Forget Me Not

Business and Pleasure

warnings: a little bit of angst, mention of death, a small bit of smut

***

The next day you could hardly get out of bed. Granted you got a total of three hours of sleep. It was warranted.

Daisy was on your case, purring excitedly by your face until you sat up.

"Oh, Dais, I had a very long night." You sat and told your cat about your night. About how you might have ruined it with the man you thought you could get to know.

Daisy licked at your arm, her way of communicating with you.

"I know," you sighed, getting up to get ready for the day. "I push too hard when I want to get to know someone. It's my fatal flaw. At least I've got you."

You easily fell back into your normal routine. As if last night never happened. You weren't going to make an effort if Tom wouldn't do the same. He held all the cards now. Or at the very least, the guilt of what happened last night would compel him to reach out to you soon or leave you like a ghost in the wind.

Either way, you had a few more important matters. First, standing up to your dad.

It wasn't that you hated helping him, running his books and making sure all the money that went through his clients was accounted for. It gave you something to do, a hobby of sorts.

Until now, you didn't understand just how dangerous a life in the mob was. Your dad kept you sheltered, of course you were curious, but you never got too close, you weren't allowed to get close.

You always watched from the sidelines. Saw your dad come home late at night when you were supposed to be sleeping. After your mom... He made sure to distance you as far away from that life as he could.

But when his accountant quit, you felt you had a certain responsibility. You wanted to help him because he's helped you your entire life. He paid for university, your private education, your shop.

It was only a matter of time before he came to you for a favor. You just wanted to beat him to the punch.

But it's gone on for long enough. In just a few short hours, you saw how this life had a toll on Tom. And you knew that, as intriguing as he was, you couldn't keep up your second secret life for long. Not when Tom had nearly unlimited resources and people behind him. You knew what people like him did to those who crossed him.

By the end of the day, you met your dad at a bakery near your shop.

"Sweet pea!" He greeted, hugging you tightly before pressing an obnoxious kiss to your forehead. Nowadays he always attempted to overcompensate his love for you, whether it be through money or hugging you just a little too hard, like he was scared any moment you wouldn't be there for him to hug anymore.

"Hey Dad, how're you? You look tired, are you taking those melatonin gummies I gave you?" You scolded him, taking a seat across from him.

He already bought your childhood favorites, a cannoli and hot chocolate.

"Well, I would've had a perfect nights sleep if it weren't for someone waking me up at 2 in the morning. What was that all about?"

It wasn't unusual for him to skip straight to business. He would've asked you about your friends, or if there was any new boy in your life, but that simply wasn't like him. Your dad got as far as he did in life by being blunt. That didn't stop when it came to his family either.

"We should head back to the shop."

The minute or so walk back to your shop was daunting, to say the least. You didn't want to disappoint your father, make him feel like you were abandoning him.