10. Chapter 10 #2
I check my watch. Less than one minute left. With one phone call, I could call off Pisani’s partners, but I don’t. The man put his hands on me and on Clara.
He cheated me.
He killed my father.
He’s not walking away from this scot-free.
I don’t know how much the hostess saw of our altercation outside her restaurant, but she smiles brightly and escorts us to a private table.
I tip her well. Before slide into the booth next to Clara, my cellphone is buzzing delivery confirmations as each packet detailing Pisani’s wrongdoing is left in the hands of someone more powerful than him.
The real ball has now been set into motion. I give them each twenty-four hours—if that—to crack open the envelopes I’ve sent and for my name to fall from some pretty major lips.
The packets were drawn up days ago, but even back then, I’d known I would not lose this.
Paperclipped to the top of each stack is a personal note from me.
I’ve told them I now control the lion’s share of the casino, Pisani is out of the business, and to show my good faith that partnering with me will be a positive and profitable venture for all, I gifted them another share each in my new restaurant to make up for what they’ve lost by trusting Pisani. That should satisfy them.
It should satisfy Clara, too. I’ll show her how to run her new business. I’ll be the face of authority, but she’ll be the power behind my throne. Until we go home at night. Then she’ll be my Little girl, and I’ll shed the power I wield every day and relax into my role as Daddy.
“Are you okay?” Clara whispers, eyeing the hostess as she walks away from the table.
Her concern for me chases away the last lingering unpleasantness from my altercation with her father. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I draw her close enough to kiss her forehead.
“No need to be afraid. I meant it when I said I’ll always protect you.”
I stroke her arm as she twists far enough to peek over the back of the booth toward the door.
“What if he comes back?” she whispers. “What if he’s waiting for us to leave so he can get us?”
“He won’t.”
A slow excitement builds inside me. I wonder when he’ll get that first phone call, alerting him to the fact I’ve betrayed him to his partners?
He’s about to have far more important matters to deal with than us, but I’m not about to tell her that.
She doesn’t need to be burdened with guilt she hasn’t earned.
I rub her shoulders and change the subject. “What did you think about the wedding?”
It worked. The worry haunting her eyes vanishes behind a wince of dismay. I love how relaxed I’ve made her. She doesn’t even try to hide her emotions.
“It was… interesting.”
The ceremony had not been her dream wedding. It wasn’t mine, either. I have no fondness for Elvis impersonators, and a little dinosaur jumper can’t compare with a long white gown. She didn’t even get a real bouquet of flowers to toss or friends sitting in the pews cheering her on.
“If after a year, you decide to stay with Daddy, we’ll do it right,” I promise. “A real church, a real wedding dress, flowers, bridesmaids of your choosing, the whole shebang. Would you like that?”
She picks at her napkin, averting her eyes as she shrugs. “I don’t know anyone who’d want to be my bridesmaid.”
“Between now and then, you’ll get to know a lot of people. Particularly those people you’ll be working with as you learn how to run your casino.”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth drops in surprise.
“He gave you what you wanted?”
Well, I hadn’t planned to do it now, but… Pulling the contract from my pocket, I lay it on the table between us. “Yes, he did.”
I pat it twice, but she shies away from it, already shaking her head.
“I-I don’t want to. I don’t want to see him.”
“You won’t,” I promise.
“He lives there, in the hotel! I’ll see him all the time! Every month. Every day.” She looks horrified. “I’ll have to collect rent from him.”
“What did Daddy tell you, Princess?” I cut in, my tone just stern enough to stop her mid-protest. She’s breathing faster than normal, and her fingers are picking and twisting at one another.
She doesn’t answer, but I can tell she doesn’t believe I can protect her from the monster who raised her.
She ducks her head when I ask, “Do I need to take you into the nearest Daddy bathroom before you listen to what I’m telling you? ”
She squirms in the booth, her wiggles doing more to give away what she’s wearing under her short jumper skirt than the clothes. She shakes her head no.
“It’s just…” she finally says. “He’ll never leave me alone. And now that we got his casino… He’s horrible. He’ll blame us both, and he won’t stop until he punishes us.”
I like that she’s thinking of us together, but this habit she has of thinking her father more dangerous than I am needs to end.
Covering her fidgeting hands with my own, I softly but sternly say, “Alviero has walked out of both our lives tonight. I am certain you’ll never see him again.”
She looks up from our clasped hands in surprise. “You didn’t call it off?”
“After what he’s done?” I shook my head. “No. I didn’t.”
I brace myself for her to burst into tears.
This was her father, after all. The heart’s a funny thing.
No matter how a parent fucks up, children love them anyway.
Will she be angry with me, or will she be relieved?
One look at her face shows she might not know either.
Her eyes are scared but hopeful, sad, and nervous all at once.
“Will…” She hesitated. “Will you tell me when it happens? So, I don’t have to think about it anymore?”
In a heartbeat.
I tip my head. “It’s a promise. In the meantime, what are we going to do about this insistence you have for believing me incapable of keeping my word to you?”
“You don’t know him,” she says again. “You don’t know what he’ll do—”
“I know I will do everything in my power to stop him,” I said firmly.
“I know I have told you, repeatedly, he’ll never harm you again.
That’s a promise I’ll go to my grave keeping.
By refusing to believe me, in effect, what you’re saying is you think I’m lying or incapable of protecting you.
Which is it, Princess? Am I a liar or just incompetent? ”
“N-No.” She shook her head, but the doubt was all over her face.
She needs time. She needs me to prove again, and again I’m as good as my word before she’ll blindly believe.
I’m asking too much too soon, but the Daddy in me is ready to reinforce what I say with something tangible she can feel.
I don’t want her to be afraid to tell me her darkest thoughts, but she needs to have faith in what I tell her.
I need her to trust and believe in me, and if that means she sits on a hot butt every day from now until she does, so be it.
Standing from the booth, I make room for her.
“Go.” I sweep the restaurant until I spot my bodyguards sitting together at a different table.
I motion to one. “Gage will escort you to the ladies’ room.
While I get our supper to go, I want you to remove your panties and bring it back to me.
Your naughty bottom is going to be bare the rest of the night.
I promise you will go to bed sleeping on your tummy tonight and every night until you realize I will always be as good as my word. ”
She stares at me, her mouth round. “I believe you mean it. It’s just… you can’t control everything other people do.”
“Watch me,” I counter. I tap a finger against my temple. “Ten steps ahead, Princess. Always.”
Gage is almost to us when she spots him. Forgetting everything else, she grabs my arm, pressing close to whisper, “Please, c-can’t you take me?”
This isn’t willful behavior. It only takes a glance for me to read her sincerity. She feels safer with me than anyone else, including my bodyguards. I’m the one that brings her security. Stroking her hair, I’m so pleased.
“Change of plans,” I tell Gage when he reaches us. “We’re staying here tonight. I’ll get a room, you order for everyone. The missus and I will have steak, side salads, potato, and whatever vegetables they have. You know what I like.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies.
Taking her hand, I lead her out of the restaurant but stop. “Oh, and something for dessert.” I give Clara’s hand a gentle squeeze as I ask, “You like chocolate or fruit?”
I was taking her somewhere I could punish her, yet I was asking what kind of dessert she preferred. She blinks at me, not knowing how to take it.
“Chocolate?” she finally offers.
“Chocolate,” I relay to Gage as if he’s not standing right there. “They have a cake that’s excellent. Get it with a scoop of ice cream to cut the richness. Whip cream, sprinkles, cherry on top—the whole nine yards. I’ll leave your name at the desk, so you can get a key on the way up.”
At his nod, I give her hand another comforting squeeze and lead her off in search of the registration desk. The other two guards unobtrusively fall in behind us.
“You got me chocolate?” she asks.
I’ve got a lot of Alviero’s damage to undo.
“Just because you’ve bought yourself some trouble doesn’t mean I’ll stop taking care of you.
No matter how many punishments you earn, you’re still Daddy’s little girl.
” Letting go of her hand, I sling my arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to kiss her forehead.
“You always will be, Princess, even if you ultimately decide you want to leave.”
I can feel her stealing peeks at me, though I keep my gaze fixed on our destination, the casino’s hotel, very much aware of her. When she leans in to clasp my hand in both of hers, all but hugging my arm, I have to admit, her gratitude makes me smile.