by Katie Dowe
She was so pleasantly exhausted on her way home in the vehicle that she rested her head onto her husband’s shoulder and drifted off to sleep only coming awake when the vehicle made a stop at the front doors of the manor.
“I was planning on taking you in,” Lorenzo said softly as she stirred against him.
“You can still do so,” she stretched languidly against him. His parents had come ahead of them so it was only the two of them in the chauffeured driven car.
“Good idea,” he murmured. He got out and nodded to the driver before reaching in and taking her into his arms carrying her straight up to their suite.
******
“That’s not like Marcus,” Monique said stubbornly. “He would never run out on his responsibilities.”
“He left a note,” April handed her the scrap of paper with trembling fingers. She had her daughter cradled in her arms and her blonde hair looked as if she had not combed it in a couple of days. Her eyes were red indicating that she had been crying. Monique had been so busy for the past week that she had not had a chance to talk to him or even come over to look for her niece. “I am in over my head April and I need to sort things out. I am sorry if I am hurting you and Madison.”
“What things?” she asked looking at the woman suspiciously. As much as she had tried she had never been able to like her and they were not close.
“I don’t know!” she cried, lifting the little girl as she started to cry and rubbing her back. “Madison and I went over my parents to spend the night and when I came back this morning this is the note I saw.”
“How often do you take Madison to your parents for a sleepover?” Monique asked her. She had gotten the call from April while she was at the office and had told Lorenzo who had instructed the driver to take her here.
The girl looked down guiltily. “We have been having some problems lately.”
“What kinds of problems?”
“It’s none of your concern,” her tone was a little belligerent.
“Honey, it has to do with my twin so believe me it is my problem.”
“Daddy wants him to quit his job and come and work for the company,” she said reluctantly.
“And of course being daddy’s little girl you started pressuring him into doing so.”
“He could be making more money than he does working for the state.” She said with a pout.
“You don’t get it, do you?” she said bitterly. “It is the only form of independence he has since your parents bought the house you guys live in and the vehicle you drive. He has no say in anything and now you want to take even that away from him. What the hell is wrong with you?” she was not aware that she had raised her voice until her niece started crying again. “I am going into another room where I can try and get my brother.”
She walked swiftly out of the nursery and into one of the elegantly furnished bedrooms. Everything inside the house was geared towards the girl and her baby; there was nothing for Marcus in the entire home. It was too feminine and frilly and she knew her brother was not like that.
She dialed his number again and got his voicemail. “Look honey, I have an idea what you are up against. You taught me never to run from my responsibilities and I am asking you to do the same. April told me about the job offer from her dad. You were never afraid of anyone so put your foot down and let them know that they cannot push you around. But please come back and call and let me know you are okay.”
She stood in the middle of the room so lost in thought that she had not noticed that April had come up behind her. “You never like me.” The girl said quietly. Monique turned to face her. “He is always comparing me to you telling me that I can never be half the woman you are and how strong you are. I love him whether you want to believe it or not.”
“Then why don’t you show him and stop trying to allow your parents to run your marriage?” Monique asked her coldly. “Do you know why I have reservations about you?”
April shook her head.
“It’s because every little thing you run to your parents. Marcus and I had to figure things out by ourselves because we did not have parents, and the woman who was supposed to be parenting us did not give a damn about us. If you love him, stick by him and stop running to mommy and daddy for everything!”
******
Lorenzo came home that night to find her curled up on the bed with her phone beside her. She had called him and told him she was not coming back to the office but was going home. He had been hung up at the office dealing with the sales team on how to handle the rush of orders pouring in.
“Any word?” he asked her quietly as he came in and took off his jacket.
She shook her head no, her movements listless. “I called him again and he did not respond. I must have left ten messages and he is not responding. I am out of my mind with worry! He has never done this before. We have always been close and he knows I would worry and to go and leave his daughter! I am beginning to think something is wrong.”
“I can get our PI team to look into it,” he suggested as he came and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Would you?”
“I would,” he cupped her cheek gently. “I know how much he means to you.”
She nodded and felt the clog in her throat. “He is used to being in control. When we were little we used to promise each other that no matter what we would never get to the point where we won’t be in touch with each other. What if something is wrong with him? I was too busy to call him and now he is not answering my calls.”
He pulled her into his arms and cradled her. “He is somewhere probably thinking about his next move.”
She did not answer but clung to him as she prayed silently for her brother’s safety!
Chapter 11
Marcus sat in the motel room on the side of the messy bed with his hands between his legs. He had listened to all the messages from all who had called him including his sister and his supervisor at work, but he needed time to get his head on straight. He had run out on his wife and his daughter because he had felt pressured. He was not that person and he had made the promise that he would always be there for them! But he could not live the way April and her parents wanted him to live. He had grown up tough and strong, had to be because of his sister and he had always thought that he would always be in charge but now he felt that control slipping out of his hands. He had gone with the fancy house and the money they had been given for their daughter, but he was beginning to feel that they were controlling him! They had started arguing about how much he could make if he just went to work for her father, and no matter how much he told her that he needed to be his own man she would not listen! He ran his hands over his face wearily. He had made a mistake marrying her and he knew that now. He was going to have to leave and do this on his own. He would never be able to fight them; they were too powerful so he was going to lose his daughter.
He had not slept the night before and felt the drunken punch of lack of sleep clouding his vision and weakening his body. He could not hide out in the motel room forever; he was going to have to face the music!
******
Lorenzo lifted his hand and knocked on the motel room door sharply. He had to do so twice before there was a response.
“You look like hell,” he said coolly as he pushed past him and inside the room. He glanced around swiftly wondering if he had a woman stashed somewhere and that was why he had not gone home to his wife and daughter. Lorenzo had promised Monique to find him and his private detective had done a very good job at doing so. He had decided not to tell Monique first before he spoke to the man who was supposed to be his brother-in-law.
“We can’t all look as pretty as you,” Marcus said grimly looking out to see if there was anyone else with him. “What are you doing here?”
“Your sister is worried sick and so is your wife.” Lorenzo shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark blue dress pants. He had meetings waiting for him and here he was playing some kind of a sleuth. “The
y have not heard from you in two days. Your sister wanted to go to the police but I persuaded her to let me do it my way first. Why are you hiding out here?”
“None of your business,” Marcus muttered as he went to get his shirt and pulled it on. He had never gotten to know the man thinking that he was too snobbish for his own good. He figured it was due to all that money floating around.
“I am afraid it is. I am married to your sister and right now she is a wreck and I cannot have that. What is going on?”
“I don’t answer to you.”
“Look man, whatever it is you are going to have to deal with it. If it is another woman you need to come clean to your wife and get it over with.”
“You think everything is as easy as that?” Marcus asked bitterly.
“Sometimes, things are not as complicated as we make them out to be.” Lorenzo said mildly as he took a seat on the only chair in the small drab room. His skin was starting to itch from the lack of style and the dreariness of the room. Whatever situation one is feeling had to be multiplied by the surroundings!
“You were born into wealth so you basically have life easy,” Marcus burst out. “Everything was at your fingertips so you did not have to fight for anything. I had to fight for everything. I busted my ass so that Monique could get a college degree and when she was through I had to go to night school. You had money so you went to your fancy college and got your fancy education and had a job waiting for you when you finished. You did not have to work because you are Lorenzo Romano, the big man himself! I am not used to people shelling out money for me and I am never going to get used to it.”
“Are you done?”
Marcus stared at him for a moment and then nodded. “You are right about everything.” He crossed his legs and gave the man his full attention. “I gathered from what you just said that you feel like a kept man because you in-laws are running the show. You have it in your power to change that.”
“How?”
Lorenzo shrugged his elegant shoulders. “You work for the state so your salary is not that much. Monique tells me you do something in engineering. What is it that you really want to do?”
Marcus stared at the darkly handsome man sitting in his shabby motel room, and for the first time since his situation he felt a sense of peace inside his tortured soul. He sat on the edge of the bed. “I want to go back to school to get my masters in electrical engineering and I want the freedom to do so without having to think about where the money is coming from.”
Lorenzo looked at him speculatively. “And after?”
“I want to create my own application. I have an idea how to write a program for the electrical company that will aid in having a better grasp on how to make it better during an electrical surge during a severe storm.”
Lorenzo was silent for a moment and then taking out his mobile phone he called a number. He spoke to someone briefly and then hung up and gave Marcus his full attention. “I have spoken to the financial controller at the company. A sum of money will be sent to your account as soon as you give the account number. It will be enough for you to pursue going back to school and to live off until you are finished. Consider it a very soft loan that can be paid back anytime you want. I would not want to strip you of your manhood,” he finished sardonically.
Marcus stared at him in shock. “I can’t accept that from you.”
“You much prefer accepting from your in-laws?” Lorenzo asked him mildly.
“That’s pretty low.” He muttered. “It’s a loan and I will be paying it back as soon as I am able.”
“I rather think you will.” He inclined his head regally. “How about your wife and child?”
Marcus looked down at his clasped hands for a moment. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Of course you do.” Lorenzo got to his feet and looked at the silver watch on his wrist. “I suggest you call your sister and go and see to your wife and child.” He turned to leave and then stopped. “Think carefully before you act because this will mean affecting a child’s life. She needs her father, remember that.”
*****
“Your husband is not bad for a rich white guy,” Marcus told her lightly as she passed him a cup of coffee. He had gone home and had a very long talk with April. It was tenuous and he was still considering leaving but Lorenzo was right, he had his daughter to think about. He had bathed and changed and then found his sister at the mansion for them to talk. He had listened quietly as she reamed him out and then had held her in his arms as she cried.
“I think so.” She said with a watery smile. Lorenzo had called her and told her that her brother was okay and he would be calling her soon and then he had gone in to work.
“He is not too bad for a pretty face.”
“He is more than just a pretty face I can assure you.” She smiled and then sobered. “Are you going to leave?” he had told her the entire situation.
“Your husband reminded me that I have a certain amount of responsibility and I need to live up to it.”
“He is a peach.” She said whimsically. She put aside her coffee cup. She had opted to stay home because she had not heard from Marcus. “If you ever do something like that again, I am going to string you up by your balls and hurt you real bad.”
“You paint a pretty graphic picture. How can I not listen?” he teased her. “I am sorry. I wanted to figure it out for myself and I was not thinking.”
“Men!” she shook her head and getting to her feet she went over and hugged him tightly. “You are not alone.”
******
Monique stared at Doctor Whittingham in shock! It had been two weeks since her brother had been found by her husband and she had thought that the way she was feeling was a result of the emotional upheaval she had been facing recently, but this morning after she had dashed to the bathroom for the third time in succession she had started to think that it was more than feelings. She had been getting ready to go to the office but had decided that she needed to get to the doctor. Lorenzo had gone to Europe for a week and she was missing him sorely. She had gone with the driver being extremely careful to follow the rules from now on.
“How far along?”
“Three weeks,” the man said with a beaming smile. “We are going to be monitoring you carefully Monique. I know how important this is to you and the rest of the family.”
Monique put a hand on her flat stomach in wonder. “I am going to make sure I eat all my veggies and take it as easy as I know how.”
“Good,” he said briskly with a twinkle in his eyes. “I suspect you are going to want to give the father the good news.”
“Absolutely!’
She waltzed out of the private health center with a shine in her dark brown eyes. She had been given another chance! She was going to have a child for the man she loved!
Albert jumped out and opened the door for her with a smile. She stopped before going in almost blurting it out to him but contained herself just in time. He closed the door and she settled against the soft leather seat. He slid the partition open and asked her: “Where to Miss Monique?”
“To the manor please.”
“Right away.”
She took out her phone and looked at the time. It was 10 a.m. here now so it would be 4 p.m. in Spain so that meant Lorenzo was probably in his hotel room. She dialed his number and he answered immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“Something has to be wrong for a wife to call her husband?” she chided him.
“So you are okay?”
“I am more than that. I have terrific news.”
“What is it?”
“We are pregnant,” she whispered making sure that the partition was closed.
“What?”
“Three weeks. Isn’t that lovely?”
“You were not feeling well?”
“Yes and I thought it had to do with the different things that had been happening. I threw up three times this morning and I decided to come and see Doctor Whittingham and he
confirmed it. We are going to be parents, Lorenzo.”
There was silence at the other end. “Honey? You okay?”
“I am too far away,” he told her huskily. “And I am not tying things up until Thursday.”
“We can celebrate then.” She told him. “How do you feel?”
“A little scared. Wait! Is someone driving you?”
“Albert is. I am fine. I am just heading back to the manor and there are no photographers lurking around.”
“They are probably hiding in the bushes.” He said dryly. “Call me as soon as you reach.”
“I will. I love you Lorenzo.”
He remained silent for a little bit and then said softly. “I know.”
*****
‘Playboy billionaire Lorenzo Romano and wife Monique Romano expecting their first child!’ A picture showed them coming out of a restaurant with Lorenzo’s hand holding hers protectively and she laughing up at something he said. It went on to read that the couple had lost a baby because of the shooting incident some weeks ago. It also went into details about the success of the spring collection that Romano’s had come out with.
*****
“I have become famous by association,” Camille said smugly as she examined the pile of clothing Monique had given her. “I have been getting offers from newspapers to tell your story.” She added with a grin. “You can see how much of a friend I am for me to turn down thousands of dollars.”
“I really appreciate you not putting a dollar on our friendship honey.” Monique told her dryly.
“As well you should.” Camille held a sheer silk top against her body. “Beautiful,” she breathed. “I actually met a guy.”
She had come over to the manor to chat because with all that’s been happening they had not seen each other in weeks. It was a Saturday afternoon and they basically had the place to themselves except the household staff that would come around to provide them with endless refreshments. Lorenzo had gone to the club and his parents had gone out to dinner.