A Poor Dad Had A Mix-Up With Babysitting, Unaware The Woman Who Hired Him Was A CEO Falling For Him
Breaking the Professional Barrier
Victor tapped his foot against the marble floor as he waited for the elevator to reach the penthouse.
Nico clutched his hand, humming a tune under his breath.
Victor had started bringing a small backpack of art supplies and puzzles.
He figured it might keep the kids entertained longer now that he was babysitting regularly.
When the doors opened, Nova was already standing there barefoot and holding a toy telescope.
“You’re late by 2 minutes,” she announced.
Victor raised an eyebrow. “We hit three red lights, should I file a report with the queen?”
Nova considered this. “You’re forgiven on one condition.”
“Let me guess, glitter again?”
“Nope, pirate ship fort.”
Victor laughed. “Deal.”
Inside the penthouse was unusually quiet.
The faint sound of a drawer closing echoed from the kitchen.
Tia emerged, not in her usual structured outfit, but in a soft blouse and loose slacks with her hair down in waves.
She looked like she hadn’t slept much.
“Hi,” she said, her voice a little hoarse.
“Everything okay?” Victor asked, eyeing the stack of folders she sat on the counter.
She rubbed her temple. “Just a crisis with a product launch.”
“Half our shipment was held up in customs and the other half stuck in a warehouse in Jersey.”
“Yikes,” Victor said. “Sounds like a job for, well, someone who’s not me.”
That got a smile out of her. “You’d be surprised.”
As the kids dashed off toward the living room, Victor stepped closer.
“You want me to take them to the park later, give you some space?”
Tia hesitated. “Actually would you mind staying here?”
“I might need to head out but not for a few hours and Nova’s been a little clingy lately.”
He nodded. “Of course, whatever you need.”
Tia opened one of the folders, paused, then shut it again.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, what did you do before this?”
Victor adjusted the strap of the bag slung over his shoulder.
“Before full-time dad mode I was a sound engineer. Small gigs, studio work, local stuff.”
“Then after Nico’s mom passed I kind of stopped.”
Her eyes flickered. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “We manage, he keeps me going.”
Tia leaned against the counter with arms crossed. “You ever think about getting back into it?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes, but it’s not exactly a stable gig.”
“I can’t afford to gamble when it’s just me and him.”
“I know what that’s like,” she said almost to herself.
Victor tilted his head. “You ever regret any of it?”
She didn’t answer right away. “Only when I forget why I started.”
He didn’t press whatever she was thinking about as it wasn’t his place to dig.
But the air between them felt heavier now, charged with something unspoken again.
Later, as the kids turned the living room into a sea of pillows, Victor ducked into the kitchen.
Tia stood at the sink staring out the window, her phone dangling from her hand.
“You okay?” he asked.
She looked over startled. “Sorry, I just got off the phone with my COO.”
“We might have to pull the plug on one of our international partners. It’s complicated.”
“I’m guessing it’s not the kind of thing a juice box fixes.”
Her lips curved, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“No, but thank you for trying.”
He handed her one anyway. “Sometimes pretending helps.”
She took it, their fingers brushing.
“You know, you’re the only person in my life who doesn’t ask me for anything.”
“You pay me,” he pointed out.
“Not enough for what you do.”
Victor leaned against the counter. “I’m not trying to be anyone, Tia. I just want to do right by my kid.”
She nodded slowly, her gaze steady. “That’s why I trust you.”
The sound of a tower of cushions toppling over made them both glance toward the living room.
Victor chuckled. “I better go rescue the pirates from the lava.”
As he turned to walk away, she called after him. “Victor?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you come with us this weekend?”
“Nova has this school fundraiser at some fancy garden thing.”
“I usually take her alone, but she’d love it if you and Nico came.”
He hesitated. “You sure?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.”
He watched her for a moment then nodded. “We’ll be there.”
The fundraiser was held at a sprawling estate outside the city with manicured hedges and fountains.
A massive glass conservatory stood where the event was set up.
Victor had never worn a blazer over a t-shirt in his life, but it was Tia’s idea.
She had picked it out herself.
“You clean up well,” she said as they stepped out of the car.
Nova and Nico skipped ahead of them.
“I feel like an impostor,” he muttered.
“You’re not,” she said looping her arm through his. “You’re with us.”
Inside, the space buzzed with well-heeled parents, catered hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction.
Victor tried not to gape at the starting bid on a surfboard signed by an Olympic athlete.
“You okay?” Tia asked.
“I’m good. Just trying not to touch anything that costs more than my rent.”
She laughed genuinely this time. “Welcome to my world.”
As the kids ran off toward the balloon artist, a man in an expensive watch approached them.
“Tia, good to see you?”
She stiffened slightly. “Nathan.”
Victor watched the exchange instantly on alert.
“This your new assistant?” Nathan asked, barely glancing at Victor.
“No,” she said sharply. “Victor’s a friend.”
Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”
Victor stepped forward. “Nice to meet you too.”
Nathan nodded dismissively before wandering off to smooze with someone else.
Victor turned to Tia. “Friend of yours?”
“Ex-husband,” she said under her breath. “He’s Nova’s father and a real piece of work.”
Victor didn’t ask anything else, but the tension in her shoulders stayed long after Nathan disappeared.
That night back at the penthouse, the kids fell asleep in a pile of stuffed animals.
Victor helped Tia clean up the remains of their post-event pizza dinner.
“Thanks for today,” she said drying a plate. “You made that a lot easier.”
He looked at her, the distance between them smaller than it had ever been.
“You don’t have to do everything alone you know,” he said.
She set the plate down. “Neither do you.”
He didn’t move, and neither did she.
The air shifted again, tight with something they were both starting to stop denying.
Then Nico’s soft voice called out from the hallway. “Hey Daddy.”
Victor exhaled, stepping away. “Coming buddy.”
Tia didn’t stop him, but she didn’t look away either.
Something had changed, something neither of them could take back.
Victor hadn’t expected to be at a gallery opening on a Thursday night.
He had to carry Nico on his back while trying to understand abstract sculptures.
Tia had invited them and offered to arrange a sitter for Nova so they could attend as guests.
He’d found himself saying yes before he could talk himself out of it.
Surrounded by floor-length gowns and champagne flutes, Victor felt like he’d dropped into a life that didn’t belong to him.
“You sure we’re allowed to be here?” he asked quietly, adjusting Nico.
Tia glanced over, her earrings catching the light.
“Victor, you’re not sneaking into Buckingham Palace; it’s a gallery.”
“Most of these people wouldn’t even know what they’re looking at if it didn’t have a price tag.”
A couple nearby turned slightly at the sound of her voice.
Tia didn’t flinch.
“I don’t exactly blend in,” Victor said, eyeing a server carrying gold-leaf-wrapped food.
“You blend with me,” she said simply.
That shut him up.
They moved into a quieter wing of the gallery where the crowd thinned and lights dimmed.
A large canvas dominated the room with streaks of deep crimson across smoky blue.
Victor stared at it. “What’s it supposed to be?”
Tia tilted her head. “Grief, supposedly.”
“The artist lost her sister and painted one canvas every day for a year.”
Victor nodded slowly. “I get that.”
Tia didn’t respond right away, then she said, “I met her.”
“She never talks about her sister, but she paints like she’s screaming.”
Victor adjusted Nico’s blanket. “Sometimes screaming is the only thing that helps.”
A flash bulb popped in the distance at a sculpture shaped like a broken staircase.
Tia’s phone buzzed in her clutch.
She glanced at it, her jaw tightening. “Everything okay?”
She hesitated. “My board’s pushing for a merger with a European firm.”
“They want to expand faster than I’m ready for.”
“You’re the CEO, don’t you get the final call?”
“In theory,” she folded the phone shut.
“But when they see a woman slowing down, they assume she’s slipping.”
Victor looked at her; her posture was perfect, but her eyes were tired.
“You’re not slipping, Tia. You’re just human.”
She smiled faintly. “That’s the part they can’t accept.”
“Then maybe they are the ones who need to adjust.”
She turned to him. “You always say things like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like it’s simple.”
“It is, or it should be.”
Tia’s eyes dropped to Nico whose breathing had slowed.
“He trusts you completely,” she said softly.
Victor looked down. “He doesn’t have anyone else.”
“You’re his entire world.”
“I’m just doing my best.”
“So am I.”
They stood there surrounded by the weight of things they hadn’t said yet.
Later, Victor walked into the kitchen to find her pouring a glass of wine.
“Want one?”
“I shouldn’t, i’ve got an early morning.”
She leaned against the counter. “You were good tonight.”
“I didn’t spill anything or knock over a sculpture, that’s a win.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He waited.
“You were calm, present. You made space for me to breathe.”
Victor rubbed the back of his neck. “You make it easy to want to.”
She set the glass down. “I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Okay.”
“What if we tried something new?”
He frowned. “Like what?”
“Dinner, just us. No kids, no distractions.”
His heart skipped once, hard. “You mean like…?”
“Yes.”
He swallowed. “Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.”
Victor leaned against the opposite counter, the weight of her words settling on him.
“What about Nova?”
“She already adores you.”
“And your board, your world?”
“They’re not my world, she is. And maybe you could be too.”
He looked at her, unsure if he was dreaming.
She looked back unflinching. “Say yes.”
Victor exhaled. “Yes.”
The following Friday, they met outside a small restaurant on a cobblestone street.
No red carpets, no flashing cameras, just warm lights and soft music.
Tia wore a soft gray dress that made her look like she’d finally shed her armor.
Victor had borrowed a blazer from Dale that didn’t quite fit.
It still made him feel like he belonged somewhere different for a night.
Over dinner, they talked about everything but business.
Tia told him about college and writing poetry and sneaking into concerts.
Victor told her how he used to play at underground jazz bars.
He’d once been arrested for loitering outside a recording studio hoping for a shot.
“I thought I had time,” he said finishing his drink. “Then real life hit like a truck.”
She reached across the table, her fingers brushing his.
“It’s still your life. You get to choose what comes next.”
He held her gaze. “I think I already have.”
The car ride home was quiet and comfortable.
When they pulled up in front of the building, neither of them moved.
“I should go,” he said finally.
Tia nodded. “You should.”
But neither of them reached for the handle.
Instead, she leaned in slowly, deliberately.
When her mouth found his, the kiss was unhurried and certain.
When they pulled apart, she said, “You’ll stay tonight on the couch, nothing more.”
He nodded, dazed. “Okay.”
That night, Victor lay awake staring at the ceiling of the guest room.
The echo of her kiss still on his lips, he realized something terrifying.
He wasn’t falling for her; he already had.
