Page 6 of Paying Daddy's Debt Collector

Scrambling, I run my fingers through my hair, hoping I don’t look as bad as I feel. I search for my dress on the chair where I left it, but it isn’t there. Someone must have taken it while I was sleeping. But why?

Chris said there are just three of us living here and he’s already seen me in his tee shirt. That just leaves the housekeeper who I assume is a woman. I won’t feel too humiliated if another woman sees me dressed like this.

That settles it then. I’m going to take care of the dogs in an oversized shirt and my underwear.

I creep down the stairs and into the kitchen. The dogs look up at me but don’t move from their beds.

“I see you lived through the night, kitty,” I say when I see the little white puff ball peek at me too. I rummage through the cabinets, searching for dog food, and find it in the walk-in pantry along with a stack of clean dog bowls and a chart showing exactly how much food to give each dog. Perfect. I mix their food and place the two large bowls over the wire fence that separates us.

“Oh! The kitten,” I whisper to myself and creep back into the pantry. I scan the canned goods stored there and locate a can of tuna. I’m sure Chris won’t mind if I feed it to the cat. He must have known she would have to eat when he let me bring her.

“Come on, kitty,” I call, bending over the partition.

“Nice view,” I hear Chris say from behind me and I freeze. From this angle, he must be looking right at my panties. Oh my god, no.

I drop the bowl, stand up, and spin around, pulling the shirt down as I do. My toes curl, and my fingers fidget with the oversized sleeve. I know I’m red from head to toe. “My dress has gone missing. Do you know where it is?”

His eyes are at half mast, and his hands are resting in the front of his pants. “Yes, you can’t go shopping in my shirt so I picked it up earlier for Maggie to wash.”

“Maggie? The housekeeper?”

“Yes, Maggie the housekeeper. It should be dry by now. Why don’t we go and get it? I’ll take the dogs out for you today. You can’t be running around outside in that. My guards will get distracted, and I won’t have a choice but to gouge their eyes out.”

My cheeks go red and I feel like my face is on fire.

“Thank you” is all I manage to say.

Chris leads me to the laundry room where my yellow dress has been pressed and is hanging on a clothes rack.

“There you go. Now, go up and change. I have someone coming by to take you shopping in about an hour. Do you want breakfast?”

“Breakfast would be nice. Thanks.”

“Go. Hurry.”

I take my dress and rush back up the stairs. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be going shopping with, but I hope it isn’t one of his guards. They’re creepy and they smell funny. I want to remain as far away from them as possible.

Dressed and looking somewhat human again, I go back downstairs for breakfast. Chris has a plate set for me at the table with eggs, bacon, oatmeal, and fresh fruit. Back home, I would have considered just one of these items a complete breakfast.

“Do you drink coffee, Cassidy?”

“Yes. Well, sometimes.”

He brings me a cup and sets it down beside my plate.

“Are you eating?” I ask him, already shoving a forkful of eggs in my mouth.

“I did, two hours ago.”

“Should I be getting up earlier?”

“You don’t have to. I’m not much of a sleeper.”

“I could sleep for days in that bed upstairs. It’s very nice.”

“My bed is bigger and nicer, though.”

I choke on the food, and while I’m thumping my chest, he stares at me from under his lashes, face darkening. There it is again, the electricity zapping through the air.

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