by Gigi Thomas
"Oh, really."
Caden’s niece, Victoria, was two years old and his nephew Henry, was about to turn four. However, he had not spent much time with either of them. He liked children well enough, and much of his foundation’s charity work revolved around them, but he generally liked them from a distance. He felt more comfortable that way. Caden was not sure what to expect from this precocious three-year-old especially since she directly had his genes. From their first meeting in the garden, it was obvious Cadence had her own mind and, considering her parents, she was likely to have a stubborn streak as well. All in all, Caden was terrified.
Kenya couldn’t help but laugh seeing the worried look on his face.
"Be brave,” she said leading him into the living room. “Hey Caydee; look who's here. It’s...um... Caden." Kenya realized she had no idea what to call him.
She saw the wounded expression flash across Caden’s face when she introduced him. What was she supposed to say? Daddy? No. That title was earned, and Caden hadn’t been around to earn it. If Caydee chose to call him that, Kenya wouldn’t oppose, but she wasn’t going to force the title on either of them. Kenya still wasn’t sure about Caden or if he was going to be around long enough for either of them to trust him. If history was any indicator, he might just disappear again without a word. She had to be cautious in order to protect her daughter.
Cadence took the news surprisingly well, and she was only interested in meeting her father. The blessing of childhood, Kenya thought. Everything was often so simple, so easy to accept. Cadence wasn’t concerned about where Caden had been all this time or why he wasn’t around. All she cared about was the fact that he was there now.
Caydee jumped up from her coloring and ran towards him. After giving Caydee her presents, Caden laughed as she commandeered an arm, led him into the next room. Caydee was more eager to play with him than with her new toys. More than play, Caden had to answer a litany of questions about himself. They were important questions for someone Cadence’s age, from Caden’s favorite color to his moral stance on the debate between candy bars or lollipops. The interrogation even had a physical component, as Caydee climbed atop him and tested his strength.
This went on for hours.
“Hey, girl!”
Kenya looked up from making lunch, surprised to see Tasha stepping into the kitchen. "What are you doing back so early? I thought you were seeing the sights."
"Well, I missed you too. Actually, some freaking...giant crashed into me, and I dropped my camera. That pretty much canceled my whole... What is all the noise?" she asked above the laughter and squeals.
"Aunt Tee!" Cadence screamed.
Tasha had only been there for a few days, so Cadence was still getting her fill of her, and so far Caden was proving to be very entertaining. With the two of them together, this day was getting better and better.
Tasha Black hugged her niece as the tot threw herself into her hips.
"And, how is the prettiest girl in England? You making all the other girls on the playground jealous?" Tasha teased pinching Caydee’s cheeks. She looked up, stunned to see the handsome face of Caden Hargrove staring back at her. "Well well, now. And who is this?"
Tasha looked at Kenya suggestively, twisting her lips a bit, her expression clearly stating that he was more handsome in person that in pictures.
"Tasha, this is Caden, Caydee’s… biological father."
Biological father, Caden thought. It sounded so clinical. Kenya’s voice had a prescribed quality about it too. No emotions. She just said it as if she were reading statistics from a report. She might as well have said sperm donor.
“Oh, is this why you sent me out on a little sightseeing tour?” Tasha said. “Did you want to have some privacy with your boyfriend the Baron?”
“You’re mommy’s boyfriend?” Cadence asked.
"No!" Kenya softened her voice, a bit, for Cadence’s benefit. "Caden is only here to meet Caydee, Natasha. Nothing more."
Caden cleared his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment and hurt from the lash of Kenya’s adamant refusal. He tried to move on with the introductions. “Hi, Tasha.”
"Nice to finally meet you, Caden." Tasha extended her hand to meet his.
“You too.”
The trio stood in silence, all realizing the awkwardness of the situation. Cadence was looking from one adult to the next in confusion.
"So..." Caden began, desperate to have some conversation. He had never met Kenya's cousin, but had heard a fair bit about her. He knew they were really close.
Tasha was plumper than Kenya, and she dressed to try to conceal her weight. She usually wore long loose skirts or billowy tops that wouldn’t hug her body. At the time, she wore loose black pants and an over-sized poplin shirt that came to her knees. A belt at the waist suggested a bit of her curvaceous shape. Like Kenya, she had a beautiful face, flawless dark skin, and a large ‘fro.
“You are Kenya’s cousin Tasha, right? The artist?”
“Yes...photographer,” Tasha said eying him strangely. “But, how did you know all that? You stalking Kenya, Barony-boo? You stalking me?”
“Yeah. How did you know that?” Kenya asked.
“You told me,” Caden said. “She was supposed to come up to Boston to visit you that summer.”
“You remember that?” Kenya was stunned, an incredulous look on her face.
“I remember everything about you.”
Bugger. That was a stupid thing to say, he scolded himself. He shouldn’t have said that. He wasn’t thinking. But, it was true. Caden did remember. Oh, yes, Caden remembered. He had played and replayed their memories in his mind like feature films. He couldn’t forget anything. What Caden also couldn’t forget was why everything changed the week before Tasha was supposed to visit.
“Well, she did come. You just weren’t there to meet her, were you?”
Caden didn’t apologize, because he was sure he did the right thing. Missing out on Cadence’s life was not part of the bargain, though. He never expected that. If he had known Kenya was pregnant, how much would that have affected his decision, he wondered in silence.
"Why don’t we have lunch now?" Kenya was desperate change the subject. "Tasha, do you want to join us or did you eat while you were out?"
“I don’t see why one precludes the other,” she joked, trying to get Kenya to smile. She took Cadence’s hand and began leading her away from the pair. “Come on, CayCay. Show me what you were doing with Caden.”
Caden approached Kenya, uncertainly. "I should leave, I guess."
"It’s what you’re good at, right?"
"I’m rubbish actually,” he said under his breath.
Caden knew leaving was probably the best thing for both of them right now. He should give her space. And, he wasn’t sure how many more of Kenya’s strikes he could take. Kenya had the sting of a viper when she felt threatened or pressured into something. He learned that in early days, as his dogged pursuit often ended with Kenya telling him to bugger-off. When he finally relented, stepped back and gave her a chance to breathe, then Kenya finally began to lower her defenses around him. He looked over to Caydee sitting on Tasha’s lap.
“I don't want to intrude on the family meal and everything."
“Well, Caden,” Kenya spoke through gritted teeth. "You're family too."
"But it's different, in’it?" he continued with an uneasy demeanor and troubled look in his eyes.
Kenya looked up at him and sighed.
"Hey guys," Kenya began. "Who wants Caden to stay for lunch?"
"I do." Both girls screamed, Cadence with genuine excitement and Tasha with a teasing tone. Cadence slid from her aunt's lap and quickly went to Caden.
"You have lunch with us. Please," she asked tugging on his arm and his heart.
Caden looked desperately at Kenya, then into Caydee’s imploring eyes staring up at him. He sighed at how they both had the ability to so easily eviscerate him. Smiling, he picked her up and said, "Of course, I am going to have
lunch with you."
~
“Copper, I need you to make copies of all the documents from the solicitor’s”
“Already done,” Copper said bringing the stack into the office and placing them on Caden’s desk. He lingered before Caden’s desk for a bit. “So...are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Caden began to look over the documents.
“You know for someone so bad at lying, I’m amazed you were able to keep this up so long.” Copper said with his hand on his hips. “I guess you need to be on a different continent.”
“That wasn’t lying.”
“You can call it whatever makes you feel better; it doesn’t change the fact that you are still not telling her the truth. You know, she will probably find out somehow, and she won’t be happy.”
“There’s nothing to tell. It doesn’t even matter anymore.” At least it won’t soon. If all went well, Caden reminded himself. He refused to get excited. It was too early. Things could change without warning. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of what happened before. He just had to bide his time until he was sure. “Besides she’s not going to find out. Is she?”
“I swear you’re such a tosser sometimes. See, if you were my man and you were being that dodgy with me, I—”
“Let’s not start that again,” Caden interrupted.
“Please, I haven’t had a complaint yet, luv. Watch, when you finally decide you’re up for it, I will be over you and—”
“Yeah, well no and...No.”
Caden and Copper had known each other for too long. The pair were opposites in so many ways, and perhaps that is why they became such good friends. Caden wasn’t homophobic, and he knew Copper only talked like that to try to unnerve him. Copper was in a happily committed relationship, and since he had a thing for burly black men, Caden knew he wasn’t his type. Sometimes Caden would counter and try to gross him out with a rousing story about some girl during his sluttier youth, but he couldn’t. Caden couldn’t think about any other women at the moment. There were only two women in his world right now.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Copper teased.
“And I never will. Yet, I’m okay with that.” Satisfied everything was in order, Caden finally looked up from the documents. “Meanwhile, since when does the assistant sexually harass the boss?”
“Welcome to 2018, bitch!”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Right Honorable...
Kenya entered Caden’s office apprehensively. She looked around at the Asian inspired decor with its traditional wood, bamboo water feature, and blue and white vases. It felt as if she walked into a Buddhist temple.
“So, you must be Miss Thang,” someone said in a terribly exaggerated attempt at an American accent.
Kenya looked at the man at the desk in curious surprise. His dark complexion, a few shades darker than hers, told of his South Asian ancestry, and his jet black hair had metallic henna colored streaks. It made her wonder whether his name inspired his hair or if it was the reverse. He was not what Kenya was expecting when she was directed to find Caden’s assistant, Copper. Kenya had imagined some bony pale redheaded woman with cold blue eyes who would look at her with practiced British judgment for having the audacity to procreate with one of their nobles. The sassy man before her looked as though he was appraising her in his own right, however.
“Well. Okay, I guess I can sort of see what the fuss is all about.”
“Hello, I’m here to see Ca…Mr. Hargro…Lord Hargrove?”
“Just Caden is still fine,” Caden said popping out of his office into the reception area, before his assistant could respond, as if he’d been waiting for her arrival.
Well, Kenya reminded herself, they did have an appointment, or at least a plan for her to drop off Cadence so the pair could spend the afternoon together. When he requested that she specifically drop her off and not Tasha, because he needed to discuss something with her, Kenya’s curiosity outweighed her annoyance. It was bad enough to have her past love—ex-boyfriend—baby daddy?—whatever!—back in her life, but accommodating him as Cadence’s father was turning her world off kilter.
“Like a lonely dog waiting for its owner. Sad.” Copper’s elbows rested on the desk, and he leaned forward with his chin perched on his intertwined fingers. “If only we felt that eager about sharing information, huh?” He shrugged his shoulders and gave a coy smile, and Kenya saw the daggers Caden threw him with his eyes.
“How about you make yourself useful,” Caden began. He walked over to Cadence and stooped down before her. “You know what I realized? I have not had ice cream in ages. I was hoping you’d like to have some with me, but I don’t suppose you like ice cream do you?”
“Yes, I do!” she answered, eager to correct his error.
“You do?! Well, how about before we go, I talk to mommy about grown-up stuff. You go with Copper to buy bread for us to feed the black swans in the park, and he can show you some of the other offices in the building on your way back. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” he asked, turning to his assistant.
Copper forced a smile, his white teeth gleaming against his dark skin, as the pair seemed to have some kind of silent argument.
“Come on mini miss thing,” Copper said holding his hand out to her.
Cadence looked up to her for permission; and, with a nod, Kenya gave her acquiescence.
As soon as the door closed behind them, she turned to Caden. “Okay, what is all this about? What’s wrong?”
What they needed to discuss so urgently, Kenya had no idea. It made her more concerned that Caden thought they needed to discuss it in private. Why such secrecy? Possibilities raced through her mind until she realized what it must be. Of course, he wanted to discuss taking care of the “problem.” It probably wasn’t a good look for Baron Caden Hargrove to have a bi-racial American daughter running around.
The papers on his desk, as Caden ushered her beyond Copper’s receiving area and into his private office, filled her with trepidation. There was something stuck in her throat that refused to be swallowed away. Isn’t this what she wanted though? She wanted to raise her daughter by herself. Now she was going to get that opportunity.
It happened quite often with rich men: captains of industry, politicians, and celebrities paying off one night stands or objectionable former lovers who would tarnish their public image. Kenya knew how this worked. Caden would begin with how happy he was to have the opportunity to meet his child, but that he never intended or is not in a position to start a family at present. However, since he’s such a stand-up guy, he wants this child to have some benefits from their connection. Then he would write her a fat check to silently skulk away and never bother him again. She steeled herself for it, as he began to speak.
“Kenya, first of all, thank you for letting me have the opportunity to know my daughter...”
Yup exactly, Kenya thought, crossing her arms like armor before her chest as Caden continued.
“...I never expected to have a family like this, but-”
“Oh, just spit it out, Caden. You can save the speech,” she said unmoved by the sting he seemed to feel at the snap in her voice. If he was going to do this, just to give them the old heave-ho, she was not going to make this easy on him.
“A...all right.” Caden motioned for her to sit, which Kenya did, and he slid a folder of documents towards her.
Here we go; Kenya braced for impact as she opened the folder. There were several documents, legal as she expected, in the folder. The one that caught her eye first was consent to do a DNA test to determine paternity. She closed the folder.
“Look, Caden I understand. You didn’t plan or want to have a family with me; I understand that. I didn’t ask you for anything, so you don’t have to try to get out of it. I make enough money on my own, so you don’t have to worry that I will be plying you for child support or anything. When my assignment here is over, Cadence and I will go back to
America, and you won’t see us ever again. So, you don’t have to go through all of this to make that happen.”
“Sorry?” he asked, visibly confused and sat up a little straighter in his chair, leaning forward a bit as if to hear better.
“I’m just saying, I get that you don’t want to be in Caydee’s life. That’s why I didn’t continue to search for you. But, what the hell, Caden?!” Kenya yelled, losing her calm facade. “Why did you force yourself into my daughter’s life? Why did you force me to tell Caydee the truth about you if you were just going to abandon her the same way you did me?”
“Abandon her? I just got her! I’ve already lost four years of her life, Kenya; why the hell would I want to lose more?!” Caden yelled.
“Then...then what’s all this about a DNA test if it’s not an attempt to prove she’s not your daughter?” Kenya wasn’t concerned about the results of the test. But, she couldn’t help thinking that after he was the one who lied to and deserted her, Caden had the audacity to behave as though she was the one who wasn’t trustworthy? And, he sounded a little too offended for Kenya’s liking. It’s as if he was hiding something.
“Well, since my name is not on her birth certificate, I have to get a DNA test to prove paternity. How else am I going to get her British citizenship?”
“Citizenship? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about legitimacy.”
“Legitimacy? Okay, you’re going to have to start making sense at some point,” Kenya said confused and frustrated.
Caden closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He appeared more frustrated than she was. “I mean in order for Cadence to be in line to inherit, to be properly titled, she needs to be legitimized as my daughter and legal heiress.”
Kenya was speechless for a bit. Nothing that Caden was saying was what she expected from him. She didn’t know what to make of it. “Why?”
“What do you mean? I want to make sure that she will be taken care of if anything happens to me. That if I’m gone her position can’t be challenged, and her rights will be protected. That’s why I need to legally acknowledge her.”