Lorenzo (Members From Money Book 12)

by Katie Dowe

  “Janice?” the familiar deep voice asked her.

  “This is she.” Her heart had picked up speed.

  “It’s David Hattori,” he responded. “I hope I have not called you too late.”

  “No.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I just not too long got in from the store. How are you?”

  “I am okay, thank you,” he said politely. “I want to thank you for the arrangements. I loved the colors you chose for my office.”

  “I am happy you like them,” she told him gently.

  He went silent for a spell and she waited on him to speak again. “How was the fair?’ he finally asked her.

  “It was interesting,” she told him with a laugh. She told him about the various events.

  “I wished I had been there,” he said softly.

  “I wished you had been there too,” she heard herself saying. There was silence again and Janice wondered if she had said the wrong thing again.

  “I have something to finish up so I will talk to you some other time.” His voice had gone cool and Janice felt frustration blooming. She liked him and she knew he was mourning, but she felt there was something there.

  “David?”

  “Yes?”

  “You want to come over for dinner at my place?”

  The silence stretched for so long that if she had not heard the open connection she would have thought he had hung up.

  “I can’t,” he finally told her. “I am sorry.”

  “Why?” She was not willing to let it go this time.

  “Why what?” He sounded confused and for a minute Janice felt sorry for him.

  “Why not dinner? I am just asking you to have dinner with me, a meal between people. I am not asking you to take me to bed, David,” she told him.

  “I have to go.” He hung up on her.

  Janice hung up with a grimace. He most definitely would not be calling her back!

  *****

  David found himself breathing hard. He could not believe that she had spoken to him that way! He had been thinking about her too much over the past week so he had gone out of his way to avoid her. He had even made sure he was not there when she got there with the arrangements. He had gone back to visit Eileen’s grave to try and get her out of his thoughts, but that had not worked at all. He was constantly thinking about her and he needed to stop. Now she had mentioned sex to him and had made the feeling worse! What was he going to do, he thought in despair.

  *****

  “Ah, here he is finally,” Julie said with relief as soon as he entered through the doorway. His eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the woman seated in the living room with his mother. Her name was Arianna and she had made her intentions clear from the get go that she would not mind hooking up with him. By the looks of things, they were having pre dinner drinks and he was sorry he had not followed his mind and stayed at the office. Now he was going to be forced to have dinner and make small talk with a woman he was not in the least bit interested in. “Darling, I thought I would have to send out a search party for you,” his mother said brightly, deliberately ignoring the look she gave him.

  “Mother,” his voice was cool, his eyes going to the woman who was giving him one of her seductive smiles. Even if he was not in the situation he found himself in, she would not have been his type; she was not his type, too obvious. “Arianna, how are you?” he asked her politely.

  “Better now,” she purred, her sultry voice getting on his nerves.

  “I am going to get washed up and then come back down. Mother, I need your help with something,” he said turning to leave the room. Julie had no choice but to follow him.

  He was taking off his suit jacket and hanging it up when she came in.

  “I don’t appreciate being railroaded, Mother,” he told her in a freezing tone. “I am tired after a very long day at the office and when I am ready to start dating again, I am perfectly able to pick out my own date.”

  “Can you blame me?” She sat on the edge of the bed, and spread her arms. “You look like a ghoul each day and you are not eating properly. You spend most of the time at the office and you look as if you want to give up on life. You did not love her, David, and you were not the one who killed her, so let go and start living again please! I want my son back.”

  He stood there staring at her, his hands clenched at his sides. “You and Dad interfered in my life once before and caused this,” he gritted. “I marry a woman I did not love and ended up destroying both our lives and now you are starting to do it again, it ends here.” He put his jacket back on and headed towards the door to the back stairway.

  “Where are you going?” his mother asked in alarm following behind him.

  “I am going out.” He flung the door behind him and headed for one of the cars parked in the circular driveway. It was drizzling, but he did not even notice. He was so angry that he was shaking! He was trying to recover from the debacle that had been his life before and now she was doing it all over again! He drove, not caring where he was going until his eyes cleared and he realized that he was heading back to the office. He parked outside and sat there in the car, leaning back against the headrest and closing his eyes. He heard his phone ringing and ignored it, sure that it was his mother calling.

  His mind drifted unwillingly to one of the few happy times he had spent with Eileen. She had called him while he was at the office and told him she had a surprise for him and he should hurry up and come home. He had done so and she had lit candles and prepared sweet-and-sour pork and there was a small cake with his name on it. It had been his birthday and he had forgotten all about it because of some crises at the office.

  “Happy birthday,” she had told him softly and led him to the chair to sit. She had told him to blow out the candle and he had done so. They had spent a very pleasant afternoon together.

  He picked up his phone and dialed her number. It was almost nine o’clock and he was wondering if she had gone to bed. “Hello?”

  “I am sorry to disturb you so late,” he said soberly.

  “Will you stop apologizing?” she asked impatiently. “Are you okay?”

  “I want to come over for a little bit.”

  “Come on over,” she said without hesitation and gave him the address.

  *****

  He got there in fifteen minutes and she opened the door as soon as she saw him through the window. Her house faced a woodland area and was kind of isolated. It had belonged to her grandmother who had left it to her when she died. It was a rambling farm-type residence with a big yard and wide spaces and she loved it even though it was too big for one person.

  He looked like hell, she thought sympathetically, closing the door behind him. His dark hair was damp from the drizzle and his shirt was damp.

  “How about some tea?” she suggested, turning to go into the kitchen. She was behaving as if it was everyday she entertained a billionaire inside her house in her track bottom and tank top. She had gone jogging after he had hung up on her to get her head cleared and she had not too long ago gotten back.

  He nodded and to her surprise he came into the kitchen with her. The kitchen was large and homey and still had the old fashioned range her grandmother had used in her day. Janice had added a brand new stove but had kept the range, saying that it gave the place character.

  “Herbal or chamomile?” she asked him looking in the pantry.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he told her, wondering what he was doing here.

  “Herbal it is then.” She put on the kettle and took down two cups.

  He was sitting on one of the stools with his hands clasped in front of him on the counter. “This is a nice place,” he murmured, looking around.

  “It belonged to my grandparents and my grandma left it to me two years ago when she died,” she told him.

  “You were close to her.” He said it like a statement.

  “I was her only grandchild, so yes,” she told him with a smile, turning off the knob and pouring some wat
er in both mugs, passing one to him.

  “I guess you are wondering what I am doing here.” He stared down at the brown liquid in his cup as if he could find answers in there.

  “You are drinking tea with me,” she told him with a wicked smile, sipping her tea.

  He looked up and was caught by her dazzling smile. Her hair was tied up in a pigtail with several tendrils escaping and lying on her cheeks. “My mother had a woman over.”

  “I see,” she looked at him quizzically, one well shaped brow arched. “And you had to get out of there because she was so unattractive.”

  His mouth lifted in a slight smile. “Exactly,” he said softly. His gaze drifted to somewhere behind her head. “My marriage was arranged and I never loved my wife. Our families thought it was natural for us to get married, to join both families together. I was against it at first, but I was caught up in it and before I knew it was agreeing to it. I tried to love her but I could not.” He stopped and looked so tortured that she just wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

  “You are feeling guilty for not returning her feelings,” she said quietly. His tea was getting cold, she observed objectively.

  He gave her a wintry smile. “She wanted us to have children, but I callously asked her if it was wise to bring children into a loveless marriage.”

  Janice felt sorry for a wife who desperately wanted her husband’s love any way she could get it and for him and the burden of guilt he was facing.

  “There is nothing you can do now to change it, David, and if she had been alive, you two would have probably ended up being divorced.” She walked around to his side and he turned to face her. “You are killing yourself with the guilt and it’s not doing you any good. You are going to have to find a way to move away from it and start living again otherwise you are going to be in a bad place for the rest of your life.” She reached up and touched his strong jaw, trying to ease the rigidity she saw there.

  Her touch had an explosive effect on him! With a tortured groan, he pulled her inside the circle of his arms, his hands framing her face. He stared down at her for a moment and then he bent his head but he did not have to go too far because she met his lips halfway, burying her fingers into his now dry hair. His tongue touched hers tentatively and she trembled as the passion raced through her inexperienced body. She wanted to make him forget, she wanted to make him think about her and forget the guilt.

  David deepened the kiss, the feelings that had lain dormant for so many years springing forth. He had never felt this way before, not with anyone and he was confused. He tore his mouth away from hers and put her away from him, springing from the stool.

  “I am sorry,” he muttered harshly, shoving his fingers through his hair. His erection was obvious for her to see and it was also very painful.

  “Stop!” She made a move towards him and he stepped back. “Oh David, when are you going to let yourself feel again?”

  “I need to go.” He looked around the room as if looking for somewhere to hide. “I have to go.” He headed for the door and Janice walked behind him. He turned and looked at her for a minute, his dark eyes burning her flesh as he took in her swollen lips and her slumberous eyes and her nipples stiff against the thin shirt and then with a tortured groan he slammed out of the house.

  *****

  His mother was waiting for him when he got home. He had driven around the back and gone up the back staircase, but she was waiting for him in the hallway.

  “I can’t do this now, Mother,” he told her grimly, heading towards his suite.

  “I want to apologize to you,” she told him softly, following behind him.

  “I need to get some sleep. I have an early meeting tomorrow.” He slipped out of his jacket and hung it over the railing of the bed.

  “This won’t take long.”

  With a sigh, he turned to face her.

  “You were right,” she told him quietly. “Your father and I interfered and we somehow managed to convince you that marrying Eileen was a good plan for both families, not thinking about how you felt.” She sighed. “I am sorry, David. I see you going through your agony and I cannot do anything to help you and it makes me feel as if I have failed you as a mother.”

  He came and sat beside her. “I went into it willingly, Mother, so I am to be blamed as well,” he told her quietly.

  “I just need my son back that’s all,” she told him softly.

  “It will happen eventually.” He looked at her. “What happened to Arianna?”

  “I told her that something urgent came up at the office and you had to rush out,” his mother said with a faint smile. “I am not quite sure she believed me.”

  David laughed at her woebegone expression. “She was never my type, Mother.”

  “I am beginning to realize.” She reached out and rested her hand on his strong jaw. “I hope you find someone who loves you and you feel the same,” she murmured.

  “I am not ready for that yet,” he told her, his heart skidding as he remembered what he had just shared with Janice. He put it from his mind firmly, determined not to go there!

  *****

  “What is going on, Richard?” Charlene demanded. They were in his living room and she had just left the salon determined to have it out with him. He was going to tell her the truth even if she had to wait him out. “Who is she?”

  He felt his heart pounding. He had been on his way over to see his ex-wife when she showed up unexpectedly. Today was Saturday and was supposed to be the busiest day at the salon, so she was not supposed to be here and she had not called.

  “Why do you think there is a she?” he asked her mildly.

  “Well let’s see?” she pretended to consider. “You have not had sex with me in two weeks, you keep telling me that you have to work, and I have not heard anything about our wedding. Have I left anything out?”

  “Look Charlene,” he said with a sigh, wondering how on earth he had landed himself in this position. He was fifty four years old and he should not have to deal with all this drama in his life. “I think we should slow it down a little bit. I need to do some thinking.”

  “You are leaving me?” Charlene felt as if he had taken a knife to her heart, the pain was that sharp.

  “I am not leaving you, I just need some space that’s all,” he said soothingly.

  “That translates to mean that you want out and you don’t know how to say it.” Her lips were trembling and she was fighting the tears.

  “I am not leaving you,” he said impatiently, hating scenes. “I just need some time that’s all. I am sorry.”

  “You bastard!” she screamed and grabbed up her pocket book, slamming the door behind her.

  He flopped down on the sofa wearily, then got up to lock the door, not sure if in her irrational mood, Charlene wouldn’t return with a gun to blow his brains out. What a mess!

  His phone rang just then and his lips curved into a smile. “Have you told her?” Janet asked him.

  “Sort of,” he said ruefully. “I told her I needed space.”

  “Oh Lord Richard, that to her means you want out and now,” Janet told him. “You could not have been more subtle?”

  “I thought you wanted me to get rid of her?” he asked her incredulously, never for one minute understanding how women think.

  “Of course I do, but you don’t want her to come after you, do you?” she asked him silkily.

  “You think she will?” he asked in concern.

  “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned darling,” she reminded him.

  “Thanks, that’s all I needed.”

  *****

  Janice wanted to call him but she knew he was not going to talk to her. She could not believe he was suffering guilt! She had thought he was in love with her and she was wondering how she was going to compete with that. She touched her lips and still felt his on hers, his tongue in her mouth. She shivered as she remembered how she had felt in his arms and knew she wanted more
of him. How was she going to convince him that they needed each other? That they would be good together? She had never been in a relationship before, apart from exchanging a few kisses with boys in college, that had been it for her and those kisses had been pleasant but not earth shaking. David Hattori had showed her a different side and had lit a fire inside her that could only be quenched by him. She stood underneath the shower and allowed the water to beat down on her from her head down, her eyes closed as she remembered what kissing him felt like!

  Chapter 5

  “We are going clubbing tonight and I don’t want to hear another word about it,” Candace told them firmly. “There is a new club that opened up downtown and we are going to dance, pick up men, and drink strong liquors.”

  Janice had started to protest but she had decided against it. She had not heard from David and she had not called him even though she had been aching for him.

  So now she was getting ready to go with her friends. It was a little after eight and she had bought an outfit to wear tonight. Candace was right, instead of sitting at home pining for a man she could not have, she needed to get out there and have fun. The skirt was very short and she paired it with a long black shirt, leggings and knee length black boots. She had let her hair loose for a change and had used the flat iron to straighten her shoulder length black hair and it swung softly against her face. She had applied more make-up than usual and a bright red lipstick that highlighted her full lips. She grabbed her house keys and pocket book and headed for the door. She had decided to take a cab to meet her friends at the club as they had planned not to drive.

  “Point me to the nearest bar,” Leah exclaimed. She had had an argument with Lance who been upset that she was going to a club instead of spending time with him. “I need to get the taste of the argument of Lance out of my mind.” She had on snug fitting black denim and a red and white silk blouse. Candace was wearing close fitting red dress with a plunging neckline. The three girls turned many heads as they wove their way through the crowd towards the bar.

  “He wants to tie me down and I am not supposed to go anywhere without him.” Leah said taking a sip of her Smirnoff Ice. The other two had ordered the same. “I told him that we are in the middle of filing for a divorce so I did not want to hear a peep out of him.”