Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Brooks
My mom slapped her hand over her eyes. “Oh my God.”
I didn’t dare move because then Daphne would be left uncovered. But it was obvious it was her.
My mom backed out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Daphne’s eyes went wide with panic as she slowly withdrew from me. I slammed my eyes shut as the cold hit my cock, already missing her warm, wet pussy.
“She’s going to tell your dad,” Daphne said as she pushed herself upright.
I hated how she tugged her dress back down to cover herself. She scooted to the head of the bed and pulled the blanket over herself while waiting for my response.
I dragged a shaky hand over my face, trying to stay calm for her sake while internally freaking the fuck out. “I’m going to go talk to her.”
Daphne didn’t say a word, only stared at the wall in front of her as I hurriedly got dressed.
“Be right back,” I told her.
She only nodded.
I walked down the hallway, barefoot, nodding toward a few government officials as I passed, then knocked on my mom’s bedroom door.
My parents had slept in separate bedrooms for as long as I could remember. It was one of the reasons I refused to enter that kind of arrangement with Rachel. My parents didn’t love each other. Some days, I wondered if they even liked each other.
She answered in her pajamas, her face flushed and eyes glossy, as though seeing me with Daphne had made her cry.
She stepped aside to let me in, then retreated to the middle of the room before gesturing for me to close the door. Her bedding was turned down for the night, an old I Love Lucy episode playing in the background, and the drapes were drawn shut, like always. She valued her privacy.
Her voice shook when she spoke. “Do you know how much trouble she’ll get in—not you, her—if anyone finds her here?”
My throat grew dry at the truth. “I’m being careful.”
She violently shook her head. “Careful or not, people come and go in this place all the damn time, Brooks. Not to mention, your father is here this weekend.”
“I chose her as my Fawn.” It was time I told her. I’d been stupid, thinking she wouldn’t find out.
She winced. “No, you can’t do that.”
I tried to keep my tone as level as I could, sounding more like my father than I liked. “It’s already done.”
“Your father didn’t fight it?”
I shook my head. She nodded in understanding. While she and my father weren’t in love, they knew each other extremely well. She had campaigned for him, helped him win the presidency, and knew how he operated.
She thrust her finger in the air. “Don’t you dare put her through the hell you promised him you would.”
I crossed my arms. “Why do you stick up for her and Marjorie so much?”
“There’s a lot of history between our families.” She crossed the room, taking my hands in hers. “Please, get her out of here, Brooks. I’ll find a hotel room where you can take her. This can’t make the news, especially now that your father brokered that marriage arrangement with Sterling Beckett.”
Too late for that.
I was sure he’d find out what I’d done at the club. Hopefully, I’d be back at SVU by then.
“If Daphne leaves, then I leave,” I told her.
“Does Adelina know about this?”
“No.”
She narrowed her brown eyes at me. I knew that look. She wanted to call me an idiot. But she didn’t.
“I’d appreciate the discretion.”
“If she finds out from someone other than you or Daphne, she’ll be heartbroken. It won’t be you she’ll be angry with. It’ll be Daphne.”
Everything would always be pinned on Daphne instead of me in our situation. It was just the way the world worked. The mistress was the whore while the powerful man who cheated still got million-dollar deals.
I ran a hand through my hair. “Adelina won’t find out.”
She rolled her eyes at my confidence.
“Once this year is over, Daphne and I will go our separate ways,” I stressed.
“If you think it’s that easy, you’re a fool,” she huffed.
“As much as I want to keep telling you what a bad idea this is, you have a bigger issue on your hands. I came to warn you that your father heard about what happened with Rachel at the club. He called me first to rant and said he was paying you a visit. He’s in the Oval Office now, but I don’t know for how long. Get. Daphne. Out. Now.”
I turned, left, and sprinted back down the hall. My bedroom door was shut. If I could stop my father before he made it there, Daphne would have time to get dressed. I kept running until I reached the Oval Office.
Inhaling a deep breath, I knocked twice, knowing this would be the longest night of my life.
My father called for me to come in.
I walked in, shutting the door behind me.
He slid his reading glasses off his nose. “I was just about to pay you a visit.” He tossed them onto his desk, then slammed his fist down on them. The frames snapped. “Sterling called.”
“Pretty late for a phone call,” I replied.
“His daughter called him in tears.”
Rachel deserves a fucking Oscar. Tears will sell the poor-thing story better than her being drunk and annoying.
I stared at him without blinking, pretending I had no idea why.
“She told her father she no longer wants to marry you.”
“That’s unfortunate.” I slipped farther into the room and sat on one of the sofas.
“Would you like to explain to me why she had the sudden change of heart?” His nostrils flared.
I shrugged. “No idea, but I did hear she’s been in a serious on-again, off-again relationship. She probably wants to give that another shot.” I crossed one leg over the other.
“Bullshit! My driver told me you brought a girl home from the club.”
I said nothing.
“A wig doesn’t fool me, son.”
Every muscle twitched under my skin. There was no use denying it.
“I regret allowing you to choose her.” Spit left his mouth with his words. “I knew she’d get in the way.”
“Nothing is getting in the way!” I shouted.
He eyed me with an expression that silently said, You’d better fucking lower your tone. People are listening.
He settled deeper into the executive chair. “I want her out of here.”
“Done.” I slapped my hand onto the armrest and lifted myself from the sofa.
“Ten minutes, and she’d better be gone.”
“Like I said, done.”
“If not, I’ll make a scene, not giving a damn who hears it.” He pinned me with a hard glare. “You crossed a line.”
I backed up while still facing him.
“You can also bet your ass I’ll be having a word with Philip about allowing it.”
“No, you won’t. He’s my Secret Service agent, and we have a loyalty to each other. Either I’m with him or I don’t have Secret Service.”
Philip had covered my ass more times than I could count and never once used what he knew against me. Loyalty like that wasn’t something I took for granted.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m the president!” He slammed his hand against his chest. “Everyone in this building answers to me.”
Deciding not to answer, I turned my back to him and headed toward the door.
“You fall for her, son, you ruin your future and everything you’ve worked for. She isn’t worth that.”