Page 4 of Gene

“If any of the other guys had acted like this, looked like this, then I would have asked them. But they didn’t. Most of them have worked in a place like this before, but the few that hadn’t got advice from other people and made it work,” he calmly said. “Now, how much have you drunk today?”

“A gallon,” she whispered, lying through her teeth.

She wasn’t even close to a gallon, but he didn’t need to know that. When she got home, that was when she was going to drink as much as she wanted. She wouldn’t have prying eyes or people keeping track of how many times she went to the bathroom and how long she’d had in between each break.

Sammi was still shocked Nolan was keeping track. That wasn’t normal. But Springfield wasn’t normal. There was an abnormally high number of Daddy Doms along with Littles. That couldn’t be normal, right?

“I don’t like being lied to,” he said. “It’s not good to lie. Little Ones who lie find themselves over Daddy’s lap or standing in the corner.”

Her eyes went wide, and she took a step back. “I’m not lying.”

But he knew now that she was since she took had moved away. However, someone could argue that it was because he threatened to punish her.

“And I definitely don’t need to be spanked or have corner time!”

“Sammi, you not looking me in the eye when you tell me how much you’ve had to drink, you taking a step back, and arguing that you didn’t lie all point to you not telling the truth. To top it off, your body language also gives it away.”

“Still doesn’t mean I’ve lied,” she mumbled.

“You did,” Gene gently said. “You know it, and I know it. Now, why don’t you tell me how much you’ve drunk today.”

“Nolan needs me. I told him I would be a couple of minutes. It’s been way longer than that. So, I’ll see you later, boss, but I need to go finish work so both of us can go home,” Sammi rushed out.

Before Gene could say anything, Sammi turned around and walked away, her whole body stiff as a board.

CHAPTER TWO

GENE

Gene looked over at Sammi as she walked away. He sighed and continued to watch her. He knew something was going on. Nolan had radioed him, concerned about her because she seemed to be going to the bathroom a lot.

All the men who worked on the Little Farm were keeping an eye out for Sammi. While they had female employees, they normally worked at the gift shop because they wanted to. But not Sammi. Sammi had come in wanting to work in the fields and asked if she could work a trial period to show him she would be good at it.

He’d had no doubt she would be good—she was—but he asked everyone to look out for her if she decided to push herself too hard. And for once, he was thankful because he had seen how she looked that morning when she’d arrived. It only seemed to have gotten worse.

Her lying to him was something he wasn't going to put up with. She needed to know that lying was a bad thing to do. He had insinuated that he would take her over his knee or place her in a corner for timeout. That definitely would have put them over the employer/employee boundary.

Gene had never had to worry about that rule until Sammi came. It was like something had awoken inside him, and he needed to let it out. She made his palm itch to spank her bottom but also to bring her pleasure. Take care of her, take all her worries away, but he was her boss.

Everything inside him wanted to push those boundaries. Especially when she was looking the worse for wear with every passing hour. He didn’t like how the bags under her eyes continued to grow, the paleness of her skin continued to get more pale, and he didn't like getting lied to.

Did she know how dangerous it was not to drink water when out in the sun? Did she know how dangerous it was not to take care of herself while working long hours in a manual job?

Just thinking about that made Gene want to stomp over to her and demand she tell him how much she’d had to drink and eat for the day. He knew he wasn't going to like it, but he needed to know if he needed to step in and take care of her.

Gene had been watching Sammi from afar, making sure she was okay. She was the newest hire, and he wanted to keep her. He was also keeping watch over her and having other people do as well to make sure she stayed on the legal side of the business.

Sammi had this innocence to her, and Gene didn’t want to corrupt in any way. She didn’t deserve that. Gene didn’t have many of his illegal operations happen on the Little Farm, but every once in a while, it did. He always made sure people who weren’t part of that side of the business were occupied or had the day off.

It wasn’t only Sammi who didn’t know about the illegal side. There were several other employees who were new, and he didn’t trust them enough or didn’t need them to know. He knew what he did on the side wasn’t good, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care much. It was a job, and he got it done.

“Are you ready for the meeting?” Ezekiel asked. “We have a meeting with the plant manager soon.”

“Yes, I am,” he replied.

Ezekiel stood right next to him as Sammi turned the corner, out of sight.

“Who is she?”

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