Page 9 of Daddy's Little Charmer
Roberto and Christian watched as the woman turned beet red, pressed her lips together in anger, and marched furiouslyout of the building.
Christian turned to Roberto. “I’m going to have cameras put in place inside and outside of the building. I’ll always have one of the guys we have, or hire someone, to watch the monitors during business hours. We can set up a small office in one of the storage rooms.”
“I love that idea. Not only for Candy, but it will help with any accidents or liabilities that may occur.”
“I should have done it a long time ago.”
Roberto watched as Christian headed for the door, turned abruptly, and walked back.
Christian looked Roberto directly in the eye.
“I feel I need to inform you that I am pursuing Harmony, and I want you to be okay with it. I know you’re not her father or even her guardian, but I respect you, and I know you care for her very much.”
Roberto nodded slowly. “I think you’d be good for each other, but remember what I said about her being hurt.”
“It will never happen. You should also be aware that you need to find another waitress. Harmony will no longer be working here, and she won’t be living in that dump, she’ll be with me.”
Roberto choked. “Jesus, man, you’re moving a little fast. And what if Harmony doesn’t like what you have in store for her?”
Christian shrugged and grinned. “I’ll persuade her that it’s the right decision.”
“Good luck with that,” Roberto said and chuckled. “I hope it works out. I really worry about her, and I know you’ll take care of her.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to protect her and make her happy.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Roberto said. He leanedover the bar and held his hand out.
Christian shook his hand and then left.
Christian crawled into the back of his car and gave his driver the address to Harmony’s place.
“Are you sure you want to go to that part of town, sir?”
Christian’s jaw tightened. “Unfortunately. I need to check up on someone who lives there.”
“Very good, sir,” Dover said and drove off.
Forty minutes later, they pulled up outside of Harmony’s apartment building. The place was even worse than he thought. Christian actually looked down at the address and checked it with the building in front of him.
There was trash and graffiti spread everywhere. There were junked-out cars in front and on one side of the dirty white three-story building. Several people milled around outside, and they all paid special attention to the long, fancy car that pulled up on the side of the street.
He imagined a few people thought it could be another gang ready to make a hit, while others wondered how hard it would be to steal the car, and some were just curious.
“Fuck.” Christian immediately got on the phone. “Nico, I need you and one other guy to come to the address I’ll send to you.”
“Sure, Boss. What do you need us to do?”
“I want you to protect a woman who lives in the building until I get her moved out.” Christian gave them the address. “It’s a shitty neighborhood.”
“We’ll take care of everything. We’ll head that way. Our ETA is about … thirty minutes.”
“Good, I’ll wait until you get here.”
Christian watched as she closed her curtains, and then the shadow of her silhouette passed a few times. It took everything in him not to barge up to her place and drag her out.He knew he was moving fast, as Roberto said, but he’d always known a good thing when he saw it, and she was definitely a good woman that he wanted desperately. She was also a little. He hadn’t realized he was so interested in that type of relationship, even after seeing a few of his friends with them. It had intrigued him, but he never thought he’d find someone—a little—he wanted for his own.
He thought about all the different expressions he’d seen on her face. How she tried to act tough even when he’d unintentionally hurt her feelings. He smiled to himself. She would be horrible at poker because every emotion showed, but she would also be unable to hide anything from him.
Christian jerked his head to the other side at the knock. “Come in, Nico.”
