Falling For Her Dad's Boss: An Instalove Possessive Alpha Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 181)

by Flora Ferrari

  “He makes sense, and you know he does,” Dahlia says. “I know I’m young, but you raised me to be smart, and to think things through. I’ve thought about this, and it’s right, Dad. It’s the right thing for me. It’s what I want, and I trust Nick. I know he’s going to look after me.”

  Carlisle takes a deep breath, something like a sigh. He seems to have run out of objections at last, even if he doesn’t want to admit it yet. Slowly, we wait in silence as he raises his head, the sound of the party below traveling up to us.

  He can’t hold out any longer. He has to give us some kind of answer. So, he does.

  All of a sudden, a burst of movement after his long silence and stillness, Carlisle reaches out a hand for me to shake. “Nick,” he says, waiting for me to grasp it in both hands, gladly. “I hope you don’t expect me to keep calling you Mr. Hatheway.”

  “No, sir,” I tell him with a smile. “If anything, I should be calling you Mr. Harvey.”

  “Maybe it will be less awkward for everyone if we agree to drop the formalities” Carlisle says, hesitating with his eyes on the floor. “If you don’t take care of her…”

  “I know. You’ll skin me alive.”

  “I was going to say I would come after you with a vengeance, but that works too,” Carlisle nods. His expression is still serious, and I know it will take him time to fully come to terms with the idea, but for now, at least, he seems to be on board.

  And as I look down at Dahlia and the happy smile plastered across her face, I know that things are alright or they will be. This is going to work out. And me? I couldn’t be happier.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Dahlia

  I take a deep breath, letting the air flood my lungs, feeling for the first time in a while as though I can actually breathe freely. I hadn’t even realized how much tension there was inside my body until I let it all out, feeling carefree again as I did before the confrontation began.

  Now that the two most important men in my life have reconciled, there’s more to be done. I would have gone through with marrying Nick, and starting our family together, even if Dad wasn’t on board. I wouldn’t have been happy, but I would have done it. But it feels much nicer to have him supporting us, and that means I can go ahead without any lingering doubts or worries. That’s the best feeling in the world.

  I’m going to get what I want in its entirety, a happy family, a child, a husband. I can’t believe it’s happened so fast, Dad is right about that, but I know in every cell of my body that Nick is right for me.

  “Alright,” I say, taking the lead now that they’ve shaken hands and done their macho thing. “I think we should all go somewhere together, don’t you? Somewhere away from colleagues where we can all sit down and discuss things, and get to know one another better.” Well, truth be told, it’s Dad and Nick who need to talk, but I know that they know what I mean. Besides, there’s no way I’m going to let them go anywhere unchaperoned, in case they end up falling into an argument again and come to blows.

  “That’s a good idea,” Nick says, glancing over his shoulder down at the party below. People are milling around down there, unaware that the best thing in my life has just happened. It’s kind of funny to think about that. “I’d better go find my assistant, James, and tell him we’ll be leaving.”

  “I’m sure he expects that by now,” I laugh. “We made a bit of a grand entrance.”

  Dad clears his throat guiltily, but I shake my head and smile at him. All of that is forgotten now.

  “I’ll head down now, and meet you back in the lobby. Wait there for me,” Nick says.

  “No,” I tell him, catching his arm to stop him. “We should show a united front. Stop the gossip from going overboard. It’s better if you and Dad go down together, especially. Smile and laugh together, say goodbye to a few people. Show there’s no hard feelings.”

  Nick glances at my Dad. “It’s a good point,” he says, cautiously. “We don’t want to have any rumors spreading about divisions within the company. It could affect the board, and investors.”

  Dad nods. At least where business is concerned, they both know what they’re talking about. That should help them to see eye to eye. “Alright,” Dad agrees. “I’ll talk to a few key people on our side, allay some fears. We should get a drink together, then circulate for a few minutes or so before we leave. Make the right impression.”

  “Good.” Nick nods at me. “I want you to wait out by the desk, though. You don’t need to be put through any stress, and people will be staring.”

  “I can handle being stared at,” I laugh.

  “Still.” Nick leans over and kisses my forehead, his hand resting on my stomach. “I want you to be safe. We can handle this.”

  I nod in acceptance and let them go. I hesitate up on the balcony before I see them appear below, mingling amongst the guests, hefting glasses of champagne and even clapping each other on the back as they talk to a few people. Then, having seen enough to know that they are behaving themselves, I head slowly down the stairs to wait in the lobby.

  It’s still another ten minutes before they emerge, finding me sitting on the cold marble stairs, leaning against the bannister. I’m relieved when they finally appear, both of them sober and somber but at least together.

  “All good?” I ask though I think I can tell that it is. When they nod, I smile. “Good. So, where are we going?”

  “There’s a restaurant I know,” Nick suggests. “It’s quiet, and they’ll give us a private booth. No one will be able to access it except the wait staff. We can talk, get something to eat, something to drink. What do you think?”

  “Sounds good. Dad?”

  At his nod, we all set off, making a strange trio. My Dad, still reeling a little. Nick, tall and protective with his arm around me, and me, younger than both of them, trying to make sure they both feel comfortable. But if it works, it works.

  We arrive at the restaurant Nick suggested after only a short walk, and we’re shown to a table with the usual deference that I’ve noticed people tend to show him. I guess they can tell he’s someone special. I barely take in the setting or the other people around, I just want to sit down and talk some more with the two most important people in the world to me.

  Or number two and number three, once someone else comes along, at least.

  “So,” I say, when we're seated and alone, the waiter having gone to fetch our drink orders. “When are we going to have the wedding?”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Nick

  Dahlia’s question would have made me spit out my drink if I’d already been served it. I wonder if she’s a little crazy, bringing up that question in front of her Dad so soon after he’s only just recovered from the shock of it in the first place. I steal a look at Carlisle and see that he, too, is taken aback.

  “Serious question, guys,” she says into the ensuing silence. “We need to set a date, you know. It’s not right for us to have a child out of wedlock. We need to get this covered.”

  I tend to agree, though I didn’t think she would want to set a date so soon. “Well, then we should get it done quickly. We’ve only got nine months to go, and you don’t want to be getting married when you’re heavy and ready to pop. Sometime in the next six months, I’d say.”

  “I don’t want a winter wedding, though,” Dahlia says, chewing her lip slightly. “I think we should do it as soon as possible.”

  “Six months isn’t very long to plan a wedding,” Carlisle objects. “When your mother and I…”

  “Dad, it’s not going to be a big fancy wedding,” Dahlia says, matter-of-fact. “We don’t need that. Right, Nick? We can have a proper celebration later, after the baby is born.”

  I shrug. If that’s what Dahlia wants, I’m happy to go along with it. In fact, it’s even better like this. I don’t want to have to wait for the whole world to know that she is mine, and mine alone. The sooner I get to call her Mrs. Dahlia Hatheway, the better. “That seems like a good idea. We can
keep it to family and close friends only. A nice service in a church, and then a small gathering afterwards – somewhere like this, where we can just hire out the room and have everything catered for us.”

  “Then let’s do it a month from now,” Dahlia announces. Her palms are flat on the table and she is leaning in, closer to both of us, her eyes wide. She looks excited, but not over the top. She’s in her right mind, that much is clear. She just wants this to be official just as quickly as I do.

  “That’s preposterous,” Carlisle objects. “A month? There won’t be enough time to get anything organized at all. Most places will be booked. How are you going to get anything sorted out?”

  “I have connections,” I tell him. “And money. Money talks, most of all. Believe me, if Dahlia wants it in a month’s time, I can get everything together in a month.”

  “It’s settled, then,” Dahlia says. She flips through the apps on her cellphone for a calendar. “How about the tenth? It’s a Saturday.”

  Carlisle opens his mouth as if to object again, but his eyes fall on his daughter and the dazzling smile that is lighting up her face. She wants this badly, and he can easily see that. He knows her, after all. He knows how she is.

  “I suppose you’re used to getting what you want,” he grumbles at me. “I don’t suppose many people have the guts to tell you no.”

  “Well, I hope you’ll be one of them,” I tell him, with a glint in my eye. I reach for Dahlia’s hand on the table. “When it comes to business, anyway. I could do with someone who isn’t afraid to tell me the truth about the company’s prospects. Will you do that for me?”

  Carlisle mumbles out a yes, a pleased look on his face that he is trying to hide by accepting his glass from the waiter, and I feel Dahlia squeeze my hand in approval. I look down at her hand in mine, the ring sitting on her finger. I can’t wait until she wears a more permanent band there, something that will show my possession of her once and for all. I won’t have anyone take her from me, not for as long as I live. I won’t let them even entertain the thought that they could.

  It’s right that we have a small ceremony, and that we do it fast. But when the baby is here, perhaps for our first anniversary, we can have a big party with all of my business connections and the people I’ve met along the way, as well as everyone from Dahlia’s side. I’ll show them then that there’s only one man she belongs to. But for now, this will do and I know I wouldn’t be able to wait until after the baby was born, whether I believed in the legitimacy of wedlock or not.

  “To the tenth,” I say, raising my glass in the air above the middle of the table. Two more glasses clink against mine, and I grin as we all take a sip, knowing that everything is going to go perfectly.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ONE MONTH LATER

  Dahlia

  I can’t believe the day is finally here. It’s all gone by in such a whirlwind, and now it’s the tenth, and I’m standing looking at myself in a floor-length mirror.

  My wedding gown is gorgeous. The tulle and lace concoction cost more than my Dad’s car, but Nick was happy to pay for it. He paid for everything, even though Dad protested. The same Dad who is standing behind me now with tears in his eyes, trying to stay gruff and keep it together. My hair and makeup have been expertly done to turn me into a dewy, fresh-faced bride, and I can’t believe how beautiful I look.

  “Nick’s going to have a heart attack when he sees you,” Dad says, clearing his throat to keep the thickness out of his voice. The two of them have bonded much more in the past month, mostly out of necessity. Planning a wedding in such a short space of time has indeed been intense, but Nick kept his promise. He booked everything I wanted, and the only thing left to do now is to enjoy it.

  “I hope not,” I smile. “That wouldn’t be a good start to our marriage.”

  “They say ‘in sickness and in health’ for a reason,” Dad says, reaching out to me and adjusting my necklace as I face him. There’s nothing wrong with it at all, I know. He just needs to keep busy.

  “Are you ready?” I ask him.

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he replies.

  I chuckle and take hold of his arm. “Let’s go, then, Daddy,” I tell him, and he leads me out of the room, clearing his throat and blinking fast to try to keep it together.

  Organ music starts up as we step into the church, down an aisle strewn with pale rose petals. Up ahead I see Nick standing at the altar, watching me with eyes that brim with love. He looks me up and down from head to toe and then places a hand over his heart, his face shining, letting me know that he’s overcome. I blush and let my eyes slip to the floor, making sure not to trip. I feel the emotions squeezing tight in my own chest. I could never have imagined that we’d be able to pull this day off so beautifully.

  Dad leaves me when we reach Nick, squeezing my arm and then letting go and stepping away with tears glistening on his cheeks. I smile at him reassuringly, letting him know once again that this is the right thing. He steps back, and I look up at Nick, my soon to be husband. My heart pounds in my chest at the sight of him.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

  “You’re so handsome,” I reply. It’s true. He’s wearing an exquisite dark suit with a velvet tuxedo jacket, perfectly chosen to set off the tones of his brown eyes. He makes my heart throb with pride.

  As we recite our vows Nick reaches out secretly to touch my stomach for just a moment. I know what he is saying, a reminder that our unborn child is here with us too, taking part in the ceremony. It all passes like a dream, so wonderful I can barely cling onto anything but this feeling of happiness threatening to send me soaring up into the sky.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the priest says, and I realize it’s done, we are married, husband and wife. Nick steps towards me, beaming, and slips his arms around my waist, then his lips swoops down to claim mine, almost lifting me up off my feet as we kiss for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Hatheway. Behind us, our friends and family clap and cheer, and when he pulls away I find I’m laughing in delight.

  It’s not until later in the day, after our reception at the local restaurant, that Nick finds the time and the privacy to murmur something in my ear about looking forward to seeing what I’ve picked out as my bridal lingerie.

  “But Nick,” I whisper, giving him an innocent look. “You didn’t buy me any.”

  His gaze travels suggestively downwards, over the simpler gown I picked out for our reception, lingering on my breasts and between my legs. I nod at him with a naughty smile, and he turns to the group sitting around the table.

  “If you’ll excuse us,” he says. “My wife and I are just going to pop outside to make a quick call to a dear friend who couldn’t make it today. We’ll be back shortly.”

  As I follow him outside, pulled along by his hand tugging insistently on mine, I murmur, “Who are we calling?”

  “No one,” he shoots back. “But the limo is parked out front, and I can have the driver drive around for a bit. You really thought I was going to sit there next to your half-naked body, and I would be able to resist?”

  I laugh, clambering after him into the limo, already tugging the dress up above my hips as I do to show him that I wasn’t making it up.

  EPILOGUE

  Nick

  I bounce Nick Jr up and down on my knee, watching him burble happily. He isn’t yet at the speaking stage, but his little face is so expressive. He watches me with happy wonder as I make cooing noises, pretending to fly him up into the air.

  “Do these look professional enough?” Dahlia asks, putting the second of a pair of earrings into her ear and tilting her head so I can see it.

  “They look great,” I tell her. “Do you think you’re going to be ready?”

  “Of course, I will,” Dahlia says, but she looks stressed out. She takes the earrings out and starts leafing through a pile of paperwork, looking for something.

  “I think Mommy’s a little bit stressed out,” I tell Nick Jr in a
babyish voice. He only laughs along, most likely unable to understand what I mean, responding only to my playful tone. “Yes, she is. Yes, she is. She’s a little stressed Mommy.”

  “I’m not stressed!” Dahlia snaps, belying her words. I know for a fact that she is, because I’ve seen it written all over her face. She’s been preparing since before Nick Jr was born, and she still doesn’t seem to be quite sure that she can do it. “I’m just – I just – it’s going to be a big change.”

  I think this over as she continues rifling through the papers. Ever since we decided that she would join my business as my Executive Assistant, she’s been a diligent student, learning about all of the companies I own, understanding how my schedule works and when things should be added to it, figuring out the ropes. It’s not at all bad news for James, who has been training her, in a week’s time when Dahlia starts work he will be moving up to take over a few of my branches for me. He’ll report to me on a regular basis, but he’ll take care of all the day-to-day work I had been doing there, leaving me more time to spend with my family.

  I know from his feedback that Dahlia knows everything that she needs to know. She’s passed every test with flying colors, and he has no doubt that she’s going to do great. It’s not the job, so it must be something else.

  “Is it Junior you’re worried about?” I ask, sensing that it must have something to do with our newfound situation. All of these nerves only really started in the last month or so, when the date of her start began to approach.

  Dahlia sighs and sets the paperwork down, turning to me at last. “I don’t know about leaving him with the nanny,” she says. “I know she’s good at her job, but I’m his mother. I shouldn’t be just abandoning him like this.”

  “You’re not abandoning him,” I tell her. I get up from the couch, putting Nick Jr down on the floor so he can play with his favorite toy, a plush train that has built-in buttons to make a choo-choo noise. “It’s just that he’s too young to come with us just now. As soon as he’s old enough to go to school, you can leave work in the afternoons to be with him. Or he can come to the office to do his homework. We’ll be together as a family all the time, just as soon as he can join us.”