Dinner was a blur, as usual, other than when Nanny J stopped by to pick up a tray for Hayleigh. Even though he knew she was being punished, he gave her an extra-large scoop of pudding. Before he handed the tray off, he grabbed an order pad and scrawled off a note to Hayleigh.
Meet me in my office at 5:00 am sharp to discuss the rest of your punishment - C
Satisfied his directive would keep her on pins and needles the rest of the night, he returned to his work with a smile.
Chapter 3
“Hayleigh.Time to get up, little girl. You have breakfast duty.”
Groaning, Hayleigh rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. “Sleepy,” she whined at the intruder.
Nanny J made a clicking sound with her tongue. “I’m sure you are, but you still have breakfast duty. Rise and shine, Hayleigh Anne. You know how Chef deals with stragglers.”
With a shocked squeak, Hayleigh bolted up in bed. “I’m up. I’m up!”
“That’s what I thought. You don’t have time for a shower, but you should go brush your teeth and hair at least. I’ll be waiting outside.”
Scrambling out of bed, Hayleigh rushed through her morning routine and dressed in her uniform before hurrying out the door to meet Nanny J.
“Hold on, dear. Your bow is crooked.” Nanny J tugged at the ribbon wrapped around Hayleigh’s ponytail and stepped back to give her another careful critique.
“There. You look perfect. First impressions are important.”
Hayleigh just managed to avoid rolling her eyes. “Chef has met me lots of times before. And even if he hadn’t, I didn’t make a very good impression yesterday.”
“Today is a new day, dear. You can make up for yesterday by being the perfectly behaved little helper this morning. Looking like your usual adorable self can only help,” she added with a wink.
Unsure of how to respond, Hayleigh just smiled, but she could feel her cheeks heating in response. They walked in silence for a few moments before she found the courage to speak up again. “Nanny?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Do you think Chef will forgive me?”
Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Nanny turned, the corners of her lips tipped up in a sympathetic smile. “I’m certain he already has. Daddies don’t stay mad very long.”
“He’s not my Daddy, though.”
“Not yet,” Nanny quipped before turning and striding down the hall again.
Hayleigh stood there in shock for so long, she almost had to run to catch up. “What are you talking about? Chef doesn’t want to be my Daddy. He deserves a good girl.”
Nanny didn’t speak again until they stopped in front of the doors to the kitchen. When she did speak, her gaze was direct and her voice firm. “What I know, little girl, is you’re never going to find out what could be if you keep living in what was. Letting that – I hesitate to call him a man, and I certainly won’t call him a Dom – but letting him control you now is letting him win. And living in fear of a relationship with a good, decent man is letting him control you. Understood?”
It was just a different version of the same lecture Nanny J had given her a dozen times since she’d come to live at the Ranch, but it still warmed her from the inside out. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good girl. Go on, now, before you’re late and Chef has to punish you for tardiness.”
She threw her arms around Nanny’s neck for a quick hug before pushing through the kitchen doors, straight into the organized chaos that was the Rawhide kitchen. Chef was there in the middle of it, directing his workers with an easy confidence she found irresistible.
“Out of the way!”
She jumped at the sharp voice behind her and pressed up against the island. One of the assistants hurried past, carting a tray of eggs. Chef turned, and to her surprise greeted her with a small smile before pointing to his office.
Heart in her throat, stomach jumping, she moved through the mass of workers to the door marked Chef Connor Blackburn. Before she had gathered the courage to open it, a large hand reached past her and turned the knob.
He was right there, behind her, close enough his breath tickled her ear. “After you,” he said, pushing the door open.
Swallowing the urge to whimper, she stepped into the small office, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn and look up at him. To her surprise, he took the decision out of her hands by cupping her chin with his hand and forcing her gaze up to his. Just that simple touch sent electricity zipping down her spine.