"Did something happen to my dad?" Lucy asked, worried sick.
Keith cleared his throat and nodded his head slightly.
"Is he dead?" Lucy cried as she nearly burst into tears.
Lucy's welfare weighed heavily on Keith's conscience. He was the cause of all of this.
"Is he?" Lucy cried in a voice of despair and repressed irritation because of Keith's silence.
Looking at the young woman Keith wished he could go back in time, but life didn't provide second chances.
"What have I done?" he mumbled preoccupiedly as he stared vacantly at her.
****
Liam's trembling hand crushed the paper on which Keith had written both his phone numbers.
He should have never listened to Keith.
The rumors he'd heard were true. They even gossiped about it at work, whispering his daughter was dating a much older man.
Instead of listening to his gut feeling he had followed Keith around like a dog, believing him when Keith had told him Lucy would never do such a thing, and that he would damage the relationship with his daughter if he'd make such a serious accusation. Teenage girls were very sensitive about those things, Keith had warned him.
But when he found the chocolate in her room with the words 'I love you', and found the paper with both phone numbers written on it in a man's handwriting, his troubled mind convinced him his boss in his sixties had sex with Lucy.
He remembered how his boss had asked about his teenage daughter in his office, had suddenly been there outside with him and Keith waiting on Lucy, how his usually aloof boss had applauded and hugged Lucy, and had invited her to have a drink with them after work.
It explained that call from his landline to his boss, and the hickey on Lucy's neck.
He shamefully thought back about how he had gleamed with pride as his boss had complimented him about his work, and had given him a pay rise.
Liam inhaled deeply, starting to count to ten. When he reached five he ran out of Lucy's room, his concern for his daughter's well-being and his anger toward his boss too great. The senseless chatter of Keith and his ridiculous advices--he wasn't done with him either.
The big smile of his boss and his prying eyes prompted the memory of how his boss had happily kissed Lucy's cheek when she shortly had visited him at work on her birthday.
The realization he'd failed to protect his eighteen-year-old daughter against men like him, a man about sixty-four years old, divorced, frustrated with his life, and exploiting his position as her father's boss, made him furious with rage.
Of course, Keith had been right all along: Lucy would never do such a thing. Unless she got blackmailed by him, no doubt threatening with firing him if Lucy didn't have sex with his boss.
Liam slammed the door of his car and sped off to his boss's house.
When his boss opened the front door with a sly smile, Liam flipped and hit him with a well-aimed strike with his fist. He jumped on him, flooring him with his body. Seeing his boss's face up close fueled his anger.
Next to Liam, two oval brown eyes stared right at him. The large-boned and muscular dog stretched back to ancient Rome, and with a natural aversion to strangers and a tendency to be territorial, the fearless and athletic dog jumped forward without hesitation. Doing whatever it took to protect the pack, its jaws closed on Liam's arm, immediately shaking his arm with its powerful, square head.
His boss crawled off to call the police, while the courageous dog continued its attack. Coming back he saw Liam moving around on the floor, futilely fighting off the very large dog.
He realized he'd soon be fighting off his death if he didn't interfere, and with great difficulty dragged the dog away from him.
Completely perplexed, Liam held his injured arm close to his body, worrying it might be broken.
"Didn't know I had a dog, ey? The police will be here soon to arrest you. What's gotten into you, man?" He yelled, pitying him as he looked at his employee and the blood that poured into his torn shirt.
Liam's tantrum subsided he moaned in pain, looking forward to leaving this place, even if it was in a police car. He shivered as he heard the deep growling of the dog behind the door.
His boss stood next to Liam, never losing him out of sight. When the police arrived Liam knew he was in a world of trouble. But he'd tell them. He'd tell them all about his boss and what he had done to his daughter. Every father would go temporarily insane when they'd find out. He was going to sue his boss and get a big compensation.
Things worked out a little differently than he had anticipated. They brought him to the police station for questioning and then locked him up.
Bewildered, his boss was released after questioning. He awaited the results of their investigation. He wondered if Liam had been drunk, or had a history of anger management issues. However, the police didn't share any details. He decided to call Keith.
****
"I have to go to the police station, sweetie. Your Dad attacked our boss. I don't know why, but I'll try to help him as well as I can, okay?"
They were all lies. He knew very well why. His boss had called him saying Liam kept yelling his daughter's name and how he had told him to keep his filthy hands to himself. Their friendship of over thirty years had ultimately led to the downfall of Liam.
He talked to two officers but was not allowed to talk to Liam. Reluctantly, he made his way back to his house, where he knew Lucy was anxiously awaiting his return. He could tell by her red eyes she had been crying.
"They're still investigating," Keith announced with a heavy sigh. "However, since you are eighteen you are allowed to stay here. But given the circumstances, it might be better not to tell the police. Okay?"
"I want to visit him," Lucy sobbed, wiping at her cheeks when she felt tears running down her face.
Her father had always been so calm and quiet. She pondered what had caused this outburst but failed to come up with a plausible explanation.
"Do... do you think it's got something to do with us?" Lucy's question interrupted Keith's own pondering then. She thought perhaps her father had heard from one of her friends.
"No." Keith's voice was determined, but his eyes were restless as they continuously shifted to the front door of the house. "Have you been crying?" Keith bluntly asked.
Lucy shrugged in shame as she breathed in deeply and wiped at the tears on her cheeks once again.
"There's no shame in loving your father. Luckily you still have me. I'll take good care of you."
Lucy shivered a little when Keith's hand stroked her hair and arm. His touch was gentle.
Then she was lifted up in his arms and carried toward the stairs.
"I want to visit my father. They won't refuse me. I'm his daughter."
Keith didn't reply as he heard her asking him to bring her to her father. Her voice was even softer than usual.
"Sshh... what you need is rest. I'll tuck you in and wake you up when I have more news."
Lucy's body shook, suddenly becoming cold as if she was running a fever. All she could think about was her father, and how much trouble he was in. What bothered her was the possibility that she had caused this. She could have told Melissa about Keith. She could have told her that she wasn't in love with Keith. She could have ended things. Yet, here she was in the arms of Keith as he ascended the stairs, about to lay here in his king-size bed.
Keith carefully put the feet of the young woman on the carpet floor in his bedroom, and then bent through his knees as he took off her socks.
"You can't sleep with your clothes on," he remarked as he continued to undress her.
The swell of her pussy and the slit in her panties sent waves of lust through his cock. He longed for her any time of the day.
"You're glowing!" Keith exclaimed in shock when his hand touched her inner leg just below her panties. "You need to cool down," Keith mused aloud as he stripped off her panties and unclasped her bra.
Lucy knew he was telling the truth. She felt her head pounding and her whole body burning with heat. Her high heart rate and the tingling feeling in her legs seemed to come from looking at Keith's face which kept blatantly staring at her naked body.
"Come to think of it, it might be better to warm you up. You don't want to die of hypothermia. Something a lot of parents overlook."
He smiled an encouraging, warm smile at her when he told her to get into bed. He eagerly crawled after her, telling her to present herself to him on all fours.
Despite her young age of eighteen, Lucy knew what for. She was tired though and knew that if she cooperated it would be over faster. She sank a little through her belly, pushing her pussy on display for the older man.