Off Campus 04 Pt. 10

"But I love her," I protest. "She makes me incredibly happy."

"She does, Bethany," Hannah confirms. "He almost glows whenever she is around. I love her, too, and our intimacies are precious to me. But it's not nearly like he does."

"May I be blunt?" Bethany warns.

"Go ahead," I respond.

"I still am of the impression that a father-daughter relationship is at play here. Jessica looks up to you in that way despite her denials, and you dote on her as if you were the proud and protective father."

"But we were lovers first. And I fell in love with her joyous and fun personality. I only took responsibility for her in the realization that the joyous exterior was built on a shaky and troubling foundation. Maybe even a compensation for it. I felt I could fix it, or at least patch it up to make her more secure in herself. Not breaking my arm here, but I think I did a pretty good job. Her adult side has become amazing. She and I are lovers and peers, Bethany."

"He did, Bethany. Jess changed. She didn't have much of a serious side until recently. That Steve was able to cultivate that without affecting her bubbly personality is amazing. I'll be equally blunt myself, Bethany. Let it go. What they have is good... no, it's great."

"Message received, Hannah. I'll still be exploring that pathology when I come talk to you guys for my thesis. Since that's likely a few weeks away we'll see what progress has been made, and also have the opportunity to see Jessica operating in her professional setting. Now... what's the deal with Amber, Steven? Is she, or is she not, an employee?"

I answer, "Yes, she is on the payroll to satisfy statutory requirements and make our insurance underwriter happy. But she does not need the job."

"Oh, that's right, she's independently wealthy. On the other hand, she is incredibly indebted to you for that. That's an awful lot of power, Steven."

"Power?!" Hannah breaks in. "I have never seen or heard of Steven lording anything over anybody! We play nice!"

"Power can be implicit, Hannah. Steve does have quite the paternal streak."

"I guess you can see it that way," Hannah pushes back. "But to tell you the truth, we girls seem to have more sway over him than you might think. Isn't that right, Steven?"

I chuckle, "Yeah. It's a beautiful conspiracy against me. I like it that way. Hannah's the best of the bunch when it comes to calling me on the carpet for anything stupid I've said or done. I love her for it."

"So you think there's an effective balance of power, Steven?"

"No. Completely tilted towards them."

Bethany laughs, Hannah grins.

"Okay, guys. I think we'll end tonight on that note. Steve, you have any big plans with the ladies tonight?"

"Sort of."

"Okay, you dangled that worm. I'll bite. What do you mean?"

"I have a date with a lovely lady outside of the harem. Have a pretty good hunch that the girls will want to join in, too. They told me so at breakfast."

"You all are sooooo bad, Steven!" with a big grin.

Hannah is trying not to laugh, "Ow. Gawd, Bethany, he can be such a mess sometimes. I'm looking forward to the report in the morning. I have my own hunch that it'll be... uhhhh... 'interesting'."

"Good night, you two," as a chuckling Bethany makes her way out the door.

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