Please Me Daddy (Gracie) novel Chapter 104

**Across Distant Skies Lies Hope Waiting To Be Found by Kade Rowan Flint**

The moment the doors swung open, my gaze immediately fell upon Chase’s hand.

He was still clasping Grace’s, his chest rising and falling as though he had just sprinted a marathon. A deep sigh of relief escaped him, and, to my utter disbelief, he wore a smile that suggested he took pride in having ushered her into the room just in the nick of time, right before the meeting was set to commence.

His brow furrowed slightly, fingers twitching as if he sensed the tension in the air. “Hmm? Why do I feel like someone is glaring at me?” he muttered, scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture. He scanned the room until his gaze finally locked onto mine.

His eyes widened in shock, and he released Grace’s hand as if it had burned him. The instinct to let go was instantaneous, as though holding on for even a moment longer would seal his fate.

Smart man.

This was precisely why I had kept him around, despite all the chaos that surrounded us. He had an uncanny ability to know when to push forward, when to retreat, and when to halt before he ventured too far into dangerous territory.

Grace blinked at him, her expression one of confusion, before her eyes shifted to mine. The instant our gazes collided, the rest of the world faded into oblivion.

I leaned back in my chair, striving to maintain an unreadable expression, but my eyes roamed over her form, pinning her in place as if she were the only thing that mattered in that moment.

Not long ago, I would have struggled to recognize the person I had become. Attending the cafeteria was completely out of character for me. Yet, purchasing that toy, slipping it inside her, and activating it while she sat there, surrounded by dozens of employees, felt reckless and indulgent. By my usual standards, it was a complete waste of time; I wouldn’t typically go out of my way just to witness someone squirm.

But I did.

And I would be lying if I said it wasn’t worth every single second. Watching her fight to maintain her composure was exhilarating. Knowing that beneath the facade she presented to the world, her body was mine in that moment was a satisfaction that was hard to articulate. But even as I reveled in that thought, I found myself hesitating.

I still didn’t fully understand why.

I could have drawn it out, made her break, watched as her composure crumbled, allowing her to gasp and plead with her eyes for me to stop. It would have been so easy to push her to that point. Yet, as I observed the way she seemed to shrink in on herself, desperately trying to hold it together in front of hundreds of employees, something inside me shifted. That was where I drew the line.

A director cleared her throat, irritation evident in her voice. “So, are you just going to stand there all day? Or do you want us to wait for you to take a seat?”

Grace tore her gaze away from mine, as if breaking free from a spell. She turned to the woman who had spoken, her head shaking quickly. “O-of course not. I apologize for my tardiness.”

“As you all know, this is the celebrity, Wren,” Austin began. “He was the face of our major brand during his lifetime. However, following the incident where he allegedly hit a child, and the subsequent recording that claimed our company would cover for him, we suffered a massive financial loss.”

One of the directors scoffed, slapping his palm lightly against the table in frustration. “How dare they try to pull a fast one on us. Do they really think the CEO is just anyone they can deceive?”

He turned to me, a smug smile plastered on his face, his tone dripping with false flattery. “Thank goodness you caught on to their scheme, sir. Otherwise, it could have escalated into a much larger issue.”

I turned my head slowly, fixing him with a cold, indifferent gaze, the kind reserved for trash that didn’t deserve my attention.

“I believe you’re mistaken about something.”

The man blinked, color draining from his face. “W-what do you mean?”

Austin interjected smoothly. He smiled, gesturing toward the corner of the room where Chase and Grace sat. “It wasn’t Mr. Apollo who solved the problem. It was Miss Grace, the intern in the PR department.”

He pointed toward her, and I watched as Grace’s eyes widened, her entire body tensing as every single head in the room turned toward her. I observed her freeze under their scrutiny, a mixture of surprise and dread etched across her features.