Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
When Leo wakes up, I get his diaper changed and put a fresh outfit on him, torn about leaving him. On one hand, I’m looking forward to a weekend with Lorenzo, but on the other hand, I only have a couple of weeks left with my little monkey.
Dani shows up a little after four o’clock and is dressed in business attire.
“Are you back at work?” I ask since Lorenzo didn’t mention anything.
“Part-time.” She lifts Leo up and gives him kisses on his cheek. “I know I’ll end up taking more time off once this little one comes”—her hand slides down to her lower belly—“but with Alba being older now, I wanted to go back to work. I’m going in three days a week for a few hours to see how it goes. But”—she sighs—“I was only away from her for four hours today, and I missed her like crazy.”
“Why don’t you work from home? Lorenzo does it all the time.”
“That’s because he knows the company backward and forward. He could probably run it from a remote island and still do what he needs to do. But between my ex coming after me and forcing me to stay hidden for months, then me getting pregnant, having Alba, and going on maternity leave, I’ve barely gotten my feet wet. I walked through the break room to get a coffee, and someone asked me if I was lost.” She winces. “I had to tell her I was the VP.”
I bark out a laugh, then cover my mouth. “Sorry, I can just imagine her embarrassment.”
“It leveled mine.”
“You’ll get there, and you have months until this baby is due.”
“Yeah … it’s just … can I tell you something and you not tell my brother?”
“Of course,” I exclaim. “I would never repeat anything you tell me.”
She nods and has a seat with Leo in her lap. Spotting his toys, he climbs off her lap and drops onto the floor to play.
“For as far back as I can remember, all I’ve wanted was to work at Russo,” she says. “I watched my dad and brother bond over the business while I was off at boarding school and then college, and my only goal was to graduate so I could move home and work with them. But then I fell in love with Matteo and became a mom and wife, and my priorities shifted.”
Tears prick her eyes, and I move closer to comfort her.
“Sorry,” she chokes out. “Between the pregnancy and leaving Alba, my emotions are all over the place.” She sniffles back a sob. “Our dad left me forty-nine percent of the company because I’d told him I wanted to work for Russo, and I did …”
“And now?” I prompt, having a feeling I know where this is going.
“And now, I still do. But I also want to be a mom and a wife. Peyton went back to work, and she loves it, and Bri swears she’ll be back to work the second she’s cleared, but I …” She shrugs. “I feel like I have to choose between my career and my family, and as much as I love Russo, I love my family more.”
“I’m not a mom,” I say, glancing at Leo and then back at Dani. “But I had a mom who wanted nothing to do with me. On top of her working the hours she needed to pay the bills, she would go out trolling for men, trying to meet her Prince Charming, and all I wanted was for her to spend time with me.
“Many women have to work, and for those who want to work, that’s okay. Peyton’s babies are older, and Bri hasn’t had to leave her baby yet. But if you want to stay home with your babies, then that’s okay too. Because you can do that. Not everyone has that luxury. And …” I glance up and spot Lorenzo standing in the doorway. He must’ve come in through the back door, and from the look on his face, he’s been listening.
“And … I have no doubt that Lorenzo will more than understand your want and need to be home with your babies. Life is too short to not do what makes you happy. If your dreams include staying home with your babies, then that’s what you should do.”
“And I will more than understand,” Lorenzo says, making his presence known.
“Oh God!” Dani shrieks. “You knew he was there?”
“Not until she told you that I would understand,” Lorenzo tells her. “And she’s correct. That forty-nine percent is yours whether you work for Russo or not.”
Leo waddles over to Lorenzo, and he picks up his son, gives him a kiss on his forehead, and then looks at Dani.
“If, one day, you decide you want to work for Russo, there will always be a position for you. But if you decide it’s not for you, that’s okay. We’ve lost too many people in our lives. We have been through too much to not do what makes us happy.”