Jared inclined his head in agreement. “Of course.”
Derek shifted his attention to his wife and her partner in crime. “Hayleigh and Sadie. Come here, please.”
Temporarily forgetting to be mad, Hayleigh joined her friend in front of Master Derek’s desk. The pair linked hands, both sensing he wasn’t exactly pleased with them.
“Why didn’t either of you tell me about Julia’s behavior?”
Sadie squeezed Hayleigh’s hand, a silent message that she would handle this. “She wasn’t that bad until recently. You could tell she wasn’t crazy about having Littles in the kitchen but even Chef has to get onto us a lot of the time, so I didn’t really think anything of it. It wasn’t until Hayleigh and Chef got serious that she really started to get mean.”
“And neither of you bothered to bring this to either my or Chef’s attention?”
Sadie dropped her head. “No, Daddy. We should have, and I’m sorry.”
“Yes, you should have. I need to know if I have staff treating our residents or our guests poorly. But that is something you and I can discuss later, in private. As for you, Hayleigh, I trust your Daddy can handle you as he sees fit. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“N-no, sir,” Hayleigh stammered.
“Good.” His expression softened. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
“Yes. I think so.”
“Then you’re dismissed. Connor, do you trust Angel with your kitchen for the rest of the night and tomorrow?”
Stepping forward, Connor slipped an arm around Hayleigh’s waist. “Yes. After I tell my staff what’s going on.”
“I’ll take care of that. You take care of your girl.”
“With all due respect, Derek, it’s my kitchen and my responsibility.”
“Hayleigh is your most important responsibility. I’ll make sure they understand that.”
After a moment of hesitation, Connor nodded in agreement. “All right. Let’s get you home, jellybean.”
Chapter 18
An hour later,Hayleigh was freshly showered, her hair washed and dried, and she was tucked into bed with her Daddy. Julia was getting the boot; Connor didn’t hate her. All was right with the world.
So why couldn’t she sleep?
“I can practically hear your brain working over there,” Connor mumbled in the dark. “What’s wrong, jellybean?”
“I don’t know. I feel… anxious. Or something. Like my whole body is on alert and I can’t get it to shut off.”
“All right.” The mattress shifted, and a moment later the bedside light flickered to life. “Go to the closet and pick out an implement.”
“What?” A strange mix of panic and relief twisted her stomach into knots. “But I didn’t do anything!”
“I know, baby. Daddy’s going to help you let go of some of that stress. Which is why I’m letting you pick your poison.”
“I don’t want a spanking,” she whined, pushing herself up and crossing her arms over her chest.
“But you need one. So, you can either go pick your own implement, or I’ll just use the biggest, meanest paddle I have.”
That got her attention. She hopped out of bed and rushed to the closet. “Why do you have to have so many things,” she grumbled, searching for something that might not make her regret agreeing to this.
“Daddies like to be prepared.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Her gaze traveled over various small, leather paddles, a couple wicked looking canes, and the crop he’d used on her before. And then it landed on a small, hairbrush-sized paddle made from a dark, gleaming wood. Picking it up, she bit her lip as she tested the weight.