Billionaire Boss Went On A Blind Date — Unaware He Was The One Who Left Her 10 Years Ago

A Choice at the Crossroads

Nathan’s phone vibrated insistently against the table, the screen lighting up with multiple missed calls from his executive team. The crisis he’d momentarily pushed aside was escalating, demanding his attention.

Yet it seemed impossibly trivial compared to the revelation that he had a daughter. A sick daughter who had been wondering about him her entire life.

He said suddenly. “Show me,”

“Do you have a picture?”

Audrey hesitated only briefly before navigating to her photo gallery. She paused on an image and turned the screen toward him.

Nathan’s breath caught in his throat. The girl in the photo had Audrey’s honey blonde hair and his own deep blue eyes.

She was sitting cross-legged on what appeared to be a window seat, utterly absorbed in a book. Sunlight caught the same golden highlights in her hair that Audrey’s had always held.

Something in her concentrated expression—the slight furrow between her brows—was so familiar it made his chest ache. He’d seen that exact expression in the mirror countless times when tackling a complex problem.

Audrey offered softly. “She loves reading,”

“Math too. Top of her class in both. And she’s obsessed with building things.”

“She has more Lego sets than our house has room for.”

Pride surged through Nathan, immediately followed by an overwhelming sense of loss for all he’d missed. “Does she look like me? Besides the eyes, I mean.”

Audrey confirmed with a small smile. “When she concentrates, she’s all you,”

“And when she sets her mind on something, there’s no moving her. Stubborn as a Reed.”

“What else? Tell me everything.”

For the next several minutes, as Nathan’s phone continued to vibrate with increasing urgency, Audrey painted a portrait of their daughter. Abigail Jane Campbell, named for Audrey’s grandmother, was precocious and determined.

She had a passion for architecture that had emerged as soon as she could hold a crayon. She played soccer reluctantly for the social aspect, took piano lessons enthusiastically, and had recently developed an interest in environmental science.

Nathan said, his voice thick with emotion. “She sounds amazing,”

“You’ve done an incredible job with her.”

Audrey agreed. “She is amazing,”

“And yes, I have.”

The pride in her voice was well earned, and Nathan felt a fresh wave of remorse for all the burdens she’d carried alone. He said suddenly, the words escaping before he could consider their implications. “I want to meet her,”

“If that’s possible. If she wants to.”

Caution immediately replaced the warmth in Audrey’s expression. “It’s not that simple, Nathan. You can’t just walk into her life and then disappear again when your company needs you.”

“I wouldn’t.”

She reminded him. “Twenty minutes ago, you were willing to write off relationships entirely,”

“Your executive is probably having a coronary watching you ignore a corporate meltdown. Your entire identity is wrapped up in Reed Enterprises.”

“I can’t let Abby become collateral damage to your ambition a second time.”

Her words landed with the precision of arrows finding their mark. Before Nathan could formulate a response, a new text message chimed on Audrey’s phone.

She glanced down, her face paling. “I need to go,”

She said, already gathering her things. “Mom’s taking Abby to the emergency room. The fever’s not coming down.”

Nathan stood immediately. “Let me come with you.”

Audrey hesitated, visibly torn between immediate concern for their daughter and weariness about Nathan’s sudden involvement. “That’s not a good idea. She doesn’t know I’m seeing you tonight.”

“Meeting you for the first time while she’s sick and frightened would be overwhelming.”

Logic battled with the newfound paternal instinct surging through him. “Then let me at least get you there. My driver is waiting downstairs; he’ll get you through traffic faster than a taxi.”

After a moment’s consideration, Audrey nodded. “All right. Thank you.”

As they moved toward the exit, Trent intercepted them, his expression stricken. “Mr. Reed, the board is demanding—”

Nathan interrupted, his tone brooking no argument. “Not now,”

“Ms. Campbell has a family emergency. We’re leaving.”

Trent blinked. “But sir, the Mitchell deal—”

Nathan finished firmly. “Can wait,”

He turned to Audrey, who was watching the exchange with a mixture of surprise and skepticism. “Some things are more important.”

The elevator ride and walk through the hotel lobby passed in tense silence. Outside, Nathan’s black Maybach idled at the curb.

Audrey instructed as they settled into the leather back seat. “Children’s Hospital on York Avenue,”

As the car pulled into traffic, Nathan turned to find Audrey watching him with an inscrutable expression. “What?”

She said quietly. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you choose something over work,”

“I’m trying to decide if it’s genuine, or if you’ll be checking your email before we reach the hospital.”

The observation stung, but Nathan couldn’t deny its fairness. “Audrey, I just found out I have a daughter. A sick daughter. Do you really think anything else matters to me right now?”

She answered honestly. “I don’t know,”

“Ten years is a long time, Nathan. People don’t change their fundamental nature overnight, not even for bombshell revelations.”

Before he could respond, his phone rang again—his board chairman’s direct line. With deliberate movement, Nathan powered off the device completely and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

He conceded. “Maybe not overnight,”

“But some revelations demand immediate recalibration of priorities.”

For the first time that evening, genuine softening showed in Audrey’s expression. She said, though whether to reassure him or herself wasn’t clear. “She’ll be okay,”

Nathan replied. “She’s strong, like her mother,”

A ghost of a smile touched Audrey’s lips. “And stubborn, like her father.”

As the car navigated through Manhattan’s evening traffic, Nathan gazed out at the glittering towers he’d helped build. He felt as though he was seeing them and himself from an entirely new perspective.

The empire that had consumed him, that had seemed worth any sacrifice, suddenly felt hollow compared to the bright-eyed girl in Audrey’s photograph. A daughter he hadn’t known existed. A daughter who needed him now.

The realization settled over him with absolute clarity. Nothing would ever be the same again.