Chapter 14 - THE FIRST TIME GRACE SAID YES
Grace didn't answer immediately.
She set down the watering can.
Then she folded her arms.
"Roman, you were my employer for eight years."
"I know."
"And you still have enough money to buy half the street."
"Probably."
She raised an eyebrow.
I stopped smiling.
"I understand that this makes things complicated."
"Yes."
"I don't want you to feel that you owe me anything."
"I don't."
"Good."
She studied me for a long moment.
Then she asked:
"What happens if we have dinner and decide we don't like each other very much?"
I almost laughed.
"Then we don't have another dinner."
"And you'll still treat my family fairly?"
"Nothing about the trust, your legal claims, or your family's security depends on what you decide about me."
She nodded.
"Then dinner sounds nice."
I don't remember ever being so relieved.
We went to a small Italian restaurant in Cambridge.
No private dining room.
No security standing beside the table.
No elaborate gifts.
Just pasta, coffee, and a conversation I hadn't prepared for.
Grace told me about Daniel.
How they met.
How he proposed during a thunderstorm because he'd forgotten to check the weather.
How Mia inherited his stubbornness.
How Sophie smiled exactly like him.
I listened.
I didn't pretend Daniel was someone I could replace.
And Grace didn't ask me to.
When she asked about Elena, I told her the truth.
Some days, my sister and I talked for hours.
Other days, she needed distance.
Seventeen years of separation couldn't be repaired with a few family dinners.
But we were learning.
Grace smiled.
"That sounds healthy."
"Unfamiliar, but healthy."
She laughed.
We continued seeing each other.
Slowly.
I met Grace's friends without expecting special treatment.
She met some of mine and discovered that several were remarkably boring businessmen.
Mia began calling me Roman instead of Mr. Carter, although she occasionally used both when she wanted something.
Sophie developed the unfortunate habit of hiding my reading glasses.
Elena thought this was hilarious.
Luca encouraged it.
I considered firing him.
He reminded me that I'd promised to stop making impulsive threats.
Life became wonderfully inconvenient.
Meanwhile, the legal cases moved forward.
Graham faced trial on the financial charges and the allegations connected to Daniel's death.
Victor's cooperation supplied important testimony, while financial and communications records provided independent corroboration.
The proceedings took time.
There were hearings, motions, and delays.
Nothing was resolved as quickly as the newspapers wanted.
But eventually, the evidence was heard.
The courts imposed consequences on the people whose wrongdoing had been established, and the civil recovery efforts continued under independent supervision.
I also accepted the findings concerning Carter Holdings' failures and committed the company to ongoing external oversight.
I couldn't change the past.
But I could stop pretending the past didn't belong to me.
Eighteen months after Mia first entered my forbidden office, Grace completed the first stage of her healthcare training.
We celebrated at her house.
Mia made a paper certificate.
Sophie spilled juice on it.
Grace cried anyway.
Later, while the girls were playing in the living room, Mia climbed onto the chair beside me.
"Roman?"
"Yes?"
"Are we still going to have a house?"
I looked toward Grace.
She nodded for me to answer.
"Yes. Your mother has made sure you have a home."
Mia considered that.
Then she smiled.
"Good. Because I don't like vacuum cleaners."
I laughed.
May you like
Neither did I.
And for the first time in my life, the sound of children's laughter felt more important than the silence I'd spent years demanding from my own house.
