Page 10 of Valentine's Day Daddy

She nods. "It went well. A lot better than I expected, to be honest," she replies. “And did we happen to accidentally have a good time along the way?”

I shrug. "It started pretty rough, but I have to admit that it wasn't as painfully dreary as I thought it was going to be."

“Well, there’s a ringing endorsement I can use on the advertising for next year’s event,” she says. “Soulmates Valentine’s Day Speed Dating… not as painfully dreary as you might think.”

“I think it’s kind of catchy.”

We share a laugh, and she gives me an elbow to the ribs. I watch as the people file out of the ballroom, smiles and good vibes all around. It doesn’t take me long to pick her out of the crowd. To be fair, I’ve been watching her since I left her table more than an hour before, and aside from a few minutes here and there, I've been aware of where she's at ever since our “date.” I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her. And it’s not just her beauty that’s making my cock as stiff as it is. I’ve never had somebody speak to me the way she did, let alone dismiss me out of hand. If it wasn’t so intriguing, I might find it off-putting.

I don’t know if it’s my physical size, my wealth, or the power of my last name, but people are intimidated by me. It’s been that way since I was young. But not Ashton. She looked at me like she hates me. Like I was more disgusting to her than something stuck to the bottom of her shoe. She looked at me with pure and utter disdain and wasn’t intimidated by me in the least. And I know it sounds sick, but I liked it.

I catch Ashton’s eye as she moves toward the door with the crowd, and when I raise my glass to her, she gives me a sneer and a big middle finger. It’s adorable. I turn to Mimi who’s looking over the crowd like a proud mother watching her children on the first day of school. She didn’t miss the gesture though and turns to me with a wide grin on her face.

“Well, it looks that old Mullen charm is still alive and well,” she says.

“Did you ever doubt it?”

“What did you say to that girl to get such a reaction?”

“Like you said, I just turned on the old Mullen charm.”

“So? Is this a love connection?”

“Hardly,” I say. “Just a curiosity.”

"Well, curiosity is a start."

Mimi’s assistant, a doe-eyed brunette named Holly walks over to us. She gives me a suggestive smile and a little wink. Holly is forward, to say the least. Although, I have a feeling Mimi is the one who put her onto me. But with a curvy, feminine body, she’s a sexy little thing and I have no doubt she’d be a fantastic roll in the hay. I just don’t feel that spark when I look at her. And without that spark, there’s no chemistry, thus no interest. She’s persistent though and it doesn’t stop her from trying.

“Ms. Hollins, we’ve gathered all the cards from the participants and put them all in envelopes,” Holly says. “We put them all in the back office for you to review and sign off on before we send them off to be emailed to the participants.”

“Good. Thank you, Holly. And great job,” Mimi says. “I think we’re done here for tonight. You can take off if you’d like.”

“Thanks, Ms. Hollins. We’ll see you on Monday.”

“Get out and have some fun this weekend,” Mimi says.

Holly gives me a lingering look and a mischievous grin as she bites her bottom lip then turns and walks away. When she’s gone, Mimi turns to me with a grin that looks a lot like Holly’s did.

“You should get out and have some fun too,” she says. “I think Holly would be happy to help you out with that, you know.”

“I know. But she’s not my idea of fun.”

“Why not? She’s young. Gorgeous. She’s smart, witty, funny—”

“And still not my type.”

“You know, I’m starting to think you use that whole ‘not my type’ excuse just to keep from having to open yourself up,” she observes. “I’m starting to think that maybe you just enjoy being miserable and alone.”

I shrug. “Maybe.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re hopeless. Come on, come check the cards with me.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“That’s creepy.”

“I do my best.”

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