FATHER FIGURE

glanced at the time that was digitally displayed in the corner of her laptop screen: 12:45. She had been in Duncan's spare guest room since she had gotten there. Closing her laptop, the girl flung herself back on the bed, her body hitting the soft mattress, and immediately began to sink into it.

The past few hours had been spent researching tattoo ideas. The seventeen year old had a friend that offered to give her a tattoo and she had happily accepted the offer. She wanted something small and the location to be discrete so her mother wouldn't kill her before she graduated. The location had been finalized (her ankle region) but the girl was still torn between what design she wanted.

Deciding that she wanted a change in scenery, Cindy quietly exited the guest room and decided to explore the rest of the penthouse. It was enormous and she felt like it was a mansion stacked on top of an apartment building. The lavish duplex put into perspective just how wealthy Duncan Shepherd was.

Checking the time on her phone, the young girl was surprised to see that thirty minutes had passed. She had become so entranced by the architecture and interior that she had been able to ignore her growling stomach. Giving up on not bothering Duncan so he could work, she began to search her phone. The girl had put his number in her contacts earlier that morning so she found his contact and texted him instead of searching the penthouse for his office.

Duncan, I'm starving.

1:17 PM

And? You're seventeen. You

should know how to cook or

order food.

1:19 PM

I didn't want to use your

kitchen or order something

to your home without

asking permission.

1:20 PM

I appreciate that, sweetheart.

You may use my kitchen but

please clean up after yourself.

1:23 PM

Once Cindy received permission from Duncan to use his kitchen, she scavenged the large room for materials. She had received cooking lessons from some of the world's top chefs a few years back when she went through a stage of loving cooking shows. Her favorite was anything with Gordon Ramsey in it.

After acquiring the utensils and ingredients she needed, the teenager got to work making quesadillas. Deciding to make lunch for Duncan as well, it took her a little longer to finish then planned. By the time she had the food on two plates, her stomach had begun to audibly express her hunger. Rolling her eyes at the sounds, she texted Duncan again.

I made you lunch.

Where's your office?

2:01 PM

Upstairs, first door on

your left.

2:07 PM

Shoving her phone in her back pocket, the blonde grabbed both plates, and went to where Duncan said his office was. Managing to balance both plates in her left arm, she knocked on the dark wooden door and waited for permission to come in. After hearing Duncan's raspy voice telling her to enter, she opened the door.

The office was just as beautiful as the rest of the house. The wall that was behind Duncan's desk was made completely of glass, giving the girl a view of the bustling city. Closing the door behind her, she walked over to Duncan's glass desk, carefully setting down the two plates. With the breakable objects safely out of her grasp, she took time to absorb the details of the room.

The walls that weren't glass were either filled with painting or had some type of cabinet or shelf pushed against it. In the center of it all was the desk, completed with a leather chair behind it and a leather chair in front of it.

"Your home is so lovely," Cindy compliment Duncan, finally taking a seat in the leather chair in front of the desk. The man took his attention away from the desktop that he had been staring at and turned it to the food and teenager.

"Thank you," he responded, looking around his office as if the penthouse wasn't something out of the ordinary. While the life of luxury was normal for the two of them, the large apartment was still so surreal to the girl. To Duncan, it was just a place to live. "And thank you for making me lunch."

Cindy nodded, allowing herself to finish swallowing before answering the man, "You're welcome. It's the least I could do since you worked from home for me today. Thank you again by the way."

The conversation ended there, the two of them eating in a comfortable silence. Cindy looked past Duncan, admiring the view he got to see everyday. Duncan studied the girl, watching as her light eyes seemed to glimmer when she saw something that caught her interest.

They both soon finished, Duncan before Cindy. However, he waited until she was done eating before he got back to work. "Cindy, you're not actually sick are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he clasped both of his hands together, leaned back in his leather chair, and propped up his boots on top of the desk.

The seventeen year old looked up from her plate like a police officer had just discovered she had murdered someone. "Duncan! Of course I am! I wouldn't waste your time and make you work from home for no reason!" The blonde quickly fired back, allowing her face to fall into a neutral emotion.

He shook his head, his gravely voice rasping as he chuckled. "Cindy, I was a teenager once. Do you think I went to school everyday? The answers no, I didn't. In fact, I spent most of my high school days skipping. I was never serious about school until college."

Cindy sighed in defeat, finally owning up to the truth, "Duncan, I haven't missed a day of school since the beginning of high school. It's not even that I hate school or didn't want to go, I just wanted a change. I go through the same routine everyday and I'm so sick and tired of it. I can't wait to get out of Washington. It's like everyone I know wants to stay here and I'm the only one that wants to leave."

The man readjusted his position, removing his feet from the table, sitting up attentively, and resting one elbow on the table with his chin in the palm of his hand. "You feel trapped don't you? Like you're the only one that realizes how boring a place is and everyone else is fascinated by it? You're stuck in the masses of black and white while you're screaming color."

Cindy blinked a few times, allowing the man's words to be processed in her head. Before she could answer his question or make a comment about his poetic words, Cindy's phone began to play "ZEZE" by Kodak Black. Jumping slightly as the noise startled her, she immediately grabbed her phone, and answered the phone call she was receiving.

"What is it Thomas? I'm kind of in the middle of doing something right now!" She spoke into the phone, not allowing the person on the other side to even say hello.

"Bitch, watch your fucking attitude!" Thomas quickly snapped back, his own attitude laced in his voice. "I was just calling to make sure my best friend wasn't dead but sadly she's still fucking breathing."

Thomas' response made Cindy giggle and roll her eyes at her friend. Thomas went to the same prestigious high school as Cindy. When the two met freshman year, they had instantly clicked. "I'm fine, Thomas. I'll fill you in later, I promise."

"Whatever, hoe. You could get hit by a semi truck at this point and I don't think I would care." With that, her best friend disconnected the call.

"Sorry!" She apologized to Duncan who had returned his attention to his computer. However, he had been multitasking and listening to the conversation that had just happened.

"No worries, sweetheart. I have some more work to do anyways. You're more than welcome to stay here longer but since I know that you're not actually sick, you can leave if you want. Thank you again for lunch." With that, Duncan seemed to ignore the girl and focus solely on his work.

Taking that as her cue to leave, she grabbed the dishes, and left his office. Making her way back to the kitchen, she respected his requests by cleaning up the room. Once she was done, she sat down at the dining room table and texted Thomas.

🐒

THOMAS! I am going to

actually kill you! I was having

lunch with Duncan!

3:10 PM

🌵

DUNCAN? As in THE Duncan

Shepherd? Your new daddy,

Duncan? Hottie with a smoking

ass body, Duncan?!

3:10 PM

🐒

Will you please shut your

fucking mouth??

3:12 PM

🌵

ANSWER THE QUESTION,

CINDY!!!!

3:13 PM

🐒

YES!

3:14 PM

🌵

You lucky little bitch!

3:15 PM

Rolling her blue eyes, Cindy turned her phone off, and returned it to her back pocket. Deciding that it was time for her to get out of Duncan's hair and return home, she went back to the guest room and packed up all of her stuff.

Taking the stairs two at a time to get back to the first level of the penthouse and not paying the world any attention, Cindy ran straight into Duncan. Falling backwards, the girl's butt made contact with the marble floor. "Fuck!" She yelled, scrunching her face up in pain.

"Cindy," Duncan sighed, shaking his head softly at her as he laughed at her predicament. "You have to eyes for a reason, darling. Why don't you try using them next time?"

She immediately looked up at him, a grimace of hatred on her face. "Well so do you, Duncan! If you would get your nose out of your damn phone every once in a while, you may not have ran into me!"

Duncan's laugh ceased as his eyes narrowed at the girl. "Watch it, young lady! Remember that not only am I an adult, but I'm also your stepfather. You also happen to be standing in my home!"

Cindy wanted to scream. She hadn't had a father figure for the majority of her life as her real father was more of a bank than a dad. Now this man that she barely knew was trying to impose a fatherly role onto her. With hot tears welling in her eyes, Cindy pushed herself off the marble stairs, ignoring the stinging sensation that was present on her bottom side. "You're not my father so don't pretend that you are!" She yelled, trying to keep her tears at bay. Her father had always been a sensitive subject for her. "And in regards to me being under your roof, I'm leaving!" Shoving past Duncan, Cindy headed for the front door.