Daddy’s Little Assistant by Lila Fox
Chapter Three
Eli stood in the doorway to an office Mrs. Bennet told him to go to and watched Kinley’s fingers fly over the keyboard. The man she was helping stood behind her and off to the side, staring at her in amazement.
“Hell, Kinley. How in the heck do you do that?”
“What?” she asked while she still typed.
“Go that fast.”
“I don’t know,” she said in a slow, distracted way.
Eli grinned. Her focus was on the monitor, but she was still able to have a conversation.
“Ah, Don, do you see here?” she asked.
“All I see is gibberish.”
She snorted. “You messed up the algorithm somehow.”
“You’re talking over my head again. Just tell me it’s fixed.”
She chuckled. “I’m fixing it now. After this, try not to push any buttons that you don’t know what they are. I’m also putting a more powerful firewall in. Vic just told me about what the eggheads came up with. I told them I’d help get it on the computers since they don’t have a lot of time. It’s on our main system, so they’re not too worried.”
Eli grinned when the man rubbed the back of his neck, looking confused.
She stood up and got out of the way. “There you go. Call me if you have any problems.”
“You might as well just stay here,” he groused.
She laughed. “You’re not that bad. Foster in Research and Development calls me every day about something.”
Don grunted. “I think you need to have someone else deal with him.”
Eli’s back stiffened in interest.
“Why?” she asked.
“There’s something off about him.”
“Like how?”
“I don’t know. Just be careful and don’t be in a room with him alone.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Bye, Kinley.”
Eli straightened when Kinley turned his way.
“Oh, Eli,” she said and smiled.
“Hey, I was looking for you.”
“Well, I’m done here. Have you met Don?”
Eli came forward and shook the older man’s hand.
“Don does payroll.” She turned to Don. “Eli is one of the new partners, right?” she asked him.
Eli smiled. “That’s right.” He looked at the other man. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’d really like to ask you some questions about your concerns.”
“That would be great. Call me, and I can come to your office.”
“Good.” Eli turned to Kinley. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She waved to Don and followed Eli back to his office.
He opened the door and let them in. “As you can see, I don’t have anything besides the desk and one shelving unit. Travis told me about a store they use. Do you think you could go with me and help me pick things out? I’m not good at it.”
“I would love to. When?” she asked.
“Now, if you’re not busy.”
“Let me ask Mrs. Bennet.”
“All right.”
They stopped at the woman’s desk.
“Mrs. Bennet, Eli needs me to help him. Is there anything I need to do?”
Mrs. Bennet looked at Eli over the top of her glasses, narrowed her eyes, and then nodded. He could tell she was protective of Kinley, and it pleased him. It seemed everyone was. It told him a lot about her, and it just added to his attraction.
“No, dear.”
“I’ll be back later.”
“Don’t rush. You work too hard. It would be best if you had a break. Enjoy the day.”
“I will.”
“I’ll take good care of her,” Eli told her.
“I can see that. Just be warned if she’s hurt, you deal with me.”
Eli grinned and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Eli saw the confusion on Kinley’s face and directed her with a hand on her lower back toward the elevator.
Kinley turned to him when the elevator doors closed. “Why was Mrs. Bennet mad at you?”
He stroked his finger down her cheek. “She wasn’t mad, baby. She’s just being protective of you.”
“Why?”
“Because she cares about you.”
He watched her think about it for a moment and then smile.
“I’m glad she cares, but she’s got to know you would never hurt me.”
The innocent trust coming from the woman standing before him tugged at something in the depths of his soul, something he’d never reached before.
“No, Kinley. You’re right. I would never hurt you.”
He was thrilled she was feeling this as strongly as he was. It was crazy to feel like this, but he wasn’t going to fight it. Hell, his grandfather asked his grandmother to marry him a few hours after he met her, and amazingly, she’d said yes. They were extremely happy until his grandmother passed away. His father wasn’t too much better. He asked Eli’s mom to marry him after a few dates. Falling in love at first sight just seemed to run in the family.
She smiled and grabbed the hand he held out to her, and then he led her out of the elevator.
For the next few hours, they walked through a few furniture stores and bought a bunch of things that were being delivered to the office.
“Let’s grab some lunch, and then we’ll hit one more store if you’re up for it.”
“Yes. I don’t usually like shopping, but you make it fun.”
He grinned and took her hand as they crossed the street. “Is there a good restaurant around here?”
“There is a McDonald’s two blocks away and Dairy Queen…”
“No, honey. Those are fast-food places. A place where we can sit down and talk.”
“You can sit down in McDonald’s.”
Would she be shocked to know he’d never eaten fast food in his life besides a burrito from a taco stand if he and Rick had been working late?
“A place where there are menus, and they serve you.”
“Oh, a fancy place. Um, there are a few down this block, but I’ve never eaten in one, so I don’t know how good they are.”
Damn, she was so damn sweet.
“If you’re interested. We could make a list of every restaurant in the city and go to each one. I think it would be a good way to learn the city.”
“You want to be with me some more?”
“Yes. If you’re interested.”
A blush covered her face, but she didn’t look away from him as they walked. “I would love that, but I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”
“You won’t.”
“Then, yes. I’d like that.”
He opened the door to the first restaurant they came to. They got a small table close to the back and sat down next to each other. Then they started to look at the menus the hostess put down.
He heard Kinley gasp.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen the prices, Eli? I think we should leave. I can’t afford this.”
When he noticed she was getting upset, he set the menu to the side and seized her hand. “Look at me.” He waited for her to focus on him. “I don’t want you to ever worry about money, and I won’t allow you to pay for anything.”
“But you’re just starting a new job.”
Eli smiled. “I repeat. I don’t ever want you to worry about money with me. I can take care of the bill.”
“I think we should each pay our own until you get settled.”
He shook his head and squeezed her hand. “Listen to me. There will never be a time that you have to worry about money when you’re with me. I don’t want you ever to think you’ll pay for anything because I won’t allow it. Do you understand?”
He waited for her to nod. “Good. Thank you, baby. Now let’s order. I’m hungry.”
She sighed and looked at her menu. He saw her trying to find the cheapest thing and almost rolled his eyes. “What are you getting?” he asked her.
“Their salads look good.”
He snorted. “Do you like steak?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Will you trust me to order for you?”
She sighed and then nodded. “Yes.”
“Good girl.”
Eli put in their orders and grinned when Kinley flinched at what he ordered.
“And bring a bottle of your best cabernet.”
“Yes, sir,” the waitress said and moved away.
“Do you like wine?”
She shook her head. “A little. Sometimes it makes me sick.”
“Then we’ll have to watch that.”
She nodded and then glanced around. Her expression suddenly got sad.
“What’s wrong?”
She looked at him. “People are staring at us. I know they’re wondering what you’re doing with someone like me.”
Eli grunted and shook his head. “That’s not it, baby. People don’t like to see scars like mine.”
“That makes me sadder,” she said.
“What does?”
“I can barely see anything on you, but all I can think about was how much pain you must have been in. I hope you had someone there to take care of you.”
He watched her eyes mist, and she blinked rapidly to push back the tears.
He kissed her hand. “You are the sweetest thing.”
“Because I don’t like you being hurt?” she asked.
“Yeah. I don’t have many people in my life who care about me like that.”
She looked away. “I only have a cousin. No one else.”
“Yes, you do.”
She looked at him in confusion. “Who?”
“Me. We’re friends now, right?”
