Chapter 13

Later that morning, Roxie and Dexter were in her father’s office.

She was going through plans for an upcoming runway show while he went over some more files he’d received from Chad when Thomas arrived home.

The first thing he did before going to see Claudia was to go see his daughter, finding her in his office.

“Sweetheart,” he said, going over and giving her a hug. “Oh, how I’ve missed you.” He turned to Dexter. “Do you have any more information on who’s trying to hurt my baby girl?”

“Not yet, sir, but I’m still working on it. May I have a word with you before you go to see your wife?”

Thomas sensed this was going to be a serious talk, so he asked Roxie to leave them alone.

“Actually, sir, I think she should stay here since it involves her.”

“All right, so what the hell is going on? I hope this isn’t going to take long. Claudia will be upset that I haven’t gone to see her before now. Well, I’m waiting,” he said, looking from him to Roxie.

He didn’t like the look they were giving each other.

Dexter stood up and faced the man who was sitting behind his desk. “Sir, when I took this job, I had no idea of what I was getting into, that is, meeting the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.

“I won’t go into great detail, so I’ll just come out and say it. I am deeply in love with your daughter. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did.”

Thomas’s face turned a dark shade of red. His eyes grew wide, and he pounded his fist on the desk.

“When I hired you to protect my baby, I was assured that you never got involved with your female clients. Now I find out you did just that, and I sure as hell don’t want to hear if you slept with her.

“You’re fired. Get the fuck out of my house.”

“Sir, I have never gotten close to my clients, but I can’t help it that I fell in love with her. I will not leave her unprotected. I can still keep her safe and will give my life to save hers.”

“Get out!” he yelled.

Roxie got up and went over to Dexter, placing her hand on his chest. “Leave me alone to talk to my father.”

“I’ll be right outside the door,” he said, touching her cheek before leaving the room.

He hoped she would be able to talk some sense into him because there was no way he was going to leave without her. Fired or not, he was still going to protect her.

She turned to her father. She could tell he was furious. She went over and stood in front of him.

“Dad, you can’t fire him. He is the only one that can keep me safe, the only one I trust. We didn’t mean to fall in love, but as you know, these things happen, as they did with you and Mom.

“If you send him away, I’ll be going with him.”

Thomas was shocked to hear her say this. “You can’t be serious. And how can you be in love with him? My god, girl, you’ve only known him for less than a month.”

“You told me when you met Mom it was love at first sight, so you know it’s possible.”

“What about Joseph? I did promise him your hand in marriage.”

“I will never marry that man. He is not as nice or good as you think he is. He threatened you and said if I didn’t marry him he would destroy you financially.

“To be honest, he scares me. I really believe he would be an abusive husband and would try to control my every move.

“I don’t love him. I love Dexter. Please, Dad, give us your blessing, and let him stay.”

“He’s just a bodyguard. He cannot provide for you the way I do, or the way Joseph could. What can he offer you?”

“I don’t care if he is rich or poor. And what he can give me is true love. Dexter is a good and honorable man. He loves me for who I am, and not because my father is rich.

“I love you, Dad. I don’t want to leave you, but I will.”

Thomas ran his long fingers through his thick hair. He did not want to lose his daughter.

“Is this man really that important to you that you would give up all of this?” he asked, waving his hand around.

“Yes, he is. I would live in the back of an alleyway with him if I had to.” Her heart was pounding so hard inside her chest that she thought it was going to explode.

She could tell from the look on her father’s face that he was ready to give in. When he nodded his head and held his arms out to her, she went into them.

“If Mr. Sinclair is the one you want to be with, and you love him, I give you my blessing.”

“What about Joseph?” she asked, looking up at him.

“You let me worry about him. I know he will be angry, but perhaps we can come up with a different deal. And you need not worry about him trying to destroy me.

“He may have more money than I do, but I have just as much power and friends, so there is no way he can do anything to harm me.

“Now, go and tell Mr. Sinclair to come back in here. I need to have a few words with him.”

She threw her arms around her father. “Thank you, Daddy. I love you so much.”

When she left the office, she found Dexter leaning against the wall. “My father has given us his blessing, and he wants to see you.”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “He hasn’t got a gun in there and is planning on shooting me, is he?” he asked jokingly.

“No, I promise he won’t hurt you. I’ll wait for you in the living room,” she said, giving him a quick kiss before he walked back into the office.

Just her luck, when she went into the living room, there were Joseph and Claudia, having their tea and talking. They looked up when she entered the room.

“I hear your father has returned home. Why has he not come to see me?” Claudia asked in an angry tone.

“He’s busy talking to Dexter. I’m sure as soon as he’s done he’ll come to see you,” she answered. She went over to the side table and poured herself a cup of tea.

She sat there, being ignored as the other two continued talking. Not that she cared. She disliked both of them and didn’t want to talk to them anyway.

She would have left and gone into another room, but she’d told Dexter she’d be here and was anxiously waiting for him to come to her.

She just hoped that her father wasn’t giving him too hard of a time.

***

Dexter walked into the office and over to the desk where Thomas was sitting. “Sir, I understand you wanted to talk to me.”

“That’s right. Take a seat,” he replied, pointing to the chair across from him. “There is only one thing in this world that means more to me than all of this,” he said, waving his hand around.

“That is my daughter and her happiness. What are your intentions towards her? Are you planning on marrying her?”

“I love Roxie, but right now I’m focused on finding the person who is after her. When everything is over, then we’ll take it from there.”

“You say you love her, but what happens when you take on another job and could be gone for weeks, maybe months?

“Not to mention how dangerous your job can be. I’d hate to see her put in danger because of who you are and what you do.”

“As I said, I can’t make any plans for the future right now. I will say, though, that no matter what I do, I’ll discuss it with her.

“I’m sure you’re also wondering how I’ll be able to support her. Believe me when I tell you that won’t be a problem.”

“How do you feel about her job and her dreams?”

“I’ll never stand in her way. She’s her own woman, and whatever she wants to do, I’ll be there to support her. And just so you know, it’s her I want, not your money or whatever money she may have.

“All due respect, sir, whether you like it or not, we love each other, and no one is going to keep us apart, not even you.”

Thomas chuckled. “You can stop now. I’ve already given you both my blessing. Just make her happy, and don’t ever hurt her, or I’ll have you killed.

“Go on now. I need a few minutes alone. And if you see Joseph, tell him I need to speak with him.”

“What about your wife?”

“Claudia? She can wait. She’s used to it.”

Walking into the room, he saw Roxie sitting by herself, sipping on a cup of tea. He gave her a smile when she looked over at him, and he started walking toward her.

Without looking at Joseph, he told him that Thomas wanted to see him. Claudia left right after he did, leaving the two alone.

“How did it go with my father? I hope he didn’t give you a hard time.”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, but he did make some good points.”

“Like what?” she asked, putting her arms around his neck.

“I can’t give you the lifestyle that you’re used to. I’m in no way poor, but I can’t give you all of this.

“I also want you to know it’s you that I love and want, not because of who your father is and what he has. I think he’s also worried that you might give up on your career.”

“Money is not important to me. You could be homeless for all I care. I love you. I’m sure you would never want me to give up being a designer.”

“You’re right. I would never do that.”

He started chuckling. “I wish I could be in that office when your father tells Joseph marriage to you is off the table. I’d love to see the look on his smug face.”

They decided to take a walk in the garden, knowing that her father and Joseph were going to be talking for quite some time. Sitting on the bench, he put his arm around her shoulder.

“I imagine dinner might be a little awkward tonight,” he said, kissing her softly on the lips.

“I don’t care what they say or think, and now that Dad knows about us, we don’t have to hide our feelings any longer.”

He got up and held out his hand for her to take. “It’s time to face the music. Are you ready?”

Taking his hand, she got to her feet, giving him a big smile. “Oh, I’m so ready for this.”

They went inside and walked into the dining room, where everyone was already gathered. They were still holding hands, letting the others see.

This time he was the one to sit next to Roxie. He looked over at Joseph with a smirk on his face.

“Well, it appears as if you two are a couple,” Joseph said, grinning.

“You seem to be taking it well,” Dexter replied.

He thought for sure the man would be angry, but instead he seemed pleased, overly pleased, which had him wondering what was going on. A man like Metcalf never gave up without a fight.

“What can I say? I guess the better man won.”

Roxie noticed the diamond necklace Claudia was wearing, knowing it had to be new and must have cost ten thousand dollars. “That’s beautiful. Is it new?”

“Yes. It’s a gift from Thomas.”

Just then, Douglas and one of the other staff members started bringing in the food and setting it down in front of them.

Roxie looked at the clock on the wall and frowned. When Dexter noticed, he asked her what was wrong.

“Carson said he was sending my dress over, but that was hours ago.”

Suddenly Douglas cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Miss Greene, I do apologize. I forgot. It was delivered a few hours ago.

“I set it on the table in the den and was going to tell you, but I got busy, and it slipped my mind. Please forgive me.”

“Oh Douglas, I was waiting for hours for it. I wish you had remembered, but it’s okay. I’ll go take a look at it now.”

Claudia spoke up. “Roxie, it’s rude to leave the table in the middle of dinner. Eat first, and then you can see it. It’s not going anywhere.”

Thomas gave Roxie a smile. “Sweetheart, I know how hard you worked on it, so go ahead and take a look at it. Bring it in for the rest of us to see,” he said, earning a dirty look from Claudia.

He smiled when his daughter got up and rushed out of the room.

“Thomas, why must you always undermine me when it comes to her? You spoil that girl, and it’s like she can do nothing wrong in your eyes.”

“Darling, she has been working on that design for months. It’s like her baby. Let her enjoy it, since she has been through so much lately,” he said, placing his hand over the top of hers.

“Someday her designs are going to be in every store. She’s really good, and maybe if you play nice, she might design something for you.”

She moved her hand away. “No thanks,” she said sarcastically.

Moments later, she came back with the box unopened. “I wanted to open it in front of you all, so you could see it at the same time as me.”

She looked at Dexter, who was smiling back at her as she slowly lifted the lid off. Looking into the box, her face turned pale and she let out a scream, causing everyone to jump out of their seats.