“She was not afraid. Please spare me that shit.”
“She sure sounded afraid when she called me at three in the morning crying, Alexis.” I frowned. “You know what? I don’t know why I always let you pull me down to your level. We’re done here. Contact me when you’re in town long enough to see Frankie.” I looked at my daughter, who bore the red cheeks of embarrassment, and cursed myself for acting that way in front of her. “Come on, sweetie let’s go.”
“Mom, I’m sorry,” Frankie said softly before we left the room.
“Save it, Frankie. Mommy needs time to cool off before we can talk about this. We will talk about it though.”
I nearly ground my teeth to dust trying to bite my tongue. I took hold of Frankie’s hand and tugged her into the hallway so we could leave.
“Daddy, you know I wasn’t trying to cause drama between you and Mom, right?” Her big brown eyes pleaded with me once we were in the backseat of my chauffeured Lincoln. I reached over and rubbed the back of her hand.
“I know. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I hate feeling like she’s mad at me.”
“You know your mother. She has tantrums but she’ll settle down and hopefully, you two can talk about it. I don’t want you to feel bad for calling me. You did exactly what you were supposed to do.” Even though I showed my ass in the conference room with Alexis, I wanted to make a point to never badmouth her in front of Frankie. I did badmouth the fuck out of her in my mind though.
I hated seeing my kid so down over something that wasn’t her fault. Frankie was an upbeat girl who always had an answer for everything. She was a smartass, which she got honestly from both parents, and she was smart as a whip. Moping wasn’t like her but Alexis could get inside her head and make her feel bad for nothing at all.
“Hey, what do you say we go to my office and you can raid all my snacks?” I smiled and nudged her side trying to coax a pretty grin onto her face.
“Cool. Are you going to have Apollo watch me?” She cocked an eyebrow up at me and I nodded. Apollo was my personal security guard. Now that I was going to have Frankie with me all the time, I needed him on her. I’d eventually get her a guard of her own but until then, I didn’t mind Apollo guarding her.
“He’s so boring and mean.”
“He’s not mean,” I chuckled, scrolling through my phone, reading emails and texts. “I’m going to set up interviews for a nanny next week. I want you to come up with your own list of questions for her.”
“Nanny? Excuse me?” There was my kid. “I’m twelve not five.”
“Yeah, you’re twelve. Not eighteen. Not even sixteen. You’re going to have a nanny.”
“Why?” She squeaked folding her arms. “I’ve been going back and forth between you and Mom for two years and never needed one before.”
For the past two years, Alexis and I made our custody arrangement work. I insisted that Frankie be enrolled in a school in the city and that she didn’t move too far away from me so I could see her. In turn, I didn’t mind if Frankie and Alexis spent summers abroad. Whenever Frankie was with me, I moved heaven and hell to make sure I got the most out of every second with her.
I postponed meetings, brought her into the office, and when I couldn’t have my eyes on her, I had Apollo. Things were different now.
“You’re usually with your Mom, that’s why. When you’re with me, I make sure I clear as much of my schedule as possible and have Apollo keep an eye on you. Things are different with me having full custody. You can spend every other weekend with your mother but now you’re going to be living with me full-time.”
“Yeah, but a nanny? Some old wrinkled lady with a stick up her ass telling me what to do every five seconds.”
“Woah, Frankie, I don’t know what your mother lets you say around her but you know I don’t tolerate language like that.” My brows crashed together as I regarded her. Who the hell had my little girl turned into?
“Of course. Perfect Senator Freeman can’t hear his daughter utter a curse word.”
“What?” I snapped. The car came to a stop in front of my office building but I held Frankie’s gaze for a little while longer. When the driver opened her door, she got out in a huff and immediately buried her nose in her phone. I got out, snatched the phone from her fingers, and looked her square in the eye.
“I know I spoil you, Frankie but your attitude isn’t going to fly. I’m not your mother. I’m going to give you another chance to get your act together before you’re on lockdown.”
I hadn’t intended for my tone and words to make her brown eyes wet with tears but that’s exactly what happened. Frankie bit her bottom lip and sped into the building, leaving me with an impending headache.
“Good morning, Senator Freeman,” Tanya, the front desk clerk greeted me with a bright smile.
“Good morning, Tanya. Did you see which way my daughter went?”
“She got on the first elevator. I think she’s headed to your office, sir.”
“Thanks.” I winked and she grinned a little wider. As I strolled to the golden elevator doors, I felt my back heat up. I looked over my shoulder and saw Tanya staring at me while I walked away. An expertly tailored Brunello Cucinelli suit with double back vents was enough to make any woman stare.
When our eyes met, she dropped her gaze to the
