Daddy’s Little Assistant by Lila Fox
Chapter One
Eli scoped out the building he was entering. It was second nature for him after being in law enforcement for most of his life. The fact he’d just about been killed and lost a friend because someone in his department had dropped the ball sharpened his senses and made him a bit paranoid. The sad and frustrating thing about the accident was they would never know who was at fault.
He put it out of his mind and looked around.
The lobby was done in muted shades of grays and tans and looked contemporary and classy but made a great welcoming first impression. The front desk was tall, putting the receptionist who was sitting there at his height of six-foot-three when he usually towered over people. Comfortable-looking chairs and carpet and with the light coming in through the enormous windows instantly ease him.
“My name’s Eli Turner. I’m here to meet the owners.”
The woman smiled. “Yes, they are expecting you. Take the elevator to the second floor and turn right. The receptionist will show you the way to the conference room.”
“Thank you.”
He ignored the curious looks he received as he made his way toward the elevator. Eighteen months ago, he’d been a handsome, grounded man. After the accident that left him scarred inside and out, he’d been trying to find his footing or balance ever since, and it hadn’t been easy.
Now it was his job to care for Kendra, Rick’s widowed wife. Although he knew he wasn’t responsible for the bomb that had taken his friend’s life and torn his own body apart, he still felt responsible for her. Every law enforcement agency had the same theory of looking out for the families of the fallen officers. It had been like that for decades.
The problem was he never liked the woman. From the first meeting ten years before, he could tell she was a conniving, selfish bitch, but Rick had never seen what Eli had. Eli had told him the first time his wife tried to come on to him. She rubbed herself against him and ran her hand up and down his chest, but Rick laughed it off and said she was just messing around.
After the third time, Eli had given up trying to get his friend to see the woman for what she was. Now that he was gone, Kendra had parked herself in his life and pretended to be a damsel in distress. He knew she was playing with him because there wasn’t anything needy about the woman. It was all about what she wanted.
Now, she thought he was up for grabs since Rick was out of the picture. It was all so fucked up, and it made him crazy. The woman had been attracted to him before the accident, but after it, he could tell she tried hard not to look at the scars on his face and neck that the explosion and flying shrapnel had left. He knew what she wanted. He’d finally figured it out. She wasn’t after him. She wasn’t after the man but the dynasty of his family.
He’d come from more money than the Kennedys, Gates, Buffetts, and Fitzgeralds had ever seen. Over two hundred years ago, his great-great-grandfather bought into the railroad that was just being built across the United States in the mid-eighteen hundreds, and then the land he owned in Texas had sprung massive amounts of oil.
His family had been billionaires before any other family in America, and it had just steadily grown over the years.
Eli never told anyone because their attitudes changed every time, not even his closest friends. But he knew Rick had somehow found out and, of course, had told Kendra. Rick just never got around to telling him he knew, but Eli could tell from the way he’d treated him the last few weeks of his life.
Since she’d found out, she’d been worse than before and reminded him of a barnacle that he hadn’t been able to shake.
Before Rick died, Eli rarely saw her, even though she tried many times to get him to hook up with her. Still. Now she called him several times a day and needed him for various things like fixing things in her house, getting her car serviced. It was all shit she’d done on her own before Rick died, but he knew it came down to having him close and trying to get him to care about her.
It would never happen. He’d seen her for what she was initially, and she’d only gotten worse over time.
He was desperate to get away from her, so he decided to look into a security company he could buy into and become one of the owners. The fact it was several states away was a bonus. He never needed the money, but he’d never been one to sit around, and he wasn’t interested in the family business of making more money.
The elevator door slid open, and he stepped on. He needed to stop thinking about it and get his mind in the game. The file he’d read on this group of men had caught his attention. They all came from law enforcement like himself and had made a multi-million-dollar security business in a few short years, and it grew more significant and branched out more every day.
That was why they planned to take on more partners. There was a definite need and demand for their services.
Eli would meet them and a few other men they were bringing in as potential partners. After, he’d decide if it was something he’d like or if he would want to move onto something different.
He noticed an older woman with attractive gray hair behind the reception desk as he stepped off the elevator.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, my name is Eli Turner, and I have a meeting with the partners.”
“Yes, sir. Come with me, and I’ll show you the way.”
“Thank you.”
He looked right and left as he followed her down a long hallway. Everything he had seen so far was high-end and classy.
She opened the door and stepped back. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“There is coffee and water already on the table, and pastries will be coming shortly.”
“Sounds good.” Eli glanced at the group of men sitting around the huge conference table that could easily fit twenty or more people. Then he walked to the one who stood.
“Hello, I’m Travis Forrester, and I’m one of the partners you’ve talked to the most.”
Eli shook his hand. “I’m Eli Turner.”
“Yes, we’ve been expecting you. I’ll introduce you to the ones who are here. We’re missing one partner, but he said he’d be here shortly.”
Eli walked around the table, shaking hands and introducing himself before taking a seat close to the door.
The door opened before too much was said, and a small, pretty woman walked in and froze and stared at them.
The huge guy behind her snorted, wrapped his hands around her waist, and lifted her out of the way. He smiled when she gasped at the abrupt movement but still didn’t take her eye off the men.
“Guys, I’m Caleb, for those that don’t know me, and I’d like you to meet Bella.”
“I thought you said you had five partners?” she whispered urgently.
Caleb chuckled. “I do, baby, right now. These other six guys we’re recruiting from police stations, Homeland Security, one or two are FBI agents, and then that dickhead,” Caleb said, making the guys in the room laugh when he pointed at David. “He used to be a Highway Patrolman.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“He probably got fired.”
David snorted, which made Eli grin. He noticed the woman’s face turned sad when she looked at David.
“Really?” she said to David. “I’m sorry.”
David grinned and shook his head. “I didn’t get fired, honey. That’s what your dickhead daddy likes to tell people. If he gets out of hand, come to me.”
Eli’s brows snapped together as he concentrated on the two newcomers. They certainly didn’t look like a father and daughter, but nowadays, things were different. The big guy could be her stepfather for all he knew.
Caleb growled. “You stay the fuck away from her.”
The woman looked at the guy in surprise and then clutched his arm with her hands to get his attention, which she did instantly.
“You aren’t really mad, are you? Because that would be silly. You’re the only dad…” She paused and looked around the room. “I mean, man, I’ll ever want or need.”
What the hell? His interest spiked, and it was hard to hold back the questions he had for the pair.
Eli had never found the woman he wanted to spend his life with. He couldn’t see it happening any time soon because he knew it would be next to impossible to find the type of woman he was attracted to. He rarely saw the traditional kind of woman, one that needed him for everyday things and easily gave up most of the control of her life to him.
He knew he got it from the men in his family. They had all fallen in love with women who thrived in an atmosphere where they didn’t have to worry about everyday things. Some people would call them submissive, but it went deeper than that for him, and he didn’t know how to describe his needs or where to find such a woman.
Because he had lost hope of ever finding the woman he needed, he set his sights on a career that would be exciting and fulfilling for him.
His father and grandfather, the only two people alive in the family besides some distant cousins, had been shocked that he wanted to go into law enforcement, and not just any one but Homeland Security.
A grin widened when he remembered the bluster of both men as they’d tried to talk him out of it. Fortunately, they had given up after a while, but he still heard them gripe about it, especially after the accident.
That was another reason for looking into this opportunity. He knew he couldn’t take chances as he had in the past. His grandfather was eighty and slowing down, and his father was taking care of his father and the business. There wasn’t much to do since they hired very competent people to manage all the different pies the family was into, but the family still had to oversee them.
Now their argument was they wanted grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
They despaired of ever getting any because Eli had never found the woman he wanted to spend his life with.
But now, Caleb’s woman looked exactly like the woman he’d been looking for.
Caleb smiled and patted her hand. “I know, baby.”
“Why are they staring like that?” she whispered.
Caleb scowled. “I’ve no idea. What’s up?” he asked.
Travis cleared his throat. “It just we’ve ever seen you like … this.”
“Like what?” Caleb snapped.
“Nice,” Travis said, making Eli cover his mouth to hide the smile.
Bella gasped and frowned at Travis. “He’s always nice. The only person I’ve seen him be mean to was my mother, and she was horrible to me, and he was protecting me.”
Travis held up his hand to stop her. “I know, honey. He’s my friend, and I consider him a brother. It’s just that normally he’s a bit … impatient. You bring out the nice in him.”
She smiled up at Caleb. “Really?”
“Yes, baby. I’m only nice to you.”
“But you could try to be nice to everyone, right?” she asked hopefully.
There were several chuckles and grunts of disbelief.
“I’ll try.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the door as it slowly opened.
Eli watched a young woman struggle with the door handle and a large platter of donuts. She was a tiny little thing with long, wavy black hair and eyes that were a light blue he’d never seen before.
His heart went out to her when she realized everyone’s eyes were on her and froze. She shook, which made the platter wobble, and then it crashed to the floor before he could get to her.
The woman gasped, started to cry, and then dropped to the floor and picked up the food.
Eli immediately bent down on one knee and helped her clean up the donuts.
“I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz. I should have never tried to do this.”
Eli cupped her chin. “Hey, everything’s okay. This is not a big deal. All right?”
She sniffed and then nodded. A gasp sprang from her mouth when she got a good look at him. He thought it was his scars that shocked her, but her eyes were frozen on his. Her pupils dilated, and her skin flushed, and he decided it was attraction, not an ounce of disgust on her face.
He also felt the spark of desire bouncing between them.
Damn, the woman was beautiful and incredibly tiny compared to him. She also had a type of innocence he’d only heard of.
Eli stood with the tray of food and helped her up with his other hand. He looked back at the table. “I’m going to help her with this. I’ll be right back.”
Everyone nodded.
