The Boyfriend Diaries: A Romance Box Set Collection

by S. E. Law

  It makes sense after all. It’s possible that Kenneth lives in the penthouse because I know his father’s firm practically owns this entire town. What’s another penthouse to the Carltons? They’ve probably got fancy apartments all over the world, just waiting for their arrival.

  The bell dings, and the doors whoosh open once more. I step hesitantly into a lavishly decorated hallway, but it’s clear where to go. There’s only one door on the far right, and I wince a bit in my high heels as I make my way to the imposing entryway.

  Hesitantly, I press the doorbell. There’s no sound and my heart lifts. Oh my gosh, maybe Kenneth’s forgotten about our appointment and I can sneak out of here without having to encounter him. But then footsteps sound on the other side, and my heart sinks. Drat, I knew it was too good to be true.

  The door creaks open but instead of seeing Kenneth’s hulking mass, instead I see the handsome older man who had the other corner office at Carlton Realty.

  “Um hi, I’m here to see Kenneth?” I ask hesitantly as my cheeks flush. “I’m Katie McCall.”

  The man smiles while stepping back to open the door.

  “Yes, of course. I’m Xavier Carlton, Kenneth’s father. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  My mouth gapes open and my eyes grow wide. Holy hell, this is Kenneth’s dad? It seems impossible because they look nothing alike. This man is dark, handsome and imposing, with his broad shoulders and muscular bulk encased in a dark suit. Meanwhile, Kenneth is of middling height, extremely pudgy, with a fair complexion. How can they even be related?

  “Oh thanks,” I say while stepping into the penthouse. “I didn’t realize that Kenneth lived with his parents, but I guess it makes sense. The economy has been so tough that a lot of young folks now live at home to save money. I would live at home too if my mom were easier to get along with,” I say by way of explanation.

  But them my mouth snaps shut and my cheeks color. Why did I say that? I just met this guy, and revealed my poverty to him for no reason! How could I be such a dunce?

  Plus, upon entering the apartment, I can tell that the Carltons have more money than they know what to do with. The place is incredibly spacious and beautifully decorated with towering ceilings, glittering chandeliers, and huge, arched windows that show off the dusky night beyond. It’s the kind of place you’d see in a designer magazine where they try to sell you furniture that costs an arm and a leg. Plus, to top it all off, there’s a glimpse of the moon through the window on my right, lending a romantic air to the setting.

  “Your wife did a beautiful job decorating this place,” I say, my eyes wide. “Is she a professional designer?”

  The older man grins.

  “Actually, I’m divorced from Kenneth’s mom,” he says while the corner of his mouth quirks up. “We got divorced a while ago actually. But Ken was already in high school then, so hopefully it didn’t affect him too much.”

  I stare at this man. Is he sharing personal information with me too? Do we both have a case of verbal diarrhea?

  “Oh, I think Kenneth’s turned out well,” I say with a small smile. “We knew each other in high school, albeit not well, but I never noticed anything wrong with him.”

  The handsome man leads me to a sofa and smiles again at me.

  “Really? That doesn’t sound like the Kenneth I know. My son has always been … interesting, shall we say?”

  I stare up at this man from the gorgeous greyish-silver sofa. What do I say? Do I tell him that I think his son wants something unspeakable from me in exchange for letting my mom remain in her apartment? Do I reveal the nasty innuendoes to him, and beg for an escape?

  But nothing comes out of my mouth because in fact, there’s nothing to say. Ken hasn’t really made me an offer yet. There have been dirty hints that make me shudder, and his commands to “dress pretty” and “wear sexy lingerie” exist. But if confronted, Kenneth could deny it all. He could say I was a liar, and then it would just be a “he said, she said” scenario.

  Besides, I don’t know Xavier Carlton. He’s making fun of his son, but he probably loves Kenneth with all his heart and would be deeply hurt if I made even the tiniest negative comment. As a result, I decide not to say anything. I’ll just murmur a few bland platitudes, and then he’ll leave as his son appears.

  But what does Kenneth have planned? How is he going to seduce me if his dad is right here, in the same apartment? Or is there a diabolical aspect to this all? For example, is Kenneth going to take me into the basement and tie me up, all the while his dad remains unaware upstairs?

  I force myself to calm down. This isn’t a horror story, I say to myself in a firm voice. You’re not going to be kidnapped and then thrown into the dungeon of a castle like some helpless princess. You’re you, Katie, a regular girl. You’re not even special enough to be kidnapped.

  As a result, I make myself take a breath and smile guilelessly at Mr. Carlton again. My breath catches when something flickers behind those dark blue eyes, and my heart begins to race. Does he know what I’m thinking? If he has a sense of the kind of person his son is, does he realize that I’m probably in danger at this very moment?

  But Mr. Carlton doesn’t say anything. Instead, he merely nods and then asks, “Can I get you a drink?”

  I stammer.

  “Um, sure. What do you have?”

  His lips quirk in a smile again.

  “Well, can I serve you a big girl drink? Or would you like something like a milkshake or a juice?”

  I stare at him briefly. This is such a weird conversation. Why would he offer me a milkshake, or even a juice for crying out loud? Those are kids’ drinks.

  “I’ll take an adult drink, thanks,” I say quickly. “Rum and Coke if you have it.”

  He grins.

  “Coming right up.”

  With that, the handsome man walks over to the mini-bar and lets himself behind the bar, where there’s a shelf of expensive liquor. He pulls down a brand of rum that I don’t recognize and then begins mixing the drinks.

  “So Katie,” he rumbles while putting together my order. “It seems that your mother lives in one of our apartments, isn’t that right?”

  I try to remain calm.

  “Yes, that’s right,” is my slow reply. “Kenneth must have mentioned it to you. By the way, is he here? I was supposed to meet him tonight, and we were going to talk a little about that. I didn’t see you call him or buzz him, but maybe I missed it? I was hoping to put in a good word for my mom, you see.”

  Mr. Carlton is silent for a moment as he adds ice to the glass tumblers. Then he lifts them both and comes out from around the bar to bring me my Rum and Coke. Damn, this man is so good-looking. His skin is deeply bronzed, and my hand shakes a bit when he hands me the drink.

  Xavier notices and a gleam appears in those blue eyes again. But he merely folds his tall form into a chair across from me and gives me a calm look while sipping his drink.

  “Actually, Kenneth doesn’t live here so he won’t be joining us,” the older man rumbles. “You’ll be meeting with me.”

  I gape at him.

  “But this is the address that the secretary gave me at Carlton Realty,” I stammer. “I thought I was coming to Ken’s apartment. Maybe they gave me the wrong place?”

  Mr. Carlton looks amused.

  “No, they didn’t. Kenneth lives in this building, but he has his own place on a different floor. Only I live in the penthouse,” he says with a knowing smile.

  “Oh,” I say dumbly. “So you must have told the doorman to direct me here, instead of to your son’s apartment.”

  “That I did,” the dark man acknowledges with a dip of his head.

  “Does Ken know?” I ask, sitting up suddenly. “Because he’s going to think I’m blowing him off if he doesn’t, and I don’t want my mom to be kicked out of her apartment because of it.”

  The handsome man throws back his head, revealing the bronzed muscularity of his throat, and laughs deep in his chest.
<
br />   “Ken knows,” he says. “And trust me. We decided together that it was best for him to leave this issue to me. You don’t need to worry about my son anymore. You’ll be dealing only with me from here on out.”

  I’m stunned and my eyes grow wide.

  “Oh okay, great. Thank you, Mr. Carlton. I’m so glad that you’re open to negotiation because my mom’s in a really tough position, you see. She has her own business, so she gets really busy. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s called Dinah’s Delights downtown, and she sells cupcakes. My mom makes plenty of money, don’t worry,” I say quickly. “It’s just that she’s so busy that she sometimes forgets things like paying the bills.”

  Mr. Carlton nods and looks thoughtful.

  “Yes, I can see how that would happen. When I opened my own shop thirty years ago, I was also completely overwhelmed. I was Carlton Realty’s first CEO, but I was also its first janitor, its first accountant, and its first IT guy, if you can believe it.”

  I stare at him. There is no way this imposing man was ever taking out the trash. But he merely sees my shocked expression and chuckles.

  “It’s true, Katie. Many times, an entrepreneur has to wear many hats because they’re the one ultimately in the hot seat. There’s honestly no one else in many cases, and all the money on the line was mine. So I did everything and anything that had to be done in those early days. Including cleaning the bathrooms,” he says with a wink.

  My shoulders relax a bit and I let out a sigh. Xavier Carlton is actually easy to talk to, which is surprising, seeing the difference in our ages. If he’s Kenneth’s dad, and Ken is the same age as me, then he must be at least forty-five or more? Fifty? Fifty-five? I’m not sure.

  But it doesn’t seem to matter. Mr. Carlton has a wry sense of humor that speaks to me, and despite the lavish surroundings, I feel quite at ease. I giggle a little myself and smile back at him.

  “I can’t imagine you cleaning the toilets, Mr. Carlton.”

  “Oh, you bet I did,” he says with a low chuckle. “It was especially bad after we had an International Food potluck at the company in the late nineties. Let me tell you, Mexican food can wreak havoc with peoples’ digestive systems, and it was not fun to scour bathrooms the next day.”

  I giggle again, my cheeks flushing. It’s such a far-fetched scenario, that I can’t even imagine it ever took place. This handsome man used to put on scummy clothes and become Mr. Maid with a broom and a mop in his hands? It seems such a far cry from the imposing CEO sitting before me today.

  But he merely smiles again.

  “You gotta do what you gotta do to succeed,” he quips. “In the old days, that meant I had to do everything. But you know what? Sometimes I miss it. I miss having a small company to lead, where I knew everyone’s names, their birthdays, and their kids. Now, Carlton Realty is so huge that I hardly ever know anyone on a personal level anymore.”

  I nod, just thinking. Wow, Xavier Carlton sounds like a man of the people, actually. He’s not a king sitting on some faraway throne. Instead, he’s someone who values personal connections and probably inspires a lot of loyalty and admiration among his employees. I’m stunned, and more than a little impressed at this revelation.

  After all, I know how hard it is to be a leader. Not that I have any experience, but I’ve had some bad bosses over the years, and they were terrible. I used to work in the library at school, and my manager there was a total nightmare. She thought she was the next President of the United States, despite the fact that we were really only in charge of the Science section within the library as a whole.

  “Re-sort those books,” Marjorie would command, looking down her nose at me while pointing with an imperious finger. “Then put them all back on the shelves.”

  “But people might still be reading them,” I say. “It’s not closing time yet, and maybe the people reading them left the books open on the table for easy access.”

  Marjorie shook her ginger curls and shot me a look of disgust.

  “No, definitely not, Katie. No one’s been at that table for three hours, so just do as I say, okay? Trust me, my word is the law around here, and it’s not worth it to fight.”

  My mouth snapped shut. Of course it wasn’t worth it to fight. This was a job that paid eight fifty an hour, so I wasn’t going to bust my chops arguing over something as simple as shelving a few books. Still, I hated Marjorie and didn’t respect her judgment, nor her leadership skills. Yet Mr. Carlton, within the space of fifteen minutes, has already inspired a sense of awe and respect that I didn’t feel for my old boss at all.

  Not to mention that he’s insanely good-looking. The man’s inky hair is brushed back off his face, showing off his proud forehead and Roman nose. His cheekbones are high and his mouth strong, although the lips are sensuously sculpted at the same time. How is that possible? How can a man have both a sensuous yet firm mouth simultaneously?

  I wonder what it would be like to have a man like this kiss me. I bet he’d know exactly what he was doing, unlike the losers I’ve kissed in the past. Those boys left trails of slobber on my cheeks, and often I had to brush my teeth after their ministrations. It was just too gross. Sometimes, I even gargled with Listerine afterwards, in case there were any disgusting bugs going around.

  As if reading my thoughts, Mr. Carlton smiles at me again with a knowing glint in those blue eyes. But I can see something churning behind that polished exterior, and it speaks of … well, I’m not sure what. I guess I’ll have to find out, and my heart beats with anticipation.

  36

  Xavier

  Holy shit, can I do it? I’m not sure, to tell the truth. After all, Katie’s obviously a very innocent girl. She must be about the same age as Kenneth, which makes her twenty-eight or so, but still. This is no hardened, middle-aged woman with brassy hair and a red-lipsticked smile. This is a young, pliable girl with spun gold for hair and a demure yet sassy way about her, which has me utterly hooked.

  After all, I like them sweet. Or maybe I should be more specific. I like Daddy Dom / little girl play, which requires a woman who’s innocent, but also open-minded and mature. I know what you’re thinking: why would the DD / lg lifestyle require a woman who’s mature? In this lifestyle, an older daddy takes care of a little girl. So wouldn’t the woman in the relationship fit the role better if she were immature and juvenile?

  But that’s where critics get it wrong because DD / lg play requires high levels of communication and understanding from its participants, but especially from the woman. It’s a power exchange of sorts, and it requires trust between the parties. As a result, the woman needs to have the mental maturity and strength to know that even while she’s modeling the behavior of a little girl, that she is not in fact a little girl. She’s a grown woman who’s enjoying some light roleplay in order to titillate her male partner of choice.

  That’s where I come in. I’m not a hardcore Daddy Dom who likes his girls to wear diapers and suckle pacifiers. Instead, I’m the kind of Daddy Dom who enjoys light play, such as flirty baby doll dresses, pigtails, and maybe some treats along the way. I don’t need my girls to be an infant, and I’m not looking to infantilize anyone either. I just crave innocent, cute, and playful little girls, who also happen to be insanely filthy in bed.

  What can I say? I’m not sure how I developed this preference, but it is what it is. I like my girls innocent and lovely, and it looks like Katie could be it. After all, she’s here to negotiate on behalf of her mother, which shows incredible maturity. And yet, she has an amazing sense of timing and grace, and hasn’t been pushing the issue, although it must be on the forefront of her mind.

  I decide to get the ball rolling. There must be a middle path between us, seeing that Katie wants something that I can provide. I’m happy to give it to her, so long as she understands that I want something very special in return.

  I smile at her again.

  “So how can I help you?” I ask in a low and calm voice. “You mentioned that your mom li
ves in the Alastair Apartments, right? And she’s been there a while?”

  Katie nods quickly.

  “Yes, and Dinah’s been a great tenant for years. She usually always pays her rent on time, it’s just that she’s been getting more and more forgetful lately. I think it’s because her business has been doing really well, but that’s a good thing, right? Tenants with money can afford to pay rent.”

  I nod, steepling my fingers as if in thought.

  “That’s true, but many people are forgetful,” I say slowly. “Why should I give Dinah a break? Just as an aside, we keep a waitlist of hundreds of potential renters at the central office, and more than a few are willing to pay a significantly higher price than what your mom is paying for that same apartment.”

  Katie stares at me with surprise. It’s clear she wasn’t expecting this interesting tidbit. I’m not sure what she expected, but to realize that there’s a line of other renters right behind you waiting for their shot must be unsettling.

  “Well, I can make sure she pays you on time from here on out,” she says in a rushed voice. “I will personally make sure that Dinah walks her rent check in each month if it comes to that, and like I mentioned to Kenneth, I’m happy to make good on any back payments owed right now,” she says, fumbling in her purse for a checkbook. “Here,” she says, pulling out a piece of paper and holding it out to me with trembling fingers. “I already wrote it out. The three months she’s missed totals twenty-four hundred dollars, and it’s all right here.”

  I take the check and look at it thoughtfully.

  “Thank you, I appreciate this. We appreciate this,” I clarify. “But again, it’s not just about timely payments. There are people who are willing to pay a thousand dollars a month for your mother’s apartment, and that’s two hundred more than what she’s paying now. And as you know, we have every right to evict your mother. When a judge hears that she’s missed three months of payments, he or she will definitely side with Carlton Realty.”