Shrugging, she nervously began tapping the brush against her leg. “I dunno.”
“Olivia Jane Monroe, unless you want me to blister your bottom with that brush every day for the next week, you’d better start talking.”
“It was big, okay?” she blurted out, tears again filling her eyes. “It was at least three, maybe four normal margaritas, just in one gigantic glass.”
“So, when you received said margarita, did you honestly believe you were obeying my rule to only have one drink?”
“No, Daddy,” she whispered.
“But you drank it anyway, even though you knew it was naughty and disobedient.” The disappointment in his voice nearly brought her to her knees.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“And this morning, when you kept insisting you only had one drink, you knew that wasn’t exactly the truth.”
Her tummy twisted itself into a gigantic knot. “I guess.”
“So you lied to Daddy.”
Too miserable to speak, she nodded.
“Are disobedience and lying allowed in this house, Olivia Jane?”
“N-no, Daddy.”
“No. No, it is not. And because it is not allowed, you are going over my knee for a very long, very hard spanking with your brush on your bare bottom. And by the time you go to bed on Saturday, I expect a two-thousand-word essay on why lying isn’t tolerated in our house. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good.” Leaning back in the chair, he crossed his arms over his chest and pinned her with a stern glare. “Now, let’s talk about this morning.”
God, she just wanted this part over with so she could get her ass blistered. She craved the safe, loved feeling she knew would come when he finally took her in his arms and forgave her. “Do we have to? I screwed up. We fought. End of story.”
“Hardly. I spent an hour on the phone with Mr. Jackson this morning, unruffling his feathers. Do you have any idea how much I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle that pompous ass?”
Her mouth fell open, and she knew her eyes were wide as saucers. “You did?”
“Yes. I’m not unsympathetic to what you’ve gone through. But, Olivia, we can’t risk this kind of reputation. You’ve built an entire career around being a kind, thoughtful, caring agent. You nearly unraveled years of hard work with one careless email. Not to mention the possible damage to the firm when he tells all his friends what happened.”
Guilt threatened to burn a hole in her tummy. “I know, I’m sorry. But it was an honest mistake!”
James raised an eyebrow, and she knew her argument was going to get her nowhere. “And would you have made that mistake if you hadn’t been sick and miserable this morning?”
Dropping her gaze to the floor, she shrugged. “I might have. I don’t know.”
“You might have. But you’ve never so much as dropped a ‘damn’ into an email at work. The entire email, and your carelessness, were all very unlike you. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I guess.”
“Well, I know it was very unlike you. And the reason you weren’t yourself is because you disobeyed your daddy. Since I’ll be taking over the Jackson account—commission free, mind you—and they’ve already proven to be such a pain in my ass, I think it’s only fair for me to be a pain in yours.”
Something in his voice had her antennae quivering. “Another spanking?”
“No, little one. After I’ve finished paddling your bottom raw, I’m going to fuck your tight little asshole, and I’m going to give you something to think about the next time you’re tempted to be anything less than an absolute professional at work.”