seem like the type to take the smart route and go quietly.”

Worry swirled through my chest. I knew very little about Alyssa’s boss Seth, other than what I’d picked up in our brief interaction when we’d met. He was a weasel of a human who sucked up and had a very short temper when rebuffed. I could only imagine how much worse it would be to have to deal with him on a daily basis. Men like him were often cowards when confronted but lashed out when cornered. I hoped he wasn’t dumb enough to still go to the press but with the loss of his job he might try thinking he could get revenge and a paycheck at the same time.

“I’ll have to warn Alyssa. Did you give PR a heads up?” I paid my PR team enough that something like this shouldn’t be an issue, but sometimes there were surprises. And not the good kind.

“Not yet, I needed to know what you wanted me to tell them.”

“What is that supposed to mean, Rocco?”

“It means, am I telling them she’s a really good massage therapist or your girlfriend? Are we covering things up or making an announcement?”

What did I want to do? It was tempting to want to tell the world. I’d shout it from the rooftops if I could, but it wasn’t my call alone. I wanted to be her Daddy, but we were too new for me to be making life-changing decisions for her. I sighed, accepting that annoying fact.

“She’s my Little girl.”

“You really think she’s the one?” I could have sworn Rocco’s voice held a touch of jealousy, but I tried to ignore it.

“Yes. But I know I can’t tell the PR team that and I don’t want to announce a relationship without getting her okay.” I ran a hand across the back of my neck, trying to ease the tension there. “Tell them to do whatever they need to do to keep her sheltered if something happens. Hopefully the asshole keeps his mouth shut and we don’t have to worry.”

“Even if he does, you know it will be years before the press completely leaves you alone. If she’s going to be your girl, you need to help her understand what that means.”

I knew Rocco was right. I wasn’t ‘A-list movie star’ famous but there was always someone willing to make a quick buck or two by splashing the details of my private life online. I needed to figure out how to win Alyssa’s heart and convince her that being my Little girl was worth losing some of her privacy.

Luckily, I was never one to back down from a challenge.