Page 45 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
“Just another reason why I want to have my daughter with me so much.”
I felt his body move suddenly and looked down, noticing that he was visibly shaking his leg involuntarily. I soon understood why. He was anxious to see his daughter again.
And this was proven when, finally, the nanny arrived in the room, carrying the baby in her arms.
Michael jumped up, rushing to pick up the little girl in his arms. And I stood there for a few moments, as if completely paralyzed by the scene.
The little girl smiled hugely as she went into her father's arms, and my God, she was an absolutely beautiful little thing. She had blonde hair and expressive eyes. Even though hers were blue and Michael's were brown, they were very similar.
If I already found that scene charming, it became even more so when Michael sat down on the carpet with Alice. She was holding a stuffed giraffe in her hand and handed it to her father. He began to wave the toy in front of her little face, while using a fake voice for 'Mr. Giraffe ', as he nicknamed the stuffed animal. The baby's laughter filled the entire room, making my heart overflow.
And I remained sitting there, letting that moment be just the two of them, watching the scene with a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart.
The little girl's eyes turned to me, curious. Noticing this, Michael introduced us:
“Look, baby, that's Camila. She sometimes seems a bit grumpy, but she's a good person.”
“I don’t look grumpy,” I replied. And, almost as if confirming my statement, I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, little Alice.”
She mumbled something I couldn't understand and waved her little arms, and that made my smile grow.
“She's beautiful, isn't she?” Michael asked proudly.
“She is. And you look... different... around her. You don't even look like that party boy playboy from your Instagram.”
“Did you stalk my Instagram?”
“It's a public profile. And you're a famous guy, with millions of followers. I don't believe anything you posted there was supposed to be a secret.”
“That guy is in the past. I won't deny that I still like parties and I'm really looking forward to being able to go back to them... But it will be much less often, because now I'm a father. A father who is still happy and party-loving, but a responsible father.”
“You're really willing to change for her, aren't you?”
He looked at her in silence for a few moments, while she took the stuffed giraffe back from his hands. Then he spoke again, “I’d never planned on being afather, you know? And if someone had told me before that I could feel such great love, I would honestly think it was an exaggeration. But from the first photo I saw of her, in an email I received from her mother... It was like something changed inside me. It's crazy, it's insane... and I know it's hard to believe.”
“No. Just look at this beautiful little girl... How can you not be enchanted by her?”
“I can't let her keep living here, Camila. Not only because I want her with me, but because those two... They were never good parents to Leah. I don't want them to raise Alice the same way.”
I nodded and he soon turned his focus back to Alice as she handed him the giraffe again, as if asking him to do the voice for her again. And when he did, she burst into a delightful laugh.
If before I still had some doubts, now I was more than convinced that I had made the best decision.
Helping Michael Turner get his daughter back was the right thing to do.
Chapter Twenty
CAMILA
My decision to turn down the promotion at that moment had been based solely on avoiding gossip at the office.
It was disheartening to realize that this choice hadn’t stopped it from happening.
The news that I was engaged to the CEO spread like wildfire in a pool of gasoline. While working at my desk, I had to endure the sideways glances and the whispers from my coworkers.
But no look could be worse than Victor Smith’s. Now that his promotion had been canceled — and in his twisted mind, it was all my fault — I honestly believed he might actually try to kill me with a glare.
And just to make my situation there even more unpleasant, the one friendship I had in that place wasn’t even in the same department anymore.
