26. Chapter 24
FRANKIE
“ C ome on, pumpkin. We’re going to the club,” Daddy called out.
Frankie didn’t feel like going to the club. She didn’t want to sit in his office and do nothing while he worked, but it was better than staying at his apartment alone. It was way too big for her, and it scared her with how many dark spots there were.
It scared her, not knowing if someone could come out of those dark places. The likelihood of it happening was slim, but it could still happen, and she wasn’t going to take a chance.
“We really have to go?” Frankie whined. “I don’t want to go tonight. It’s going to be so boring sitting in your office for a couple of hours.”
Daddy raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “You are coming. It isn’t up for discussion. While your attacker doesn’t know where you live now, I don’t want to take any chances. And you can play with some of the other Littles that will be there.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to.” Her shoulders rolled in on her as she looked down.
As much as she did, she didn’t want to at the same time. She wanted to continue to play by herself for the rest of her life. It made life so much simpler, especially when people started to ask questions.
“Sweetheart,” he began as he knelt in front of her. “I know you don’t want them to ask questions, but that is no way of living your life. You need to make friends.”
Frankie shook her head once again. “I don’t need to, and I don’t really want to. I just want to live my life how I want to live it.”
But she was getting really lonely. Before, she could blame it on needing to work and not being able to spend money, but now she didn’t have that excuse. Now she had Daddy to rely on, and somehow her free time had grown. She now had time to hang out with friends if she wanted.
“Do you have any friends from your life before you met your other Daddy and everything happened?” Daddy asked.
She shook her head. Not that any of them would want to talk to her. She had completely abandoned them, and now it had been years. They probably wouldn’t want to talk to her anyway.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I bet they are worried about you.”
“No, they aren’t.” She sighed sadly. “None of them have messaged me whenever I stopped replying to their texts. I don’t think they missed me at all, and that’s okay. They weren’t very good friends if I’m being honest. They were kind of just there and wanted things from me.”
“Wanted what type of things?” Daddy’s head tilted to one side. “What did they want?”
“Not money, but I don’t know. Things like to borrow some of my clothes. I got some of them back, but some were taken just when I met my ex-Daddy, and I never got them back,” she whispered.
Not that it mattered. She hadn’t missed those clothes one bit. She honestly couldn’t remember what they were, so she was okay.
“That’s not right, baby,” Daddy spoke honestly. “They should have brought them back. They should have checked up on you to make sure you were okay. That was unacceptable for them, and you are better off without them.”
Tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them back.
“No, don’t you dare.” His stern voice had come out. “You do not hold in your tears. If you need to cry, what do you do?”
“Cry and come to you for a hug,” she whispered, her voice raw with emotion.
“That’s right. Now, come give Daddy a hug.”
Frankie launched herself into Daddy’s arms, and he held her close as the tears roll down her face. She cried for her friends leaving her, for her losing clothes, and for her ex-Daddy treating her poorly. She cried for everything she should have all that time ago, but didn’t allow herself to.
“Good girl,” Daddy whispered. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Frankie gripped his shirt and snuggled into his chest as her tears started to slow. She felt lighter than before, like all this weight had just left her body, and she didn’t have to worry about it anymore.
“Doesn’t that feel so much better?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered as she pulled back. “Do we still have to go to the club?”
“Yes, sweetheart, we do. I need to do a few things I can only do at night. There are some employees that I need to talk to. Maybe Trent will show you a new dessert he has been working on? You can only have a little bit and no more.” Daddy gave her a knowing look.
So strict.
“No fun,” she pouted.
“I don’t want you to get a tummy ache. You wouldn’t feel good if you had one,” Daddy pointed out.
But it would be worth it. She would get to eat all the goodies in the kitchen and not have to worry about anything.
“If I find out you ate more than I said, you will be getting a spanking. That’s a promise. I will know if you ate more than you should have.” He gave her a warning look.
“Fine.” she sighed.
“Now, come let’s go to the club.” Daddy held out his hand.
To say Frankie was bored was an understatement. It had only been twenty minutes of sitting in Daddy’s office, and she was about to lose her mind. How had she done this all day long for a week? Frankie must have been out of it when it happened.
“Do you want to go talk to Trent and see if you can get a little snack and sweet treat while I talk to Finn about something?” Daddy asked.
“Two sweet treats?” She looked at Daddy with big eyes, blinking several times to see if that would help her chances.
“No. One and no more. I’ll be texting Trent to say that you can only have one sweet treat and remember what I said if I found out you had more.” Daddy raised an eyebrow.
“You would spank me,” she mumbled, her shoulders slumping.
So much for trying to get more. It was like he was immune to her cuteness.
“That was very sweet,” Finn said as he walked in the door. “Hello, Frankie. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Your Daddy here has been keeping you away from everyone. I think that’s a shame. You shouldn’t be hidden but shown off to the world.”
Frankie’s mouth fell open, and she shook her head.
No way was she going to be shown off to the world.
If she had her way, she would stay inside all the time and never come out.
It would make life so much simpler. Boring and sometimes lonely?
Yes, but then her stress would be down, and maybe she wouldn’t have as many tremors as before.
“I will not be showing her off to the world,” Daddy growled. “Don’t you get any ideas, Finn. Frankie is mine.”
“It wouldn’t work between us anyway.” Finn looked at Frankie.
Why wouldn’t it work between them? Did he know something she didn’t? Had she somehow met Finn before?
“It wouldn’t work between us because both of our names start the same. It would get very confusing, and I try to avoid that.” Finn cracked a smile.
“Our names aren’t even close,” she pointed out.
“They aren’t, but they still start with the same letter. I know it’s silly, but it’s just something I can’t do.” He sat in the chair in front of Daddy’s desk.
Frankie took a step forward and tilted her head to the right. “So if you meet someone with an F name and you fall in love with her, will you ask her to change her name or will you change your name?” She giggled when she thought of that. Hopefully, he wasn’t too attached to his name.
“Wouldn’t happen. Anytime I meet someone with an F name, I don’t get involved with them.
That simple. It’s just something I have to do.
Not everyone does, but I know there is someone special out there for me who doesn’t have an F name.
We’ll find each other, even if it takes several more years, and when we do, I’m not letting her go,” Finn declared. “Any other questions?”
Frankie took a step back and looked at the ground. “Sorry. I’ll be with Trent, Daddy.”
Before either of them could say anything, she walked out of the office, heading straight toward the kitchen. She was getting kind of hungry.
“Frankie!” Trent yelled. “What can I do for you?”
“Can I have some chicken nuggies and whatever dessert you have?” she asked. “Please,” she quickly added.
“Of course. You go sit where you normally do, and I’ll bring it right over. Maybe after you eat, you can help me with some of this dessert.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“I can’t. I mean, I can, but I don’t think I’ll have steady hands to help, and it would be too much temptation not to eat it all,” she whined.
She had helped Trent once. It was before Daddy and she got together, and it was glorious. The amount of cookie dough she ate was amazing, and she wished she could go back in time and do it all over again. Frankie did get sick though, but it was so worth it.
“Your hands are fine. You don’t need to worry about that, and as for temptation, well, this is a dessert that you don’t really like,” he replied.
“Carrot cake?” Her nose wrinkled as she said it.
“Yes, carrot cake. There are several people who like it here, so today I’m making it. But don’t worry, I have two chocolate chip cookies coming out fresh with your name on them. But you have to eat your chicken nuggies first.” Trent gave her a pointed look.
“I sometimes wish you were a sub so you couldn’t give me the look or be all stern with me,” she mumbled.
“But then you would be getting into trouble all the time. Not being able to sit on that bottom without being in pain. You’ll thank me later.” Trent winked at her before walking away.
Taking a deep breath, she relaxed in her chair as she waited for him to come back. She was okay. Everything was going to be all right.
“What’s wrong?” Trent asked as he set the plate in front of her. “Something is wrong.”
She shrugged.
“Frankie.” Trent sat in front of her.
“Finn is talking to Daddy, and I’m worried it’s about me,” she blurted. “I don’t know why I am worried, but I just have this gut feeling. And my gut has never been wrong.”
Trent looked at her, so she took that as her sign to continue to talk.
“Okay, that is a lie. My stomach is wrong all the time, but I know this time I’m not. Daddy wouldn’t have asked me to come to you if he weren’t talking about me. You know that and I know that, so we don’t have to pretend.” She took a deep breath.
“Why are you worried?” Trent asked.
Frankie looked at him like he was dumb. “Why am I worried?”
“Yes, there isn’t anything to be worried about. Finn isn’t going to steal you away. He doesn’t like to have the same letter name as his partner,” Trent said, like it was normal.
So Finn wasn’t lying. Huh. She thought that was kind of weird, but it wasn’t the weirdest thing in the world.
“Now, why are you worried?” Trent asked. “And don’t forget to eat. If you don’t, you won’t get any cookies.”
Frankie took several bites of her chicken nuggies, relaxing into her chair even more. “I’m worried he’s talking to Finn about how to get rid of me or fire me without hurting me.”
“Frankie.” Trent sighed. “Do you really believe that?”
She took another bite and shrugged her shoulders. Sure, she believed it. She wouldn’t have said it if she didn’t believe it.
“Frankie,” Trent repeated.
“Yes?” she asked. “You keep saying my name like I am supposed to know what it means.”
Trent stared at her for several seconds, blinking often and totally freaking her out.
“You can’t believe that your Daddy is trying to get rid of you.” Trent sounded like he didn’t believe it.
“Is that true, Frankie?” Daddy asked from the doorway.