Daddy’s Little Pet

ROBERTProperty of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

The woman staring at me from across the table was the polar opposite of the bubbly woman I’d fallen in love with as a teenager.

She had a mischievous, almost frightening expression, which seemed out of place in the small, cozy, expensive restaurant.

She couldn’t have looked more ridiculous-at least to me-in a skintight dress that exposed too much of her skin and fake curves.

She’d gone overboard with the dressing tonight, trying to impress me and up her game. But I didn’t care. I never gave a damn.

On the outside, she was beautiful in a plastic way. Her lips were smeared red with lipstick, and heavy makeup covered her face. But on the inside, she was sorely lacking. She appeared as a caricature of herself.

A caricature I despised and loathed with every fiber of my being.

Just a few years ago, I’d sworn to spend my life with this caricature who’d given birth to my son.

But now?

Now, we were strangers, staring at each other from across a table. Despite how warm the building was, I felt uncomfortable being in the same room as her.

The tension in the room- at our small table rather-was palpable, and I opened my lips to finally say something, but she beat me to it.

“Robert, dear, you’ve been staring at me for quite some time now. Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Her voice was smooth as butter, and the hypnotic tone made me snicker.

She was faking everything-her voice, clothes, pretty much everything. It made me scrunch my nose in disgust.

If she noticed how irritated I was, she said nothing. Instead, she stretched out her long, well-manicured nails and reached for the glass of sparkling cider she’d ordered. Taking a healthy gulp, she continued to stare at me.

“Robert, dear…”

I hissed as she said my name again.

“What do you want, Amanda?” I asked bluntly, trying not to sound too annoyed, even though my jaw clenched as I spoke.

Her blue eyes widened for a split second, then she smiled at me and, placing her hands on the table, she began, “Oh, Robert, there’s no need to be so harsh and nonchalant like you’re not even a bit happy to see me.”

Was she being serious?

Happy to see her? Oh, Christ!

My fists clenched beneath the table, but I relaxed, knowing it was in my best interests to remain calm. On the other hand, Amanda had always known how to make me lose my cool.

She was familiar with the buttons that irritated me and enjoyed pressing them.

“Is this some kind of stare-down game between us, Robert?” She blinked, giggling as she took another sip of her drink. “Come on, now.”

“Amanda, I hate repeating myself. What do you want?”

“What do I want? What am I doing here? Why did I request this meeting? You’ve asked me these questions since I walked through the door…..” She snickered. “It’s monotonous and exhausting, ex-husband. Why not add a little spice? You know I’ve come to see you because I miss you. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, and I…” She trailed off, her eyes glazing over, and I became more irritated.

To think I’d canceled my date with Renee because of this. Now, I realized I’d made a terrible decision.

I knew it was the wrong one the moment I’d sent Renee that text, but I couldn’t backtrack because I’d agreed to see the bitch.

As persistent as ever, Amanda had scheduled a dinner date with our son and me after blowing up my phone yesterday with various calls and texts I’d refused to acknowledge.

She’d tagged the invite, Dinner Date as One Big Family, and sent the details to my secretary, who’d shown me earlier this afternoon.

I wanted to decline initially, but the thought of seeing my son after all these years tugged at my heart, and I accepted the invitation.

So, where was my son? There was no sign of him. Instead, I sat opposite the devil in this dimly lit restaurant, wanting to grip the walls and squeeze them in my hands.

“I genuinely miss you, Robert. It feels like you’re getting more and more handsome every time I see you. You’re looking great, dear…” She was flirting with me again, but I stared blankly, not responding to her chicanery.

She had one of her fingers in her lips, obviously trying to be seductive, but her actions only infuriated me.

“What did I expect? You’ve gone silent again, and now you’re busy thinking of whatever. What a shame.” She muttered after a period of unbearable silence, her lips upturned in a pout that made my skin crawl.

“Where’s D?” I asked, staring at her blankly and anticipating her response.

“Huh?”

“You told me you’d bring my son with you. If I remember correctly, this is a family dinner, according to the invite you sent to my office this afternoon. So, where is he? Or was this a trick?”

“Oh! He canceled. He couldn’t come because he had something very important to attend to.”

“Something more important than family?”

“Unfortunately, yes. According to him, anyway. What does it matter? When did you start to care about this family, Robert?” She paused after making a slight jab. “You barely see your son or check how he’s doing. You only send him money for upkeep, and that’s it. Now you’re claiming that family is important to you when you don’t even know the first thing about it.”

“Says someone who’d been fucking another man on her marriage bed while heavily pregnant.” I said harshly, without thinking twice.

“What? Robert!” She exclaimed, her lips quivering as color rushed to her cheeks.

She looked mortified, her eyes darting around as she tried to see if anyone nearby had overheard. Fortunately for her, everyone in the damned restaurant minded their business.

“Yes. So, if I don’t care about this family, as you claim, I don’t know what to say to someone like you.”

I shrugged and stared her down, a smirk on my face, as I waited for her to say something else. However, she still felt ashamed, and her whole body trembled. I could see the anger pooling in her eyes.

Thinking back to my harsh words, I briefly closed my eyes, inhaling deeply as I remembered that incident- one of many things Amanda had fucking done to me. God! She was horrible.

When I opened my eyes again, I noticed she’d composed herself and no longer looked embarrassed.

“You know we don’t have to be this way every time we see each other, Rob. Years have passed, and surely-”

“Well, I wouldn’t be this way if I wasn’t sitting here with you. You asked for this, Amanda. You brought it upon yourself.” I interrupted her, not wanting to listen to her shit anymore. “How did you get the number you called yesterday?”

“Oh, that-”

“Yes, that. How?” I asked again, brows quirking in confusion as I tried to recall if I’d given anyone else that number apart from Renee.

“I don’t know what to tell you Robert, but you know I have my way around things. You don’t have to be so surprised.”

“The same way you knew I was in Orlando and booked a flight to come terrorize me, right?”

“I came to Orlando because I wanted to see our son. He’s been living here since he finished college. Your being here was a coincidence. When I first called you, I got your location through a tracker. Sorry if I misled you and gave off stalker vibes.”

“Hmmm…” I mused, pondering what she’d just told me.

Even though I wanted to call it a bluff, I knew she was telling the truth this time, and a small sigh escaped my lips.

“I figured out the number I called was your private number. Don’t ask again how I got it. I’m sick of talking to your jerk of a secretary, and I wanted to hear your voice. I wanted to speak to you directly and plainly, but you didn’t answer the phone.”

‘I was with my girl.’ I muttered inaudibly to myself as I listened to Amanda’s diatribe.

“Well, here we are now, and I’m glad-”

“Glad you got a chance to be alone with me, right? You don’t need to say it again.”

“Robert, D would have come, and this would have been a proper family meeting. I told you he had something urgent come up, and I’m not leaving Orlando anytime soon. I know you’re not, either. We could reschedule the meeting, and I guarantee he’ll show up. I’ll forcefully drag him with me if I have to.”

“He blew this opportunity, so I’m not optimistic.”

“Robert! Remember, he’s your son. He is a product of your flesh and blood, irrespective of what I’ve done and-”

“Oh, Amanda, just cut it!” I interrupted, and she stopped talking.

“Your tactics in getting me alone worked, but you should also know I will no longer be entertaining you without our son…” I said, staring at her with disgust. “Rest assured, I know I’m not a bad father because I’ve done more for my son than you could ever do. Strangely, he seems to only listen to everything you say though. I need to leave. There’s nothing else here for me.”

“Robert!” She called out, her eyes widening in surprise as she watched me stand but I paid her no heed. Instead, I checked the time on my wristwatch.

Grabbing my wallet and dropping a large wad of cash on the table, I turned to face her and delivered my final warning.

“Amanda, stay out of my way. I’ve warned you numerous times and done everything I could to ensure you get the message. But nothing seems to be working.” I sighed, done talking to her. “Well, I’ve paid the bill, and you can take the change if you want. Have a nice night.”

I excused myself from the table before she could react, quickly walking away with long strides.

“You can’t just up and leave me here, Robert!” She yelled my name like a maniac, but I continued walking straight toward the exit, not turning back or stopping.

She was drawing a lot of attention, as she always did, and I could see people staring at her, but it didn’t bother me.

Amanda was free to do whatever she pleased. She could get all the attention she wanted while acting like the crazy self-centered bitch she was.

My only regret was canceling my date because of her, and I couldn’t even call to meet with Renee cause it was too late.

If I called, she’d probably be asleep, and hissing another idea popped into my head, and I acted upon it just as fast as it came.

When I left the restaurant, I took my phone out of my pocket and turned it on to see a barrage of calls and two texts from Renee.

Reading through the messages, I could tell she was deeply concerned about where I’d gone, and my heart tightened.

I had to make amends with my baby girl, and I would.

Swiping up, I searched for the contact of the manager of the delivery company who handled my orders, and when I saw his number, I quickly dialed it.

He answered on the second ring, and walking toward the parking lot where my car was, I began belting out my request.

“Hello. I want to make a delivery for Miss Renee again….”