Page 80 of The Daddy’s Girl

Shooting me a narrowed eye expression, she slowly moves her rook to the black space in front of my queen. I chuckle to myself as I replace her player with mine, discarding her piece to the side.

“I wanted you to do that,” she says with her spine straight and her chin jutted out.

I chuckle again. “I know you did.”

As she moves her fingers for her own queen, I wince. Just then, my mother reaches out and gently slaps Amelia’s knuckles. She shakes her head and points at my waiting knight, ready to demolish her strongest player. A move Amelia apparently missed.

“Oh shoot,” Amelia stammers before biting her bottom lip. “I didn’t see that.”

Seeing my mother focus on the game settles a tense ball of nerves in my chest. The game is one of the few things she has left. The staff here say she’s been growing less and less interested in it, and she’s too far gone to win a game on her own anymore. Most times we play, it’s for connection and ritual. She’ll often move pieces without strategy, but every once in a while, like today, she grasps on to a moment of lucidity and plays a real move. One she taught me as a child.

I blink the moisture out of my eyes as I watch Amelia play another pawn, and my mother slowly slips away again.

Amelia glances up at me, noticing the change in my mood. Under the table, her leg touches mine, a show of comfort.

“I brought up my plan to have a fashion show at the club to the team yesterday.”

My head snaps up. “You did? What did they say?”

She smirks as she nods at the board. “It’s your turn.”

“What did they say?” I persist.

As she leans over, resting her chin in her hand, I admire the soft freckles fading on her pale cheeks. “They loved it, of course. To my surprise, Phoenix and Elizabeth seemed the most excited.”

“Why is that a surprise?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Sometimes, I feel like the other women in the company don’t really…respect me. I’m not as smart as Phoenix. I’m not as bold as Elizabeth.”

My brow tightens as I lean forward and take her chin in my hand. “Do not say that. You are just as smart and bold.”

She rolls her eyes and pulls away. “You’re just saying that because I’m your goddaughter and you’ve always thought I was better than everyone.”

That is true. I have always had a soft spot for Amelia.

“I still believe it,” I say with a slight growl to my voice as I deliberate on the game again.

“Well, the good news is that they are on board and they’re going to help me.”

I slide my rook down the line. “So what’s next?”

Her breath comes out in a precious huff. “What’s next is that I get to work. I need to write up a plan and delegate tasks to everyone. I have to actually finish designing the line and then find a production team to help me put it all together.”

She speaks like all this is a burden, but I see the excitement flashing in her eyes.

“What can I do to help?” I ask as I watch her put herself within two moves of a checkmate. She’s defeated my knight, which makes her think she’s won something.

I grin as I move my piece.

“You can help keep me on task. Don’t let me give up or get distracted. Just keep me motivated and remind me why I’m doing this.”

Nodding, I reply, “I can do all that. Whatever you need, Trouble.”

She turns toward my mother, who is still watching the board and paying no attention to our conversation. When my mother’s eyes lift to Amelia’s, she seems to be as enraptured as I am.

“It’s because he’s retired now,” Amelia tells her in a teasing tone as if the two of them are gossiping about me. “He’s bored, so he has to give me stuff to do. You should tell him to just go back to work at the club. Then maybe he’ll stop hounding us so much.”

Amelia looks at me, giving me a flirty wink that sets my heart on fire.