Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“I don’t really play,” Aurora hedged, not knowing what he wanted her to do.
“That needs to change, Little one. I have a surprise for you. First, you will wear that black dress I hope hugs your curves as much as I think it does.”
“My little black dress? Isn’t that going to be too fancy?”
“Not for a princess wearing a tiara.”
Aurora grinned at him. She loved her tiara and wore it frequently. Drake had urged her to choose more treasure from his lair, but she was perfectly content with the beautiful headpiece.
“I’ll look forward to logging off this evening then.”
“Five o’clock precisely. At one minute past five, you can say goodbye to the internet.”
“That’s harsh,” she said, frowning.
“Consider it my way of protecting your bottom from a spanking. It’s a positive thing,” he suggested.
“Oh. Five o’clock is a great time to end my workday.”
“Exactly.”
At two-thirty, she was ready to be done. If there was anything bad that could happen, it had erupted. That morning, the computer system had suddenly rejected hundreds of classifications she’d already completed. Brandon had not been happy, but at least he had confidence in her work. The technology department had been working on it all day and it still wasn’t working. Now she was facing redoing all that work.
“Give them another hour to figure out what’s going on,” Brandon told her. “Then start reclassifying the lost data.”
“Okay. I’ll be glad to do some overtime to get this caught back up,” she offered, knowing she could devote some time that weekend if necessary.
“We’re not going to consider that until the tech department tells us everything is lost. I’m hearing from other supervisors that ours is not the only area that has suffered data losses.”
“Yikes. I’m sorry to hear that.” She was actually sad for everyone else but relieved she hadn’t screwed something up.
“Just keep working on new files. Back them up in an emergency save file just in case,” Brandon ordered.
“Will do.”
After signing off, Aurora stood and stretched, trying to reduce the stress that had built all day in her back and shoulders. She glanced at the time again. A bit over two hours. Come on, five o’clock!
At four-fifty, a message popped up on her computer. Files restored.
“No way!” she thought, feeling a burden lift from her shoulders.
Messages pelted in from her teammates who celebrated with her. Fireworks displays and gifs of dancing gnomes decorated her screen as she viewed all the happy thoughts they’d sent. Brandon’s message of Enjoy your weekend meant the most. He’d known how concerned she was.
Deciding her supervisor meant for her to log off a few minutes early, Aurora quickly checked her emails for anything that needed an immediate answer. She clicked herself out two minutes early.
When she reached the doorway, Drake lounged against the wall. He was dressed in a well-tailored tuxedo that fit his strong body like a glove. She tried not to drool and instead threw her hands up in the air to celebrate her on-time arrival. Aurora even added a “Ta dah!”
“Good girl,” he praised, walking forward to kiss her deeply. While she tried to recover from that, he scooped her up in his arms.
“I can walk,” she pointed out. “I’m going to wrinkle your suit.”
“This suit can be pressed. I like carrying you, Little one. You want to make me happy, right?” Drake asked, carrying her away from her work area.
“Of course. Daddy? Why’s it so dark in here? Look at the lights. And the table!” She struggled to sit up more in his arms to get a better view and then stared over his shoulder as he continued to walk.
There were twinkling lights hung around the dining table. It looked magical. The table was set for two like it was the finest of restaurants. Candles were lit in the center. She’d seen more silverware lined up next to the plate than she knew existed. And the beautifully folded napkin added a special touch.
“Did you do all that while I was working?”
A delicious smell wafted past her. “Oh, my, goodness! What are we eating?” Her voice stressed different words as she suddenly became ravenous.
“Our anniversary dinner, of course. First, we need to get my princess ready.”
He stopped and looked down at her. Aurora loved the heat in his eyes as he scanned her body.
“You look perfect the way you are.” He turned as if to carry her back to the table.
“No, Daddy. I want to be as dressed up as you and the table are!”
“As you wish. One tiara coming up. You will look glorious sitting at the table nude wearing it on your glistening hair.”
“I’m wearing that black dress. Remember, Daddy?”
He sighed deeply as he walked into their bedroom. “If you insist,” he allowed. Setting her feet on the floor, he kissed her lightly before stepping away to head toward the closet.