Her Daddy!

Cade had no idea what was going on, but he knew what he wanted. To get a full taste of those lips.

Without thinking much of it, he slipped his hand behind her back, unexpectedly pulling her to himself, their bodies pressing tightly against each other.

With her hand still resting on his cheek, he leaned in and pressed his lips against her, his breath filled with the sweet aroma of the red wine he had drank.

Their lips met in a gentle, sensual dance that sent shivers down Hazel’s spine. As they melted into each other, Cade’s hands caressed her waist, sending a wave of warmth through her body. Their kiss deepened, a silent symphony of desire and longing.

Hazel’s fingers tangled in Cade’s hair, pulling him closer as they both lost themselves in the moment. The taste of red wine lingered on their tongues, adding an intoxicating sweetness to their embrace.

As they broke apart, Cade’s eyes met Hazel’s, filled with a mix of passion and tenderness.

Hazel was in awe, but she couldn’t deny that it was a beautiful moment they just had. They exchanged blank looks for some time before she recalled why she had initiated the kiss in the first place.

She gently turned back, and fortunately, her plan worked as she saw Alex and Sera whispering to each other while walking away.

As she slowly turned back, she noticed the bartenders staring at her while some quickly averted their sight, only then did she realize she had been in a public place all along.

‘F@ck! What have I done?’ She mumbled in distraught and even though Cade could not hear her, her face said it all.

Cade wasn’t sure how to react as he just froze there until Hazel eventually ran away.

“Wow, that was awesome!” Gabriel said as he joined Cade, startling him back to reality as he had been staring through the door Hazel ran out through.

“F@ck!” Cade exclaimed as reality began to set in. He jumped down from the stool he was seated on and hurriedly drank up the remaining wine in his glass. “Let’s go to my suite. Now.” He claimed as he started walking towards the elevator.

Gabriel stood behind Cade itching to start a conversation. “Your brother had told me you were allergic to women but that doesn’t seem to be the case since we got here.” He started.

“Shut up! And make a decision as soon as possible. I hate that I have to fear he might know about this tomorrow.” Cade said, his hand clenched into a fist as he wished the elevator could go faster.

*****

As Ivy played in the staff room, she heard some of her mother’s colleagues who had just concluded their duty chatting away while changing their dresses.

“I told you she was desperate. She’s the only staff in Serene Oasis hotel that does housekeeping and serving. I always hated the fact that Ms. Anne allowed her to do those jobs when there were so many staff.” One of the ladies complained bitterly.

“I guess she is trying to sleep her way to the top. How dare she hit on Cade F@cking Westham, that’s absurd.” Came another mean comment.

“Do you think it’s easy to be so poor and be a mother?” Another staff member jokingly asked and they all laughed heartily.

Even though she was very young, Ivy was smart enough to know they were gossiping about her mother. Her eyes welled up in tears as she tried to hold it in.

Fortunately, Mabel who was returning from her duty walked into them and smacked the last speaker.

“Don’t you guys have any conscience? The poor girl is here. You can’t just open your mouth and say whatever you feel like.” She complained bitterly, forcing them to end their conversation.

“No one asked her to bring a child to work! We are already tolerating her presence, you don’t expect us to be scared of sharing our opinion freely just because of a five-year-old!” One of the mean gossipers complained before eventually walking away.

Just as Mabel tried to reach out to Ivy who was now crying uncontrollably, Hazel who was just joining them quickly ran to her kid, pulling her in for a hug.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. I’m really sorry.” She apologized while carrying her child in her arms and slowly patting her back.

“Mommy, who is Cade Westham and why were you hitting on him?” Ivy asked innocently, not entirely sure what that even meant.

Hazel sighed heavily as she had a quick flashback of her encounter at the rooftop. “Ivy, let’s go home. I will explain everything once we get home.” She said as she sat Ivy down on the bench and started unpacking her locker.

“Hazel, what happened between you and that man? I thought you said you only spoke to him briefly…”

“Please, Mabel! I’m not in the mood for this conversation. Not in front of Ivy!” She interrupted Mabel who was showing her concern.

Mabel wasn’t vexed this time because she understood what was going through Hazel’s mind and she was sensible enough to walk away without any further argument.

While holding Ivy’s hand on the right, she held her bag on her left hand and started towards the door.

As she drew closer, her footsteps became heavier seeing Ms. Anne standing at the door.

“Ma’am, I am so–”

Hazel could barely complete her statement when Ms. Anne sent a thunderous slap down her cheek, forcing Hazel to drop her bag in shock while Ivy cringed in shock, gripping her Mom’s legs tightly.

“You slut! I gave you so much privilege because of your baggage, yet you misused it on our most prominent client. How dare you?” Ms. Anne thundered, causing the other staff to gather around and start another round of gossip.

“Wow, Ms. Anne is finally losing it on her.”

Hot tears quickly welled up Hazel’s eyes, cascading down her cheeks like a river flowing freely as Ms. Anne’s diminishing words pierced her heart like a knife through butter.

Ms. Anne’s short blonde bob danced over her head as she hollered at Hazel, “You have crossed the line today, and now, you’re fired.”

Hazel gave crying Ivy a gentle stroke on the head. She then wiped her tears and looked Ms. Anne dead in the eyes, like she’s never done before.

“You’ve been very lenient, which I am grateful for, but maybe you had the wrong idea all along—” She paused, squatting to her crying daughter’s height and gently wiping the tears from her face.

“As I’m sure you all are aware, Ivy-Lynn is an incredible, bright, and wonderful little princess. She is not baggage, and I stand by and watch you diminish her worth with such disrespectful language.” She warned firmly before rising back to her feet and grabbing her bag.

Her remark offended Ms. Anne, and she wasn't ready to let her go so quickly. “Do you know why I was so lenient with you?” She asked, forcing her to stop just before the door.

“Because I felt sorry for Ivy. She is just a helpless little girl without even a father, and her mother is not even mature enough. Isn’t that terrible?” She asked mockingly.

Hazel was offended by Ms. Anne's remarks, and her feelings were further exacerbated by the presence of her daughter.

She angrily turned to face her but before she could say a word, a familiar manly voice interrupted her.

“And who says she doesn’t have a father?”

“Daddy!” Everyone watched in awe as Ivy eagerly cried out while running toward Cade, who was standing by the door.