Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The meeting with Gloria, the head of HR, took three times longer than it should have because they kept getting interrupted by phone calls.
Her coworkers were calling to share their experiences, having either lived through what Lottie had, or witnessed Hagerty’s abuse of power.
Apparently once the issue had come to light, everyone wanted to make sure the company knew that hers wasn’t an isolated incident.
By the time Lottie finally left Gloria’s office, the director not only assured her that she would not be losing her job, she’d also agreed to Lottie taking the afternoon off with pay and without it counting against her personal time.
Stepping out of Gloria’s office, Lottie was relieved to see Travis pacing the hall. Though she should stay away from him, she couldn’t. Not now. She would just have to apologize to her sisters for breaking their no seeing the Daddies pact.
Not caring that this was her workplace and there were people around, Lottie hurried across the hall and threw herself into his arms. As soon as he wrapped her up in a hug, she burst into tears.
She felt him kiss the top of her head as he hugged her tighter and lifted her off her feet.
Her skirt did not allow her to wrap her legs around his waist without flashing anyone who might see, so she simply held very still as he walked down the hall.
A moment later a door clicked closed and he set her down.
When his arms loosened, she pressed herself closer to his chest, her arms holding him tighter so he couldn’t escape.
“Talk to me, Lottie-love. What happened? You were in there an awful long time,” Travis said as he shuffled them across the room.
He sat in the executive chair behind the desk and positioned her to sit across his lap. Shifting her hold from around his chest to around his neck, Lottie snuggled closer before speaking.
“Sorry it took so long. My coworkers kept calling in with their own stories of Hagerty’s abuse of power.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one he’d dumped his work on over the years.
I was just the first person to push back.
Probably because though I’d like to continue working for another six months, if I got fired, I could then focus all my attention on getting Lottie’s Lollies up and running. ”
“My brave girl,” Travis said, rubbing his hand up and down her back.
“Not really. I was scared to death, but I was also exhausted and coming in to finding that stack of files on my desk was the last straw. My camel’s back broke when Hagerty expected me to do his work before I finished my own this morning.”
She smiled as she felt Travis brush another kiss on her head. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just being together and allowing her to settle. When her stomach rumbled loudly, she sat up and wiped the tears from her face.
“Sounds like we need to get that belly monster something to eat,” Travis said with a deep chuckle.
“I need to go back to my desk for a few minutes. I have to log off and close down my computer before I go home.”
Travis cupped his hand around her cheek and jaw, tilting her face to look at him. “You’re going home?”
She nodded. “Gloria agreed that I could take the afternoon off.”
“Spend it with me. I have some things I want to talk over with you over lunch and afterward, there’s a couple of places I want to show you. When we’re done, I’ll take you home.”
“You can’t,” she said immediately as she climbed off his lap. “I’m breaking the pact with my sisters just talking to you.”
No matter how much she wanted to spend the rest of the day with her Daddy, it was enough to have this small bit of time with him.
“I don’t care. I love you,” Travis said, grabbing her hand and holding it tight.
Lottie blinked and stared at him, stunned by his words. “You love me?”
“Yes, Lottie-love. I love you. The forever kind of love that makes me want to do whatever I have to in order to make you love me back.”
Lottie threw herself back at him. “I do love you back. So much that it scares me when I think about it for too long. I mean, we’ve only known each other for a couple of days and we’re not even supposed to be seeing one another for another four days.”
“Lottie…” Travis stood and hugged her once again.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Stop talking and kiss me.”
Lottie could get behind that idea. Tilting her head back, she met his lips and kissed him. The kiss went on and on, deeper and deeper until she wanted only to strip and lay herself over the desk so he could fuck her hard and fast.
When he lifted his head and gentled his embrace, she gave a little whine, which earned her a smack on the ass.
“No sex in this workplace,” he said with a chuckle that sent a shiver through her belly. “We need to get out of here and get some lunch so you’re refreshed before our tour.”
“Tour?”
“I have a couple places I want to show you that could make your remaining time at Hempstead and McCullough shorter than you’re thinking, and our future together start sooner.”
Lottie’s heart squeezed and her stomach jumped as she processed his words. “Okay, Daddy. Let’s go.”
Travis stood and watched as Lottie walked around the building he’d brought her to.
Since leaving her Sunday, he’d been busy meeting with a realtor who not only represented residential properties but also commercial.
This was the third building she’d shown him, but it was the one he thought Lottie would like best.
The building had been a restaurant in a former life, but had been empty for over a year. The plus was that there was a sizeable apartment upstairs that went with the building.
When she didn’t move for more than a minute, he took a step toward her. “What do you think?”
She slowly turned to face him. The tears tracking down her cheeks were contradicted by the great big smile on her lips.
“I think it’s perfect, Daddy. But I could never afford to buy this building. I doubt I’d even be able to afford the rent.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you might be surprised,” he said. “Especially if you’d allow me to buy in as your partner.”
“Partner?”
“Partner. I thought we could buy the building. The candy storefront will be here, the kitchen is industrial-grade and everything is in ready to start cooking tomorrow. And we can live upstairs, unless you’d rather rent out that space and buy a house somewhere else.
Or, you could live upstairs until you’re comfortable moving in with Daddy, or having Daddy move in with you. ”
Knowing he was pushing hard, Travis laid out all of his arguments and then forced himself to close his mouth. His Little girl was fully in her adult, business-mind headspace and though he could see her Little shining in her eyes, he knew she needed to be Big for this conversation.
Without a word, Lottie walked to the kitchen door and pushed it open to study the kitchen once again.
Even from here he could hear her thinking, he just wished he had some insight as to which way she was leaning.
Would she want him as a partner as well as a Daddy?
Or would she not be willing to have him be a part of her candy empire?
Finally, Lottie turned and returned to stand just in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest. He didn’t know if she was cold, or just holding herself because she’d left Violet in the car when they’d come inside.
Her expression was still blank, so he remained still and silent, half afraid to breathe for fear of pushing her to the wrong decision.
He took a deep breath when she did, before bracing himself for her decision.
She finally looked up at him with a sad smile.
“I agree this is an amazing space, and would be perfect for Lottie’s Lollies.
But I don’t want either of us to rush into things.
So we’re going to table the discussion of this space, a house, and anything else until Sunday.
If this is what we both want on Sunday, then, and only then, we will draw up a partnership contract to protect us both. ”
Though he wanted to argue, Travis nodded as he held out his right hand. “Agreed. But I want to talk to your sisters before then.”