His Boss's Daughter

By Mia Ford

My boss's daughter crashed into my life…like fireworks. 

And now, she's carrying my baby. 

I am a Navy SEAL, and a single dad to the most beautiful son on the planet. 

Ethics come naturally to me, 

Except when I see Alexa.

Oh…I am drawn like a moth to flame, 

And want to drown myself in the vast ocean of her deep, blue eyes. 

This is wrong on so many levels. 

She's the boss's daughter, and so much younger. 

But then…it's been a long time. 

No matter how hard I try to resist, life keeps bringing her back to me. 

I need her.

My boss is going to kill me if he finds out. 

And I'm going to do everything to claim what's mine – my family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mia Ford
• Release date: Nov 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393947585

Book preview

Chapter One

Reece

Is it today? my buddy, Wesley, calls out to me as he sees me slinging my giant back pack over my shoulder, checking that I have all that I need with me. Are you leaving us now? You giant slacker.

Hardly, my other friend, Tom, joins in, nudging Wes playfully in the side. That asshole is going home to chaos. He thinks it’s going to be all lovely, having a baby, but he’ll be up to his eyeballs in diapers.

Ooh yeah, and all that crying too. He’s going to be in hell, isn’t he? We’ll be safer here.

I laugh off all their silly comments, not bothered by any of them. I know it isn’t going to be easy, I’m not one of those people who is going to stroll in to parenthood expecting it to be a breeze, but I also know how long it’s taken me and Christine to get to this point. It hasn’t been easy, conception hasn’t come without its issues, so it’s just wonderful that we’re having this baby after all. I’m willing to go through any hard time to be a father.

I just hope that I’m good enough for our baby. That’s all I want. I have this vision in my head of me being a good father, and it’s a dream that I really want to come true. Christine will be fine, she’s built to be a mother, it’s only me that I’m worried about. I’ve read all the books in preparation. But the books can only tell me so much. The reality will be very different. At least I’m used to not much sleep. The job sometimes requires it.

Yeah, yeah, I’ll be in hell, boys, I announce with a grin. Please, feel really sorry for me.

Oh, we will. Wes pats me on the arm reassuringly. We’ll pray for you. But congratulations, mate, anyway.

Yeah. You’ll be good, Tom agrees. And I’m sure it will be a whole lot of fun.

It will. Probably. I smile thinly. And if not, then I’ll be on the next flight back out here.

We don’t doubt it! They laugh loudly. See you soon, buddy.

As I say goodbye to the lads and I leave the station, I wonder how it’s going to feel being on leave for a while. Being a Navy Seal is a massive part of my identity, it has been since I joined just after high school, ten years ago, and it’s always weird being away. It’s like living a strange double life a lot of the time, neither life really crossing over with the other. But I love the other side of my life as well. Things with Christine are amazing... most of the time anyway. Admittedly, there have been some challenges through all of this, but we’re good.

A baby can only bring us closer together. It’s all we’ve been aiming for anyway. And if not... well, I’m away a lot of the time and the space is more often than not healing for us both. It’ll be fine. It has to be...

I BREATHE IN DEEP, inhaling the delicious scent of being home. Much as I feel a sense of dread at leaving my posting behind, it’s always worth it to feel this wonderful comfort. After all, this is where I really feel like me.

I smile to myself, staring at my house, taking just a second to get adjusted before I go inside. I can’t wait to hug my wife, to comfort her, to let her know that I’m here to get her through the end of the pregnancy. I do hate that I’ve had to miss so much, but at least I’m here for the most important part.

With giant strides, I close the gap between me and the front door, and I knock. I do have my keys with me, but this way it will be more of a surprise. Christine knows that I’m coming, but she doesn’t know when.

Hold on! she calls through the other side of the door. One minute, I just...

I know what she’s doing, relaxing in her robe, and she’s frightened to open the door in case it’s someone that she doesn’t know well. She wouldn’t bother if she knew that it was me, but that’s what makes this so much fun. I get a delightful thrill of anticipation tearing up and down my spine as I wait.

Sorry, I... The door swings open, and there she is in all of her glory. My beautiful, raven haired wife with a belly so big it looks like it’s a challenge to carry around with her. Reece? Is that...? Are you really?

I’m home, babe. I open my arms wide and she falls into them. Here for you at last.

I can’t believe it. She shakes in my arms. I wonder if she’s crying. This is so awesome. She sniffs. Yep, she’s definitely crying. This must be the crazy hormones that she’s been telling me so much about. I’m so...

Hey, it’s okay. I’m here to do whatever you need me to now. You can just rest.

Rest? Yeah, you’re right. I think I need to... oh! She pauses, shock rushing across her face.

Babe, what is it? What’s going on? Are you okay?

I just... I think the shock of you coming home has... has...

What? Oh God, are you in trouble? I didn’t mean... I should have called you, I just...

No, it’s okay. She clutches to my arm hard. It’s about time anyway. It’s just a shock. My water’s...

Your water’s have broken? I dart my eyes down to see the puddle between her feet. That means the baby is coming already. My heart leaps up into my mouth. The baby is coming already, oh my God!

Are you panicking? You look like you’re panicking. You can’t panic now.

She’s freaking out. I need to be calm for the both of us. I suck in a couple of deep breaths and nod. If I have been in war zones and kept calm, then I can do this as well. This is easy... or at least it should be.

Let’s get the car keys, I will drive us to the hospital now.

We need to go now? Her eyes widen in surprise. Yeah, I suppose so. I don’t want to give birth here. They said it might be a bit complicated and I need to have doctors and medical equipment in case.

The word complicated is enough to send me over the edge, but I push all of that aside. This isn’t about me now, and as long as we’re in the hospital I have no doubt that everything will be fine.

Good job I arrived when I did then. I lean in and kiss her on the head. Let me just drop my bag in and we’ll get going. The sooner you are around the medical professionals, the better.

She smiles gratefully at me before leaning her head against my chest. Never has she needed me more, and I’m so glad that I’m here for her. We can get through this together. Me and Christine against the world. The way that it’s always been and the way that it’s meant to be. Forever.

OH, MY GOODNESS, HE’S... he’s amazing... I gush as I finally get my hands on my gorgeous bundle of joy. He’s perfect. And you made him, Christine, you made this little lad. You should be so proud.

It wasn’t easy. Complicated wasn’t even the word for it, the birth was a whirlwind, but it’s all good now. He’s here and she’s okay... although my wife does look incredibly pale. But maybe that’s normal.

He’s... he’s wonderful, she gasps breathlessly. Oliver. That’s what I want to call him.

You do? I can’t help but screw up my nose. That isn’t my favorite name ever. Maybe...

Your blood pressure has dropped rapidly, the doctor interjects in a much too grave tone of voice, sending chills down my spine. Christine Moore, we need to take you to surgery now, to ensure this doesn’t get worse. It’s the only option that we currently have left. The birth has created complications...

More complications? I reached out and grabbed my wife’s hand, balancing my baby boy on the other arm. Haven’t we had enough complications through all of this? What’s going on?

But the doctor dismisses me. It seems like he has to act fast to do whatever he needs to. I barely have time to lean down and kiss my wife and tell her that I love her before he and his team are wheeling her away to do... well, whatever it is they need to do. I still don’t know. I just hope that it’s all over soon.

It’s okay, little man, I murmur to my baby boy. Mommy will be back soon, okay? She hasn’t left you by choice, she never would. You have no idea how much she wants you, baby boy. They just need to make her better, that’s all. It won’t take them long, she won’t let it. She will want to spend more time with you.

But he howls anyway, of course he does. Babies need their mothers. Especially when they have just been born. I really hope that Christine is back soon to reassure him that everything is going to be okay.

But the surgery takes time, and no one seems to really be able to tell me what’s going on, so instead I work with the midwife to learn how to change my boy’s diaper and give him a bottle to feed him. He’s too hungry to wait for his mother to come back, so we don’t have any choice. It seems to soothe him for a while, but the dissatisfaction remains. It doesn’t matter what I do, he wants his mother.

It’s okay, Oliver. Of course his name is Oliver. How could it be anything else after this? She will be back soon, I promise you. She will be back and stronger than ever. Trust me, you’ll see.

But the racing of my heart and the dryness of my mouth suggests that my body thinks otherwise. There’s a terrible instinct in the bottom of my gut telling me that I’m about to break my very first promise to my son.

NO. MY BODY SLIDES to the floor and my head falls into my hands. Thank goodness Oliver is in his bed sleeping rather than here. I don’t know if I’d be able to keep holding him right now. No, no, no.

I’m sorry, Mr. Moore, we did all that we could...

No. I won’t accept it. I can’t. There is no way. We didn’t go through all of that, trying to get pregnant for so many years, hardship through the pregnancy, then that terrible birth, just for her to leave me. No, I don’t believe you. I don’t want to hear it. I want to see her. I want to see my Christine.

I’m afraid that isn’t possible at the moment...

His soft tone as an attempt to be comforting just rubs me up the wrong way. I’m not in the right frame of mind to hear it. I can’t listen to it.

No, stop lying to me. Just get me my wife. I want to see her, I need to see her. I can’t... I’m breathless, like all of the air has been completely sucked from my lungs. I can’t do this without. I can’t be alone. She can’t... she can’t be dead, she just can’t.

But she is. I knew it even before the doctor told me, I could feel it. Her presence is gone and I’m completely by myself. I knew that today was going to change my life forever, I knew that I would be leaving the hospital with my son, I just didn’t think that I would have to leave my wife behind.

What the hell am I going to do next? How on earth will I survive this?

Chapter Two

Alexa

One Year Later...

Alexa! Alexa! my dad yells up the stairs, using his Admiral tone of voice. Honestly, I know that he’s an important man in the work place. I would know that even if he didn’t remind me all the damn time, but does he have to act like that at home? Can’t he just be a normal father? The sort like my friends have? Alexa!

Yes, Dad, I’m coming. God, give me a minute, won’t you? I’m in the middle of something.

You? In the middle of something? No doubt you’re lying on your bed, staring at your phone screen.

My cheeks heat up angrily... mostly because that is exactly what I’ve been doing for the last two hours. I did start off job hunting before I got bored and drifted on to social media, but my dad will never focus on the good I do. He likes to concentrate on the bad instead, as if I’m a constant disappointment. He constantly likes to remind me that I left high school two years ago with good grades and I haven’t done anything since... because a part time position in a clothing store apparently counts as nothing. Just because it isn’t up to his impossible standards. I think that college would have been the dream for him, but it wasn’t what I wanted for myself.

Maybe if my mother was still alive, he wouldn’t be such a hard ass, but since we lost her to Cancer when I was just a young kid, I guess I’ll never know. I just have to deal with the hard ass and get used to it.

I could move out, I suppose, but then I’ll have to fend for myself. Despite my father, this is the easy life. I get to still have a lot of fun with my friends, which I wouldn’t be able to do if I had to pay bills and stuff, so I won’t go anywhere for the time being. I will put up with it because I have to.

I stomp down the stairs, making sure that my rage filled footsteps fill up the entire house. I want my father to know just what storm cloud awaits him when I finally find him.

Ah there you are. He runs his eyes up and down me, not taking my scruffiness well. Looking like that. I suppose you don’t have work today in your little store then, do you?

I fold my arms defensively across my chest. What’s going on, Dad?

We are having a guest over for dinner tonight, so you need to dress nicely and behave.

Urgh, not another one of your boring Navy friends? I roll my eyes. No, thank you. I’ll pass.

I turn and start making my way up the stairs, but I have a bad feeling about this. I can feel Dad’s angry eyes piercing right through me. He has absolutely no intention of letting me get away this easily. My feet slow down of their own accord, my body knows what’s best for me, even if my mouth doesn’t.

And my mouth never does. It gets me in to far more trouble than it should.

Alexa Martin, you stop right where you are. I do as he commands, much as this irritates me. I do not expect to be spoken to like that from you. Never. I let you get away with so much...

Get away with? Anger flashes through me. You don’t let me get away with anything. You take whatever opportunity you can to belittle my choices just because they don’t quite fit your view...

I am not getting into this with you again. His hands rest on his hips. This means business. That is not what this conversation is about. I’m talking to you about a simple dinner tonight. A dinner with one of my friends. I am simply asking that you scrub up nice and behave. Do not embarrass me.

If I embarrass you so much, then maybe it will be better if I’m not there.

You are being ridiculous. I want you there. I just want you to behave, is that so hard?

I already know where this will go, I have had this same argument a million times, and today I don’t really have the heart for it. My father is the Admiral, he never loses, and as long as I am under his roof, I need to just deal with it. It’s very fucking annoying, but I might as well just give in now.

Fine, Dad. I give him a sickly sweet fake smile. What would you like me to wear?

Oh, don’t be so stupid. I’m not going to tell you what to wear. He pulls out his cell phone and starts typing rapidly, ending the conversation in an incredibly hypocritical way... not that he will see that. Just wear something that doesn’t make you look like you have just arrived from the homeless shelter.

Just because I’m in sweat pants, doesn’t mean they aren’t fancy...

Don’t get me started on the amount that you spend on clothes. That job isn’t good for you. You spend more in that store than you make each week. It’s crazy. So, if that’s something you want to talk about...

I’ll see you later on. I carry on up the stairs, sulking like a sullen teenager. Call me down for dinner.

You’re going to be in your pit until then? Fine, I would rather prefer you be there than out somewhere without me knowing when you’re going to come back. I don’t want you to mess up tonight.

I would think that it’s someone important coming over for a meal tonight, but he acts like this whenever it’s anyone from work. He has to give off an impression like he has his whole life together. It’s as if he thinks that my behavior would impact on the way that people see him at work. Like I’m not allowed my own life. My own personality. The worst thing is I think his impression might be right. His friends all seem as judgy as him.

I grab my cell phone again as soon as I lock myself away in my room and I call the one person who I really think gets me. Rebecca. She was my BFF in high school and is one of the only other people who stuck around in this place. Everyone else left for college and jobs, but we didn’t want to go anywhere. I love her.

Hey, bitch! she cries with a giggle as she answers. What’s going on?

Urgh, just my dad being a dick again. I flop on the bed and roll on to my front. So, no change there.

He is a douche bag, isn’t he? And I know for a fact that he doesn’t like me.

No, he thinks you are a bad influence on me, Rebecca. Can you imagine?

Me? she exclaims, as if this is a shock to her. You’re the bad influence.

I know, right? I rake my fingers through my hair and laugh. If anything, she always finds a way to make me feel better when things are shit. He has another one of his boring mates coming over for dinner tonight, so I have to dress and act like a lady. You know how much I hate that! It’s going to suck.

Too bad all his mates are old and boring. Otherwise it could be fun.

I know what she’s thinking and the idea makes me blanche. No, they are too terrible for words.

Shame. That would be a way to make it more interesting. Instead, you’ll just have to drink some good wine and get the hell through it. Then tomorrow night, we should hit up that new club to help you recover.

New club? What’s that? I haven’t heard of it.

It used to be The Ivy, but someone else has taken it over and called it something else. I can’t remember what though. Maybe The Bell? I don’t know, something shit like that. But it’s supposed to be amazing.

I sigh and roll over onto my back. Yes! That sounds amazing. I need a night out, it’s been ages.

It was last weekend, you freak! she laughs. But I know what you mean. I need it too. I have broken up with Dwayne and I need to find someone new. You know, to help me get over him.

You weren’t even with Dwayne, were you? I thought it was all casual.

Yes, and now it’s over so I need to move on. Obviously.

God, you make me laugh, I reply smilingly. So, what happened?

He was shit in bed, that’s all. I got bored of him.

That sounds like my high school boyfriend, the only person I have ever really been with. In a relationship anyway. I loved him so much that I didn’t really know any better, but since he dumped me and left for college, I now know that he wasn’t worth it anyway. The next person I’m in a relationship with needs to blow my mind.

That’s why I prefer casual dating, like Rebecca. And like her, I always get what I want.

Of course! Well that calls for a good night out then, doesn’t it? I agree. It will be fun.

Well, just think about it to get you through tonight. And as always, good luck with your dad and Mr. Boring.

I was going to need it if I wanted to get through it with my head screwed on.

ALEXA, DINNER! I CAN tell from my dad’s kinder tone of voice that his guest is here. The show has begun.

I roll my eyes and yell back that I’m on my way. Then I check my reflection in the mirror. The navy blue dress shows off my slim figure in a way that won’t annoy my father, my bright blonde hair is scraped back in a very sensible looking pony tail, and my bright blue eyes are sparkling. He isn’t going to get better than this.

Right, just do this, I tell myself determinedly in the mirror. Think about tomorrow. It will be a lot of fun.

A sense of trepidation overcomes me as I walk down the stairs. I feel a bit like I’m heading into the lion’s den and there isn’t any way to escape. But I roll my shoulders back and I jut my chin out to look confident. I can fake it until I make it in that department. Wine will help me in that department.

Ah, Alexa, you’re here, my dad says warmly. Reece, this is my daughter, Alexa.

Holy shit! As soon as I meet the piercing green eyes of my dad’s guest, my heart skips a beat. He isn’t what I was expecting at all. He isn’t an old, boring looking guy. He’s young. Maybe thirty years old, and he’s hot too! He has a strong, muscular body, short brown hair, and a friendly looking face. He’s taller than me too, which is rare since I’m almost six foot. And I do love a man who’s taller than me.

Hello, Reece. Maybe tonight isn’t going to be so bad after all. Nice to meet you.

I let my eyes sparkle at him, I show him my predator side, I can’t seem to help myself. A part of me already wants him, and since I always get what I want, it doesn’t matter how complicated this could get with him working for my dad. But he darts his eyes away as if I’m of no interest to him at all. Well, that’s okay. I won’t let that stop me. I’ll have him eating out of the palm of my hand soon enough.

Yeah, hi. Alexa, is it? he asks, distractedly. It’s good to meet you too.

Oh, you have no idea how good. But you will, I think wickedly. You will!

Reviews for His Boss's Daughter

[Elizabeth Hoerchler · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book needs to be edited. Too many spelling errors for a published novel. Sweet story, weak character development.