Daddies Brat

The woman never did hold back her thoughts. Probably why we were friends from day one of college.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling my shoulders relax a little. I smile for my friend’s sake despite the urge to run and change from the red number I’m wearing for my mother’s charity gala. I’d much rather hole up in my father’s office and work than plaster on a fake smile for the sake of my parents’ equally fake friends.

“Why aren’t you out there flaunting your curves on that dance floor and getting all those rich dinosaurs’ money into your mom’s charity? That’s what tonight is all about, right? All those rich ladies will probably chuck in a few grand more for getting their husbands excited for them.” Piper wiggles her brows and laughs wickedly.

“You truly are the devil,” I toss back and reclaim my position in the chair, laptop balanced on the fat arm instead of the desk.

“Is it childish of me that I feel like stomping my feet and refusing?” I pout and stick my lower lip out for the full effect.

Piper’s lithe form jostles on screen as she flops on her bed and stretches across the fluffy comforter. “That hasn’t worked on anyone for years. You need to relax, take a break and have a little fun. Your code isn’t going anywhere.”

“Exactly.”

Piper pulls the screen close. “Read my lips again-your code isn’t going anywhere as in it will be there when you get back. You, on the other hand, are going somewhere. You’re a bombshell, sweetie. Use it.”

After my break up I spilled the beans to Piper and filled her in on all things Tomas, Maksym, and Stefan. She was hurt at first that I hid my relationship but understood.

“You miss them, don’t you?”

“I do. Why do I have to shape my life around my father’s choices?”

“Who said you did?”

I shake my head. “I have too much respect for my parents’ sacrifice in building their company to ruin it with such a scandal.” I cringe at the mere thought. “I’m so tired. And my heart just aches.”

We’re both quiet for a long minute.

“All the more reason to get out there and mingle. It will help clear your head so you can come back and work with a fresh start. You are wasting a beautiful dress and makeup sitting in a musty old office. Go, have fun. Shake some ass and just live a little, sweetie.”

I shoot her a look as my brow arches.

Piper’s words cause me to be self-conscious and I stroke my palms down the length of my gown. The thought of squeezing my feet back into the heels I kicked off under the desk makes me wish I had five more minutes to convince myself it’s worth all the pain to my arches.

“Okay, if I wait for a little longer everyone will be sufficiently boozed and will happily hand over their checkbooks without a whole lot of conversation.”

Piper purses her lips that smartass way she does when she gets annoyed with my hermit tendencies. “You can’t hole up in your father’s office all evening again, India. Your mom organized a spectacular fundraising gala in your brother’s memory, remember? You worried over it with her for months and now you’re spending it locked away like Cinderella in the tower. Only, you have the sexy red dress and fancy makeup. You do not belong in a dark room. Aaron wouldn’t want that.”

I shove aside the urge to fall into deep thought about my brother we lost to leukemia only a few months prior. “It’s not completely dark. There’s a cozy fire in the hearth,” I try to counter but fail when she gives me a pinched look of disapproval.

“Okay. Fine.”

“I swear you’re going to die with that damn laptop glued to your fingertips. We both know why you’re not tending to your guests.”

I could be deaf and still hear the irritation in Piper’s voice.

I stare at the strand of coding on my paper as my friend speaks and I nod. She understands me better than anyone and knows when I’m dodging something, or in this case, someone.

“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask sardonically, riling her up just a little more.

“You know you had no choice but to invite him. You want his money; he wants your code. He’s willing to play the game. You need to be too.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

“It’s not going to work like that. I’m no one’s pawn.”

“I know, you know, but he doesn’t. And that’s to your benefit. Go down, make nice, get him and everyone else to give some money over to your mom’s charity and then call it a night if that makes you feel better.” Piper’s heavy brown curls bounce around her shoulders as she emphasizes her points with wild hand gestures.

I scrunch my nose at her words. “Annnd we’re back to the hooker scenario. Do you hear what you’re saying?”

“Well, I guess in a way you are. You want money and the goods you’re teasing their purse strings open with is nothing short of orgasmic. And I’m not referring to the software, baby girl.”

Just like that my mood turns somber.

He refers to Spencer Thatch, a tech billionaire and the U. S.’s most eligible bachelor who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.

Handsome on the outside and rotten to the soul on the inside.

I’m pretty sure he’s the one behind the nasty emails and threatening text messages I’ve received since it became public knowledge I’m moving ahead with my brother’s project. I forwarded them to my father and his security team who believe in the old adage of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer.

But it’s hard to take out a restraining order against an anonymous sender. But no one can prove a thing.

He wants my software and doesn’t worry about hiding the fact either. He also wants me. Another fact he makes well known.

I like the word slimy to sum up his character. He’s one of the richest and most successful in the United States and fifth worldwide. A truth he rebukes and despises at every turn.

He wants to be number one or nothing. He wants my software to get there and as number one he thinks the woman at his side should reflect his social status. There’s only one person who fits that bill and that person is me.

I guess I should be flattered, but I refuse to be anyone’s flitty arm candy and be used for my tech. My mother always said my pride would be my downfall, but in this case, she is wrong.

No matter how much I try I can’t dismiss the way he makes my skin crawl. At three times my age, the man is considered a silver fox and a catch for any woman at any age.

“You know what?” Piper snaps her fingers in a way that has my pen pausing mid-stroke. Her big green eyes glitter with amusement and I’m instantly curious.

I narrow my eyes at the screen and lean in. “Do tell,” I somewhat cautiously encourage my friend as I dare scribble another note in longhand.

“Tell me goodbye, close this computer and go. You do and I’ll agree to go to that rare antique book museum you are always talking about.”

I reach for my stash of Tic-Tacs again and fill my mouth. “Deal. See you tomorrow for lunch?”

“Yes, and if you find some hook-up sex material walking around, I expect to hear about it then.”

We say our goodbyes as I tuck my notes away and power off the laptop before securing both under lock and key.

Begrudgingly I slip my shoes on and make my way out of my father’s office and immediately notice the absence of my guard detail standing outside.

I purse my lips and pause at the top of a long curving staircase that spills into the massive ballroom.

Below me, the music carries over the smartly-dressed guests and a crowd of graceful, rhythmic dancers sways across the expansive marble in unison.

For a moment I’m caught up in the delightful hypnotic sight.

That is when I feel it.

I stifle a quiet gasp.

It is slight at first. Like a feather against the skin.

Warm and teasing.

A gentle caress yet not. It’s hard to explain, but true all the same. Before now I didn’t know you could actually feel another person’s eyes on you in such a way that makes your body tingle. Not in a creepy way like when you’re walking into a dark room and can’t find the light switch fast enough for fear of something lurking in the shadows.

No, this is different. Welcomed.

I take a deep breath as I turn my head and scan the large gathering.

When my gaze finds theirs on the opposite side of the ballroom, my heart stutters.

All three lock eyes on me at the same time.

Nothing in the world can prepare me for how utterly fast my life changes in that one instant.