Penniless And Secretly Pregnant - Jennie Lucas Page 0,27

head and a determined will, he ran upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. He paused when he saw Daisy’s door open. But her bedroom was empty. Had she already gone downstairs? Could she have left? Fled the city in the night—

No. He took a steadying breath. She’d promised she’d never try to keep his child from him. And he believed in her word.

But still. He wanted to find her. Going to his en suite bathroom, he quickly showered and dressed in a sleek black suit with a gray button-up shirt. The Liontari corporate office had recently loosened up the dress code, allowing men to skip ties and suits, though of course, the creatives and designers of the specific luxury clothing brands played by their own rules.

But Leonidas had his own strict rule, to always represent the best his company had to offer. And so, he always wore the same cut of suit from his favorite men’s brand, Xerxes, altered to fit his unusually broad shoulders, biceps and thighs. He checked the clock. He always had breakfast around seven; he was expected at work in an hour. The thought gave him little pleasure.

Going downstairs, he couldn’t find either Daisy or Sunny. Phyllis Berry, his longtime housekeeper, was cooking eggs and sizzling bacon in the kitchen, as she always was this time of the morning.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Berry.” Sitting at the breakfast table as usual, he hesitated. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen—”

“Miss Cassidy?” The petite white-haired woman beamed at him as she dished up a plate. “Yes. And all I can say is—finally!”

“Finally?”

“Finally, you’re settling down. Such a nice girl, too. And pregnant! You wasted no time!” With a chuckle, she brought the plate of bacon and eggs, along with a cup of black coffee, and put them down on the table in front of him with a wistful sigh. “I can hardly wait to have a baby about the place. The pitter-patter of little feet. And a dog! I must admit I’m surprised. But better late than never, Mr. Niarxos. After all these years, you finally took my advice!”

Raising his eyebrows, Leonidas sipped hot coffee, while he was pretending to skim the business news. “You met Daisy?”

“Yes, about a half hour ago, when she left to walk her dog. Such a lovely girl.” Mrs. Berry sighed, then gave him a severe look before she turned away. “Why you still haven’t asked her to marry you is something I don’t understand. Young people today...”

Leonidas’s lips curved upward. Young person? He was thirty-five. But then, Mrs. Berry, who’d worked for Leonidas for many years, regarded her employer with a proprietary eye. She seemed to regard him as the grandson she’d never had, and never hesitated to tell him the error of his ways.

He heard the slam of the front door, the dog’s nails clacking against the marble floor, and the soft murmur of Daisy’s voice, greeting some unseen member of his house staff down the hall. Trust Daisy to already have made friends.

Her dog, no longer a puppy in size but clearly very much in temperament, bounded into the kitchen first, her tongue lolling, her big paws tracking ice and snow from her walk. Mrs. Berry took one look and blanched. She moved at supersonic speed, picking the animal up off the floor. But her wrinkled face was indulgent as she looked down at the dog.

“Let’s get you into the mudroom,” she said affectionately. “And after we clean your paws, we’ll get you properly fed.” The dog gave her a slobbery kiss. Mrs. Berry smiled at Daisy, who’d followed her pet into the kitchen. “If that’s all right with you, Miss Cassidy.”

“Of course. Oh, dear. I’m so sorry!” Daisy glanced with dismay at the tracks her dog had made on the previously spotless floor. “I’m afraid it’s a great deal of trouble—”

“No trouble at all,” Mrs. Berry said, with a purposeful glance at Leonidas. The crafty old lady was leaving them alone. He wondered irritably if she expected, as soon as she left the room, for him to immediately go down on one knee in front of Daisy and pull a diamond ring out of his pocket? He would have done so gladly, if it would have done any good!

“Good morning, Leonidas.” Daisy’s voice was shy. She was, of course, wearing the same clothes from yesterday, her long black coat unzipped over her belly. “I saw you come back from my window. Were you running?”

“It helps me relax.”

“Does it?”