It’s going to be fine. Dad never really comes in here anyway.
“Corinna?”
Oh for the love of-
“Coming! One sec, I’m changing!” I glance down at the damn cat, shaking him. “Wake the hell up, we need to hide you.”
His eyes blink open, but they still look groggy and glazed over. He tries to get to his feet, but it’s slow going. I reach in and drag him out, not having time to cater to his comforts, and drag him into my room.
I end up in the walk in closet, flipping the top of my suitcase open and dropping him inside. Leaving it unzipped, I close the lid and throw a haphazard mess of clothes on it before dressing in the first thing I get my hands on so I don’t smell like wet cat.
By the time I’m jogging over to my door in a simple lavender summer dress, my father is scowling. “Sorry, up half the night with cramps,” I lie easily so that he won’t pay attention to how frantic and disheveled I am.
He gags, and it will never cease to amuse me seeing this powerful man squirm in the face of basic human biology. “I have to go to work, so I just wanted to check on you before I left.” He pulls a credit card from his pocket, passing it over easily. “If you’re not up for shopping, I left the number for the service on the kitchen counter.” He leans in and kisses my cheek. “If you feel inclined to go too far from home?” He cants his head to the side, waiting, and I roll my eyes.
“Then call your office first so you can send someone to escort me. Seriously, Dad, you’re paranoid. I’m not made of glass.”
His eyes are hard as he narrows them at me. “The world is a dangerous place, Corinna. It already took your mother from me, I won’t let it have you too. It’s my job to protect you, so humor an old man, alright? Or just shop close to home.”
I sigh, agreeing, because otherwise he’ll never leave. It’s absolutely ridiculous that at my age he’s still convinced I can’t do anything for myself, that without being monitored I’ll end up in trouble. I pointedly ignore the fact that he might be onto something as I head back to my closet to let the cat out of the bag.
He’s awake again by the time I free him, and the ridiculousness of the situation isn’t lost on me. “I guess you must be hungry by now, huh?”
As he licks my hand, I smother the small smile that tries to escape. For all of the accounts of how horrible they are, this one is certainly missing the mark. A burden, yeah, but not dangerous.
“You’re going to have to stay hidden until you leave. If you hear anyone coming, make sure you stay out of sight until I tell you it’s clear, okay? The cleaners are due in this weekend, and sometimes they’re early, so you have to be careful if I’m not here.”
He flicks his tongue over my palm again. “I’m going to take that as you understand. Because I swear, I will deny having any knowledge of you sneaking in here to save my own ass if it comes down to it.”
I sigh, already seeing I’m going to develop a complex talking to myself. “I need to go out for a while, but I’ll bring something back for you to eat. Can you eat regular food, or just like, meat?” I have to rephrase the question to yes or no to get anywhere with him, but I’m leaning towards him preferring meat, but won’t be poisoned if I bring back something else.
Reluctantly, I leave the house, heart hammering away as I navigate the streets of the affluent section of the city. Here, we rarely need to worry about anything out of the norm happening, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not exactly prepared to handle it. Every glance in my direction, it feels like they can tell, that they know I’m doing something illegal. By the time I’ve bought new bedding to keep up with my lie, along with swinging through a café and grabbing an assortment of to-go items, I’m an anxious wreck.
“Corinna Harlow, as I live and breathe,” a smooth voice states from behind me and I jump, turning to face Jax and plastering a polite, fake smile on my face.
“Jax. A pleasure as always.”
Despite my feelings for the jerkoff, our fathers work together in the heart of town and he’d be furious if I caused waves that embarrassed him. I’m not blind to the fact that I’m one of the lucky ones; just because I was born to money doesn’t mean I take it for granted. I have a habit of venturing to the poorer parts of the city to shop because a shirt is a shirt and it’s stupid to spend hundreds of dollars on anything for a penthouse district label. It’s why we had to compromise on escorts for him to humor me and let me go, but today I’d rather just get back home and hole up until the storm I’m playing in blows over.
“You’re coming to the party next month, correct?” He puts his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels and giving me a self-assured grin.
Mentally, I punch him in the face, but externally I just continue to smile despite the pain in my cheeks. “Wouldn’t miss it. If you’ll excuse me, I need to be getting back.”
I turn to leave, but he falls into step beside me and takes some of my bags without preamble. “I’ll walk with you. Never know what sort of trouble a little thing like yourself will run into.”
Gritting my teeth, I struggle to keep the annoyance out of my voice. “Such a gentleman. But I’d hate to be a burden.”
He winks at me and I fight the urge to vomit all over his expensive shoes. “You’re such a sweet girl, Corinna. You need a man looking out for you so no one takes advantage of that.”
Can I kill him now if I claim it was self-defense?
Ultimately I bite my tongue, because it will get me nowhere, not with him. I’ve learned well over the years that I need to pick my battles, and sometimes the quickest way to get rid of someone is to humor them.
We reach my door and I stop just short of unlocking it, extending a hand to take my bags back. “You were so kind to walk me home, but Father would have my head if I entertained without him.”
I weave my coy, obedient daughter act well, as I always remember to in Jax’s presence. I’m not under any illusions that he reports everything back to his father, which in turn spreads to mine. I swear, men gossip more than they accuse women of.
He frowns, but quickly schools his features. “I’ll see you at the party then?”
