Around eight in the morning, Lance woke up.
He looked at the empty room without much thought, freshened up quickly, and went downstairs.
Downstairs, the two little ones saw him coming down and started teasing, "Daddy is the last one up today. Daddy is today's lazy bug."
They said this because, previously, when the weather turned cold, Chloe disliked the chilly mornings and didn't want to get up early, preferring to stay in bed.
Lance had come up with the idea of giving the title of "lazy bug of the day" to motivate the two little ones to get up in the morning.
Seeing the excited children, Lance didn't deny it and smiled, "Indeed, I got up late today."
Just then, Deanna came out of the kitchen and overheard him.
She instinctively defended him, "You got up late because you went to bed late last night. You came back almost at dawn. Alright, stop teasing your daddy and come have breakfast. It's almost time for school."
The last few words were directed at the two little ones.
They stuck out their tongues and immediately responded, running over.
After breakfast, Lance told the children to grab their backpacks and get ready to leave.
Deanna handed Lance his briefcase and, recalling something she hadn't clearly heard last night, asked, "I think I heard you say something to me last night. I didn't catch it. Can you repeat it?"
"I wanted to ask if you'd like to meet my friends. You know, besides our close ones, no one knows we're together."
Lance repeated with a smile.
Deanna was a bit surprised and was about to say something when the two little ones interrupted.
Carrying their small backpacks, they rushed over and shouted, "Daddy, we're ready. We can go now."
"Alright, head to the car first. I'll be there in a moment."
Lance said as he gently nudged the two little ones.
As they left, he turned his gaze back to Deanna and smiled, "You don't need to answer me right away. Take your time to think about it and let me know when I get back tonight."
"Alright, we'll talk when you return."
Deanna agreed without hesitation.
Soon after, Lance left with the children.
He first dropped them off at school before instructing Xavier to head to the company.
Upon arriving at the company, Xavier approached with a notebook and reported, "Mr. Mercer, you have three major meetings today. In the evening, you have a dinner appointment with the president of Murray Group."
"I understand. Notify the top executives of a meeting in half an hour," Lance ordered firmly.
Since acquiring Valencia Group and driving the Cody family out of Cloudmere, Mercer Group's assets had multiplied several times over.
As he watched the scenery outside transition from bright sunlight to dusk, Lance still hadn't finished dealing with the documents on his desk.
At this moment, Xavier knocked and entered, reminding him, "Mr. Mercer, it's twenty minutes until your appointment with Mr. Tai."
"I know. Prepare the car. I'll be down in three minutes," Lance replied without looking up.
Xavier nodded and left.
Shortly after Xavier left, Lance paused his work, stretched in his chair, then got up to tidy up before leaving his office.
As he walked out, he sent a message to Deanna.
"I have a social engagement tonight. I might be back very late. Don't wait up for me."
"Got it. Drink less and eat more," Deanna quickly replied with a reminder.
Lance smiled gently at her message.
He then put away his phone and left the company briskly.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the private restaurant where he had an appointment with Peter Murray and walked straight in without looking back.
Unbeknownst to him, Leticia emerged from nearby right after he entered and quickly followed him.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?" The hostess politely asked Leticia as she approached.
Seeing Lance walking away quickly, Leticia hurriedly said, "I'm with the gentleman who just went in. You don't need to worry about me."
With that, she chased after him.
However, she didn't dare get too close. She only revealed herself when she saw Lance enter a private room and then approached its door.
At that moment, a waiter walked by.
Leticia grabbed her and asked in a low voice, "Is this private room reserved?"
"No one has reserved it yet. Would you like to reserve it?" The waiter looked at her curiously.
Leticia nodded, "Yes, I'd like to reserve this room."
With that said, she turned and entered the room but left the door slightly ajar so she could observe the activity in the opposite room.
Lance's social engagement lasted almost two hours.
After Xavier saw Peter off, Lance prepared to leave.
Seeing Lance about to leave through the slightly open door crack, Leticia quickly grabbed her handbag and walked out.
"Lance, you're dining here too?" She pretended to be surprised as she looked at him.
Hearing her voice, both Lance and Xavier turned their heads to see Leticia coming out of the opposite room. Lance frowned tightly.