6. Daddy’s Little Girl
DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL
Rory.
When my dad called me down for lunch, I almost told him no.
My head was pounding, my stomach was flipping, and my mouth tasted like I’d been chewing on pennies all fucking night.
Still, I dressed myself into something halfway presentable and made it to the hotel restaurant.
My plan?
Order something greasy, nod a lot, and survive my dad’s rant about whatever I’d done this time.
Except the second I stepped into the private dining room, my heart plummeted straight into my ass. Because sitting across from my father was Marlon Sinclair.
I froze in the doorway, suddenly very aware of my bare legs under my dress and the smudged eyeliner I hadn’t fully cleaned off.
What the fuck was he doing here?
He was supposed to be gone. He said he’s leaving in the morning. Yet, there he sat, smoking a cigar and eating eggs.
“Aurora,” my father barked when he saw me. “Sit.”
I was so shook, I obeyed before my knees gave out, sliding into the chair beside him. I kept my eyes glued to the tablecloth, praying my dad couldn’t hear how loud my pulse was beating.
Marlon didn’t look at me. Not once.
He just smoked his cigar like I wasn’t even in the room.
“Should I order something too, or?”
Dad didn’t waste time.
“Half a million dollars in property damage, Aurora?!”
I flinched.
So we were skipping the brunch and going straight to hell.
“Dad—”
He cut me off. “Do you think this shit is a game? Tables broken, a chandelier ruined and someone cracked the glass sliding door! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to get that phone call from hotel management?”
Smoke from Marlon’s cigar curled around me.
I picked up my menu like it was a shield. “Well, if they’d used sturdier materials maybe—”
“Aurora.” My father stopped me.
I shut up and Marlon snorted once.
From the corner of my eye, I risked a glance at him. Nothing. Not a twitch, not a smirk. No sign he even made the sound and now I wondered if I imagined it because he might as well have been a statue.
Which somehow made this worse.
Dad leaned back, exhaling. “I don’t know what to do with you anymore.”
For once, I didn’t have a smart-ass comeback.
Because honestly? Same.
Then his tone shifted. “So I’ve made a decision. You’re going to Napa.”
That got my attention. I looked up. So did Marlon, finally.
I blinked. “Like… a vacation?”
Another snort.
Nah, I couldn’t be imagining it.
Dad gave me a look so dry I shrank in my seat. “No. Aurora. Not a fucking vacation.Work. Real work. And you’ll be staying with Marlon.”
HUH?
My brain short-circuited and I whipped my head toward Mr. S, who had the nerve to still look calm.
“You dead ass?”
“I’m neither dead or an ass.”
“Then you’re kidding,” I said.
Dad wasn’t kidding.
“You’ll be working with him—”
No.
“Learning the ropes—”
No.
“And paying him back for the damages you caused—”
I stared at Marlon like he might object and save me, but his eyes flicked away.
“Discipline—” Dad continues.
Fuck no.
“Structure—”
Absolutely not.
“Exactly what you need—”
“Fuck that!” I palmed the table and stood up. “I ain’t going nowhere!”
“Little girl, who you raising your voice at?”
“I ain’t little neither,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m a grown ass woman, Daddy. I could make my own decisions!”
“With who’s money?” Dad asked. “Living in what condo? The one I pay for? Huh? You have a job that supports your own upkeep, Aurora?”
I swallowed.
“Then. Sit. Down.”
I didn’t. My mind screamed for me to yield but I stood defiant. “I don’t wanna go.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“I could move out.”
“And stay where? Because I will put out a memo stating anyone putting you up will no longer do business with me.”
Fuck.
“I can stay with Orim.”
“I spoke with Clay already.” My heart free-fall. “I would be surprised if his daughter speaks to you ever again. Do you think that situation will be better once I pull all Sucré products from his distribution company?”
My eyes widened. “Dad, come on. Orim had nothing to do with it. It was all my idea.”
“I bet. But do you see how your actions affect others?”
I sank into my seat, staring at my father, trying to wrap my head around what he’d just said. Marlon cleared his throat quietly beside him.
“So… I have to stay with him?” I repeated, like maybe saying it out loud would make it sound less insane. “Daddy, this is absurd. You can’t just—”
He held up a hand. “I can and I did. It’s settled. You leave today.”
“Today?!” My voice shot up an octave. “Are you—Dad, I have things to do in Milan! I can’t just—”
“You’ve done enough,” he snapped, the anger rolling back in. “You’ve embarrassed this family and this company for the last time, Aurora. Do you even understand the kind of mess you caused last night?”
I felt my throat close.
The party got out of hand, sure, but nobody died. But the way he was looking at me, disappointment written all over his face, made the argument die on my tongue.
“You’ve had every opportunity handed to you,” he continued. “Every resource. Every safety net. And this is what you do with it? You’ve become careless and reckless and for what? So people can think you’re fun?”
“Dad…”
“I don’t even recognize you anymore. I really thought I raised you better than this.”
I laughed quietly, but it cracked halfway out. “You didn’t exactly raise me, remember?”
He looked at me then, and whatever softness might’ve been there once was gone.
“I may not have been perfect, Aurora,” he said evenly, “but I expected more from you. I’m disappointed.”
I couldn’t even look at him. My chest tightened, hot and shaky, and I blinked fast before the tears could win.
But they did anyway. Big, unstoppable tears that came with hiccups and shaky breaths. I wasn’t even trying to stop them at that point.
With these tears, my dad buckled.
“Rory, baby,” Dad said, instantly panicking. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”
“Oh my God,” Marlon muttered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose .
“I just don’t understand,” I sniffled between gasps, “h-how can you do this to me!”
“Sweetheart—”
“You said you loved me!” I cried, and even I knew how dramatic that sounded, but I was too far gone to care. “Now you’re shipping me off to the middle of nowhere with some—some random man! Am I that bad?!”
Dad groaned and ran a hand over his face. “You’re not that bad, baby. I just need you to get some perspective—”
“Perspective?!” I shot back, tears dripping down my chin. “You mean punishment! This is punishment! You’re sending me off to work with him!” I pointed at Marlon like he was the villain in a soap opera.
Marlon looked unimpressed. “I ain’t running a labor camp.”
“You might as well be!” I said. “Besides, you don’t even like me!”
He raised an eyebrow. “After last night’s little hotel stunt, you owe me money. And you can stop all that crying shit. Tears don’t move me.”
“Marlon!” Dad snapped.
I gasped. “See? See how mean he is?” I wiped my nose with a napkin and glared at both of them. “You really about to let him talk to me like that?”
Marlon didn’t even look at me this time.
“I already told your father,” he said, calm as ever.
“I’m not in the kidnapping business. Even if he ties your ass to the plane’s propeller, I still have final say on if you work with me or not.
And I’m giving that decision to you. It’s your choice, Aurora.
Come to Napa and work off the debt you created.
Or stay here and disappoint your father even more. Choose.”
I crossed my arms. “And why would I work for somebody who doesn’t even like me?”
“Whether I like you or not ain’t got nothing to do with it,” he stated. “Choose.”
“It has everything to do with it,” I said, leaning forward now. “You’re doing entirely too much, Marlon. You do not control me and you can’t boss me around.”
His gaze didn’t shift or soften.
“If I had control over you,” he said, voice low, controlled, “you wouldn’t be talking this much.”
That made me pause for a second, I recovered quickly, rolling my eyes. “Please. You’re not scary.”
“I’m not trying to be.”
I scoffed, but it came out weaker than I meant it to. “And what exactly do you think I’m gonna do in Napa? Fold your laundry? Pick grapes?”
“Work,” he said simply.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you getting. And I’m done arguing with you about this. The next words out of your mouth should be yes. Or no.”
I opened my mouth, ready to argue again, but he was already… waiting.
I looked at my dad and it was obvious he wasn’t stepping in. Not this time.
My fingers tightened against the edge of the table.
“…fine.” I said finally, quieter now. I looked down, pressing my lips together. “… yes.”
It came out under my breath, but it still was heard.
Marlon stood immediately, as if that was all he needed. He slipped on his jacket, already done with the conversation. “Flight’s at two. Don’t be late.”
I shot him a look that could curdle milk, but he didn’t flinch. He left the table without another word.
“Ugh!” I slammed my hand on the table once he was out of ear shot. “I can’t stand him!”
Dad just looked tired. “Go pack your things, sweetheart.”
“Fine!” I snapped, wiping my face. “But when I die of exhaustion on some stupid fucking vineyard, I hope you feel really bad!”
And with that, I stomped off and started crying again dramatically.
Always dramatically.
My dad called out after me.
“I love you too!”