Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Monday mornings were usually Roman's least favorite part of the week.

Today wasn't.

Today he was smiling.

Which immediately concerned everyone around him.

Especially Olivia.

His assistant walked into his office carrying a tablet and froze.

Roman was staring at a photo on his phone.

Smiling.

Again.

"Oh no."

Roman looked up.

"What?"

"You've got the dad look."

"The what?"

"The proud dad look."

Roman glanced at the picture again.

Lillie was wearing a tiny pink outfit and looking extremely pleased with herself.

"Look at her."

Olivia sighed.

Then looked anyway.

"She's adorable."

"I know."

"You say that every day."

"Because it's true every day."

Olivia shook her head.

Three months ago Roman Moretti had been one of the most intimidating CEOs in New York.

Now he spent most mornings showing baby pictures to anyone unfortunate enough to enter his office.

By nine o'clock the boardroom was full.

Executives.

Lawyers.

Financial advisors.

The kind of people who made billion-dollar decisions before lunch.

A large acquisition was on the table.

Months of negotiations.

Thousands of pages of contracts.

A deal worth hundreds of millions.

Everyone expected Roman to be completely focused.

Instead he was looking at his phone.

Again.

One of the executives cleared his throat.

Roman looked up.

"What?"

The man blinked.

"We were discussing section seven."

Roman immediately sat straighter.

"Right."

Olivia hid a smile.

Because she knew exactly what had happened.

Daisy had sent a photo.

Sure enough Roman's phone buzzed again.

A message from Daisy.

Lillie just laughed at a lamp for five straight minutes.

Roman smiled immediately.

Without thinking he replied.

Smart girl.

A second later another message arrived.

She's your daughter.

Roman laughed out loud.

The entire boardroom stared at him.

Silence.

Roman cleared his throat.

"Continue."

Nobody did.

Because nobody had ever seen Roman laugh during a board meeting.

Ever.

The deal wrapped up shortly before lunch.

Successfully.

As usual.

The second everyone left, Roman stood.

"Reschedule my afternoon."

Olivia looked up.

"You have four meetings."

"Three."

"You already cancelled one this morning."

"I know."

Olivia narrowed her eyes.

"Daisy?"

Roman smiled.

"Lillie."

"Same answer."

Roman didn't even bother denying it.

An hour later he was standing inside Daisy's apartment.

Lillie was lying on a blanket in the living room.

The moment she heard his voice, her entire face lit up.

Roman melted instantly.

As always.

"There she is."

Lillie squealed.

Actually squealed.

Daisy watched from the kitchen.

Still amazed by how much her daughter adored him.

Roman carefully scooped her up.

"What have you been doing today?"

Lillie immediately grabbed his tie.

Hard.

"Excellent."

Daisy laughed.

"Good day at work?"

Roman sat beside her on the couch.

"Busy."

"But?"

Roman looked between Daisy and Lillie.

Then smiled.

"But this is better."

The answer came easily.

Without hesitation.

Because it was true.

A year ago Roman would have said work was the most important thing in his life.

Six months ago he probably would have believed it.

Now?

Now he couldn't imagine anything more important than the tiny little family sitting beside him.

Daisy watched him playing with Lillie.

Watched him let their daughter wrap him completely around her finger.

And for the first time she realised something.

Roman had changed.

Not just as a father.

As a man.

The businessman was still there.

The investor.

The CEO.

The man who negotiated deals worth millions.

But now there was something else too.

A father.

A partner.

A man who left board meetings early because he wanted to see his daughter smile.

Roman looked up and caught her watching him.

"What?"

Daisy smiled.

"Nothing."

Roman narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"You were thinking."

"I was."

"Dangerous."

She laughed.

Then leaned over and kissed his cheek.

A simple gesture.

But Roman looked absurdly pleased with himself afterward.

Lillie immediately squealed.

Demanding attention.

As usual.

Roman looked down at her.

Then back at Daisy.

And suddenly, sitting in that apartment with the city stretching beyond the windows, he realised something.

For the first time in his life—

coming home was his favorite part of the day. ❤️📖