Page 42 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

Traci knew she was blushing. She couldn't really share with Sean that it had actually been her mom's hairbrush and her dad's wide leather belt that she had hated, not the parents themselves. She scrambled to find a safe answer. "All kids will balk at parents who discipline them—parents who try to rein them in from making poor choices. If she thinks you're mean, that just tells me you love her and are doing your job."

The humor in his grey eyes as he focused his attention on her was intoxicating. "Would you mind coming home with me and sharing that opinion with her? Maybe she'll listen to you. It seems like Ash is inclined to dismiss everything I say as the ramblings of an old man."

Traci chuckled. "I see you like to exaggerate. I'm sure Ashley loves you very much." Having met the young woman, Traci was sure she spoke the truth, but Sean had no way of knowing that. "Anyway, you're not an old man."

"Easy for you to say. You're probably closer to Ashley's age than my own."

"Why, Mr. Campbell. Are you fishing for my age?"

He replied sheepishly, "Maybe. It does my ego good to know I could ask a much younger woman out and she even said yes."

"I somehow doubt I'm much younger. I celebrated the big 3-0 back in December."

Sean's eyes widened. "No way! I wondered how you were attending this conference. You seem too young to be a psychologist. I thought maybe you were a student-aid or something."

"Now you're being silly. So, quid-pro-quo. Spill it."

"I'm only two years away from my big 4-0. To a teenager, that's ancient."

Sean had them strolling forward again as Traci responded. "Still, that's pretty young to be the general manager of a big city hotel like The Royal Oak. You must be doing something right."

"That's true. My career is going very well. I'm the youngest GM working for the investment group that owns the hotel."

They rushed to cross the final street before arriving at the entrance to Navy Pier and continued their easy conversation. It felt so liberating to be out in the summer weather, along the lakefront, holding hands with a handsome man. Time passed quickly as they enjoyed watching the young children jumping and playing in the wading fountains meant to keep patrons cool. They stopped to listen to several street musicians entertaining the press of summer tourists.

Sean never released her hand, choosing to keep them linked. As the crowd pressed tighter, he abandoned her hand to casually wrap his arm around her waist, keeping them linked despite the crowds. They eventually arrived at a large seafood restaurant near the end of the pier.

Sean pulled his business card out to hand to the maître d. Within three minutes, they were ushered past the many waiting patrons to an outdoor table nestled under an umbrella to keep them sheltered from the setting sun. The view was breathtaking as they looked back on the Windy City in all of its glory. Sailboats spotted the lakefront while speedboats zoomed by at a distance.

Traci was impressed. "Wow, I feel like royalty. How the hell did you get us seated so fast when there are so many others waiting ahead of us?"

Sean's grin lit up his face. "I called ahead. Let's just say we send a lot of business their way from the hotel. The manager is always accommodating when I decide to come out for dinner. Usually it's me and Ashley."

"Well, thank you for bringing me here. Even if the food stinks, which I'm sure it won't, the view is amazing."

They were interrupted by a waiter arriving. "Hello, Mr. Campbell. It's great to see you again. Can I start you off with drinks this evening?"

Traci contemplated ordering a stiff drink to calm her first-date jitters, but she knew she needed to keep her wits about her. If she wasn't careful, she was going to forget this was a onetime-only date with a man who lived halfway across the country.

Sean interjected. "Do you drink wine?"

"Of course."

"Trust me to pick us out a winner?"

"Please. I usually just order a glass of house wine."

Sean seemed pleased. "John, we'll take a bottle of your Trefethen Family, dry Riesling."

Traci was impressed. "You didn't even look at the wine list. You must come here often."

"Not at all. I just know they stock all of the best wines. I did my internship out in Napa Valley. I got to know my way around a wine cellar."

"What was your degree in?"

"Hospitality and business. We traveled a lot when I was a kid, and I knew pretty early on I wanted to work in the hotel industry." He hesitated before continuing. "I worked my way up through the ranks pretty quickly, and now I'm starting to wonder what will come next. How about you? Do you work in a hospital or private practice?"

"I have a private practice, although I've been working on several research projects the last few years as well. My dad was a doctor, and for a while I thought I'd do the whole MD thing, but found out early that I didn't have the stomach for it and I switched over to psychology instead. A few less years of school and a lot less blood in class." Traci shuddered as she remembered trying to get through some of the pre-med classes.

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