Page 49 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal
“You didn’t fail them,” I said carefully. “But maybe they don’t know how to believe you care, because it’s always been tied to what you can buy. They don’t need another vacation or a bigger trust fund. They need you to ask about their lives and listen, just… be their father.”
His gaze lifted to mine, searching. “You make it sound easy.”
“It isn’t easy,” I admitted. “But it’s simple. Show up for them. Even if they push back, even if they don’t give you what you want in return. At least they’ll see you’re trying.”
The food arrived, but he didn’t look down. He stayed fixed on me, his regret etched in every line of his face. “If I could go back, I’d do everything differently. I’d be there for the games, the late-night calls, the small moments. I hate knowing I can’t undo what’s been done.”
“You can’t go back,” I said softly, swallowing against the lump in my throat. “But you can start now.”
It was the truth, and it hurt to say it. Because the tenderness in his eyes, the way he listened to me as though my words mattered, only reminded me that my place in his life could never be more than this.
A colleague. An employee.
Not the woman who cared too much.
I blinked hard against the sting in my eyes, fighting to keep my voice steady.
It felt like I was speaking out of place, but impulse pushed the words free. “Maybe Blake lashes out because he needs tofeel important to you. What if you gave him a real project at the company—something meaningful, not just busy work?”
Lucian stopped, watching me in the glow of the overhead lights. Respect settled into his expression and his shoulders relaxed. “You know,” he said, voice low, “you might be the only person who’s given me practical advice about my children in years.”
His words stayed with me as we both took our first bites, and I wondered if I had just given him a reason to choose his children over me, and the thought tore my heart up.
If Lucian chose his children, that was a good thing, right? I should be encouraging that.
So why did it feel like I was telling him to forget about me? And why was my heart acting like I had any right to stake a claim on him?
14
LUCIAN
The Miami conference room had windows that showcased the crystalline waters of Biscayne Bay, but I wasn't looking at the view.
I was watching Tessa command the attention of eight seasoned investors as she walked them through her market analysis, her voice clear and confident as she dismantled their concerns one by one.
"The demographic shifts you're worried about actually work in our favor," she said, clicking to the next slide in her presentation. "The millennial population in this corridor is growing by twelve percent annually, and their spending power is projected to increase by thirty-five percent over the next five years. That's not speculation—that's data from the Federal Reserve's consumer expenditure survey."
I leaned back in my chair, fighting the urge to smile as I watched the client across from me—a man who'd been skeptical about our development proposal for the past two hours—nod slowly.
Tessa had spotted the flaw in his reasoning and addressed it head-on, backing up every point with concrete numbers that left no room for argument.
"Your concern about retail vacancy rates is valid," she continued, "but you're looking at outdated models. The mixed-use development we're proposing isn't dependent on traditional retail tenants. We're targeting experiential businesses—fitness studios, artisanal food markets, co-working spaces. These sectors are showing consistent growth even in challenging retail environments."
The lead investor, a woman in her sixties who'd built her fortune in real estate development, leaned forward. "What's your source on the experiential business growth?"
"Urban Land Institute's latest retail report, cross-referenced with data from the International Council of Shopping Centers. I can send you the full citations." Tessa's response was immediate and precise, and I saw the investor's expression shift from skepticism to genuine interest.
Unless I'd seen the transformation Tessa had undergone from undervalued assistant to confident junior analyst, I'd never have believed it.
This wasn't the same woman who brought me coffee for years. Tessa was a powerhouse and she was proving it.
"The financing structure accounts for these variables," she said, advancing to the final slides. "We've built in contingencies for market fluctuations and included performance benchmarks that protect all parties. The projected returns aren't just optimistic projections—they're conservative estimates based on comparable developments in similar markets."
When she finished, the room was quiet for a moment. Then the lead investor started asking detailed questions about implementation timelines and partnership structures, the kindof questions that meant serious interest rather than polite courtesy.
I let Tessa field most of them, jumping in only when contractual specifics required my input.
Two hours later, we had verbal agreement on terms and a handshake commitment to move forward with due diligence.
