by Katie Dowe
“I don’t think so,” she had a tinkling laugh and she was very beautiful and delicate. Marcus was handsome and had always been very popular with the females but this girl looked so out of place next to him that Monique wondered if they really belonged together.
“Good,” she said briskly as she set about bringing the plates. “When are you due?”
April looked over at Marcus as if expecting him to answer for her and he did. “She is actually due next April,” they looked at each other and laughed. “Get it? Her name is April and she will be having the baby in April. It’s kind of ironic.”
“Of course,” Monique forced a smile to her lips. “Have you told your parents?”
She saw the girl looked at her brother again and wanted to shout at her to try talking for herself for once!
“No we have not told them yet,” Marcus said quietly. “We were thinking of next weekend.”
“Honey, don’t you think you should let April speak for herself? Or is she incapable of doing so?” the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Both of them looked at her in surprise and Monique felt like the lowest form of life! “I am sorry,” she muttered and excusing herself she hurried into the kitchen. She was leaning against the countertop when Marcus came to find her.
“What’s going on with you?” his voice was cool and remote.
She moved away and went into the fridge to get the jug of lemonade. “I spoke out of turn and I am sorry.”
He took the jug from her and set it on the counter, turning her to face him. “You were very rude to the woman who is carrying my child, Monique, and being rude is not exactly your style.”
“Maybe you don’t know me that well,” she said defiantly as she stared up at him. “I am sorry really, but she seems as if she depends on you for everything.”
“Keep your voice down!” he hissed at her. “So what if she does? She has been pampered all her life and certain things she is not used to. They can’t all be amazons like you, sis.”
She pulled out of his grip and went to get the lemonade. “I hope you know what you are doing,” she told him as she went back into the dining room.
The meal went downhill after that even when she apologized to April for her remark. She could not help but notice how April was always looking at Marcus and the way she took her time eating her meal. Monique knew that that was not something she should fault her with but she could not help it. Her brother was a very strong man who needed a strong woman, not one who was going to have to depend on him for every little thing! They left shortly after without Marcus giving her the usual squeeze and peck on the cheek, and after they were gone she found herself going into depression. They had always promised to be there for each other and never let anything get between them but that had certainly changed just now! She scraped the rest of the delicious roast beef into a container and put it away along with the carrots and raw vegetables. She should have kept her mouth closed and not say anything! With a despondent sigh, she washed the dishes and felt the tears coming to her eyes. They had always been so close that she could never allow anything or anyone to take that away from them, not even a woman pregnant with his child!
******
Lorenzo called her. He had given her a week before doing so. He had no idea where she lived exactly or where she worked. She had told him some Junior high school and had laughed at how the students were privileged and had no idea what it was to suffer. “I am not saying that all rich people are the same but these students give the word pampered a whole new meaning!”
He dialed the number and waited for her to answerm and when she didn’t he tried her again. “What?”
“What’s wrong?”
“None of your business. Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Apparently not. I want to see you.”
“I want to be on a beach in Jamaica with my toes curling into the sand but I can’t have thatm can I?” she asked him caustically.
“I can make that happen.” He told her softly. “We could leave now and be back by the morning.”
“Of course. You are the Lorenzo Romano so anything is possible.” There was a tinge of bitterness in her tone. “Just leave me alone.”
He did not call her back and decided that maybe he really should leave her alone!
Chapter 5
“You want to make it up to us? Come to the function that we are going to with her parents on Saturday.” Marcus said glowering at her a little bit. It was Friday afternoon and she had stopped at his apartment on her way home from work after calling him.
“I don’t have anything to wear.” She protested as she kicked off her shoes and curled her feet beneath her on the sofa. “You know I don’t belong to places like that.”
“You have not heard where it is being held,” he said to her mildly. He told her the name of the hotel and she sighed. “Her parents have accepted me and are quite excited about the pregnancy. They are prepared to help in every way they can including setting up a trust fund for the baby.” He saw the look on her expressive face and continued. “I know what you are thinking, but I have to be realistic and think about my kid. I love April and want to marry her.”
“I am sorry,” she murmured. “I was such a bitch at dinner last week.”
“You were,” he agreed with a glimmer of a smile. “She is in love with me and although she is not used to my kind of life you should see her here trying to fit in by helping to tidy up and helping to fix a meal.”
“As long as you love her–” she spread her hands eloquently. “I still have nothing to wear.”
He dug into his pocket and took out his wallet fishing his card out. “The dress is on me.”
“I cannot accept that,” she said not taking the card from him.
“Consider it an early birthday gift,” he insisted. “You are coming, Monique.”
“Okay fine,” she pouted a little bit as she took the plastic from him. “If you were not the only family I have...” she left the sentence unfinished. “I am happy you have found someone.” She said softly.
“So am I,” he left his seat and came over to join her pulling her into his arms. “I want my child to grow up in a house filled with love like we never had when we were little.”
“Why did you think that she never found it in her heart to love us?” she asked referring to the aunt that had been forced to take them in.
“She was jealous of her sister and what she had. I guess she resented the fact that she was the one who had to take care of us when they died. It was a constant reminder of what they had shared.” He murmured, kissing her on top of the head.
“I don’t want anything to come between us again, no matter what.”
“I won’t allow that to happen,” he vowed. “We stick together, Mon, for life.”
“So where are you going to live?”
“Her parents are offering us a home where they used to rent out to people from overseas.” He said quietly. He felt her stiffened a little and continued. “I know what it looks like, Mon, but I am being realistic. I want the best for her and my kid and I am not in a position to offer that now. I am getting a head start and I am not going to let pride get in the way of that.”
“Remember when Aunty said we would never amount to anything?” she murmured after a few minutes’ silence.
“But we showed her, didn’t we?”
“We sure did.”
She lifted her head and looked at him laying one hand against the hair roughened jaw. “I am proud of you.”
“I am proud of you.” He murmured touching her cheek lightly.
She got to her feet and pulled him up with her. “How about feeding your hungry sister?”
“I think I can scourge up some tuna.” He said allowing her to lead him into the kitchen. He laughed as she turned and made a face at him.
“How about ordering out?” he suggested.
“Pizza?” she asked hopefully.
“Pizza i
t is.”
*****
He stared around the room idly wondering how long he could stay before making his exit. He accepted a flute of champagne from the passing waiter with a nod before going over to one corner of the room to lean against the wall. He had seen Alberto earlier before he had disappeared. His parents were in the thick of things along with the former first lady Melore Hawkins and Leesa Wellington as well as the Copeland’s. Most of the members of the Elite club had turned out as well as their wives and he spotted a few celebrities in the midst. He was getting tired of the social scene, the constant publicity and queries into his private life. He had just accepted another glass of champagne when he saw her walk in on the arm of a tall dark skinned man who looked a lot like her, a sibling perhaps and more than likely the brother she had told him about. She was wearing a figure fitting green gown with a low cut bodice that gave her full breasts added definition. He felt his flesh tingle as he remembered his lips on her nipples. Her hair was loose around her face and made her look more sophisticated! A far cry from the woman he had met in Italy. The man had another woman on his arm, a pretty enough blonde who was clinging to him. He put away the glass and walked to her direction. He was stopped so many times that by the time he reached her she was halfway across the room talking to some ladies. Monique felt the touch of his hand on her arm and stiffened as she heard his voice. “I need to talk to you.” He ignored the curious stares and led her out of the vast room. He did not say anything else to her until he had found a room that was unoccupied.
“You look stunning,” he murmured running his hands up and down her bare arms. She wanted to tell him how handsome he looked! He was wearing a custom-built pearl grey suit with a pale pink inside shirt. His shoulder length jet black hair was combed back from his handsomely chiseled face.
“Thank you,” she tried for coolness but failed drastically. She wanted to launch herself into his arms so badly that she could feel herself trembling from it.
“I wanted to call you but–” with an oath he pulled her into his arms. Her struggle was futile because as soon his lips touched hers she melted inside his arms, her fingers curling into the lapels of his jacket and hanging on, her body trembling. Lorenzo felt his body hardening against her. He pulled her closer to him swallowing her gasp as she felt the erection against her body. He was about to use his mouth to make their way down her neck when they felt the effect of the flash right in their faces. Both looked around at the same time and the flash went off again. Before he could think of moving her away and going after the guy, he sprinted away!
“I am sorry!” he muttered as he looked down at her. The top of her dress was leaning drunkenly down her arm and her lips were swollen from his hungry assault. She pushed at him forcibly and without a word to him she practically ran out of the room. He bit off a sigh and leaned back against the wall feeling the erection heavy in his trousers. The repercussions were going to come down heavy!
*****
The paper was lying face up on their elegant and shiny dining table when he went down the next morning. He had not gotten much sleep last night and had spent the time brooding on his balcony ignoring the chilly October night. He hid a sigh as soon as he noticed that his parents were still at the dining table at this time of the morning. As he drew nearer, he saw the paper in the middle of the table. His heart slammed into his chest as he saw the pictures. The headline screamed: ‘Playboy heir to the Romano fortune seen here in a steamy embrace with an unknown African American woman.’ There was another picture which showed both their faces closely. “Care to explain this?” his father asked him tightly. “The phones have been ringing off the hook with nosy reporters wanting to find out ‘your mystery woman’ as they put it. What can we tell them Lorenzo?”
“I met her in Italy,” he muttered as he went to pour himself some coffee, shaking his head as a maid started to come in. “She was an American there on holiday.”
“Ah and so ladies’ man that you are you had to show her how available you were?” he said caustically.
“Who is she Lorenzo?” his mother interjected quietly before the situation got out of hand.
“She is a school teacher at a private junior school and her name is Monique,” he muttered drinking down the rest of the coffee feeling it scalding his tongue.
“What are you going to do about the situation?” his father asked him coldly.
“What do you mean?”
“The press is going to have a field day about this and they are going to make her life a living hell trying to dig up every little bit of it. You are slated to take over the running of the company and we are in bed with some very sensitive people Lorenzo so use your imagination.”
“I didn’t think–”
“You think with your dick boy and that’s the problem!” Bernardo thundered.
“Bernardo, I will not tolerate that kind of language,” Adele told him firmly in a calm voice.
“Talk some sense into him, will you?” With a scathing look at his only child he left the room, his shoulders held straight.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Lorenzo wanted the throw the delicate crystal against the wall and only just contained himself.
“Why her?” his mother asked him.
“Because of the color of her skin?” he asked her heatedly.
“You know I don’t much care about that Cara,” she rebuked him mildly. “You are going to ruin her life. You are going to recover eventually, but it is going to be incredibly hard on her.”
“Oh Christ!” he tunneled his fingers through his hair and dug his fingers into his skull. “What can I do?”
“I think you already know.”
*****
It was the shrill ringing of phone that woke her that morning. She had drunk too much alcohol trying to blot out her raging desire and awakened feelings for Lorenzo and had been pleasantly buzzed when she came home. “Hello?” she whispered. Her mouth felt as if she had been feeding on chalk dust.
“I had no idea you had gotten so famous or is it infamous?” Camille’s too cheerful voice sounded loudly in her ear.
“What?”
“Honey, have you seen the papers?”
“You woke me.”
“Check out ‘Couture’ and the other society rags, you and the dreamboat are plastered all over them.”
Monique felt her knees buckling and she groped for the bed and flopped down on the side of it. “Someone took our pictures when–” she broke off unable to continue.
“When you were swapping saliva?”
“That’s disgusting.” She said weakly.
“Honey, you two looked as if you were melded together. I am sure there is nothing disgusting about that. I am surprised you don’t have reporters banging on your front door.”
Monique got to her feet and hurried into the living room to look outside. There were two vans and a number of women and men with cameras outside her gate. She shrank back hurriedly before they could see her through the window and closed her eyes in despair. “They are outside my gate.”
“Honey, call your brother and tell him because I am sure they have made the connection by now and have been calling him. And you might want to call lover boy.”
Monique went to sit on the sofa and put her head into her lap breathing through her lips. She had gone from being a normal everyday school teacher that hardly anyone notices to being the woman locking lips with Lorenzo Romano! She went to her lap top and booted it up going into one of the society rags. She did not have to go far. It felt strange to see her picture staring back at her from the screen. She cringed as she looked at how tangled they were in each other’s arms and the way she looked when she turned to the camera. She looked like a woman who had been thoroughly loved! She slammed down the cover and dug her knuckles into her eyes. With a determined sigh, she called her brother. “You could have told me,” his voice was accusing and she could not blame him. “Lorenzo Romano? What were you thinking?”
�
�Apparently I wasn’t,” suddenly she felt the weariness coming down on her. “We met in Italy and I had no idea he was that Lorenzo.”
“How could you not! He is featured in the papers almost every day with another woman in tow. He is a playboy, Mon, and not a man who sticks to one woman.”
“I know the meaning of playboy, thank you.” She felt like weeping and not coming out of bed for several weeks or maybe months until this blew over.
“Want me to come over?” he asked her quietly as if feeling her pain.
“Not just yet. I think I need to speak to Lorenzo first.”
“If you need me, call.”
“I will.” She promised.
She curled her feet beneath her and rested her head back against the rest. She had messed up pretty much even though it was not her fault. He was the one who had called her away from the room and he was the one who had initiated the kiss even though she had been a willing participant. A more than willing one! She thought with a moan as she remembered how she had wanted him to take her right there! She jumped a little as her phone rang again. “I need to see you,” his voice had the ability to turn her into a puddle and she did not like that. It made her too vulnerable.
“So you can ruin what’s left of my life?” she asked him bitterly.
“I am so sorry,” he said softly. “You have the ability to turn my reasoning into something else.”
“That’s very comforting,” she sneered. “Reporters are camped out at my gate and I am pretty sure that come Monday I will not have a job. Thanks a lot.”
“I will get rid of the reporters and I need to see you. Text me the address.”
She opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell and then closed it. He was right; they needed to sort this out. She hung up and texted him her address. Whatever he did worked like magic because when she looked outside after a few minutes they were gone!
She bathed and put on faded denims and a loose white top, bundling her hair into a ponytail. It was not long before a nondescript white Nissan pulled up at the gate and he got out wearing a dense dark shades that covered his eyes. She pulled the door open as he bounded up the steps.