Joseph Mills stared at the serious Jack and asked, “Was this your plan all along? To make her fall for you?”

“You sure have a death wish. Do you honestly believe you are talking to someone who is afraid of you or what? Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to break your nose just because you dared to ask me that? I have no idea why she is so attracted to me. I am not that good-looking or anyone important, and I am not rich, so I can never give her the life she has been used to, and even knowing that she still kissed me and said she wanted to be with me.”

“What about you? Do you want to be with her?”

“I think so, but I am not sure yet. We already talked about that, and we agreed to take things slowly. I have my daughter to worry about. Until now, my entire life revolved around Sophia. Now, with Mia, I have one more person to think about.”

The worried father intertwined his fingers over the desk and said while looking at the pile of reports and files in front of him, “Ever since Mia came here last time and said she wanted to learn everything about my company, I have been dreaming of giving her most of the work little by little. I am not going younger, and there are a lot of people who work for me, and I am responsible for them. I was hoping she would meet a young man from a good family, one who could help her deal with all the intricacies my several businesses carry. You have no experience whatsoever in managing, accounting, or dealing with business partners, so I seriously doubt you will ever be able to help her. Not to mention you already have a daughter, and you are way older than Mia. Having money or coming from a prominent family is also a big deal in our social circuit.”

“I am not that old; I just became a father rather young, compared to most guys out there. As for money, I earn enough to live and to save a little. Family, besides my daughter, I have no one. I see that money, a prominent family, and good connections are what you think are important, so we better agree on disagreeing. For me, friends and family are the most significant things in the world. You put your money and your business ahead of everything, even ahead of your only daughter. To me, that is enormous stupidity, but to you, it could be normal. I would never put my daughter at any kind of risk, even for all the money in the world, and you put your daughter in danger with your latest business.”

“I am aware of that fact. That is why I am changing my approach and the way I conduct business. For years, I have been buying companies in trouble, making them profitable, and then selling them to other buyers. Considering what happened to Mia, I am acting differently with the company I wanted to buy when she suffered that kidnapping attempt, and I am going to do something similar with future companies. I made an offer to become an investor and a business partner. Considering the financial difficulties that company is having, they will agree, but that could come with some trouble that I hope you, being Mia’s bodyguard, will help me prevent.”

With a slightly raised eyebrow, Mia Mills asked, “What are you talking about? What kind of trouble?”

“The ones who wanted to buy the company I am after are from a shady group. I already mentioned that. I think they won’t like it if I stand by the company they wanted to buy at a cheap price. They might try something against me or you to force me to back down.”

Jack Cross leaned back, and while Mia looked somewhat worried, he said, “I want to know everything about that group, their members, location, and usual routine. Everything you have about them, I want you to tell me.”

“I can prepare a few files for you. What are you thinking?”

“Instead of waiting for them to make a move, I am going to make mine. If they try something and I have to save Mia, with the possibility I could die because of it, my daughter would be furious, and she would come after you and your daughter, and there is no place in this world where you could hide from her anger.”

Mia turned pale and said in a trembling voice, “She… she would kill us both without any remorse… She is crazy enough for that… and then she would go after the members of that group.”

“That would certainly happen, yes.”

Joseph Mills turned to Jack again and asked, “Why does Mia look so terrified? I thought your daughter was just a kid.”

“She is. But she is also a well-trained fighter. She has had a lot of fighting teachers since she was little. Her mother took care of training her the moment she learned how to walk, and when she died, Sophia continued to train with anyone dumb enough to accept being her fighting teacher. I taught her some things, but she learned a lot she shouldn’t have learned at a young age. There is nothing I can do now besides make sure she avoids fighting whoever annoys her. Mia was not that smart when she stayed in our house, and she often picked up a fight with my daughter. Nowadays, they get along way better, but they still fight and get mad at each other rather easily.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Mia sighed and said, “I like her, but she also scares me. I never know if I will say something that will trigger her or not, and I end up with a fork in my throat.”

“She likes you as well. She even told you that. You already noticed she jokes and makes fun of you a lot. If she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t even talk to you. And she asked you if she should call you mommy, remember? That was because she told me a few days ago that I should try to find a woman, one that I liked, and she wouldn’t mind sharing me.”

“When did she say that?”

With a shrug, Jack explained, “Some days before those guys tried to kidnap you. She said that same thing a few years ago, and I said I didn’t want to worry about someone else besides her.”

While Mia was making an enormous smile, and with her eyes shining, Joseph Mills looked dead serious. He stayed in silence for a while, and he then said, “I have no idea why my daughter seems so fixated on you to the point that she threatened me to leave this room with you and never come back. I do hope you figure out your feelings for her and don’t make her suffer.”

“I will try not to make her suffer, that I can say for sure. And by the way I saw those people and all those kids in the fundraising event talking with Mia, I have a pretty good idea why she seems, like you said, so fixated on me.” Seeing that Joseph Mills and Mia looked puzzled, he explained, “I don’t lie to her, and I don’t try to fool her. I also don’t have any hidden agendas or weird plans to gain something from her. I treat her with kindness and honesty, and I am very direct. Because of that, I always say what is on my mind, and I have no problem scolding her whenever she says or does something wrong. I also praise her when she acts with kindness and respect towards other people.”

Mia held Jack’s hand, and with an awkward smile, she said, “Yes, you were the first to call me a spoiled brat straight to my face and to explain why I was one. It was a rude wake-up call, but I suppose it worked. I am doing my best to change that bad side of me, but sometimes it is hard, but I still try my best.”

With a gentle squeeze in her hand, Jack answered, “No one can ask you more than that. And you can count on me to scold you whenever you fall to the dark side.”

While Mia was smiling at Jack, and with her eyes shining, her father felt his heart squeezing. He knew right there that he was looking at a woman in love, and he really hoped Jack wouldn’t make her sad if he chose not to be with her in the future.

The phone over the desk suddenly rang, and Joseph Mills picked up the call. He frowned as his secretary told him who was calling, and he accepted the call. He stayed a few minutes on the phone call, talking in simple words, letting the other side rant as much as they wanted. In the end, he said, “He probably deserved what happened to him, because you know very well how your son is, but I am going to find out what really happened. You know that I always like to hear both sides of a story.”

He hung up, and while rubbing his face with both hands, he asked, “What happened yesterday with Douglas Clark, Mia? It was his father, and he said his son ended up with a concussion after a fight in the gym where you are also a member.”

“That bastard tried to pick a fight with Jack in the gym a few days ago. In the fundraising event, he tried again, and the security guys kicked him out. Yesterday, he challenged Jack to a fight while I was recovering from my injuries. I was training boxing with Sophia, and that bastard went after Jack. The receptionist was also there, so she can vouch for Jack, and there were also cameras in that room. I already checked with her, and she sent me the recordings, just in case Douglas tried to make up some stupid story or play the victim. He got what he deserved. A concussion might do him good. He might become smarter and learn not to pick a fight with someone he knows nothing about.”

“I see. Well, I hope he doesn’t go after Jack, considering the way he is. Forget that. I hope he goes after you. It will give you an excuse to fix his head for good. I can’t believe I once thought he would be a good match for my daughter.”

While slowly shaking his head, Jack answered, “You really need to learn how to judge people. That guy is too entitled and thinks everyone else is beneath him. Mia was also like that, but he is way worse than she ever was.”

Joseph Mills scratched his cheek and said with an awkward look, “I am probably the one to blame for her behaviour. She changed a lot because of you, that I can say. I am not sure if it was a good thing or not, but time will tell.”

While getting up, Mia said, “If you don’t want anything else, I need to go to work. I am going to be late because of all this nonsense talk. You should find something more important to fill your schedule besides looking at social magazines, like work, for instance.”

As they were leaving the office, Mia asked Jack, “Where are you going this morning? To the shooting range, as usual?”

“Yes, but I will return to have lunch with you, as usual. Do you think you will finish work in time to come with me to get Sophia?”

“I sure hope so because I want to see how her face looks! Maybe she is less swollen, and she won’t try to pick a fight with me so soon!”

When Mia closed the door, Joseph Mills sighed and asked, “What do you think about those two being together?”

His assistant shrugged and said, “Not that my opinion matters, but his influence on Mia is palpable. She kept looking at him with a smile, and her eyes were shining almost the entire time. I think she loves him, and she doesn’t even know how much. She never acted like that with any of her boyfriends, and she never threatened you to leave with him and never return. And let’s not forget she said she didn’t need your money because she can work and earn her own money!”

“Still, he is not from a prominent family or has any money. He is just an employee.”

“A very special employee, I might add. He might not help her with your businesses, but if she works hard, she won’t need any help.”