Page 23 of Mariah

“I am now. Thank you.”

“Good luck. When you talk to her, let me know how it goes.”

“Will do.” He hung up the phone and stripped, exhausted from the extra-long work day but already excited to get back to work in the morning and see Mariah again.

Throwing back the covers, he climbed in bed, and was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Chapter 10

Mariah

“I’m here,” Mariah announced as she stepped into the kitchen the next morning. She didn’t know what else to say because she wasn’t quite sure why she was here even earlier today. It felt like something had changed, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“Good morning.” Chef Graham looked up from the menu and greeted her with a smile.

His dimples made her tummy drop. “I umm… should we…” She gulped. “Should we step into your office?”

“Let’s talk out here.”

Mariah frowned. Talk? She’d been expecting something else. Her bottom clenched as she anticipated being plugged and spanked again. “I guess,” she finally answered. “What do we need to talk about?”

“I just want to get to know you.”

This made no sense to Mariah. They often talked while they worked and she felt like Chef Graham knew her just as well as Baze did, if not better. But she could tell that whatever he was about to say was important to him. “Okay.”

“Can we go into the dining room?” Without waiting for an answer, he took her hand and led her into the same room where the unfortunate mushroom incident had occurred and the same room where he’d surprised her with a promotion and her favorite dinner the night before.

The remnants of the dinner parties had been cleared away, the linens sent off to laundry, and the extra chairs and tables folded up and stored out of sight. Only one remained.

They walked over to it and this time Mariah waited for him to pull out her chair. He beamed as he did so, waiting for her to sit and scooting in her chair when she did, before taking the seat opposite her.

“I remembered to wait this time,” Mariah announced, even though it was obvious he’d noticed.

“You did. Such a good girl you are.”

When he praised her, her tummy did flips and her panties moistened with the juices of her arousal, making her uncomfortable. She was pretty sure she was not supposed to feel these things about her boss. She frowned.

He noticed her change in expression. “What’s up, little one? Why the long face?”

“It’s not sadness,” she was quick to reassure him. “Just a little… confusion. Lately, you keep saying these things that are very Daddy-like. And you’re supposed to be my boss. You made it very clear you had no interest in being a Daddy.”

“You’re right I did. And I’m sorry to confuse you, but that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“It is?” Mariah gasped. She didn’t want to get her hopes up but it kind of felt like her dreams were about to come true.

“It is.” Graham took a deep breath. “When I first came here, I did it because it was a good offer, and I believed in the project of creating a safe and fun space for Littles and their caregivers. I also truly and firmly believed that I wanted to and would be able to avoid being around Littles at all costs.”

“You did?” Mariah gasped. “But… you gave me a job!”

“Baze asked me to, and I didn’t feel like I could say no. I didn’t want to work with you at first. The idea of being around a Little again brought back all sorts of awful feelings and fears. But then… I met you. And you were sweet and smart, kind and funny and more than competent. Besides that, I could tell we had things in common. I enjoyed working with you. And even though I tried to keep my walls up, I realize now, they were never meant to stay up. They were just waiting for the right Little to come along and make me feel safe enough to allow them to be knocked down. And you did that. You do do that.”

“I do?” Mariah was incredulous.

“You do. I’d gotten so used to feeling hopeless, and you made me feel hope. You made me realize that what I went through with Kaylie was because of Kaylie, not because of me or because Littles are all inherently bad and manipulative. It was just her. And her sickness. I always knew those things intellectually, I suppose but I wasn’t ready to believe them or let go of the guilt I felt.”

“But now you are?”

“Now I am.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “Because of you.”