Her Daddy’s Special Girl by Mary Potter
CHAPTER THREE
Rebecca
I was skeptical at first, but after a couple of minutes I came around to the idea. Since he owned the place, Will would know which guys were the good ones, and if he didn’t know them, he offered to try to get a sense of what they were like for me.
It seemed logical. I immediately felt better knowing there was someone helping me out and being a wingman of sorts. Who was a better wingman than the bartender?
Briefly, while he was making drinks for some girls a few feet over from me, I thought about how easy it was to talk to Will. He was really kind, too, offering to help me and wanting me to feel good about the whole thing. Will even looked like the kind of man I usually went for, with broad shoulders, strong forearms, and a small smattering of grey hair growing amongst his strawberry blond hair. If he were a Daddy, I might have been trying to flirt with him instead of taking his advice.
Oh well, I couldn’t have it all.
It only took a couple of minutes for him to find another lull where no one was waiting to order drinks, so he was back over to me in no time.
“What kind of guy do you usually go for?” he asked.
I inhaled sharply and then tried to make it seem like I hadn’t, forcing myself to breathe normally. It was a reminder that Will didn’t really know me, which means he didn’t know how specific my interests really were.
I tried to think of a way to explain my type, without making it seem obvious that I was looking for a Daddy. In my experience, a lot of men got quite weird about it and didn’t talk to me anymore after that. Either that or they got overly enthusiastic and wanted to try, although when I knew they couldn’t provide what I needed.
I realized I’d been quiet for too long, and Will was looking at me with a concerned look on his face. “Um,” I finally said, trying to buy myself more time. “Older.”
“Older,” Will dead-panned. I nodded. “Well, how old are you?”
“Twenty-four.” I blushed, unsure why it felt so awkward to say. Maybe part of me was waiting to see what he thought of my age.
Will just nodded. “So does older mean late twenties, early thirties? Or older?”
Turning my head to the side so I wouldn’t have to look at him, I said, “Older.”
He laughed. “Okay, well, I’m forty-six and I don’t usually see men in here older than that, so if you’re looking for someone older than me, we might have to strategize.”
I felt my face get warmer. “That works.”
He tilted his head to the side and studied me for a moment before shaking whatever thought he had out of his head. “Forties-ish it is.” He looked around the room and shrugged. “That narrows your options down quite a bit, but I think the quality will be better in that group.”
I looked out at the crowd too. It was still early, so the club wasn’t packed, but there were almost a hundred people in the place so far. It was good enough to start, at least, and from the way Will seemed to be looking at one person in particular, I figured he thought so as well.
“I know someone. He doesn’t come in often, but he’s a friend of a friend.”
“Okay,” I said, subtly trying to see who he was looking at.
“Don’t worry,” Will said. I turned back and watched him pat the bar lightly with two knuckles. “I’ll call him over and say hi. If you want to talk to him, when I ask you if you need anything, just say you’d like another olive for your martini. If you say you don’t need anything, I’ll send him away.”
I felt my eyebrows go up. That was kind of a brilliant way to do this. I could listen in on their initial conversation and get a good look at him to figure out if he was my type.
“That’s perfect,” I said. “You’ve had a lot of practice doing this, I guess?”
“Enough to know what works,” Will said. “I hope it works in your favor.”
“Me too.”
Will smiled, winking at me before he faced forward and waved at someone. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I couldn’t help but giggle at the giddy feeling. Quickly, I looked down to try and contain myself. Now was not the right time for me to be acting like that, not in front of someone who was trying to help me find a man with whom to hookup.
“Chris,” Will said. “How’ve you been?”
I turned as subtly as I could to check him out. The man, Chris, looked as if he was in his early forties, and was dressed in a white button-down shirt and black pants. He had dark features and a sharp jaw.
“Been great, Will, and yourself?” Chris said. His voice was deep, and sent chills through my body.
“Good man. This place is keeping me busy. What’ve you been up to? You still working for the same law firm?”
Chris nodded. “I just made partner there last month, actually. Things have been hectic, so just out with a couple of colleagues” —he pointed behind him— “to celebrate it now.”
I perked up. A busy lawyer out celebrating good news. This could work. I wasn’t totally sure if he was going to be what I needed just yet, but it was a good starting point. From the looks of it, too, his colleagues were flirting with a couple of women at the next table, so it would be easy for me to join right in.
“That’s great, man, congratulations. Shots on me for your and your colleagues. Let me know what you want.” Will’s eyes slid over to me. “Rebecca, are you waiting on something? Can I get you anything?”
Chris’ head turned towards me. Tucking my hair behind my ears, I sat up straighter to show my curves. I was preparing myself to be introduced properly, when there was a ringing sound coming from Chris’ pocket.
He looked down and pulled out his phone, smiling immediately. He looked up at Will and said, “Sorry, it’s my girlfriend, I’ve got to take this.” I felt myself deflate a bit, disappointed. Chris clicked a button, turned, and started walking towards the front doors, probably to take the call outside where it was quieter.
“Ah,” Will said. We made eye contact and he shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t know he was seeing anyone.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “At least I hadn’t started flirting with him. That would have been embarrassing.” I don’t think I could handle being embarrassed right now and what that would do to me.
“Was he your type, at least?” Will asked.
I nodded. “He was.”
“Well, now I have something to go on for the next one.” He winked at me again, and I couldn’t help but flush. Luckily, Will didn’t see it, as he turned away to help a group of guys at the corner.
I took a big sip of my drink. I could do this.