Page 120 of Power Play Daddies

I look at Mason, who’s staring at his phone like he’s in some kind of trance. “Mason?”

“I need to call my mom,” he mutters. “She’s gonna kill me.”

I hear the doorbell ring. My heart stops.

“Oh no,” Beau says, looking at his phone to access his front porch camera. He pales.

“Who is it?” I whisper.

“Fuck.” Beau’s voice is low. “It’s your uncle.”

Kieran curses under his breath. “We’re so dead.”

I don’t even have words. I’m about to be fired. For real, this time. There’s no way Uncle Ace is gonna let this slide.

We hurriedly get dressed, although Kieran has to help me as I waddle around.

Beau walks over and opens the door. I know my face has gone completely white because I feel the cold sweat on my skin.

Uncle Ace walks in, looking pissed, eyes narrowing as he looks around at the mess we’ve all gotten into.

“I assume we all know what the hell is going on here?”

This isn’t gonna be pretty.

I can see the tension in his jaw. Kieran is still holding my hand, tight. I don’t think he’s letting go anytime soon.

I want to scream. I want to run. This is a mess I didn’t mean to make.

Uncle Ace pushes through the door. “What the hell is going on?” he demands. “You really did this? With the whole damn world watching?”

His gaze shifts to Beau, then Mason, then Kieran. His face twists in frustration. “You lied to me. You said this was just a job, and now I’m seeingthis—a fucking circus. What do you think I’m supposed to do with this?”

I jump to my feet, my chest tight. “Uncle Ace, I didn’t?—”

“Don’teventry to explain,” he snaps, cutting me off. “You’ve got the whole goddamn internet watching. My best players caught up in some kind of fucking mess, and I’ve got to clean it up.”

Beau opens his mouth, but I beat him to it.

“I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just—” I pause, looking at the three men behind me. “I never meant for it to happen like this. I didn’t mean for them to get caught up in this. This isn’t what it looks like.”

“Really?” Uncle Ace glares at me. “You think I’m an idiot? You think I don’t see what’s going on here?” His eyes flick to Beau. “You’re their leader, Blaze.Youshould’ve known better.”

Beau’s voice is calm, but it’s tight. “We didn’t want this either, Ace. You know we would’ve kept this quiet, but Daisy’s not just some game to us. We’re not?—”

“Not some game? What the hell else am I supposed to call this?” Uncle Ace spits the words, his frustration exploding. “You’re all involved in this, and now I’ve got to answer toeveryoneabout why I’m letting this shit go down right beneath my nose. You made me fucking complicit. If it was up to me, I’d bench all of you. Maybe that’d teach you a fucking lesson.”

“No,” I blurt out, panicked. “You don’t get it. It’s not like that. I—I love them. It’s not some… some scandal. It’s not a game. I’m not playing anyone. This is real.”

My breath catches. It’s too much. Too much pressure, too much anger, and too many questions all at once.

And I know what I’m saying, but I also know I’mso fucked. I just want to make this right, but it’s not that simple.

Uncle Ace freezes. There’s this flicker of disbelief in his eyes. Then his jaw tightens.

“Love them?Really?You’re not a kid anymore, Daisy. Youcan’tjust play these kinds of games. This is a business.”

His words hit me harder than I expected. He’s not seeing me. Not hearing me. This isn’t a game to me. This isn’t a business, either.