My (Mostly) Secret Baby: A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy(17)

Damon ran his tongue across his teeth in a way I thought might be meant to mask a smile. “He has been with the company for a long time. You made it here in one piece, didn’t you?”

Chris shouldered his way through the crowd and tapped Damon on the shoulder. “Hey, did you know she-who-must-not-be-named is here? Want me to sneak you out the back?”

Damon’s expression darkened. He shook his head. “No.”

“What about that thing you said?” Chris lowered his voice, doing his best Damon impression. “If I have to set eyes on that woman again, I’ll throw up so hard you’ll have to push my feet back in my mouth.”

“I’m nearly certain I never said that.” Damon crossed his arms, eyes scanning the room. “And no. I’m not going anywhere.”

Chris shrugged. “Fine with me. I did my brotherly duty, now it’s on you.” With that, he headed back where he’d come from, leaving Damon and I alone again.

“Who is ‘she?’”

“Nobody you need to worry about.”

I admittedly wanted to argue with him. I wanted to bug him until he gave me every delicious little detail of whatever drama he and his brother had just skirted around. Part of me liked the friction between us. I guessed if all you ever had was peace, it would be hard to appreciate the quiet moments when they came. God knew there was no peace around my bosshole, Damon.

I followed Damon to one of the couches in the back, where Tia Klein was lounging with a heavily tattooed young man I took to be another athlete.

“Is now a good time?” Damon asked.

Tia shooed the guy away and gestured for us both to sit. I was struck by how catlike she was. Graceful and dangerous. Then again, for graceful creatures, cats really had a way of sticking that one leg up in the air and going to town on their own buttholes when it suited them. I grinned at the idea of Tia Klein—Little Miss Put Together and exotic beauty queen of Instagram—grooming herself noisily. Then I cringed.

Ew.

Tia and Damon launched into some boring talk about business and contracts while I tried to get that image out of my head. The topic of their conversation shifted and drew me back into focus.

“…Made the mistake of fucking you first, didn’t she?”

Damon visibly stiffened, then shot a sideways glance my way. “I’d prefer not to talk about my personal life in front of my employees.”

A dangerous glint entered Tia’s eyes as she moved her focus to me. “Damon is quite the playboy. Did you know? Except he has never let me into his bedroom. I guess I’m not sexy enough for the legendary Damon Rose and his magical cock.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Magical cock, huh? What does it do, activate its shrinking powers when anyone else is in the room?”

Tia cackled with delight. “I really like this one, Damon. You need to keep her around. It’ll be good for that inflated ego of yours.”

“You haven’t given me an answer,” Damon said sternly. “Do you want to stop letting a hack represent you? He’s happy to let the contracts you were already going to get keep coming and continue to take his cut. Sign with me, and I’ll turn you into a brand. I’ll get you sponsorships and deals you didn’t even know were out there.”

“Of course I’m going to sign with you. Who turns down Damon Rose?”

I wanted to barf. Even with the teasing, Tia was making no secret of the fact that she wanted to sleep with Damon. She was practically purring the words while she undressed him with her eyes. To his credit, he was laser focused on the business aspect of the deal, at least for now. I wondered if the man who was willing to sleep with me five years ago after a few seconds of introduction was really going to refrain from sticking his dick in a client for long, though.

Then I remembered I didn’t need to care. Damon could take his “magical” pecker and stick it in a light socket for all I cared.

I was only here for the money. Not even a single part of this whole fiasco was about trying to give him a chance to prove he deserved to know he had a daughter.

Not even a little bit.

But… If I had to sit and watch Tia slather herself all over him for another minute, I thought I might end up tossing my water on her face. To make matters worse, Damon wasn’t exactly beating her away with a stick. He just sat there, letting her flirt.

Yeah. It was time for a bathroom break. The kind of bathroom break that takes a long detour to the bar. I doubted he’d even notice I was gone with Tia’s Instagram-perfect tits in his face.





9





Damon





This sort of thing made me want to find the nearest beach and start kicking down sandcastles. Fuck. Fundraisers in general weren’t the problem. Rich assholes like myself should open up their wallets and give back. The problem was nobody here cared about the cause. It was all about status and power.

From the top to the bottom, it was a pissing contest, and I was obligated to produce the largest stream to make a good show for Rose Athletic Representatives.

Yoo goddamn hoo.

Part of my image was being the best. I was the Rolls Royce of athletic representation, so I had to make sure I showed I wasn’t shy about throwing money around. That meant I was seated closest to the stage beside Tia Klein herself. I’d also paid enough that Chris, his date, and Chelsea had places at the table. It was all an extravagance, but a necessary one.