Daddy's Best Friend (Once Upon a Daddy)

by Kelli Callahan

  “Yes sir.” She nodded quickly. “Apparently he partied a little too hard last night and missed practice this morning.”

  “Bloody hell…” I growled under my breath. “Send someone to his house to get his ass in gear.”

  “Yes sir.” Lauren reached for the phone.

  Ricky Bonds was my biggest client and the one who brought in the most money. He was the quarterback for the Los Angeles Bashers, and he was supposed to be on the field practicing with the rest of the football team—not sleeping off a fucking hangover. Luckily, he was too good for the team to let him go, but Coach Thornton’s patience was wearing thin. Ricky wasn’t going to lead the team to their second Super Bowl appearance if he didn’t show up for practice—and he should have been there early considering that he fumbled the ball the last time he touched it, which cost his team the game.

  A few more plays like that and they won’t care how good he is—he’ll be riding the fucking bench.

  One hour later

  “He’s on his way to practice.” Lauren walked to the doorway of my office and peeked her head in.

  “Good.” I leaned back in my chair. “Any other issues we need to deal with?”

  “No, but you’ve got a few meetings this afternoon.” She held up the tablet that was always in her left hand. “Nothing major, just routine stuff.”

  “That’s fine.” I turned towards my computer.

  “Oh, how are things going with your new roommate?” Lauren lowered her tablet and chuckled. “I still can’t believe you let an eighteen-year-old girl invade your Fortress of Solitude.”

  “No problems so far.” I shrugged. “She moved in yesterday. The rest of her stuff arrives tomorrow. I guess she’s doing—whatever kids her age do. Studying for school or doing homework.”

  “I doubt that.” Lauren grinned. “Classes haven’t even started yet. I bet she’s already broken something or found out where you hide the key to the liquor cabinet—she probably found that the minute you left this morning.”

  “It’s—not locked.” I raised my eyebrows slightly. “Nah, her mother said she’s a good kid. I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”

  “Oh boy…” Lauren looked down and started laughing. “You’re in so much trouble.”

  “Don’t you have some work to do?” I narrowed my eyes and growled under my breath.

  “Yes sir.” She turned and walked back to her desk, but I could still hear her laughing.

  I really hope she isn’t right.

  I was more than happy to help when I got the call from Chrissy’s mother. I really didn’t even think twice about it. Chrissy’s father, Samuel Banks, was my mentor and my best friend when he was alive. Truthfully, he was the only real friend I ever had, and I would have done anything to help his family. I had offered multiple times over the years, but Candice Banks was a proud woman. She refused to take a handout, even when she needed it. She even returned the money I tried to send her anonymously—I guess she knew I was the only one who would have sent it. Being able to finally help was enough for me to open the doors to my Fortress of Solitude, as Lauren put it. I could handle an eighteen-year-old girl—surely.

  Later that day

  I tried to reassure myself that everything was going to be fine when I got home, but Lauren’s warning stuck with me, so I decided to leave the office after my last meeting was done. I was a little concerned that Chrissy hadn’t hit the red button at all during the day. I figured she would at least ask for some lunch. There was a chance she decided to drive into town to pick up something, but that meant she was using one of my cars—which, also filled me with worry. It would be easier just to make sure the house was still standing, the cars didn’t have any dents, and Chrissy wasn’t passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of liquor beside her.

  Damn it, Lauren. I convinced myself this wasn’t a big deal and now my head is going crazy with every worst-case scenario possible.

  “Chrissy, are you here?” I walked through the front door and closed it behind me.

  There was no response, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t somewhere in the house. I checked the garage and saw the cars were all there. The security panel indicated that the garage had stayed closed between the time I left and when I came home. I checked the kitchen and saw a few breadcrumbs on the counter. That solved the lunch mystery. She must have made something for herself—and left a mess. I wiped them off and walked into the living room. No sign of her—and the liquor cabinet looked like it hadn’t been disturbed—not that I would have really noticed since I didn’t drink much.

  What would I be doing if I was her—ah, the pool perhaps?

  I decided to check the pool before I went to the room with the security cameras. If she was in the house, that would have been the quickest way to find her, but my initial instinct was right. She was doing laps in the indoor pool. I was going to just leave her there, but she spotted me before I had a chance. She quickly swam to the edge of the pool and started to climb out. My eyes—well, they nearly bulged out of my head. Chrissy might have been an eighteen-year-old girl, but there was nothing teenage about that body. She was pretty—I obviously noticed that when she arrived, but there was a big difference between noticing she was a cute girl in a t-shirt and jeans—and realizing she was fucking gorgeous in nothing but a bikini.

  Okay, mind out of the gutter. That’s Sam’s kid.

  “Hey!” She grabbed a towel—and thankfully covered up the breasts that were almost impossible to look away from. “I didn’t think you would be home this early.”

  “It was a slow day.” I shrugged and walked down to the concrete that surrounded the pool. “I see that you’ve made yourself at home.”

  “Yeah, I’ve never been in a heated pool before.” She started to dry off her arms. “It’s incredible!”

  “Honestly, right now? The one out there is probably just as warm.” I chuckled under my breath. “It rarely gets cold in California.”

  “Where I’m from?” She raised both eyebrows. “It’s cold in the summer—well, windy.”

  “Yeah, I remember.” I smiled and nodded. “That’s one thing about Chicago and London that I definitely don’t miss.”

  “I could definitely get used to this weather…” Chrissy turned and started drying off her legs—giving me a perfect view of her heart shaped ass in the process.

  Yep, I should turn around and leave—I shouldn’t stare—fuck!

  I didn’t turn around. I watched as she bent down to dry her legs—watched as her bikini slid towards the crevice of her ass and left little to the imagination. She was no kid. My cock started to stiffen in my pants and I still kept staring. I finally broke my gaze and just looked towards the pool. I could still see her out of the corner of my eyes, but at least I wasn’t looking at her like some kind of pervert when she turned around. I reminded myself that she was Sam’s daughter over-and-over, but it was really hard to tell myself that the beautiful woman in front of me was the same little pigtailed kid I saw a couple of times before I moved to Los Angeles. She was all grown up, that was for damn sure.

  “I need to swing by the college tomorrow and pick up some stuff. Are you still cool with me borrowing one of your cars?” She wrapped the towel around her body and started walking towards the door.

  “Yeah—of course.” I nodded quickly. “You could always have John drive you if you want.”

  “I think…” She turned back towards me and bit down on her bottom lip. “I kind of want to drive the Porsche.”

  “Then consider it yours while you’re here.” I walked ahead of her and held the door open. “Unless you just want to drive a different car every day of the week…”

  “Except the Maserati, right?” She gave me a quick wink.

  “Right…” I nodded and followed her into the hallway that led back to the main part of the house.

  I made arrangements for dinner and was relieved when she walked downstairs to eat in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. That—kept me from
staring at least. Unfortunately, seeing her gorgeous curves opened a door in my head that I couldn’t close. I started noticing how her sky-blue eyes shimmered when she laughed—how her lips were perfectly pouty, which made me think about how good they would feel if they were pressed against mine—or wrapped around something else. I felt like I was losing my mind. She didn’t just open a door in my head—she was snuggled up on the couch in my mind and ready to put her feet up. I had to get her out of my mind, and the best way to do that—was with a drink.

  “Hey, that theater downstairs…” Chrissy walked into the living room as I was pouring some Scotch into a highball glass.

  “Yeah?” I looked over at her.

  “Does it have Netflix?” She raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

  “Um, no…” I shook my head back and forth. “I don’t have much time for television. I could probably set it up, if you want, but I’m pretty sure there’s an app on the television over there though.”

  “Ah okay. I don’t get to go to the movies much, so Netflix is about all I have.” She picked up the remote. “Do you mind if I watch something?”

  “There’s nothing at the theater right now that you want to see? No good movies out?” I lifted my glass and took a sip.

  There we go. The alcohol will get my head screwed on straight.

  “There might be…” She shrugged. “But I don’t really want to go to the movies. I just thought it would be fun to watch my shows on the big screen.”

  “No, I mean—if the theater has it, so do I.” I tilted my head slightly.

  “What? How?” She blinked in surprise.

  “Think of it like…” I raised an eyebrow as I pondered how to describe it. “Netflix for those who know the right people.”

  “Okay, well—then yeah. I’d much rather watch something down there!” She smiled and nodded.

  We went down to the theater and Chrissy decided that she wanted to watch a horror movie that had just been released. It wasn’t my favorite genre—but I didn’t care. I fired up the popcorn machine and made a batch. It really didn’t go with Scotch, so I just let her fix what she wanted. Everything in the theater was controlled with a remote, so I set up the movie, got the lights dimmed properly, and walked over to take my seat.

  “This is—kind of like a date.” She giggled slightly, but then her eyes opened wide. “I mean, not that we’re on a date.”

  “We’re definitely not on a date.” I exhaled sharply.

  At least if we’re watching a horror movie I’ll be so busy rolling my eyes at the plot holes to look at her—plus it’s dark.

  I’m not sure why Chrissy chose a horror movie. She nearly threw her popcorn when the first jump-scare scene hit. I saw it coming a mile away. The movie was some sort of slasher film with a villain that could appear and disappear without explanation, despite being a normal guy with no sort of supernatural power. Chrissy didn’t seem to be bothered by the parts that didn’t make sense. She grabbed my arm a few times and once, she even dug her nails in—which made me laugh under my breath. I finished my Scotch long before the final scene was over, and it was wearing off when the credits rolled.

  “That was so good!” Chrissy turned towards me once I hit the button to slowly illuminate the room.

  “Was it…” I shrugged slightly.

  “You don’t like horror movies do you?” She narrowed her eyes at me.

  “No.” I shook my head back and forth.

  “You could have told me…” She gave me a slight nudge with her hand. “We could have watched something you like.”

  “It’s really not a big deal.” I leaned forward and started to stand. “I like sports movies.”

  “You like movies about your job?” She stood up and laughed. “I bet your favorite movie is Jerry Maguire…”

  “No, that was your father’s favorite movie.” I turned towards her. “My favorite movie is Rudy.”

  “That was—Dad’s favorite movie?” She started to blink several times, and I saw a hint of tears. “Mom never told me that…”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something that would upset you.” I immediately felt shitty—I had processed losing my best friend, but it was much different for a child to lose their father.

  “No, it doesn’t bother me. I like hearing things like that…” She looked down and I saw her swallow hard.

  “Your father was a great man.” I felt a strong urge to hug her, not because of attraction, but because it looked like she needed one.

  “I wish I would have known him…” She exhaled sharply.

  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know—well, almost anything.” I offered a hug and she stepped into my arms. “There are a few things I might have to sanitize—for young ears.”

  “Ugh, there you go with that kid crap again.” She leaned against my shoulder and laughed slightly before a sob took it away.

  She cried a little bit while I hugged her. I didn’t mind. I understood why. It was a tough situation all around. When she finally broke from my embrace, we went back upstairs and sat down in the living room. I spent a couple of hours telling her stories about the man I remembered—the good parts at least. I left out the time I saw him snort so much cocaine I had to drive him to the hospital because I thought he was going to overdose and the time I had to stop him from dishonoring his marriage because he was so drunk that he was actually tempted to do more than look. Chrissy didn’t need to hear any of that. She just needed to hear about the man who cried the day she was born—the man who made me swear to look after his family if anything ever happened to him.

  And that’s a damn good reminder that I can’t give in to any sort of temptation. Chrissy is his little girl. It doesn’t matter if she’s all grown up now…

  I stayed up later than I normally did, but it felt good to talk about Sam. We met after I graduated from college and moved to Chicago. I was looking for a fresh start, and while my Rugby career was short, I still got recognized pretty often in London. Sam and I originally bonded over the fact that we both went to USC, which was a big part of why he pushed the agency he worked for to hire me. He hadn’t been there long himself, but he had five years of experience—and I was a sponge that wanted to soak up everything he could teach me.

  I had a lot of guilt left behind when his vices finally devoured his soul. I left Chicago, and in a way, I felt like I abandoned him. I just—couldn’t watch the downward spiral, and I was starting to pick up a few of his vices myself. The most important thing he ever taught me was that I didn’t want to end up like him, even if he was a great man before he took his first hit in the morning.

  “Okay…” Chrissy wiped her eyes. “I guess I should go to bed.”

  “Yeah, me too.” I nodded and started to stand.

  I didn’t offer the second hug, but I wrapped my arms around her when she walked up to me. The door in my head was closing. I was starting to see that the girl in my arms was just that—a girl that was much too young for me, despite her generous curves. I just had to keep reminding myself that she was Sam’s daughter, and that touching her would be the ultimate betrayal of his memory. I couldn’t do that. He was too good of a friend—never asked anything of me except one thing—to take care of his family if anything happened to him. I had done my best to uphold the request, and I would have done a lot more of Chrissy’s mother would have let me.

  I watched as Chrissy went upstairs to her bedroom and decided to fix one more drink before I retired for the evening. I was exhausted enough to fall asleep, but I didn’t want to go to sleep thinking about Sam. That would just make me toss and turn all night. I had enough of those nights after he passed away when the guilt really took root in my heart. I didn’t think I could have actually saved him if I was there, because I tried that before I left, but it didn’t stop me from wondering if I could have done more.

  I’ll try to make up for that by keeping my hands off his daughter, because I’m way too fucking tempted, despite knowing that I shouldn�
��t even think about it.

  3

  Chrissy

  The next day

  Greyson was gone when I woke up the next morning. I showered and fixed some cereal before heading over to my future alma mater. I could have done most of the paperwork online, but I was eager to see more of the campus. I didn’t get to see much when I took my tour and I wasn’t even sure I would be accepted at that point. It still hadn’t fully sunk in that I was going to be a student at the University of Southern California. I was going to be walking the same halls that my father did—possibly even attending classes with some of the same professors. My mother wasn’t thrilled that I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and get into Sports Management, but she didn’t want to hold me back from my dreams.

  I wasn’t really interested in managing clients or representing them like my father did. I wanted to be involved in the Event Marketing side of the industry. It was going to take me an extra year to complete a program in Event Marketing and Sports Management, but I was pretty sure that it would give me an edge over the competition when I started looking for a job. There was definitely a market though—I just hoped there still was in five years. I’d never live in a mansion like Greyson, but I would have an income that let me live comfortably.

  I completed the necessary paperwork, explored the campus a little bit, and was on my way back to the car when my phone lit up with a message from my sister.

  Lorrie: How is it going? Did you make it to the campus yet?

  Chrissy: Yep! I’m just about to head back to Greyson’s house. Hold on, I gotta take a picture of the car I’m driving. You’re never going to believe this!

  Lorrie: Is that a Porsche!?!

  Chrissy: Greyson let me borrow it…

  Lorrie: Holy shit! Be careful!

  Chrissy: I will!

  Lorrie and I traded a few more messages and then I put my phone away before I cranked up the car. It was a beautiful day—well, to me at least. It was probably a normal day for people in California. I decided to do a little window shopping downtown and take the long way back. The car definitely had some horsepower. A quick press on the accelerator put me well over the speed limit. I decided not to push my luck. The last thing I needed was a speeding ticket. Downtown was nice, but I didn’t have any money to spend. I stared at stuff I would never be able to afford for a little bit, and then headed back to Greyson’s house. I had started to turn into the driveway when my phone buzzed. I dug it out of my purse and saw another message from Lorrie.