Page 81 of Santa Daddies

The clipboard was taken, not by me, but by my Daddy. He flipped through the pages and then looked around the room as if doing calculations in his head. Finally, he turned his gaze on me. “I think your count is off…”

Victory is ours!

“See! I told you! It’s a mistake!”

“It’s not a zillion, but it is definitely ten thousand.”

“What! That can’t be right!” When he held out the clipboard, I had no choice but to take it. I mimicked his moves and flipped through the pages, but all I really needed to see was the number at the bottom of the sheet.

“No, it’s not. It’s only five thousand.” I tapped my nail against the number while turning the board toward him, “See?”

“Babygirl, while that is definitely a number, it’s not the one I’m referring to. See the little hyphen in front of that number?”

“Ummm…”

“This hyphen.” Dan tapped his pinkie finger on the page.

I prided myself on not biting it off, choosing to nod instead while answering, “Yes, Sir.”

“That indicates the discount Celeste gave you. Look further down at the next number, and you’ll see the ten thousand I’m referring to.”

I so did not want to drop my eyes, but it was too late. Reading upside down or not, I couldn’t miss it if I’d tried, not with Dan’s oh so not helpful assistance. How I managed to nod and swallow hard at the same time was a mystery, but I managed.

“That is the price you’ll be paying for the privilege of taking possession of”—he waited as Dan’s finger slid higher to tap another number—“ten thousand little porkers.”

I turned the clipboard back around and took a longer look and groaned. He hadn’t been joking. I was standing in the midst of ten thousand piglets. With each little piggie costing a dollar, I had just spent $10,000 which was at least double the amount of my entertainment budget for the entire Christmas season, and thatincludedthe annual party. How that could be was still questionable, but the proof was staring me right in the face.

There’s no shame in retreat.

I squeezed my eyes shut again. Not to attempt to deny what was happening but in an effort to keep the tears at bay. As lovely as retreating sounded, I knew I could withdraw all the way to the North Pole and it wouldn’t be far enough. This was more than a catastrophic goof—this could be the end of me.

Gulping audibly, I looked up to find both men’s eyes on me. Shame? It really was an awful, awful feeling.I could feel my face turning the color of all those blasted pigs. “Dan, I’m uh… do you think maybe Celeste could give me a day or so? I’m not trying to get out of what I owe, I promise. It’s just that, um… I think I’m going to have to check my bank account and um, see if I can move some money around.”

While Dan’s eyes widened, it was only for a brief moment before they filled with understanding. My Daddy’s looked a little softer, but perhaps that was merely an illusion.

“Sure, I mean, I’m sure she’s willing to work something out if?—”

“Sign it, babygirl,” my Daddy said, cutting Dan off. “Your error isn’t Celeste’s fault. I’ve got you covered.”

“Oh, thank you, Daddy!” That’s so nice of you! I promise I’ll pay you back.”

“Never had a doubt.” He chuckled.

The first warning bell jingled when his eyebrow lifted. The second chimed in when I saw it hadn’t arched in that bottom-clenching sort of way, but in that wagging up and down way that had the butterflies in my tummy fluttering their wings. Suddenly I was pretty sure my Daddy’s idea of payback wasn’t running along the same tracks as mine. Before I could strike any kind of deal that wasn’t going to involve my butt, he’d turned away and was rifling through our junk drawer.

Paddle! Run!

He wouldn’t, not with Dan standing there!

Dan, member of his club—his BDSM club—Dan?

Oh, crappola. I hadn’t considered that. I was about to follow her great advice when muttering drew my attention back to my Daddy.

“I know there’s a pen in here somewhere.”

Before I could offer to run, and I meant just to his office and get one, or even down to the store a few states over, Dan stepped in front of me.

“No worries, I’ve got you covered as well. Here you go,” Dan said, pulling what turned out to be a pen from where he’d tucked it behind his ear.