Filthy Daddy (Her Billionaire's Baby Book 3)

by Ellie Wild

  Settling onto the couch before the television, I couldn’t help smiling as I watched my dad pace the stage, speaking to his riveted audience. He was a natural, and his charisma just leapt off the screen. I knew he had to look even more impressive to those actually out in the audience.

  As I sat there watching my father’s speech though, I began to wish I had gone out to watch from the crowd when my mind began to wander in ways I didn’t want it to.

  If I’d been out in the big crowd, it would have been easier to keep thoughts of Colt at bay…

  But as usual, whenever I sat idly for too long, he popped into my mind, particularly the last time I had seen him.

  Every night, I’d been tossing and turning, thinking about him and convinced that he hadn’t truly meant those hurtful words he’d said to me. But I didn’t want to be in denial; I refused to be one of those girls who couldn’t accept what was right in front of their faces.

  Colt had openly resisted me that night. He hadn’t even wanted to be in my presence. And most of all, he hadn’t been able to say that he loved me back. After all we’d been through, he just didn’t feel the same.

  In his words—it didn’t matter.

  My heart broke a little more each time I thought about it, but I knew the only thing I could do was move on and wait until time mended my heart back together again.

  I just wished it wouldn’t take so damned long.

  “Natalie…”

  I jumped at the sound of someone calling my name in a sing-song voice. Turning around to the sound of clicking high-heels, a smile spread across my face. “Eden!” I cried out.

  She skipped toward me, her arms outstretched and ready for a hug that I gladly returned.

  “Girl, it feels like it’s been forever!”

  “I know!” I said. “What are you doing here?”

  “My dad and I flew over in support of your dad, of course!”

  “Well, I’m so glad you’re here. I haven’t seen you since Turkey!”

  “Well, you’ve understandably been busy—future…what would you be called? Second-daughter?”

  I laughed. “Let’s not count our chickens before they’re hatched.”

  “Your dad has this in a bag,” Eden said confidently, taking my hand as we both sat on the couch and turned to the television to continue watching the rally. Dad was now taking questions from the audience, explaining the ideas and policies he would like to someday see implemented in our government.

  “So…” Eden said, a grin on her face, “the last time I saw you, you were in the company of a very handsome stranger. Anything ever become of that?”

  I hung my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yeah—a headache.”

  Eden’s brow furrowed as if she hadn’t been expecting that response. “What do you mean?”

  “Things didn’t work out.”

  She pouted. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Would you believe he ended up on my dad’s security team?”

  “Hmmm…” she said, and then grew quiet, clearly waiting for elaboration.

  “Yeah…And uhm…Well…things started happening between us. My father ended up wanting him to be exclusively on my security detail. And we tried to keep things professional between us at first. But then, things grew into something more. Or at least I thought they did. I was wrong though. First, he claimed to have feelings for me and that he would basically be with me no matter what. But then, he abruptly changed his mind and said he wanted to keep things strictly professional between us.”

  “He said that?”

  “Yes. I…I was so angry. I thought that maybe he’d just been lying to me all along. Using me. That he was done with me after he managed to get what he wanted a couple times…I felt so used. So disgusted with myself for falling so hard for him. I should have known better. Guys like him are nothing but players and always will be. I don’t know why I expected him to be different. I made a fool of myself, Eden. I kept coming on to him, thinking that he privately must have felt the same way and that he was just resisting me to be noble. But now I see that he was resisting me because he was never serious about me to begin with. He just wanted to whisper sexy words in my ear until he was done with me.”

  A silence stretched between us. My eyes had gone out of focus, clouded with tears, as I stared at the TV.

  “Did you give him a chance to explain himself?”

  “There’s nothing to explain,” I said with a sigh.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Sometimes—like you said—you can’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”

  “I think those chickens hatched and ran away already,” I said. I thought I saw a secretive smirk on Eden’s face, but as I heard my father’s words drifting from the television, I didn’t have time to think any further about it. He had finished the question-and-answer segment, and was giving his final words. That meant it was time for me to report to the stage with him and put on my happy face to greet the crowd.

  I stood from the couch. “Well—it’s about that time,” I said, turning toward Eden. “Hey, what are you doing tonight? Do you want to hang out?”

  Again, as I looked at her, I got the feeling she was holding back on something. She tried to arrange her face back into a neutral expression, but I knew her well enough to know she was concealing a smile. I narrowed my eyes at her, confused.

  “Let’s take a rain-check on that, all right? You never can know what will be going on tonight. I’ll be in town for a while though, so trust me—we will definitely get a chance to hang out again soon.”

  “All right…” I said. “Text me.”

  With that, I turned around and headed back toward the front, until I reached the curtain. I stood there for a moment, waiting for my cue to go out on stage. Once Dad and said his last words, music would start playing, and that would be when I went out on stage with him.

  Approximately ten seconds later, that time came.

  Taking a deep breath to control the nerves that always arose in me at times like this, I pushed the curtain aside and stepped out, plastering a smile onto my face.

  The crowd erupted into even louder cheers at the sight of me, as they always did for some reason. My father had joked a time or two that I was popular enough to enter a career in politics myself. But I couldn’t imagine such a lifestyle; I much more preferred law.

  Dad turned toward me, holding his hands out. I grabbed his hand and together, we took a bow toward the crowd. The music continued to blare and the crowd continued to cheer excitedly.

  I was taken aback by the sheer volume of the crowd. It seemed that with each rally Dad gave, the turnout just kept growing bigger and bigger. This was certainly the biggest crowd he’d had to date. I glanced sideways at him, wondering if he found it as overwhelming as I did. But just as I should have expected, he was handling it all with expert poise. Still holding my hand, he headed toward the edge of the stage with me in tow, where he began leaning over to shake hands. Security guards followed behind us, and moved to the front of the crowd as well, making sure nothing got out of control.

  As I shook hands, I glanced around the crowd, spotting Ms. Penson toward the front. She smiled warmly and waved at me, and I waved back at her.

  I then began looking around at the various signs being held into the air. The signs were always my favorite part. Dad’s supporters were full of creativity and often came up with great slogans to show their support. I had mentioned to him before that if he secured the nomination, he should consider asking supporters to help come up with a campaign slogan.

  My heart stopped at the sight of one sign though. I stared, wondering if I was seeing correctly. It wasn’t a sign for my father. Instead, it read: Natalie For My Heart.

  I looked at the person holding the sign, and it was none other than Colt.

  Tears welled in my eyes, and in that instant, I knew I had been stupid for all the wrong reasons.

  I knew I shouldn’t have believed it when he claimed
he wanted nothing but a professional relationship with me. We had made too strong of a connection for that.

  Smiling and laughing through my tears, the instant I made it across the stage and close enough for him, I dove right into his arms.

  Loud cheers erupted all around us as our lips met.

  CHAPTER 18

  Natalie

  I couldn’t have planned it better, but the last few months had been pure bliss.

  I had even passed the BAR exam. I couldn’t put into words how much of a weight off of my shoulder that was.

  Needless to say, there was a lot to celebrate.

  I turned my head sideways, smiling at Colt in the driver’s seat. Perhaps sensing my gaze, a slow smirk spread across his handsome face. “What is it?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “I’m just…happy. Everything worked out in the long-run.”

  “As I told you it would,” he said.

  “Even your cocky attitude has been restored.”

  He laughed. “So, your dad is meeting us at the pub, right?”

  “Yes,” I said. “He might even be there already.”

  “Or he might stand us up in favor of celebrating a night in with Milly. Maybe you might not be an only child much longer.”

  “Okay, stop it. That’s just gross,” I said.

  Colt laughed, pulling into the parking lot of the pub. He gave a low whistle, glancing around at the numerous cars parked. “Looks like quite a crowd.”

  “Yeah…” I said, growing slightly apprehensive.

  “Well, it’s not like you’ve got much to worry about, right?” He glanced upward into the rearview mirror at the secret service agents in the car behind us.

  “I guess you’ve got a point,” I said. “that’s certainly going to take some time getting used to.”

  “You’ve had a lot of practice already. First with me trailing your every move, and then Jones.”

  “Yeah, but this is different.”

  “I guess,” Colt said. He cut off the car engine. “Ready?”

  “Yep.”

  We exited the car and headed toward the pub, with the secret service agents trailing quietly behind us.

  Just as we had expected, the place was crowded. Immediately upon entering, a huge sign was on display, reading, ‘CONGRATULATIONS, VICE PRESIDENT FINLEY.’

  I felt like smiling and cringing at the same time. I was somewhat superstitious, and didn’t like seeing my father referred to as the Vice President already. There was still a very long time until election day. Nevertheless, I did feel that probability his team winning was pretty high.

  Colt took my hand in his, and we entered the pub to an outburst of applause. We actually had become quite famous in our own right, and it was still taking me some time to work out how I felt about that. News cameras across the country had captured perfect footage of Colt and his sign, as well as me jumping into his arms. Now, there was constant speculation about when the wedding bells would be ringing. While I didn’t like the pressure and attention this put on us, Colt didn’t seem to mind. And as for various campaign strategists, they all but thought it made my father’s ticket a shoe-in for the win.

  “Everyone loves a good love story to cheer for,” one of the campaign strategists had said when I inquired about whether the attention Colt and I were getting was appropriate for the campaign.

  I could see her point, but I also hoped that none of it interfered with my law career, or Colt’s new job; he had just been offered a position at an Embassy downtown in DC.

  I guess we would both find out soon enough though.

  As for right now, however, it was simply time to celebrate our good fortune and get ready for the long campaign ahead of us. We all knew the real work was just beginning.

  We smiled and waved, shaking hands with people who’d come to the bar in support of my father officially making the ticket.

  Colt leaned down to whisper into my ear. “There’s your friend.”

  I smiled, already knowing exactly who he was referring to. I turned to see Eden pushing through the crowd. Cameras flashed at her as she made her way over to us. We hugged and she kissed both of my cheeks.

  That day at my father’s rally, I learned that she had spotted Colt in the crowd holding his sign when she arrived. When I realized that had been the reason for her unusual behavior and the secretive smile she had kept trying to hold back, all I could do was laugh. She had been right about needing a raincheck regarding whether we were going to hang out that night; Colt and I had spent that entire night in a hotel room, eating strawberries and using the whipped cream on each other’s bodies.

  After we had told my dad, of course. I had never seen Colt so nervous. But luckily my father had already suspected and was fond of Colt, so we were in the clear.

  Beaming from ear-to-ear, she looked toward Colt and then back to me. “So, do I get an official introduction now?”

  I laughed. “Colt, this is Eden. Eden, this is Colt.”

  They shook hands. “Nice to meet you,” Colt said. “Officially, that is. I certainly remember you already for that night in Turkey.”

  “I bet you do,” Eden said, wiggling her eyebrows. “And you want to thank me, right? Because I’m the one who sent this girl over to you. She was all shy, drooling over you from afar.”

  “Eden,” I said.

  Colt gave a hearty laugh. “I definitely owe you then! Thank you, a thousand times.”

  Eden took a bow. “My pleasure. All I ask is for you to pick a handsome best man for me to walk down the aisle with at your wedding.” She winked, and all I could do was shake my head. “I’ll be back. I’m going to get us some drinks,” she said.

  “I never knew politicians had such sassy children,” Colt said with a laugh.

  “I guess it’s time for you to get used to it,” I said.

  “I’m already used to it.” He stooped down to kiss me, making our crowd of observers cheer some more.

  Eden returned with our drinks just as the roar of the crowd reached an almost deafening pitch.

  “Your dad is a rock star!” Eden yelled over the crowd.

  I nodded, having come to the same conclusion some time ago.

  It was astonishing how far he had come, but I suppose it wasn’t too surprising. My father had always been a hard-worker. Plus, he was smart, driven, friendly, caring, and everyone who met him could tell that unlike typical politicians, he genuinely wanted to bring about change for the better. He was the kind of politician that only came around once in a lifetime, and all the top news outlets were already holding non-stop discussions about his chances of actually being the President one day. While it all made me nervous, it also made me extremely proud of him.

  Security guards from the pub began requesting for guests to clear an area to permit my father room to make an entrance. The crowd began to disperse, clearing a path at the doorway, all the while continuing to cheer.

  Eden began to pump her fist in the air and chant, “Finley! Finley! Finley!” and not before long, it seemed like the entire pub had joined in.

  A group of secret service agents arrived first, strategically positioning themselves around the pub and preparing for my father’s entrance.

  Next, none other than Milly Penson walked in, a sheepish look for her face. The poor woman was entirely new to all of this, and I knew just how disorienting it was. Colt and I both began waving our hands so that she could spot us through the crowd. Grateful to see familiar and friendly faces, she hurriedly made her way over to us.

  “My goodness, this is really something,” she said, hugging me.

  “It sure is,” I said, hugging her back. “I guess we’re just going to have to get used to it though.”

  “I think you’re right,” she said. She chuckled and shook her head. “And your father had the nerve to not expect a big turnout.”

  “Always modest,” I said.

  “Tell me about it,” Milly said.

  Finally, the man himself made his entrance. From the
look on my father’s face, I immediately knew Milly had been right; he hadn’t at all expected this level of interest in his pub gathering. The place was filled to capacity, and from the sounds of it, there were even people outside who couldn’t get in but still wanted to congratulate him and wish him the best for the general election.

  The instant he was inside the pub, with secret service surrounding him, his eyes scanned the premises in search of me, Colt, and Milly. When he saw us standing safely in the distance, his expression relaxed. He smiled and blew kisses our way, and then headed farther into the pub.

  He reached the bar, where the event organizers had set up a platform turned into a temporary stage. A microphone was placed in his hand, although he did not speak for quite some time. Instead, he posed for pictures and shook dozens upon dozens of hands.

  When the crowd began to chant his name louder by the second, he raised a hand to silence them, the smile never leaving his face.

  “Wow…” he said, clearly overcome with emotion. He shook his head. “This is more than I could ever ask for. I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight. I cannot tell you how much this means to me.” He paused as the crowd applauded. “Tonight is a very special night, for multiple reasons,” he continued, causing the crowd to quiet again. “So before I say any more, I want you to all turn around, and congratulate my daughter, Natalie, for passing her BAR exam!”

  Heat rushed to my face as hundreds and of eyes turned my way, clapping and cheering.

  “And I’m sure you all recognize the outstanding young man beside her. Colt, I very literally wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I cannot thank you enough for your services, and I wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors. Thank you so much for coming into our lives. I don’t know if it’s a little early to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway. Welcome to the family.”