He unrolled the blankets and covered her, tucking them under her chin. “Not quite. I’ll tell everyone you’re my assistant. But you don’t have to actually do any work, teacup. You’ll have the laptop I brought for you and you can do anything on that while the meeting goes on.”
She cuddled up under the blanket and peeked up at him. “Okay. Including college stuff?”
“Anything you want,” he reassured her. He slid his hands over her body, making sure she was tucked in just right. “I’ll go to my own room now and open my door. Sleep well. We have a busy time ahead of us.”
Daddy got up and started out of the bedroom.
A spike of anxiety hit Amber in the chest. She sat up, dislodging her blankets. “Wait!”
He turned back to her with his eyebrows raised. “Yes?”
“Can I have a good night kiss?”
He smiled softly and went back to her, and leaned his warm body over hers to kiss her on the forehead. He stroked her again to tuck her blankets in. “There we go. You’ll be able to sleep now?”
She smiled, loving the way his kiss made her thoughts feel better. “Yes.”
He kissed her cheek before standing up again. Her eyes slowly slid shut as she watched his back recede from sight. She fell asleep then, before he had even left the room.
The next morning was chaotic. Amber was draggy and overwhelmed from jetlag, and not even a hot shower and breakfast could help her break through the fog. Daddy came to her through their connecting doorway and left clothes for her, a pantsuit with sharp lines that molded exactly to the shape of her body. She put it on and went to the big mirror in the bathroom to look herself over. Turning, she stuck out her butt and wiggled it.
Daddy approached the bathroom and stuck his head through the gap in the door. “Are you ready yet? Our limo will be here shortly.”
She turned to him and put her hands on her hips. “I hate this outfit.”
“I was certain you would.” He sounded amused. “Come now. You look very professional. No one will doubt that you’re my assistant while you’re wearing that.”
“But it’s so boring.” She scowled down at herself. There wasn’t even a big neckline she could use to flash her cleavage and tease him.
“Trust me, boring is good in a situation like this.” He gestured with his chin. “Come on, now. The limo.”
She sighed dramatically and followed him out into the hall, now carrying the bag he’d bought for her. It was a leather case somehow even more boring than the black pantsuit and held a laptop and office supplies. She did have to admit it was very cool to walk at his side, to let everyone know she belonged to him -even though everyone who passed them would see that ownership as being a business one.
“Why are we taking a limo, anyway?” Amber asked. Limos weren’t unfamiliar territory. She’d ridden in one to her high school graduation party. So had everyone else. It wasn’t exactly a special thing. They were just glorified taxis. “Didn’t you rent a car, Da… Kristoff?”
He gave her a little nod, praising her for remembering to call him Kristoff when they were in public on this trip. She tingled with an all-over pride. “That’s right, I did. But that’s so we can go around to places by ourselves if we want to. This limo is provided for us by the company.”
“Okay.”
The limousine took them to a big square building that looked like any other company office Amber had ever seen. The name was German, unpronounceable to her.
They stepped out of the limo in front of the building. Daddy put his hand on her shoulder. “Let me do all the talking. You don’t need to know anything. Just stay quiet and be good.”
I’ll be the best little girl for you, for sure.
Amber nodded seriously.
Daddy withdrew his hand from her shoulder. He straightened up and strode into the building, shoving the glass door open like a hero arriving on scene to save the day. Amber followed more slowly behind him, peeking curiously at the lobby. Again, nothing too out of the ordinary. She was reminded of those private rooms in banks, the soundproofed ones with glass walls where important advisors spoke with their clients, only about a dozen times bigger.
“Sit there,” Daddy instructed, motioning to a square gray armchair. “I’ll let the others know we’re here.”
Amber sat down in her chair as instructed and held her bag in her lap. She skimmed her feet back and forth over the carpet. She heard Daddy speaking with the receptionist, both of them talking in German. Even if she’d known how to speak the language, she wouldn’t have been able to tell what they were discussing. Their voices echoed in the pristine lobby, bouncing off the featureless walls and high ceiling.
More people entered the lobby, the sounds of their shoes crisp and quick against the floor. Four men and five women approached Daddy and spoke with him, in German and English. Amber watched, trying not to giggle, as all nine grown adults seemed to be competing to see who could shake Daddy’s hand the most. So far, the winner of the contest was a busty black woman, wearing a sequined, pinstriped pantsuit. The suit fit her a little too well in some places. She also wore her hair pulled back in a bun that was much too tight, stretching the skin of her face. Amber wondered if she did that all the time, if she knew it would give her wrinkles. Maybe she already had wrinkles and was trying to hide them.
Daddy’s voice reached her, sliding smoothly under the mix of the others as they talked. “I brought my new assistant. Amber, would you come here?”
That was her cue. Amber jumped to her feet and approached the group quickly. As all those pairs of eyes turned to assess her, her enthusiasm waned. She faltered in her walk, gripped the handle of her laptop bag much tighter. “H-hello,” she stammered. “I’m Amber. I’m… the assistant.”
The black lady with a love of sequins made an amused sound, more like a purr than a laugh. “She’s so young, Kristoff.”
“She’s competent,” Daddy replied flatly.
Amber swallowed hard, begging herself not to start giggling as her nervousness increased.
One of the men brushed at the sleeve of his suit. “Be that as it may, she is young,” he pointed out. “Are you sure she’s ready for all this? Are you ready, Amber?”
Amber looked at Daddy, her heart in her throat. Rescue me!
He said nothing. His gaze was so warm though, so tender and loving. He had faith in her.
She couldn’t let him down.
She turned back to the fussy businessman and announced, “I’m not ready, but I’m willing to try.”
Everyone laughed at that. She listened and decided they had to be laughing with her, rather than at her. She allowed herself a little smile.
The fussy man held out his hand. “I’m Dierk Hari. I wish I still had the enthusiasm you do.”
Amber shook his hand. His grip was limp and a little moist. She restrained herself from wiping her hand off after touching him.
The others came to her and introduced themselves, and shook her hand. Last to do so was the black lady.
“Georgina Brave,” the black woman said. “Kristoff and I go way back, don’t we?”
Amber’s Daddy shook his handsome head. “Yes, but there will be time for reminiscing after the meeting. We have a job to do.”
“Some things never change,” Georgina confided in a mock whisper to a skinny blonde man named Lukas.
Lukas simply spared her a neutral glance to acknowledge he’d heard her. Georgina scoffed and turned away. She looked at Amber and frowned, tilting her head.
Amber startled, realizing she’d been caught staring. “I like your suit,” she lied quickly.
Georgina lifted an overplucked eyebrow. “You have good taste, then. I had it custom-made for me by a wealthy Italian designer.”
“Italians must have great taste.” She could feel sweat prickling on her brow.
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“I don’t even know what sarcasm is,” Amber lied again. She turned on her heel and walked off, not wanting t
o make even more of a fool of herself than she already had. She joined with Daddy by the elevator and reached to take his hand. She stopped herself right before she did and looked around to see if anyone had caught her in the act.
Georgina looked at her oddly from all the way on the other side of the lobby.
That’s because I acted silly before, is all. She can’t know anything. I didn’t mess up yet.
All eleven of them piled into the elevator and rode it up and up, until they arrived at the very top floor. Amber trailed along behind everyone else as they went to a huge round meeting room and took up a seat next to Daddy. As they sat, he gave her a meaningful look. She understood and nodded to him to let him know. He nodded back. He pulled up his chair and folded his hands on top of the table. “Let’s begin, then.”
Everyone else gave murmurs of acquiescence, and the meeting began in full.
Amber had an easier time focusing on her course work than she thought she would have, in a room filled with other people all talking over each other. She couldn’t understand what was being discussed. And there were just enough people for their voices to blur together. No one speaker stood out amongst the rest, and so she could work as easily as if she were listening to white noise on a pair of headphones. She managed to finish one assignment and was searching for her earphones in her laptop case to listen to a lecture when a light tap on her shoulder brought her attention back to the room.
Daddy said, “We’re moving to another room to address the concerns of some clients.”
Amber nodded and packed up her laptop. She followed him out of the meeting room, to the elevator, and to another room a few floors down. Daddy and a few of the others who had come with him shook the hands of a grizzled Asian man. The man had brought an assistant with him, an androgynous boy with narrow eyes.
“Nice to know I’m not the only one who’s in over their head here,” the boy said, holding out his hand to Amber.
She shook with him, noticing that his hands were as small and delicate as hers. “I’m doing my best.” As they parted, she caught a whiff of something like perfume, a spicy scent she couldn’t quite place. “Is that your cologne?”
“Isn’t it nice?” he said, a little dreamily. “It reminds me of magic.”
She laughed, delighted. “That’s really cool.”
Daddy put his hand on her arm and gestured for her to join him. He pulled out a chair for her. She flashed him a smile and sat down. He spoke into her ear in a breathy whisper that tickled her. “That boy won’t be interested in you.”
She whispered back, “I’m not interested in him.”
As the others came and sat down, Amber set up her laptop again. She put one of the earbuds in and left the other dangling, so it would look like she paid the meeting at least a little bit of attention.
The very old Asian man had a lot to say and he said it very loudly and quickly. He smirked between sentences, baring his teeth like he was proud of his attempts to be confusing. He seemed to want to trip up the company members, to make them bumble and seem less professional.
Thanks to Daddy, that didn’t happen. He sat straight in his chair and addressed each of the client’s questions and demands in his smooth, rich voice, never faltering. He was the picture of masculinity, firm, yet understanding, willing to listen and also negotiate. The Asian man left seemingly satisfied.
The same process repeated throughout the day, with Daddy meeting various people in various rooms, most of them clients of one variety or another. Amber gave up on her course work and switched to just watching him as he made his negotiations. He was always bold, never rude, so confident and strong and unwavering in his morals. It was no wonder he made her feel so safe, with this aura about him. She wanted to cuddle up in his strong arms right then and there, in front of everyone, and announce that he belonged to her.
She didn’t, but she wanted to.
“We’re done here for the day,” Daddy told her after one of the longest meetings of the day.
Amber shut her computer and hopped to her feet. “Okay!” She’d gotten a lot done this time, putting a bit dent in her course work. “What will we do now?” Maybe they could go swimming in the pool. She hadn’t seen the pool at the hotel, but she’d smelled the chlorine. Or they could try out the jacuzzi in Daddy’s room.
He put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to the elevator, towards a group of other people she’d seen throughout the day, Georgina among them. “Now,” he said, “we’re going out to get some drinks to celebrate a job well done.”
“Oh.” She pursed her lips, restraining a pout. “Okay. Do I have to drink?”
“Treat yourself,” he told her. “I’m paying for all of it. Get whatever you want. Make it virgin if you want.”
He put a slight emphasis on the word virgin. No one else would have noticed, but she did. A tremor ran down her spine.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere at the bar was exactly as she imagined it would be. She couldn’t get comfortable around all the drunk people. Daddy was the only reason she smiled at all. He was the life of the group, making jokes and bantering with the others. Then, as the hours wore on, as the other executives made their way out, he was bantering only with Georgina.
Amber watched the two of them over the rim of her virgin pina colada, jealousy worming around inside her stomach. Georgina touched his hand a lot as they talked, and she looked at him in a way that seemed really familiar. It was how Amber looked at Daddy, and she didn’t like it at all that some other woman felt like they could stare at him, admire him so much. And she didn’t like it that Daddy touched Georgina back, stroked her thigh under the table. His fingers skittered over her sequined suit.
Georgina leaned in close to Daddy, her lips almost touching his cheek. “You and I really need to talk more often, Kristoff. You’re such a delight.”
Amber clenched her hand into a fist. She uncurled it and stopped herself from punching the other woman. “Isn’t he though?” she said loudly.
Georgina looked at her and gave a thin smile.
Daddy got to his feet and stretched. “I think Amber and I should be heading back to the hotel. There’s another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Yes, there is,” Georgina agreed, also standing. She slung her arm around his neck and pressed her bosom to his side. “But there is still plenty of time left in the night.”
A look passed between the two of them that Amber couldn’t identify. Feeling left out, she also stood and announced, “I’m tired.”
Daddy nodded and went to her, put his hand on her shoulder. “To the hotel, then.” He looked back to Georgina. “I’ll be seeing you later.”
Georgina nodded, her eyes flashing bright with some fierce emotion Amber couldn’t decipher.
Daddy used his phone to summon a limousine to take the two of them back to the hotel. Soon enough, Amber was being tucked into bed by him for the second night. He leaned over her, pressed his lips to her forehead. “Sleep well. Tomorrow will be as busy, and then we will have a day to spend in leisure.”
She nodded and touched his cheek. “I liked being your secretary.”
He stroked the back of her hand. “I liked having you. Sleep well, teacup.”
“Sweet dreams, Daddy.”
He left her, leaving the connecting door on his side a little ajar in case she needed him in the night.
Amber fell asleep quickly, swaddled up in the heavy hotel covers, imagining the weight was from Daddy’s body wrapped around hers.
It seemed like she was asleep for only a moment before she came awake again. Night still poured in black through the window. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out what it was to have made her awaken.
Sounds, low and hurried. They came from Daddy’s room.
Amber got up and made her way over to the connecting door, the sounds growing louder and more distinct all the while. She soon recognized them for what they were, because she had sent Daddy a ton of voice messages filled with simil
ar content. Moans, groans, breathless gasps, and soft, wet slaps.
Amber pushed the connecting door open an inch more than it had been and peered through.
Daddy was naked, his back glistening with sweat. He bent low over a woman on his hotel bed, muttering dark and dirty words into her ears. He suddenly spanked her on the butt, the contact sharp. The woman yelled out in a way that made it clear she enjoyed it.
On the floor was a pile of sequined clothes.
Amber put her hand over her mouth to conceal her gasp. Georgina. Daddy was doing stuff with Georgina.
I shouldn’t be surprised, the way they were acting.
The right thing to do would be to move away and pretend she had never woken up. Instead, she sat on the floor and continued to peer through the gap to watch. She felt tingles in her kitty, watching her Daddy doing such things, but she was also so jealous that she hardly cared. Georgina of all people! Amber was horrified, fascinated. She watched until they finished, and then snuck back to bed before she could be discovered.
She had no idea what to do about what she’d seen.
Chapter 14
Candy girl
After what she had witnessed the night before, Amber expected the next day at the company to be strained. She really hadn’t been very sneaky last night when she watched Daddy and Georgina. She was certain that one or both of them would come to confront her about her spying.
It didn’t happen.
And neither Daddy nor Georgina acted any differently towards each other. Amber spent much of her time that day watching the two of them interact, ignoring her course work in favor of potentially catching a glimpse of a shared smirk, a frown, a secret touch under the table. Other than a few offhand comments from Georgina that were no more meaningful than anything she’d already said, that also didn’t happen.
Amber was baffled, and so, so glad. She wouldn’t have been able to bear it if Daddy found someone else to love. Well, maybe. If it made him happy. She’d just rather not have that unfold right in front of her.
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