Checkmate

by Diana Nixon

  “I didn’t know anything!” He said, following her. Then his eyes stopped at me and his expression immediately softened. “Scarlett, we need to talk.”

  His guest gave me a curious look.

  “Est elle ton nouveau jouet — Is she your new toy?”

  “God forbid!” I snapped, before I turned on my heel and went back to my office. Did the idiot even know that sleeping with the entire New York and Paris would sooner or later become well-known to all of his chickadees? Ugh, the bastard had a nerve.

  “Scarlett, hear me out!”

  I turned to the sound of Dominick’s voice and gave him a cold look. “Sorry, Love. I don’t have time for you now.”

  “And I don’t fucking care!”

  Okay, he was furious and I wondered which of the morning events got on his nerves more.

  “That makes two of us,” I said calmly, sitting in my chair.

  “I guess you have seen the paper,” he said, coming to my table.

  “I have.”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  I smirked. “I thought you would be more inventive with the choice of words.”

  He took a deep breath and came to crouch down next to me. “Please, let me explain.”

  Again, I heard his accent getting stronger, and I couldn’t help but admit that it only made his rich voice sound even more beautiful.

  “You don’t owe me anything,” I said.

  “Actually, I do owe you quite a bit.” He turned my chair so that he could see my face, and I was immediately caught off guard by the despair I saw in his eyes.

  “How many women are you sleeping with now?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “Me, that French cutie from the hall, who else?”

  He shook his head, smiling. “Josseline is my sister.”

  “Oh yeah? And that one from the paper is your niece?”

  “I’m serious, Scarlett.”

  I frowned, thinking back on the scene I witnessed a minute ago. The girl did look like his sister.

  “Okay. What about the boy? Is he yours?”

  “I don’t know.” He closed his eyes and ran both hands through his hair. “I didn’t even know that Pamela was pregnant. That morning when Oliver asked me to come to his place, she was there, looking for me.”

  “Did she say that the kid was your son?”

  “Yes. But I don’t believe her. I want to have a DNA testing, but according to my doctor’s words, it will take about two weeks to know the results.”

  I nodded absently. I didn’t know why he was telling me all this. I didn’t ask him to. But somehow, he looked like he wanted me to believe him.

  “I hope it doesn’t change anything between us?”

  Chapter 11

  Dominick

  I looked into Scarlett’s eyes, silently praying that she wouldn’t freak out. I didn’t know if she believed me or not, but I truly hoped that the story with so-called parenthood wouldn’t take her away from me. I needed her, and right now, she was the only person I actually wanted to talk to and be with.

  “I don’t know,” she said quietly and my heart skipped a beat. “This is so-”

  “Unexpected and fucked-up, I know,” I said. “But please, don’t jump to conclusions. You know I want only you, and even if Pamela’s words are true, and the kid is my son, she and I will never be together again.”

  “Why did you break up?”

  It was probably the last thing I would ever want to discuss, but I knew that as soon as Scarlett saw the picture, she would ask that question.

  “I saw her sleeping with someone else.”

  “Like sleeping in one bed, or like sleeping-”

  “I meant having sex.”

  It was hard to admit that the woman cheated on me. I was an arrogant bastard after all, and like most men on this planet, I was sure that no woman would ever choose someone else over me. But the damn fact remained.

  “She didn’t know I saw them. She was so caught up in the fucking moment, I doubt she would’ve noticed anything but the dude’s dick.” Even now, just thinking about it made me sick.

  “So the picture of you and that girl – I don’t remember her name – kissing in the restaurant was your revenge for Pamela’s betrayal?”

  “Yes.”

  “You can be so cruel, Mr. Altier.”

  I smirked. “She deserved that.”

  Scarlett’s cell phone rang. She read the new message and laughed quietly, typing a reply.

  I frowned, watching her. I wanted to know who the message was from, but I didn’t know if I had the right to ask.

  “Your secretary thinks that your good-looking ass is dying to be kicked,” she said, smiling down at me.

  “What?”

  “Jill’s my best friend, so yes, she knows about us.”

  Okay… That was kind of unexpected.

  “So she thinks I have a good-looking ass? Great.”

  Scarlett rolled her eyes. “She’s not the only one who thinks that. Thank God, she has another ass to admire, otherwise I would be seriously worried about the safety of yours.”

  “Well, that’s good news. I think.”

  “Listen, Dominick, can we talk about what happened later?”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “Why not now?”

  “Because I don’t think I’m ready to answer your question.”

  Of course, I realized that she must have been upset, but still…

  “Come to my place tonight,” I said, taking her hands in mine.

  She shook her head, avoiding looking at me. “I can’t. I have a few things to do before going to LA.”

  Shit, I totally forgot about the barbecue that I was invited to join.

  “When is your flight?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “I see.” I nodded, sighing. I didn’t want her to leave, even though I knew I would see her on Sunday, it still felt like forever waiting.

  “Then I think it’s time to get back to work,” I said, rising.

  She smiled curtly and lowered her head when I leaned to kiss her. I cursed mentally and touched her hair with my lips, saying, “Call me when you land.”

  “Okay.”

  I went back to my office, hoping I would be able to get through the rest of the day without any more drama. But the reality was not even close to what I expected it to be.

  The moment I entered my office, I knew I was screwed.

  “Mom, Dad? What are you guys doing here?” Apart from my parents, my brother and sister were there too.

  “I hope you can explain this,” my mother said, pointing to the paper lying on the table. She was sitting in my chair and her expression said it all: she was furious.

  “First of all, I’d like to say that I didn’t know anything about Pamela’s pregnancy.” I was old enough not to explain anything to my parents, but the fact that they could have a grandson they didn’t know anything about, deserved explanations.

  “When was the last time you saw Pamela?” Dad asked. “I mean before she showed up at Oliver’s saying she had a child with you.”

  “I haven’t seen her since the day we broke up.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “He will give the boy our name!” Mom said.

  “Well, yes, but before that, I want to make sure that he’s my son.”

  The four of them shared a glance. “He looks just like your little copy,” Josseline said.

  “So what?” I snapped. “The fact that he has blue eyes and black hair does not necessarily mean that he’s my son!”

  “Well, of course we would like you to get married first, but if the boy is yours, we will love him as if he has always been with us.”

  “Mom, please don’t rush things,” I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Why on earth does everyone want this kid to be mine?”

  “Maybe because we are old enough to have grandchildren?” My father said.

  “Cool off, family. Okay? I will h
ave a wife and children when the right time comes.”

  “I hope when it happens, your father and I will still be on this side of the grave,” Mom said angrily. She rarely talked to me like that, but when she did, I knew that she was upset and maybe a little disappointed. She always said that I should set an example for my siblings. But I was a tough act to follow, especially when it came to relationships and obligations.

  When my parents and Josseline finally left, I breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes I still felt like a five-year-old boy afraid of being punished for another devilry.

  “So, how have you been doing since the last time I was here?” Oliver asked. He didn’t look like he was going to leave, any time soon.

  “Great,” I said, and then asked Jillian to make us coffee.

  “So I thought.” He smirked, crossing his arms. He was sitting on a couch, wearing that annoying all-knowing expression that I always hated him for.

  “Just ask what you want to know,” I said. I was sure he didn’t just stay to talk about my work.

  “I bet Scarlett has done her best to drive you up the walls.” Here we go, just exactly what I expected to hear.

  “How did you know?”

  “It was enough to see her once to know that you will be pulling your hair out by the end of the first week you two work under the same roof.”

  I chuckled at his words. He had no idea how close he was to the truth. With everything that had happened, I was very close to pulling my hair out.

  “I think we can make it work,” I said.

  There was a short pause, and I bet Oliver was trying to figure out how many times before the moment this conversation started, I had managed to get into Scarlett’s pants.

  Finally, he laughed, clasping his hands. “I told you she would have you by the balls and you would enjoy it. I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “About what exactly?”

  “About the enjoying part, of course.”

  “What makes you think that she and I-”

  “Come on, Dom! It’s written all over your face!”

  “Last I looked into the mirror, there were no words written on my face.”

  “You should look again, Bro. The mere mention of her name makes your dick jump out of your trousers.”

  What an ass…

  “I didn’t know you were an expert in jumping dicks,” I hissed, switching my attention to the contract I needed to sign.

  Oliver laughed again. “You are so full of shit! You like her, don’t you?”

  My brother obviously enjoyed pissing me off.

  “She’s beautiful and smart, so yes, I do like her.”

  “I’m not talking about her brilliant mind that I’m sure breaks the stereotypes of stupid blondes.”

  I looked at him, squinting. “Tell me, Oliver, have you ever spent two nights with the same woman?”

  “No, why would I?”

  “Then how do you know what makes a man like a woman? Out of bed, I mean.”

  “I can read people very well.”

  “I didn’t know that.” I smirked skeptically.

  “Well, now you do, so be careful next time you try to fool me. As for Scar, she’s worth fighting for,” he said, rising.

  “I didn’t know you two were on a nickname basis.”

  He laughed again, shaking his head. “God, you are so adorable when you’re jealous.”

  “Do you even know how to keep your mouth shut?”

  “Have no idea.”

  “Figures. Now, get out. I need to work.”

  “Good luck with your work. And the rest.” He winked, before he opened the door and closed it quietly behind him.

  I’ve never been a fan of truth, especially if it was thrown right into my face and I didn’t want to accept it. My brother always knew everything about the girls I dated or showed up with. Well, it was kind of hard to hide them considering that the greedy reporters couldn’t live a day without checking on me. But unlike other times, now Oliver seemed to be pretty aware of the fact that Scarlett meant something to me. Not that I believed in his so-called people-reading talent. Is that even possible to be an expert in reading people, when most of your time you spend in someone’s pants? What the fuck could he read seeing only… Well, whatever. I had enough to deal with even without my brother’s constant attempts to prove that he was the smartest ass in the world.

  I was so lost in work, I didn’t notice how fast the workday came to the end.

  “Do you need anything else, Mr. Altier?” Jillian asked, entering my office at about 6:30 PM. Apparently, she got tired of waiting for me to let her go home.

  “No, thanks. You may go and enjoy your weekend. It has been one hell of a seven days to live through.”

  “True.”

  “Is Scarlett still here?”

  “No, she left about an hour ago.”

  And didn’t even stop by to say good-bye…

  “Then I should probably call it a day too.” I forced a smile and Jillian left, wishing me a great Friday night and weekend.

  I didn’t have any plans for the night. First I thought I would call Scarlett, but then I changed my mind. I was probably the last person in the world that she wanted to see now after… Well, after everything that had happened in the past 24 hours.

  My cell phone rang and I looked at the screen, surprised to see Pamela’s old number.

  “Hello?”

  “Dominick, how are you?”

  “Good. You?”

  “Same. I thought... maybe… you would like to talk after what happened this morning.”

  Actually, I didn’t want to. “I have a meeting to attend,” I lied.

  “Oh, well. Then maybe you could stop by after it’s over?”

  What the hell did she want from me?

  “What for?”

  “I thought maybe you wanted to see Max.”

  My heart shrank at the mention of her son’s name. He could be my son as well, and I didn’t even know how much time I would need to get used to the idea of being a father.

  I sighed. “Okay. How about I come in about… two hours?”

  I needed a drink first. Unlike women, my experience with children was limited to buying Christmas gifts for my cousin’s kids.

  “That’s fine. He will be glad to see you.”

  “Okay. See you later.” I hung up the phone before she could say anything else. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of becoming attached to the boy who was someone else’s son. Why the hell does DNA testing take so long?

  By the time my driver stopped the car at Pamela’s driveway, my desire to see her or her son died out. Who would have thought that she still owned the place that was supposed to be our home? I remembered the day we bought it. Back then, I thought it would be a perfect place for my family. But after I saw another man sleeping in my bed, I swore I would never come back here again. And now, standing at the door, I was wondering if it was a good idea to accept Pamela’s invitation…

  She opened the door even before I knocked.

  “Dominick, so good to see you again,” she said, smiling brightly. True, she was still stunningly beautiful. Motherhood only made her even more attractive.

  “I can’t say I share your excitement,” I said, watching her curiously. Has she ever thought about how good it would be to be together again? I didn’t know where that thought came from, but I tried to push it back down inside of me quickly before it could do major damage.

  “Please, let’s leave our dissidence for later. Come in.”

  I thought it wouldn’t be easy to see the house from the inside again. Was I afraid it would awaken my old feelings for Pamela? Maybe. After all, I used to think that she was the love of my life.

  To my surprise and relief, my fears were not confirmed. The decorations were all new and nothing reminded me of the day I thought I would kill my beloved fiancé with my bare hands for sleeping with another man in my bed.

  “Why did you keep this place?” I asked, following her into the
living room.

  “I always loved it. It was hard to sell it when so many wonderful memories were buried in these walls.”

  No shit? What memories was she talking about? Those that she and I shared, or those that she and whoever she was fucking shared?

  “Max, come greet our guest.”

  The kid was so busy with his toy railway station, he didn’t notice me.

  “Hi,” he said, frowning a little.

  “Hey. What’s up, little man?”

  “I can’t make this thing work,” he said, upset. “Will you help me?”

  “Now, let me see.” I sat on the floor next to him and looked at the station. “I had the same one when I was your age.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It was smaller, but I still remember the sound of the trains running down the rails.”

  “Wow, could your trains funk?”

  “No. But I guess, yours can.”

  “At least they used to. I haven’t played with them for a long time and now I can’t seem to remember how to make them run again.”

  “No worries. I think I know how to help you.”

  “Do you guys want some snacks?”

  I looked up at Pamela and nodded, smiling slightly. “That would be great. I haven’t eaten since lunch.” Whiskey didn’t count. I wasn’t drunk, just a little dizzy.

  Our gazes stayed locked for a few long seconds, then she nodded and left, saying she would be right back.

  I loosened my tie and took off my jacket, dropping it on the nearest chair. Surprisingly enough, the place and the presence of the boy didn’t bother me anymore.

  “Time to make your train funk!” I said, smiling at the boy.

  He squealed excitedly and the work began.

  I don’t know how much time we spent sitting on the carpet and playing. Max looked so happy and I couldn’t make myself leave. For a moment, I even imagined being a part of his family, spending Sundays in the park, and teaching him how to ride a bike. This is what I always wanted, this is what I always imagined my life with Pamela would be.

  She didn’t interfere in our boys-only games, but I could feel her eyes on me. Once or twice I turned around and saw her smiling dreamily at the view of Max and me playing together. Was one night with someone I was sure she hardly remembered worth losing moments like this forever?