The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Lark leaned forward on the sofa where she was reviewing a file for her father and scratched her temple in confusion. "Is this for real?"

"Yes."

"You manage all of his legal affairs?"

"I do."

"Including patents?"

"Yup."

"Dad, you manage the patents for dildos on behalf of Max Villeneuve?" Incredulity coated her words. Wasn't he mortified? Max was like an adopted kid to him. She pulled her nose back in disgust.

Her father chuckled not looking up from his own work at his desk. "Several patents. The one which is Bluetooth controlled, shaped like a squid head with multiple appendages is one of my favorites in terms of shock value for the patent office. Apparently, he can't keep it in stock."

"Multiple appendages?"

"Multiple bendable appendages. When Olivier and I asked him where he got the idea for this, he said he was in his grandfather's office back in New Orleans and came across a toy Levi used to play with as a boy. It was an action figure with stretchy arms which were posable.'

"Who looks at a toy from the seventies or eighties and starts thinking this would be a great way to get a woman off?" Lark muttered as she flipped through the pages in front of her.

"Speaking as a man?" her father shot her a smirk, "at least half the male population. The other half are thinking how it could get them off."

"You know how he got into this, right?" Lark snickered.

"I know what he's told his father. What do you know?" Grady leaned back in his seat.

"Science class in grade nine we did an anatomy class. More than the typical elementary school s****I education class, this was all about interior anatomy. Our science teacher made the mistake of bringing in an anatomically correct set of genitalia for males and females and stupidly forgot to lock it up in her desk when the bell went. Enjoy this chapter for free and stay updated with the latest version on Jo bni b.com. Don't miss out, visit it now. I think she simply wanted to get the hell out of the class to avoid any more questions from Max and Ollie. Anyway, Johan grabs the p***s and thinks he's fun funny and tries to put tit tin

the v****a, but but it doesn't go in. It slams against the plastic. Max said it's meant to fit and stole it and spent the next week trying to figure out how it works. He was obsessed. He was researching everything from tilted pelvises to to medical issues which cause women pain during intercourse because in his mind, forcing something rigid must be painful. He was constantly asking us inappropriate questions in the name of science which, had it been anyone other than Max, we would have been reporting him to everyone who would listen. It was Max though and we knew he was genuinely curious. This was the beginning journey of Max's foray into the woman body."

He shook his head. "He always was curious with biological matters."

"Then," she continued her story, "we were sixteen and he interrupts me and Ollie in her bedroom holding a white vibrator in his hand. One of those straight, rigid plastic battery operated things is clutched tight in his hand and demands to know if this is what women use to please themselves. We were mortified, mostly because we knew it was Bobbie's. Like it was her personal thing, and he was holding it, bare handed, waving it around." She almost gagged with the memory. "He said despite the fact it was his mother's, it was an abomination the way women needed to take care of themselves. He started researching dildos and pleasure instead of the pain he'd been thinking of and suddenly Max Villeneuve no longer wanted to be a world-renowned gynecologist who specialized in curing women's pain and discomfort. He went straight to debauchery and pleasure."

"An article he did for GQ came out last week and Bobbie almost killed him. He told this story minus yours and Ollie's embarrassment."

"Ollie said he did a cover and I saw the photo, but I didn't hear about the story. What was it about?" "About finding his mother's straight dildo. Called it torpedo shaped."

She covered her mouth in horror. "He outed Bobbie's use of s*x toys to the world? Why would he do that?"

He reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled a magazine and tossed it to her. "Olivier and I read

it on Friday. Pissed ourselves laughing until Bobbie called Olivier asking how he let such a thing go to print. As if either of us knew he told the story, or they would use it."

"I would have killed him. He's lucky she didn't take advantage of his illness on Saturday night and finish him off."

Grady laughed, "he gave her a gift basket."

"Of s*x toys?" she was aghast.

"No. He owns the spas too, Lark."

"Oh, like soaps and stuff."

"And gift certificates for the spa for massages, manicures, and pedicures. He made sure to include your mom on the reservations."

She flipped through the magazine and read the article, snickering at the spot about his inspiration. Poor Bobbie. However, as she read the article on the man she'd been avoiding since she was a teenager, she was gaining an insight into the depths of his brilliance. Despite the fact he was making a killing in an industry which was considered taboo, his business acumen was not anything to be mocked. He homed in on an industry and a need and then exploited it using science, a hell of a marketing strategy through Johan and his own bold, brazen straight to the point tactics. He insisted too many women were stuck in disappointing love lives and if lazy lovers were going to force them to take matters into their own hands, they should be given proper tools to do it. She grimaced at the tagline in the story. "If you can't please your woman, I can?" She looked up to her father in disgust. "Seriously?"

lif

"Johan was proud of his marketing."

"Figures. Two peas in a damn pod." She tossed the magazine back down. "What do I need to do?"

"Figure out, based on previous patent applications what we need to submit legally for the new design. He apparently beta tested it and he's worried a competitor will try to beat him to the punch."

"Beta tested it?"

"Apparently the women line up in droves to try his devices out for him and to provide feedback."

"He probably holds it for them." She snorted condescendingly before reviewing the information again. "A waterproof device which is rechargeable?"

"He swears it's the next big thing."

"What is wrong with normal s*x?" she grumbled under her breath.

"Don't ask me such things. I'm your father."

"It was rhetorical, and I do not want you to answer," she rolled her eyes.

"When you're done with the patent paperwork, I have another file for you to look over." He stood up and went to his printer. "What's that?"

"Yours."

"Mine?" she looked up with a wide grin.

"Yes. Wrongful dismissal. They came back with a settlement. As your father, I want to tell you to tell them

to shove it up their asses and let's ride it to court if for no reason than to humiliate Douglas and your bosses for creating such a hostile work environment. The lawyer in me however says two point one million dollars isn't peanuts."

Her eyes snapped to his, "what? They offered how much?"

"I had my guy in Houston do a bit of digging. It seems multiple people in the firm knew of the affair, including one of the senior partners. He opted not to involve HR and thought it would play out on its own. I argued his silence created an environment wherein two of his female employees were in situations where they could be embarrassed and humiliated in the workplace, not to mention the utter disrespect of it all. Two point one was the counteroffer to my two point five and I admit, I thought they would low ball and come back with one. They will also write you a hell of a commendation letter and a mandatory s****I harassment class will be required for any and all representatives in the firm who have subordinates." She giggled and blinked, "Dad, that's more money than I would have made in years."

"My argument was your earnings would have increased exponentially and you would have made partner before the age of thirty-five. Two of the partners agreed. It seems you were fired before their opinions were taken into consideration. I guess the secretary complained of cuts on her from the glass which was shattered. She's been given a substantial payout on your behalf as well by the firm. They are taking all responsibility and she's signed off to waive her rights to sue you. Her settlement is already signed. Regardless, they realize they f****d up with your termination. They were sad to see you go." "Dad."

"You're a damn good corporate lawyer, Lark. You would have made partner. You know it. It was your plan."

"It was."

"Now?"

"Plans change."

"You know there's an office down the hall which I have never let anyone move into." His blue eyes, so much like hers stared at her directly.

"Dad." She whispered feeling tears threatening. "Really?"

“Yup. Hoffman and Hoffman," he spread his hands over his head in a display, "has a great ring to it. I've never let anyone take the other corner office. It's yours to take, Lark. All you have to do is tell me I can put your name on the door, and we will get an interior designer to come in and decorate it the way you want. You can still be partner, just not in a world-famous prestigious firm."

She was rendered speechless as she stared at him. She knew he said she could come work with him but to hear him say he'd put her name with his on the company and he always saved her an office was breathtaking.

"I know your dream was to work for a big fancy firm where you fight for partnerships and cases but sometimes when a door closes it opens up an opportunity to try something new. If it's not what you want, Lark, I know there are many firms here in Dallas who would love to have you. You'll be a valued asset anywhere you go."

She quietly put her files down on the low table in front of her and then rose from the table and moved to approach her dad. As she did a thousand times since she was a little girl, she sat sideways on his lap and rested her head on her shoulder. "I love you, Dad."

He kissed her forehead. "I love you too. You don't need to give me an answer today."

She was a daddy's girl through and through and she shook her head, "I think Hoffman and Hoffman has an incredible ring to it. I'd be honored to join you, Dad."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really." She watched as her dad blinked back tears and felt her own growing. "I was hoping you'd offer me a job permanently. I even told Ollie I moved home to work with you."

She looked up as Bobbie knocked once on the door and stepped in. Bobbie had been her dad's assistant for years and then became a lawyer in her own right, but she only worked part time for her dad. "Did she say yes?" Bobbie asked clasping her hands together excitedly.

"She said yes!"

"Yay! Can I borrow our newest asset then, Grady?" Bobbie waved at her, "I have a case I thought you might be interested in reviewing. I've been looking for a different point of view."

Lark decided there was finally a light in her darkness as she excitedly jumped headfirst into her new job.