All characters are at least 18 years old.
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Leon
I was running late for work.
Grumbling a rebuke to myself under my breath, I tightened my tie and grabbed my briefcase, rushing out of my bedroom. Shit, Cherish wasn't awake yet, and it was a school day. I popped my head into her room, where she was laid under the blankets. After our rendezvous, she'd fallen asleep and I'd carried her back to my car and driven us home. It was a nice, nostalgic feeling to carry her to bed while she slept, reminding me of when she was young and fell asleep after a late night out.
But now wasn't the time for reminiscing. "Cherish! You have school!"
She made a small sound and slowly sat up, red mane wild around her head as she rubbed her eyes. "Daddy?"
"It's almost eight!" She looked at her phone and jolted into action, rushing around her room to get dressed. "I'll drive you to school, or you're gonna be late."
"What about work? You're gonna be late too," she protested, hopping around with one leg in her jeans.
"Never mind that, just hurry up. Looks like we're both skipping breakfast today." I closed the door and waited in the kitchen, eye on my watch. Damn it, I had a meeting to discuss the Energetech acquisition. Whatever, I had a good team and they'd manage a few minutes without me.
I checked the pantry and found a box of toaster pastries that were ready to eat. Cherish came out, slinging her schoolbag on her shoulder, hair still a mess. "Let's go," she panted, and I passed her a pastry before leading her out to the car. We ate as I drove, heading for her school. Occasionally she'd look at me for a brief moment before turning back to stare at her lap.
"What's wrong, princess?" I asked.
She opened and closed her mouth several times, as if trying to decide whether to say anything. Finally she settled on a harmless, "Nothing," letting the car ride pass in silence. I pulled up to the main building of the school, and she got off hastily.
"Love you," I called out after her.
"Love you too," she mumbled before closing the door behind her and hurrying off.
I was about to pull away from the curb when I saw a blonde girl making her way to class from the school parking lot. She spotted me and winked, giving me a little finger wave before tossing her honey locks over her shoulder and sauntering away. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how much of a fool I'd been played for. Lexi Rochester wasn't even redheaded.
But wait... She'd colluded with Cherish in order to bring the two of us together. She knew about what kind of illicit affair she was orchestrating. And now the question was would she tell anybody? My stomach churned at the idea of being blackmailed by a trickster like that. But no time to think about that right now. Might as well turn my attention to more pleasant subjects.
I drove to work, lost in thoughts of last night. I hadn't meant to call out to Cherish in the hotel room. Reflex, I assumed. As it turned out, she was having misgivings about lying to me. In a way it mirrored my own position. But we had carried through, so where did that leave us? Now that we both knew that the other knew, were we supposed to just... continue? Knowing our attraction was mutual was comforting, a huge burden off my shoulders. Well, I already knew she felt that way, or she wouldn't have acted as such; she was the one wearing the mask, after all. But the feeling I got from the situation was just different now.
Yet what was at the end of this road? I was her father. I was supposed to protect her. Instead... I still wanted her. I sighed, shaking my head at myself. After seeing Rose and talking to her about this matter, I decided to resign myself to my feelings.
But what if I only wanted to replace Rose with Cherish?
No, it wasn't like that. Cherish wasn't a surrogate, she was unique and I loved her for who she was, not who she resembled. I arrived at work feeling a bit better, and quickly made my way up to the office.
As I thought, the team was carrying on the meeting without me. Jasmine, one of our analysts, was in the middle of explaining the risks Energetech was taking if they planned to acquire Lightco. She had a quaint way with words that I quite liked, and though some may not have considered it appropriate or professional, I felt it brought some much needed liveliness to an otherwise drab industry. Plus she got the job done, which alongside team cohesiveness was all I asked for.
With the meeting out of the way, I collected reports from Jasmine, Colette, and our other analysts and returned to my office, settling in for some work. A knock at my door heralded Colette walking in. "May I sit?"
"Be my guest," I replied, gesturing to the chairs in front of me. She seated herself and eyed me up. I looked at her expectantly, but she only regarded me before giving me a warm smile. "What is it?" I chuckled.
"Had a good weekend?" she asked.
I instantly broke out in a cold sweat, but she seemed genuine so I collected myself before responding, "I did, as a matter of fact. Why do you ask?"
"You just seem more relaxed, that's all." She beamed at me, before a bit of worry crept in. "I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries. It's just that I feel, since December, we've gotten to know each other better outside the office. I want you to feel like you can talk to me. If that's okay," she added hastily.
"Of course. But yeah, it was quite the interesting weekend. Very cathartic."
"Oh? How so?"
And that was how I talked myself into a corner. I struggled to find an innocent answer. "Perhaps cathartic was the wrong word. Relaxing, maybe. Cherish went skating, which is always a delight to watch, and we went to the movies together." I felt guilty lying to her, but I couldn't very well tell her what I was up to in the evenings.
"Sounds nice. And, um..." She nibbled her lip before continuing. "That thing with Lexi..."
I chuckled nervously, tapping on my arm rest. "Yeah, about that... This might come as a surprise, but I don't think something between me and Lexi is going to work out."
She seemed to relax, laughing a bit more easily. "Of course, I get it."
"Too big an age gap, you understand."
"Totally." She laughed again, sounding a bit shrill.
"How... did you to two meet again?"
She gulped, which I found curious. It didn't seem as simple as just meeting a friend of her son's. "Um... She helped me through a rough patch, back in December. That girl is surprisingly resourceful."
"Yeah, I'll say," I muttered under my breath.
"I'm sorry?"
"Nothing, nothing. So now you and she are friends, independent--"
"Independent of her friendship with Drew, right," she finished with a nod. "She's really a sweet girl, although she can seem a bit... well, eccentric at times, perhaps even meddling. I hope she didn't do anything untoward to you."
"I wouldn't say that." I had a few other words in mind for what I thought of the girl. I paused to ruminate on something. "What do you know about her parents, though? A young woman like her, going around like this on her own? Makes one wonder, you know?"
Colette frowned, taking a moment to ponder the subject. "From what I know, she's not on good terms with her parents, who travel a lot and are therefore not home with her often. They're well-off, though I'm not sure what her father does. Some sort of tycoon, from what I can figure."
"Surely there's something online we can find?"
She shook her head. "Never thought to check. Their daughter already seems formidable enough on her own." I cocked my head at that. It was an odd thing to say about a nineteen year old living a seemingly normal life, at least for the most part.
"Interesting." I gently clapped a hand on my desk planner. "Well, we have work to do. I'd still like you to run some numbers on the Lightco front, and I might be looking at a late night tonight."
"Then I'll get out of your hair and back to work," she said with a smile, standing and making her way to the door. "By the way, Valentine's Day is coming up. Think you'll have a date by then?" she added with a wink, and left.
I chuckled, shaking my head before getting to work.
--
I looked at my watch. Cherish should have been out of school by now, and I was due a break. Better tell her I was going to be home late. I typed out a text message, thumb hovering over the send button, then changed my mind. Time to push limits.
I switched to ComeDaddy, pulling up our messages. Chuckling at the picture of Lexi made up as my daughter, I typed out something wholly different.
Me:
So when is our next tryst, beautiful?
Lexi:
you know its me, right dad?
Me:
Of course. That doesn't answer my question though
Lexi:
um
The app indicated she was typing haltingly, most likely drafting a message and then erasing it, debating on what to say. I smiled and awaited her response. What I got instead was a file, and upon opening it I was treated to a delightful sight of pale nipples barely covered by an arm across her chest. I swallowed and wet my lips, staring hungrily at the nude, the thought that she sent it to me whilst I was at work completely escaping me.
