Tymber Dalton - Contractual Obligation

“Hey, buddy,” Tate said, “it’s me. Tag, you’re it. Let me know how you’re doing. I’ll call you again after I get off work. Love you.”

Doug locked himself in a stall and allowed himself to silently cry for a few minutes before cleaning himself up. He called Tate back, knowing he’d get his voice mail.

“Hey, sorry, it’s been crazy here.” He swallowed hard. “This new job is…I’ll have to give you the details later. It’s a really intense, travel-heavy schedule at first, so hold off on the boxes for right now.” He closed his eyes. “I love you, too. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to talk much. I’m going through orientation and training. Love you, talk to you later.” He hung up, washed his face, ran his hands through his hair, and took a deep breath.

I can do this. It’s for my parents. And it’s helping Harper out.

It didn’t make him feel like any less of a shit.

Harper nervously tried to keep her focus on her work while Gorden and Doug were out shopping. She trusted Gorden to bring him back looking exactly the part. Not too flashy, not too much poor college boy. Her father was an idiot when it came to fashion, but overall appearance meant a lot to him.

She hoped if he met Doug and found him acceptable on the surface that he wouldn’t do too much digging right now. Meaning he wouldn’t raise any objections to Doug’s hiring.

Not that he would overrule her on his hiring, but she had to commit to the bit, as comedians said. And she was committed to getting her father off her freaking back.

She heard a heavy knock on her office door. Before she could say anything, the door opened and her father stuck his head in.

“Anyone home?”

She felt a mix of irritation and adoration. “Hi, Daddy.”

He smiled that handsome, winning smile of his and stepped in, closing the door behind him. “Hello, sweetheart. Is it safe, or do you still want to take my head off?” He cupped his hands in front of his groin. “Or something lower?”

“Yes, it’s safe.”

He walked over, and she stood to hug him. “I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have gone after you like that at the meeting.” He held her at arm’s length, his gaze intent on hers. “But I meant it. I worry about you, sweetheart. With your health—”

She rolled her eyes. “Daddy, it’s diabetes, not cancer. I’m not dying, for chrissake.”

“I just worry about you,” he said again. “I love you. I only want what’s best for you.”

“I know you do, but I’m an adult.”

He smiled as he released her. “Yes, but you’ll always be my little girl.” Then his expression turned sad. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there more for you while you were growing up. And look, fine, don’t get a boyfriend, but at least take more time off. You and I can go travelling, or at least spend some time together.”

“Julia won’t mind?”

A dark cloud seemed to pass over him. “I don’t give a shit what she thinks.”

She arched an eyebrow in surprise. Harrison Wells rarely swore in front of his little girl, even though she was almost thirty. “Wow. What happened?” Harper knew Julia Carson had her sights set on doing something no other woman since her mother had managed—becoming Mrs. Harrison Wells.

Harper had hated her upon first sight when they met six months earlier. The feeling had been completely mutual.

He waved her concern away as he turned to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “I did a lot of thinking after our meeting. I called Julia up and ended it with her. I decided I needed to take my own advice. She wasn’t a long-term prospect.” He looked at her. “Don’t think I don’t know what her angle was. I know you didn’t like her. I’m sorry I let her take so much of my attention from you.”

She perched on the corner of her desk. “Daddy, I’m not a little girl anymore. You need a life as much as I need one. I didn’t hate her because she had your attention. I hated her because she was a gold-digging bitch after a chunk of your money.”

He scrubbed his face with his hands as he sat back in his chair. This was her Daddy, the man she loved and practically worshipped. Unlike the tough businessman she ran afoul of a few days earlier. “Sweetheart, I’m an old dog. Too old to learn new tricks. I loved your mother, and she always supported me and understood when I had to work long hours. I didn’t deserve someone as loving and generous as her. But you’re young enough not to make the same mistakes I did.”

Wow, Gorden nailed it on the head. She didn’t speak, just listened.

“Let’s plan a father-daughter trip,” he continued. “Remember last Christmas we talked about taking an Alaskan cruise? It’s one place neither of us have been. We can take a long vacation. I can have it booked in an hour.”

“When did you want to do this?”

“We can leave in less than a week.” He smiled.

“You’ve been researching, haven’t you?”

He nodded as he sat up. “Yep. What do you say?”

“Well, I’d love to—”

“But.” He laughed.

“No, Daddy, it’s not like that.” She only called him Mr. Wells in front of their employees. Any other time, it was always Daddy. “I just hired Gorden’s replacement.”

That piqued his interest. “Oh? I’ve only been bugging you about that for the past year.”

“I know, and so has he. You know the job fair this weekend at the convention center?”

“Yes?”

“Well, I talked to Carmen in HR. Asked her to keep a lookout for potential candidates.”

“And she found you one?”

“He seems perfect. Young, just out of school, and eager to learn and work.” And broke as shit , she thought.

“Tell me more.”

“You’ll get to meet him here shortly.” She glanced at the clock. “Gorden’s been working with him today, getting his feet wet. His first official day is Monday.”

“Young?” A smile curled his lips. “Handsome?”

“Daddy!” She hoped she portrayed the right amount of shock. Inside, she was already laughing. He fell for it.

He chuckled as he waved her objection away. “Relax, I promise not to play matchmaker.” He sighed. “You’re right, though. That does make it a little tougher to plan a trip right now.”

She felt a little guilty. “What are you doing this weekend?” It’d been four months since she’d taken off a full day, much less an entire weekend.

His grin returned. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“How about a weekend at the Boca house?” Her father owned a beautiful waterfront house on Gasparilla Island, in a little community called Boca Grande, nearly two hours south of Tampa. “Do you think the tarpon are running this weekend?”

He jumped to his feet with a huge smile. “Probably not, but who the heck cares! We can still go fishing, right?”

She loved seeing her father like this. Happy, excited. “Absolutely, Daddy.”

He rounded the desk and hugged her. “Let me go check in to make sure no one needs me this afternoon, and we’ll leave today after you go home and pack.”

“Don’t forget to come back to meet Douglas.”

He turned at the door. “Right!” He grinned playfully. “Any chance he wants to learn how to fish and—”

“Daddy!” She pointed at the door. “Go!”

He laughed. “All right, all right. Can’t blame me for trying.” He left. She sat down and let out a deep breath.

So far, so good.

Doug took a nervous breath as he followed Gorden into Harper’s office. He’d assured Doug that it was okay to call her Harper, although in front of other employees, at least in the beginning, it would be more respectful to refer to her as Ms. Wells. Inside, he found Harper talking with an older man she strongly resembled.