Samantha doesn’t do the best job of bringing enough cash. She has to call her mother to send her money. When she makes that call, the private investigator, Leroy Putman, is able to track it. Leroy calls Jacob.
“Hello, Mr. Latters, this is Leroy. I found her – she’s in Venice, Italy. My flight leaves in a few hours. I will call you with an update when I get there.”
“Alright,” says Jacob.
Samantha is sick all the time. Her breasts are sore and she hasn’t gotten her period. She buys a pregnancy test and it is positive.
She makes an appointment to see a doctor. She knows it is time to go home because she doesn’t want to raise this baby alone and feels Jacob should know that she is having his child. The doctor tells her that because she’s had a miscarriage less than a year ago, she needs to take it easy.
"Will you be bringing in the baby’s father for the next appointment?" he asks.
“No, we aren’t together,” Samantha replies.
"Sorry to hear that. I need you to put on some weight; you’re losing too much and you need to be healthy to carry the baby to term," the doctor says.
That night is the hardest to get over Jacob – now she’s carrying his child. She cries herself to sleep.
Jacob takes a flight out a day later. He meets Leroy on Friday at a little bistro in the Village of Venice.
"What do you have for me?" asks Jacob as he sits down. He is wearing a light grey suit, a crisp white shirt, a very expensive watch, dark grey leather loafers and gold-framed sunglasses with a blue tint.
"This is where she is staying: the Hotel Canal," says Leroy. “Here is the key to her room.”
“Nice doing business with you, Leroy,” Jacob says, sliding an envelope across the table.
“Thank you, Mr. Latters,” Leroy says. “She's not in her room right now, so I’ve set it up for you to go over now.”
Jacob enters her room and walks around, looking through Samantha’s belongings. He opens a drawer and finds a picture of the two of them and one of his shirts. The room is basic. Leroy text Jacob to let him know Samantha is on her way up. Jacob sits in the chair and waits for her to enter.
On her way up to her room, Samantha thinks about what she is going to say when she calls Jacob.
Samantha is so paranoid; she always uses a thermo sensor to see if anyone is in her room. To her surprise, someone is inside. She pulls her gun out of her purse and enters the room slowly. She stands close to the wall, then comes around the corner fast, gun out in front.
“Jacob, you scared the shit out of me!” she says.
“What were you going to do, kill me?” he asks.
“How did you get in here?”
"That’s not important. Happy to see you are still alive!" says Jacob.
"Jacob!"
"What?" Jacob says. “Oh, let me guess – you were going to call me.”
Samantha sits down on the bed across from him, and Jacob realizes he still loves her. She looks just as beautiful as the day he met her.
Samantha is extremely nervous. Jacob looks so handsome and smells so good, I really want to jump in his arms and make this whole nightmare go away. He looks like a model out of a magazine ad.
"How have you been?" asks Samantha.
Jacob removes his sunglasses, putting them in his inner jacket pocket.
“Fuck that, Samantha. Again, you did some really fucked-up shit! You know this shows me we could never have gotten married, because you can't even stand by my side or trust that I will keep you safe!”
Jacob stands up, walking over to the window.
“That’s fair, Jacob,” she replies.
She walks towards Jacob. Jacob, I panicked!”
Samantha starts to cry.
Jacob looks at her. “Don't give me that shit! I don’t feel sorry for you anymore. Oh, by the way, I'm seeing other women and fucking them too, if that makes it any more real for you!” he shouts.
Samantha looks up at him, her sadness now turning to anger. “Thanks for that, Jacob. You really know how to get me back, don't you?
The tears are pouring down her face.
You know what? Fuck you!" says Samantha.
“Fuck you too, Samantha!” Jacob paces the room.
"I fucking hate you!" yells Samantha.
Jacob heads for the door. She grabs his arm, turning him to look at her.
“I didn’t mean it, Jacob! How could you hurt me like this?” she ask.
“Hurt you?! You've been gone over a month, and not so much as a postcard from you. I figure you really don’t give a shit anymore!” he says.
He walks to the door.
“Jacob, I’m pregnant!” she yells out, crying. “See? I really was going to call you. I found out yesterday that I'm pregnant with your child.”
“Are you sure it’s mine?”
Samantha now stands in between him and the door.
“Where's this shit coming from? I try hard every day to get over you; it’s not easy. I still love you.” She looks up at him, crying. She grabs his face.
Jacob looks into her eyes. “If you did, you would never have left!”
He pulls her from in front of the door.
“I’m staying at the Westin if you need to take me for all I have in child support. I’ll be there for another couple of days.”
With that, Jacob left. Samantha falls on the bed in tears.
Jacob doesn’t know how to feel about Samantha. She says she loves him but does she really? He goes to his room and just sits around drinking.
Samantha later pulls herself together. She puts on the cutest outfit she can find that doesn't scream, “I'm trying to screw you,” but of course makes her irresistible. She arrives at his hotel room. Knock! Knock!
“Who is it?”
Samantha doesn’t say anything until he asks again.
“It’s Samantha.”
“Go away!”
“Jacob, we need to talk.”
He opens the door and walks away.
She walks inside, putting her purse on the table. He sits back down on the couch, continuing to drink his whiskey.
“I would ask you if you want something to drink, but I guess that's a no,” he says.
Samantha sits on the couch not far from him. He keeps watching TV. She grabs the remote, turning it off, and moves closer to him, grabbing his face, telling him to look at her.
“Jacob, I really don’t give a fuck how many bitches you fucked because don’t none of them mean shit. If they did, you wouldn’t be here with me!”
She kisses him. He grabs her arms, pushing her back.
“Jacob you don’t want me?”
“No, I don’t.”
She kisses him again. He is only lying to himself, and she knows it. She sits on his lap looking into his eyes, then slowly kisses his neck, making him want her.
“You still don’t want me?” she asks.
“No!”
She kisses his lips as she grabs between his legs, then pulls away. “Ok, you don’t want me,” she says.
She looks into his watering eyes. He grabs her face. Breathing hard, he kisses her lips hard, pulling her dress up, sliding his hands down the back of her panties, then he stops.
“No. Samantha, no! I'm not going back on the roller coaster ride with you!” He picks her up, sitting her on the couch. He stands up, walking away from her.
“Every time I have sex with you, it clouds my judgment!”
“Jacob, I love you!”
“Samantha, if you loved me, we would be looking for our new house and raising this child together,” he says, looking at her from across the room. “You know what, just get the fuck out!”
“Jacob, I love you and I don’t want to let you go.” She walks toward him, standing in front of him.
“Well, it’s too late – you already did.”
He chokes back the tears as he runs his hand through his hair.
"Get out, Samantha," he says in a low voice.
“I
get it! I fucked up again! I'm leaving. Oh, and by the way, I don’t want your money. I can afford to take care of our child myself. I will never deny you the right to see your child. I'm going back to Atlanta in a few days. Just know you are the love of my life,” she cries. “Have a wonderful life!” she says, slamming the door behind her.
She then hears a glass shatter against the wall. She jumps from the noise. On the cab ride back to her hotel, she cries. A couple of days later she goes to her favorite little pastry shop. When she is about to order a coffee, she hears a male voice.
“Coffee’s not good for babies in the womb,” says Jacob.
Samantha looks back at Jacob. "You're right," says Samantha.
So she orders a decaffeinated tea and a Danish. He orders a tea also.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Jacob asks.
“I don't mind.”
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Besides the morning sickness, I’ve been good. Your hotel is really nice,” she says, looking over at him, squinting from the sun being in her eyes.
“I can pay for you to stay at the same hotel.”
“No, it’s not necessary.”
"I’m sorry for the other night; I shouldn’t have gotten so upset," says Jacob.
“Let's not talk about that. So are you going to at least take in the sites while you’re here?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind showing me around?” he asks.
"I can do that.”
They walk and talk about the art and all the buildings while Jacob takes pictures. Its like they’ve been friends for years. They just click. They aren’t the distorted couple they are normally.
“Where have you been since you left the States?”
“First, I went to London for a couple of weeks, then to Paris for a while and I just arrived here in Venice last week.”
“What made you choose these countries?”
“I wanted to go to places that represent love and beauty,” she says. “I don’t know – I just wanted to go at least somewhere I always wanted to go. It was hard being in Paris, the City of Love, and here because it’s so romantic at every turn. It only makes me cry.”
Jacob changes the subject.
“Have you gone to see a doctor?”
“Oh! I forgot to tell you what the doctor said. He said if I didn’t eat more I could put the baby in danger and that I need to watch my stress levels.”
“Well, I'm here now to support you. No more starving my baby and I will try not to stress you out,” says Jacob.
Over the next few days they continue to take in the sites, starting with the Ca’Rezzonico to view the art pieces.
They laugh and joke about some of the art and what should and shouldn’t be called art. She grabs his arm as she bends over with laughter; it just feels natural. They feed the birds in the park.
“You know we can do this at home,” he say.
“Yeah, I know, but I like to do it here because it’s out in the open with lots of people walking around.”
“Well, while you feed the birds, I will stand over here so they don’t do their business on me.”
Samantha laughs.
“Wait! What?”
She throws down all the food and runs through the park as the birds start to follow her. She ducks under a shop’s awning, peeking around the corner.
Jacob can’t help but laugh.
“Are they gone?” she asks.
"Yeah," he says, laughing again.
He reaches for her hand. “Come on.”
She looks up at him, taking his hand. While walking back to her hotel she pulls her hand away.
“I don’t want to feel anything for you if the feelings aren’t reciprocated,” she says.
“That's fair. Can I still take you to dinner to feed you both?”
“I can feed the baby. We're going to eat yogurt and a bagel for dinner.”
“I insist. I'm not raising an anorexic baby,” Jacob says. They both laugh.
“Jacob, I don’t know,” says Samantha.
He grabs her arm softly. “Please?” he asks.
He is so handsome, she thought, and it is so hard to resist him. How can she tell him no?
“OK,” she agrees, smiling. It is nice to know that he cares about their child.
“I will meet you in the lobby at 5 p.m.,” he says.
“Alright,” she says.
Jacob knows he still loves Samantha and is going to try to make it work. He calls Shannon.
“Hello, Shannon, I need you to go to my house and get the red ring box out of my bedroom safe and overnight it to me. I will text you the address.”
“Boss, you’re going to finally ask Samantha to marry you?”
"I'm thinking about it," says Jacob.
"Good. You two belong together," she says. “Once again, you’re your own worst enemy when you can't have your way or what you want!”
“Shannon, thanks – just what I need to hear from my employee.”
"Anything else, boss?" Shannon asks.
"No," says Jacob.
The more time Jacob spends with Samantha, the more it makes him realize his mother was right. He will try to get his girl back again, but this time for good.
Samantha feels confused about what Jacob wants from her. Then she remembers he’s being cordial because of the baby. Samantha is so drained she just wants to lay down and take a nap. She goes back to her room and does just that.
She sleeps so long that she thinks she is dreaming when the phone rings.
"Hello," says Samantha.
“This is Jon from the front desk calling. Mr. Latters is waiting for you in the lobby.”
"Oh shit," she says. “I must have overslept. Tell him I’ll be down in twenty minutes.”
“Very well, Ms. Posey.”
Jon gives Jacob the message. He knows that twenty minutes really mean forty-five minutes. He sits there watching sports highlights on his phone, and then he decides to call Todd.
“Hello,” says Todd.
“Hey, what’s up!” says Jacob.
“Hey man, where have you been?”
“I’m in Venice.”
“Man, what are you doing over there? Are you on vacation?”
“Something like that,” Jacob says. “I'm here because Samantha is here.”
“What? I thought you were done with her!”
“I can’t, because she’s having my baby!”
“Man, what the fuck! When did this happen?”
“It happened before she left me in Vegas.”
“Jacob, man, how did you know she was in Venice?” asks Todd.
Jacob looks around the room like someone might be listening. “I hired an investigator.”
“That sounds stalkerish,” Todd says.
Jacob laughs. “Yeah, it is, but I had to see her. It’s not like she doesn’t love me; she is scared," says Jacob. “I know I’m making excuses for her, but the harder I fight it, the more I can't be without her.”
“Jacob, maybe because you’re familiar to her and now she’s having your baby… Dude, you're confused.”
“No one cries over you every day if they don’t love you,” says Jacob. He walks outside.
“I'm going to ask her to marry me,” he reveals to Todd.
“Jacob! No! Don’t, man. Are you crazy?”
“Yeah, at this point I would have to be,” Jacob says, walking back into the hotel.
"What if she bolts again?" asks Todd.
“I don’t know. But here she comes – I gotta go!” He hangs up the phone.
"Hey, are you ready to go?" he asks as Samantha approaches.
“Yes,” replies Samantha. “So where are we going to eat?” she asks, pointing to her belly.
“Samantha, don't do that – it will be in the tabloids later tonight.”
He opens the truck door for her. “I upgraded your room; they are moving your things as we speak.”
“Jacob, thank you! I saw all the women
you are fucking. Nice to see I was a one-time thing – the only black woman. I'm sure your family is happy!”
“Samantha, that's enough! Stop acting like you give a fuck!" says Jacob.
“Oh, but I do! I give up the love of my life to protect him from a fucking psycho who can’t let me go.”
“Samantha, I don't need to be protected! Can we be cordial for the baby's sake?”
"Yes," Samantha says.
They arrive at the restaurant.
“Can we sit in a booth?” she asks.
"Of course," he replies. “I wanted us to come here because they have the best pasta.”
"My favorite!" Samantha says as she smiles.
"I know," says Jacob.
They try so hard not to touch each other. There are a few awkward silences where they just look down at their plates. After dinner, they go for a walk. They stroll along the water, watching the boats go by.
"It's so romantic!" Samantha says.
A cluster of houses sit on a hill; it could have been on a postcard. One house stands out to Jacob amongst them all.
"Can you see the yellow house?" asks Jacob.
"No."
He stands behind her, taking her by the hand and points to the house. He forgets they aren’t a couple just for a minute as he stands behind her with his hands holding the rail in front of her. She rests her head against his chest, feeling secure, if just for a moment. The truth is, Jacob knows he doesn't want to be without her and is going to make a bold move tomorrow. Samantha turns around, hugging him.
"I do feel safe when I'm with you," she says.
They hold each other for what seems like a lifetime. Later that night they arrive back at her hotel.
"Thank you for dinner."
“You’re welcome! Do you want me to walk you up?" Jacob asks.
"No thanks," she says giving him a goodbye kiss on the cheek.
Jacob waits, contemplating whether he should go up. Samantha loves the room; it is so pretty. There is a fruit basket. The card reads: To my two hearts. Love Jacob.
Samantha falls to her knees crying. There is a knock at the door. She is frozen on the floor. She just thinks about how she can’t mess this up. She gets up off the floor, trying to stop the tears from falling.
"Who is it?"
"Samantha, can you open the door, please?"
She opens the door; still crying.
SAMANTHA POSEY: LOVE UNFOLDED: A BWWM Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 21