“Hello, Ms. Hampton,” my father’s secretary said the moment she saw me. I had no idea why my father wanted to see me so urgently, especially at his office.
“Hello, Nicole,” I said, my lips spreading into a fake smile. She had to be the third secretary my father had hired this year, and I knew the only reason he’d hired her was because she was dark-haired and dark-eyed. That was his new preferred type after my mother left.
“Mr. Hampton is waiting for you in his office,” she said.
My high heels clicked against the marble floor as I made my way to the office. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open. My father’s brown eyes—identical to mine—lifted up and the lines around his mouth became more prominent. His black suit was impeccable, and his graying dark hair was perfectly combed, except for a few strands rising awkwardly at the back of his head, which made me wonder just how recently the secretary had been in here.
“Victoria,” he said. “You’re late.”
“No, I’m not.” I crossed my arms. “What do you want?”
“Sit down.”
I reluctantly dragged myself to the leather chair and sat down, careful of my dark red cocktail dress. “Are we going to talk in your office from now on and not at home?” We still lived at the same house, but sometimes it was as if we weren’t. My father was always busy with work, and I... Well, I was busy too.
“Depends.” He picked up two photographs and tossed them across the desk. “Usually when I get home after a hard day at work, you’re out and doing God knows what.”
“What’s this?” I glanced at the photo and nearly groaned. It was an image of me with the daughter of one of my father’s business partners. The second one was a close-up of my bare arm, with a few dark bruises marring my skin that unfortunately looked way too much like needle marks. Shit.
“Why don’t you tell me?” he said through his teeth. “This was posted all over social media!”
“So? What does it matter? I just bumped too hard into something.” I twirled a strand of my long light brown hair around my finger, the corners of my lips quirking up.
“You don’t understand how serious this is. People talk and after what...”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.” I glared at him. “You don’t want me to be seen with bruises again because you worry what everyone will think about that. Fine. I’ll be more careful.” Instead of worrying about my safety, my father was more concerned with what people would think and what effect that would have on his multibillion dollar company and on his attempt to run for mayor again.
“Yes, you will. But after this, I’m going to make sure you don’t cause me any more problems.” He reached for his phone.
“And how are you planning to do that?” I arched an eyebrow at him.
He held up his phone. “I hired a bodyguard for you. He won’t leave your side and will ensure there aren’t any more transgressions.” His lip curled at the last word, which was also what he preferred to call what happened to me four years ago and that had nearly destroyed me.
I let out a disgusted sigh. “A bodyguard? I don’t need one.”
My father’s hand was poised over the button on his phone. “Yes, you do. My decision’s final. There’s nothing you can say to change it.”
It was usually impossible to change my father’s decisions. I knew that well by now, so I let my father press the button and make the call. A bodyguard. This wasn’t the first time my father had tried hiring one. The last one had quit because I’d ditched him so many times he could never stay around me for more than five minutes. I supposed I could get rid of the new one too. I had to.
My secret had to be safe from my father or things could get really ugly. A part of me wondered just how my father would react if he found out I’d gotten the bruises at the underground fight club that I owned. Even if he somehow figured out that I’d secretly come in possession of it, all the files said only that a friend had left me his old, abandoned property, and there was no reason for him to suspect that anything was going on there at night.
Besides, from outside, it looked like a dilapidated one-story house. The façade was peeling off, and all the windows were covered with planks. On the inside, though, there was a big room with a fighting cage, a hallway, and a few smaller rooms. I even had an office, and everything was well-taken care of and as clean as possible.
My father would lose his mind if he found out, so I was doing everything in my power to make sure no one ever found the club or connected it with me. It was a good thing that most people thought I was just a rich party girl who wasn’t capable of keeping her alcohol down, let alone running a fight club.
A few moments later, my father lowered the phone and the door opened. I turned in my chair to greet the bulky bald guy who was probably going to be my bodyguard, but the guy who walked through the door was around my age. He was tall and lean, the muscles in his arms bulging against his black shirt. His short black hair was messy, and his blue eyes had an unusual spark in them. And the way those blue jeans fit him... It took me a moment to pick my jaw off the floor. Who was this hottie and what was he doing here?
“Victoria, this is Seth Rovero, your bodyguard,” my father said. “Seth, this is my daughter, Victoria.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Seth stopped in the middle of the room, his presence imposing, and gave me a long look, a small smile tilting his lips.
“Him?” I looked at my father, wondering if this was some kind of a joke.
“Yes, he’ll be with you at all times,” my father said. “No exceptions and no excuses.”
Well, I certainly wouldn’t be able to use the excuse that my bodyguard looked too old to go to a party with me. “Okay.” I flashed Seth a smile. I might even feel sorry for ditching this one, but I had no doubts that I could lose him eventually. If he really needed this job, then I might be able to reach an agreement with him so he wouldn’t watch over me at night. Or I could bribe him.
“If you think you’re going to get away this time as you did before, think again,” my father said, handing me a piece of paper. “Seth comes highly recommended.”
I took the paper and skimmed through it. Seriously? His past five employers had given him the best ratings, and he’d even gotten specially commended for saving the life a person who he hadn’t even been guarding. And he was only a year older than me. Was I supposed to believe any of that?
Except my father had probably verified all the info already. Not because he’d thought my life could be in danger if he hired a shady bodyguard but because if something went wrong, people would blame him for allowing the wrong guy to protect me. I set the paper down on the desk. This didn’t change anything. I’d just have to be really, really careful when sneaking off to the club at night.
“Good. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?” I started to rise, but my father lifted his hand, so I sat back down.
“Seth, wait outside, please,” my father said. Seth inclined his head, then headed out. When we were alone again, my father focused on me. “I want to remind you that everything you do reflects on me.”
I leaned back in my seat. “Maybe I should just move across the country and live my own life. I’m an adult. There’s no reason for me to keep living here. If people don’t see me here, they’ll forget about me, and then you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
His face reddened as he bared his teeth. “Absolutely not. These photos are proof you’re not capable of living on your own without me there to take care of you.”
I pushed back the tears forming in the corners of my eyes. He didn’t even know what “care” meant. All he wanted was for me to stick around so he could pretend he still had a happy family and a beautiful relationship with me. My mom had gotten away, and he’d be damned if he let me leave him too. But the only thing that mattered to me now was my club, and as long as my father didn’t mess with that, I didn’t care.
I’d been furious with him for not letting me go to the college I wanted because it was in another town, but that was before I got the club. My attempt to get a job had been thwarted too, because he thought it was beneath his daughter to work for someone else, and he didn’t believe I was capable of working with him... or more likely, he didn’t want me to know his secrets. He’d rather just give me all the money I wanted as long as I didn’t do anything to tarnish his image.
“Victoria.” He raised his voice, and I realized I’d stopped listening to him at some point.
“What?” I snapped.
“If Seth reports that you are obstructing his job, I’m going to take all of your credit cards away.”
My eyebrows shot up. What was I? A teenager again? “Fine,” I said with all the indifference in the world that I could muster. All the shopping sprees I’d gone on had been purely to give him a headache when he saw the bill, not because I enjoyed doing that. But maybe it was a good thing my father thought he could control me with his money, just as he controlled everything else in his life.
His eyes were narrowed at me with suspicion for a long moment. “I’m not joking, Victoria.”
I didn’t like the way he said my name, as if I were a naughty child. “I know. Can I go now? I saw this awesome dress I really want to get before someone else buys it, so are we done here or what?”
His shoulders relaxed a little as he sat back in his chair. “Of course. You may go.” He thought he had me exactly where he wanted me, but I wasn’t about to tell him just how wrong he was. Getting to my feet, I flashed him a fake smile, then headed for the door.
Once I was in the hallway, I nearly jumped when I felt someone behind my back. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Seth giving me a smile. Right. My incredibly hot bodyguard. What on earth had my father been thinking? That I’d want to flaunt Seth around because he was good-looking? I wondered how he’d feel if I seduced my bodyguard, but I assumed that somewhere in Seth’s contract there was a clause that strictly forbade any unprofessional interaction between him and me.
I didn’t even want to think what the consequences would be if the contract was broken. My father was unbearable when things didn’t go the way he planned them. I swayed my hips as I strode to the elevator, giving Seth another look over my shoulder as I bit down on my lip. Maybe I could unnerve him enough to get him to quit. Surely, my father couldn’t force anyone to actually stay on the job against their will.
As we stepped into the elevator, a glimpse of a tattoo peeking from under the collar of Seth’s shirt made me frown. My father hiring someone with tattoos? That was new. He had to really think Seth was good. Shit.
Taking out my phone, I quickly texted my best friend Chiara, who was helping me with the club, to tell her that I might be coming later than usual tonight. Seth was quiet, but his eyes were constantly on me, as if they could see through me. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, wondering if I should just tell him to stop looking at me like that, but I kept my mouth shut, because somehow I had a feeling that me objecting would make him happy.
Guys like Seth needed excitement, and if my father had told him things about me, then he expected plenty of that. I knew exactly how to annoy him. If the longest shopping spree he’d even been on wouldn’t send him running, then a long coffee with my acquaintances surely would.
I smiled to myself as we exited the elevator. Seth was so done.