by Katie Dowe
“And is it in the works?”
“Most of her stuff is here already. She doesn’t need to bring any furniture, just her clothes and possessions.” Danny snorted. “I don’t think Mom’s even noticed that Abi’s room is almost bare.”
Amanda snorted.
“I’m sure she’s noticed and she’s waiting for the right time. Prepare yourself for the shit-storm that’s about to come.”
“I’m already prepared.” Danny stood and walked over to the couch. He sat on the other cushion and slumped back with a heavy sigh. “Mom smothered me too much as a kid and I hated it. She emotionally and mentally abuses Abi. I’ve reported it and then Mom will make me the scapegoat for doing it. Nobody believes me because all they see is a nice, rich old lady.” He almost snarled the next part. “Money doesn’t always get what you want.”
And money could make things disappear. Amanda was sure that was why nobody had reported Georgina before. She made a mental note to report Georgina herself.
Her purse started vibrating. Amanda burrowed inside and took out her cell phone. When she saw the caller ID Amanda wondered if she was seeing things.
“It’s Lucy.”
“What?” Danny frowned. “She’s your sister. Why is that so strange?”
“She never calls me. I don’t even know why I have her number.”
Come to think of it, Amanda was sure Lucy didn’t even have her number. She stood and went to the window before she answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
Amanda sighed. Lucy never did pleasantries when it came to her sister.
“Hello, Lucy. I’m doing great, thanks. How are you doing this evening?”
“Don’t mess about, Amanda. You’re at Danny’s condo, aren’t you?”
Amanda glanced at Danny, who was watching her curiously.
“Are you stalking me or something?”
“Just answer the question, bitch.”
“No need for the name-calling. And yes, I am at his condo because I’m tutoring Abi.”
“What?” Lucy sounded incredulous. “You ignored Georgina? She said she didn’t want you tutoring Abi.”
Amanda looked at her cell phone, wondering if it was about to explode.
“Abi’s eighteen years old which, last time I checked, is the age of an adult. Georgina isn’t paying me, either. Speaking of which, how is it any of your business? You’re not their family and Abi’s not related to you. This is nothing to do with you.”
“It is my business if you’re moving in on my man.”
Something went off in Amanda’s head. Now she understood what was going on. Lucy was acting like a jealous girlfriend. She beckoned Danny over and put her phone on loudspeaker. Danny looked curiously at her as he approached.
“You’re screaming at me because you think I’m going to seduce your ex-boyfriend?”
Danny’s expression cleared at Amanda’s suggestion. Then he was staring when Lucy started speaking.
“Danny and I are back together, Amanda. We’re going to be discussing things on a more serious level soon. He doesn’t need my baby sister trying to seduce him.”
Amanda watched as Danny turned his head away, his face screwing up as if he was trying not to laugh. Amanda gestured at the phone and Danny glanced at her, shaking his head.
“What have you been smoking?” It was all Amanda could do not to laugh. “Danny is single and he can make up his own mind. You dated fifteen years ago and it ended badly. Get over it.”
“Danny’s mine!” Lucy screamed. “Do you hear, Amanda? He’s mine!”
“Since when?”
Amanda jumped. She hadn’t expected Danny to respond. Danny’s expression said he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or not; the situation was just ludicrous.
There was silence. Then Lucy’s voice almost spat down the phone.
“What the fuck have you got me on loudspeaker for?”
“Because this was something Danny needed to hear.” Amanda glanced at Danny. “And I’d like both my ears functioning if you’re going to start screaming.”
Lucy started spluttering. Danny took Amanda’s phone off her and took over.
“Listen, Lucy, Amanda has permission to be in my place and you don’t. And you know I don’t want anything to do with you, Lucy. Stop plotting with Mom and leave Amanda and me alone.”
He hung up, cutting off Lucy in the middle of protesting. Amanda knew she was going to get hell from her sister later but didn’t care. She was not in the mood with dealing with a spoiled brat.
“Do you think those two were dipped in the same crazy barrel?” She asked.
Danny chuckled.
“Yep. Whipped up to double insanity with a very decent sprinkling of psychopathy.”
Amanda giggled.
“That sounds about right.”
*****
Danny sat in the lounge, lying on the couch as he pretended to read. In reality, he was looking over at Amanda and Abi as they sat at the dining table. Their heads had been bowed close together as they had gone through a thick textbook. There was some murmurings between them but they got stuck in the work. Amanda looked over Abi’s shoulder as she wrote something and made an approving noise.
The two of them had clicked when they first met but Danny had never expected them to work so well together. In the past three days Amanda had been coming over every evening and had sat with Abi for two hours working on whatever Abi wanted to focus on. Abi had struggled on the first day but they had tried hard.
The next day was a Saturday and Amanda suggested taking Abi to the opticians. Curious, Danny had tagged along and watched as Amanda spoke to a few people in the shop and had come away with glasses with colored lenses. Abi had put them on and the delight she had shown when she realized she could read without the words jumbling together had melted Danny’s heart.
It wasn’t an official diagnosis but Abi definitely had dyslexia. Danny hadn’t had the pleasure of colored lenses but they were doing the world of good. Abi was an intelligent girl and this slight adjustment seemed to be working wonders. She whizzed through her work and Amanda looked impressed.
She was also fixing up the paperwork to put through at the school for testing for dyslexia to make it official. Abi needed the diagnosis and it would be useful when she applied for university. Danny had offered to talk to the school about it but Amanda was more than happy to push through the paperwork.
She was doing so much for them and Danny didn’t know whether to thank her or kiss her. But the thought of kissing her made his cock hard and awkward to stand around near her. So he had to leave the room or sit hunched over so Amanda wouldn’t notice how much she was affecting him.
Even distracting himself, the thought of kissing Amanda wouldn’t leave his mind.
Amanda put her pen down and sat back.
“Okay, that’s done for tonight.” She glanced over the paper Abi passed over and grinned. “Nice going, Abi. That’s so much better.”
“Thanks.” Abi took off her glasses, placing them lovingly into their case. “These glasses are really helping me out. I never knew something as simple as this would work.”
“It certainly makes a big difference to your work.” Amanda held up the paper to Danny. “You want to have a look?”
“Sure.”
Danny pushed himself up and came over. One glance at the paper Amanda handed him told Danny everything. Abi’s handwriting was neat but she would jumble up letters and the sentences didn’t make any sense. Now it was all in the right order. Just a couple of days with those glasses had made the world of difference.
“I’m impressed.” He handed the paper back, making sure he brushed his fingers against Amanda’s. She flushed and looked away, putting the papers into a box file. “When do you want to do the next lot of tutoring?”
“I’ve got track after school.” Abi piped up. “How about after that?”
Amanda grinned.
“No problem.”<
br />
“You can come here, if you like.” Danny blurted out.
Why did he have to say that so eagerly? He was beginning to act like a lovesick young man. Abi rolled her eyes.
“I was thinking of getting a pizza first. I do need to stock up on carbs after track.” She looked at Amanda. “If that’s okay with you?”
Amanda laughed.
“As long as it’s piled with double chicken and other meats with a barbecue sauce, you’ve got me.”
Danny was tempted to invite himself along. He and Abi had gone for pizza dinners many times before. But it would look a little suspicious if he came along with his eighteen-year-old sister and her tutor. Plus, he would make it more than a little obvious with his staring at Amanda.
Better leave it and let the girls have some time alone without him hovering around.
Both the girls had finished packing away their work, Abi shoving her things into her backpack and Amanda gathering the papers she had been working on into a box file. Danny tried to think of something to do but just ended up standing there looking like a fool as the women tidied up.
This was ridiculous. He was a grown man. He had billions to his name and he ran a very successful business. And yet around Amanda Tyson he was acting like a high-schooler who had never seen a girl before.
Amanda was nothing like Lucy, Danny knew that much. Lucy certainly never made him feel like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.
Or make his cock feel like it was running out of room in the confines of his jeans.
“I’ll walk you to your cars.” He blurted out.
Abi laughed, zipping up her bag.
“I’m a big girl, Danny. We’re not exactly walking off the premises.”
“Let me be the gentleman, Abi.”
Danny prided himself on being one of those men who will hold a door open for a woman, walk a woman to their car and even hold their bags if they needed it. He never let them walk all over him but he went out of his way to be helpful. Women were very appreciative of it, most of them slipping him their numbers. But Danny looked the other way. His father had raised him to be a good person; he wasn’t after a roll in the sheets.
Although Amanda might be the exception.
Abi sighed and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder.
“Fine.”
Amanda grinned and picked up her files. One strand of hair came loose from her hair tie and she tucked it behind her ear. Danny’s fingers itched to do it himself. But he kept his hands firmly at his sides as he escorted them out of his house and over to where their cars were parked by the wall. It was a circular drive at the top of the hill. Nobody else parked up there so only Danny, Abi and Amanda’s cars were outside his house.
Nobody should have any need to even cross his carport. There was nowhere to go.
So when they saw the destruction, Danny was just as startled as the others.
Amanda stared at her car, her face paling. Her car was completely destroyed. It was keyed all the way around, the windows were shattered, leaving jagged edges behind, and the two tires on their side were flat. One of the hub caps was bent almost in half and was still attached to the tire.
Amanda started forward but Danny grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Don’t.” He gently pushed her and Abi behind him. “Stay here.”
“Danny…”
He could hear Abi protesting but Danny was scanning his eyes over the car. Careful not to touch anything, he inspected the damage.
“There’s a brick in the back seat.” He looked around at Amanda. He was shocked to see her trembling. “And it looks like a knife made these marks, not a key.” Then he saw the tires. “These tires are down as well.”
“What…?” Amanda looked like she was about to collapse. “Why would anyone do this?”
Danny had no idea. He didn’t like feeling helpless. He dug out his phone and looked at Abi.
“Take Amanda back inside, sweetie. Please.”
Abi didn’t ask questions. She grabbed Amanda’s arm and managed to pull her back towards the house. Danny felt the confusion and anger settling in his belly. This car was Amanda’s pride and joy. She had saved up during college to buy this car. It was her baby.
Whoever attacked her car knew it.
*****
Amanda was still in a state of shock. Her car had been destroyed. She had never seen such rage going into something like that.
But why go after her car? She didn’t have any enemies. They were in one of the richest neighborhoods in the city and her car was in a private, enclosed driveway. It wasn’t as if someone had randomly wandered through the carport, saw her car and decided to destroy it for the hell of it.
This was intentional. And that made her feel cold.
“Amanda?”
Amanda looked up. Danny was watching her curiously in between watching the road. After the police had inspected the damage and made a report, Danny had offered to take Amanda home. Amanda had protested, saying she would take a cab, but Danny had been insistent. Abi was making her own way home so it was just them.
Call her selfish but Amanda wasn’t about to pass up a chance to be around Danny Chao. Her crush was telling her she could indulge a little. It wasn’t as if they were going to have a committed relationship.
That was just wishful thinking.
“Sorry.” Amanda slumped in her seat. “I just don’t get why anyone would do that to my car.”
“There are a lot of crazy people out there. You never know why they will do something.”
“But to do that to my car…it just feels very personal.”
Who else would come into a private carport and vandalize a car? And it wasn’t like they were in a drug-infested neighborhood, either. Amanda didn’t see any of Danny’s neighbors suddenly turning into a psychopath and going after a stranger’s car.
Danny glanced at her again. He hadn’t stopped glowering since they had seen the damage. Amanda could feel the anger radiating off him.
“Do you think Lucy did it?” He asked quietly.
Amanda had thought about it. As far as she knew, her sister was the only one who knew where Danny lived. She could easily have sneaked in and sneaked back out again. But Amanda found herself shaking her head.
“She wouldn’t get her hands dirty. I wouldn’t put it past her to pay someone else to do it, though.”
Danny didn’t say anything but Amanda could see him warring with himself. Part of him agreed she would be capable of doing that and the rest of him wanted to deny it and say that wasn’t possible. Amanda didn’t want to be in his thoughts right now.
Danny pulled onto Amanda’s street. She lived in a small one-story two-bedroom house in a quieter area of the city, almost right on the other side from where Danny lived. It wasn’t as affluent but it was peaceful and the neighbors were good people. Amanda had never had any problems with them.
As they got closer to Amanda’s home, Danny began to tense up. Amanda saw his hands tightening on the wheel, his body stiffening. He looked like he was about to explode.
“What is it, Danny?”
Then Amanda saw the flashy car outside her house. And the woman pacing around on her wrap-around porch. She stared.
What was that woman doing here? And how did she even know where Amanda lived?
Chapter 5
Danny pulled up behind the car. He turned off the engine and glanced at Amanda.
“Do you want to wait while I deal with her?”
“No way.” Amanda unbuckled herself. “She’s at my home and I won’t let her frighten me away.”
Danny nodded. Something close to admiration passed over his eyes. Then he was out of the car and striding up towards the porch. Grimacing, Amanda followed.
This was not how she wanted him to see where she lived.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Danny demanded, jumping up the three steps onto the porch.
Georgina turned and faced him. She looked confused.
&nb
sp; “Danny? What are you doing here?”
“Bringing Amanda home. Now, answer my question.”
If Amanda had been anyone else, she would have just seen an attractive Chinese woman in her fifties, dressed elegantly in a tan-colored pant suit with matching accessories. But Amanda saw the nasty look in Georgina’s eyes, which intensified when she turned to glare at Amanda.
“I wanted to talk to her.”
Amanda shook her head as she climbed into the porch.
“I’m not in the mood for a conversation, Mrs Chao.”
She wasn’t sure but Danny seemed to move a little so he was standing in front of her. Was he anticipating something with regards to his mother?
“If you’re here to talk, Mom, you can talk. But out here.”
Georgina blinked.
“Since when have you been her bodyguard?”
“I know you. What do you want?”
Georgina huffed. Amanda wondered if anyone other than her son had ever put her in her place. The older woman adjusted the sleeves of her jacket and folded her hands in front of her.
“I came to tell Miss Tyson that she is not to go anywhere near my daughter. And that if she goes within a certain distance of Abi I will get a restraining order on her.”
What? Amanda wondered if Danny’s expression was as stunned as hers. She couldn’t help herself. Leaning against her door she burst out laughing. Danny raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t say anything. Georgina, on the other hand, looked scandalized.
Amanda managed to calm down enough to respond.
“I’m sorry. That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard today. You can’t put a restraining order on me when I’m not causing any physical or emotional harm to Abi.”
“I can.”
If anyone needed a restraining order slapped on them it was Georgina Chao. But Amanda didn’t say that out loud. Danny shook his head. He looked stunned that it was even suggested.
“Mom, Abi requested that Amanda tutor her. She also works at Abi’s school. There is no way you can put a restraining order on her for that without making Amanda lose her job.”
“No skin off my nose.”
“Of course not.” Danny sneered. “And since I’m the one paying Amanda and you have no interaction with her, what business is it of yours who tutors Abi?”
