5. Chase

It had been the longest weekend he could ever remember. And that had only been from Saturday night—when he'd left Colt's house—until Monday morning. He was dying to see Bella again. It was nearly ten at night by the time he'd left, and the only reason then was because Colt was having the girls get their pajamas on before he turned on a movie for them. It was a slumber party, after all.

Even though he hadn't talked to Bella after they'd been introduced, he'd watched her. Like a moth to a flame, his eyes found her wherever she was. He felt bad because he knew she could tell he was watching her and he was pretty sure she was trying not to show her Little side to him. Not when he was about to become her attorney. Not that it mattered. Just because someone was a Little, they weren't any less of a woman or man. It was just another side to who they were. Like he was both a lawyer and a Daddy. He wished she'd understood that. But that's why he'd kept his distance for the rest of the night. He had wanted her to enjoy her time with her friends submerged in a fun headspace.

To his surprise, there hadn't been any wild shenanigans at the party. The Littles seemed to be on their best behavior, which was a miracle when it came to all of them together.

Since he hadn't been able to sleep much the night before, he'd come into the office around five in the morning just so he wouldn't have to sit around his empty house until a reasonable hour. It was nearly eight when Ava walked in, and he'd already had four cups of coffee.

"Morning, boss!" she sang out as she set everything down at her desk just outside his office door.

"Good morning, Ava. All recovered from your sugar high?"

She giggled and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Yep. Colt made me nap twice yesterday and I'm grounded from sweets for a week."

The pouty look on her face made him chuckle. "Grounded, huh?"

Her head bobbed up and down. "Yeah. Well, we're all grounded from sweets. Daddy found our secret candy stash in one of the sleeping bags. He's such a meanie-head."

Chase leaned his head down, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to hold back his laughter. He should have known it was too good to be true that they hadn't gotten in trouble all night.

"Did you have a good birthday? Despite being grounded?"

Ava's eyes lit up as she nodded. "The best. I'm so glad you came. Did you like Bella? She's really nice, right? And pretty. Isn't she pretty?"

Yeah, he was sure there was still sugar coursing through his assistant's veins. And yeah, Bella was nice. Although pretty was an understatement. She wasn't pretty. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. Piercing blue irises and long blond hair with lips that he wanted to run the pad of his thumb over. There was such a sweet innocence about her that made every protective instinct in him come to life. And her curves had made his mouth water. Soft was the word that came to mind when he looked at her body. Big breasts, thick legs, and, if he were to guess, under that baby-doll dress, she probably had a round bottom and soft tummy too. Not that he was about to tell his assistant all of that.

"She was fine. So tell me about her case," he said as nonchalantly as he could.

Ava stared at him for a long moment before she rolled her eyes and sighed. "I never met her ex-husband. They were already in the process of the divorce when she and I met at The Playground. From what she's told me about him, he's a real twat-waffle."

This time he couldn't ignore it. "What exactly is a twat-waffle, Ava?"

The corners of her lips pulled back as she shrugged. "I don't know. It's a funny word but it's not a curse word so Daddy can't wash my mouth out with soap when I say it."

He pinched the bridge of his nose again and took a deep, cleansing breath before he motioned for her to go on. This woman was a freaking handful and he really needed to send Colt a bottle of expensive scotch to congratulate him for dealing with her naughty ass day in and day out. He could only imagine how naughty she'd be if she didn't have a Daddy giving her the rules and boundaries she so obviously needed.

"Anyway, he's pretty mean to her. He calls her names and he's a real jerk. When we first met, she was so quiet and afraid to even play with me because she thought I wouldn't like her. She's getting better but she still has a lot of insecurities that I'm pretty sure he caused."

His hand tightened into a fist as he listened. He hated the fucker already. Anyone who could put down a woman, treat her like shit, say horrible things to her, and God knows what else, deserved the karma that he would make sure came to the guy.

Before Ava could tell him anything else, the front door of the office opened, and he knew without being able to see her that Bella had just walked in. Ava rose from her seat and walked out to reception. She squealed and giggled as she hugged her friend.

"Chase is right through here. Do you want coffee or tea?" Ava offered.

Bella shook her head and said something softly that only Ava could hear. Ava smiled and nodded and motioned for Bella to go in. She was looking down at the floor when she crossed the threshold of his office, and he so badly wanted to go to her and cup her chin so she was forced to look up and see the bright future she had in front of her away from the asshole who made her feel so insecure. But instead, he stood from his chair and held his hand toward the open chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Bella."

She looked adorable. Even though she'd dressed a bit more sophisticated than she had for the party, there was still the Little side of her that was peeking out. From her pastel pink nail polish to the tiny plush toy hanging from her purse. He loved seeing both sides of her.

"I'll just be right outside if you need me. Don't worry, Bella. Chase is on the case!" Ava said as she started to close his office door, giving him a dramatic wink before she let the door latch.

Good lord. He was in so much trouble.