As it was, she just wanted a few minutes to think through it all, to decide what she wanted to do next. She could call her mom, talk to her at least. She could. But should she? She didn’t know and wished that people would leave her alone for long enough to decipher the answer to that crucial question.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to happen tonight, which meant that she wouldn’t have an answer to the burning question either.
“Fine,” she mumbled to herself as she headed to her front door and the knock that sounded again. “Fine, I’ll answer the bloody door.”
Storming up to it, she flung it open and found her face pulling into a confused frown as she took in the figure on the threshold. What the heck was he doing here?
Chapter Sixteen
“Hello, Kendra,” the deep voice said, and Kendra found her jaw and fists clenching in response.
“Mr Powers,” she returned as she took in the man she recognized from newspapers and magazines, the man who was apparently her father. A fact that she thought held more weight as she took in the identical blue eyes gazing back at her.
“May I come in?” he asked cordially, and Kendra stood more firmly in the doorway.
“I don’t see why,” she put forward.
Sighing, the man put his hands in his pockets and looked around himself almost sadly. “I think that perhaps you and I need to talk about a few things,” he hazarded, and Kendra just raised a brow at him.
“Do you now? And why would you bloody well think that?”
“Don’t you think we’d be better served by taking this inside?” he asked but Kendra wasn’t about to let this man into her sanctuary. It had already been sullied by the man’s lapdog, there was no way that she was letting him in in addition to that.
“No. I don’t. You have something to say to me, Mr Powers, then you can say it right here. Right now,” she said firmly and watched as he took in her face, obviously trying to judge how firm her resolve was.
“Alright then,” he said after a while then cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I didn’t know about you,” he said suddenly, and Kendra found her arms wrapping around herself tightly. “I never knew, and I’m sorry about that.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said with a shrug. “How were you to know?”
“I could have found out. I should have kept an eye on your mother. But it was difficult. It was painful for me to think of her,” he said cagily then shot a quick look at her. Kendra took in the look and realized that the man wasn’t sure how much she knew about their time together.
“Mom told me that you proposed, that you loved each other but she refused to marry you.”
“She did?” he said in surprise, and Kendra nodded.
“I’m sorry for how things turned out for you two. If it helps you at all, she really did love you,” Kendra said and then wondered why she was offering comfort to a man who wanted nothing to do with her. But there was something in his eyes. Something that made her think that he was still dealing with the effects of her mother’s rejection all these years later.
“It was a long time ago,” he said uncomfortably, and Kendra shrugged. Chances were that a man like Howard Powers would have moved on, found any number of beautiful women to be with after her mom, but she still thought that that first initial love mattered to him.
“Maybe. But she never forgot you. I’m beginning to wonder if that’s one of the reasons she let me cut you out of my thoughts. Easier not to think about you. She …,” Kendra started then decided to go for full honesty with the man, “she never had anyone else. You should know that. Mom never dated. Not even once,” she added and looked at the man to see his reaction to that pronouncement.
“I … I assumed …,” he tried then cut himself off.
“She told me that she thought that you could do anything, and being saddled with a baby would stop you,” Kendra admitted, thinking back to her mom’s reveal about the whole time. As she was retelling it to the man across from her something shifted inside of her and Kendra started to see everything from her mom’s point of view.
“She loved you enough to let you go,” she said softly and hugged herself more tightly. “I think a part of her regrets it, but a bigger part feels vindicated, knowing how much you managed to accomplish without us dragging you down,” Kendra added and swallowed back the tears threatening to rise. “She never meant to hurt anyone,” Kendra said with realization at the truth of that statement.
“I know,” he said softly, and she looked up to see the tears glistening in his own eyes. “Your mother was always an incredibly giving and selfless woman. If I’d thought about it at the time, if I’d have ignored the sting to my pride and the hurt to my heart, I’d have seen that there was a good reason for her to say no. I didn’t though. And I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for how that affected you. And her.”
Kendra shrugged in response. “Like you said, it was a long time ago. You can’t undo what’s done.”
“No. But hopefully you can make amends for it in the present,” he said, and Kendra looked up at him.
“Mr Powers, I don’t want anything from you. I told Nick that. I told him that I’d happily sign any papers that you wanted me to, to cut me out of your life. I meant it. I’m a twenty-two year old woman, I don’t need a father, I’m capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need anything from you,” she said with a sigh.
“Nick?” he queried in confusion, and Kendra shook her head.
“Mitchell, Nick, whatever you want to call him. I told him that you didn’t owe me anything,” she repeated and watched as the man’s face showed his confusion again.
“I know,” he said. “Which is why I’m here,” he said, and Kendra sighed.
“Okay. Good. So if you just hand over the paperwork, you can put this all behind you,” she said with an outstretched hand and watched as he stared at her in confusion again.
“I really do think that we need to talk about this a bit more,” he said, and Kendra found herself getting frustrated.
“Why? I’m perfectly compliant in this. I’m perfectly ready to get out of your life. What’s there to talk about?”
“The fact that I don’t want you out of my life,” he said, and Kendra looked at him in surprise. “The fact that I never did. The fact that the reason I sent Mitchell to you was to make sure that you were prepared to be a part of my life. The fact that it might be twenty-two years too late, but I want to be your father, Kendra. I want you to be a permanent part of my life. And I’m hoping that you’ll let me be a part of yours.”
* * *
Forgetting wasn’t working. No matter how hard Mitchell tried to distract himself, no matter what he did, no matter how much he told himself that he had to move on, he couldn’t get his mind off of Kendra.
The woman was ingrained in him. Completely. He knew it had only been roughly twenty-four hours since their confrontation but he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to forget her. And more importantly, forget the hurt that he’d caused her.
He also wasn’t sure how the rest of his life was about to turn out. Howard Powers had not been a happy man. Not at all.
When Mitchell had phoned the man to inform him of how badly things had gone with Kendra he’d known that he’d have a lot of explaining to do. That hadn’t happened as of yet. As soon as Howard had heard that things had gone wrong he’d fueled up his private jet and been on his way to sort out the mess that Mitchell had made.
Their brief conversation earlier in the day hadn’t even touched on all of the mistakes that Mitchell had made, and he had no idea what the man would think once he’d finally learnt about it all. The fact was that he’d been furious at the news that Kendra wanted out of his life as it was, if she went ahead and told the man about all of Mitchell’s other behavior, he dreaded to think what would happen next.
Though, at least Mitchell could console himself with the fact that whatever happened next wasn’t going to hurt anywhere near as badly as watching Notaku leave Kendr
a’s apartment, and hear her reminiscing about it all so fondly, had done. He wasn’t sure that anything would ever hurt as much as that.
But without his job, Mitchell would have nothing else to distract him, nothing to take his mind off of the fact that he’d made such a monumental mistake. In a way he needed his job for his own peace of mind. Even if it would be difficult when it had him coming into contact with Kendra.
It hardly mattered, chances were that she would be a part of Howard’s personal life, a life that the man generally kept completely separate from his professional one. There was very little chance of his and Kendra’s paths ever crossing again. Which was a good thing. Or at least he was trying to convince himself that it was.
Looking at his watch, Mitchell groaned. It was still early in the evening. Too early to escape to his bed to try to put the day behind him. Could the hours not go by quickly when he wanted them to for once? Why did they always drag when he’d prefer for them to speed by?
Laying down on the bed in the luxurious hotel room that Howard had gotten for him, Mitchell stared up at the ceiling and realized that he missed the cozy feel of the little room in the boarding house in Granville. An odd realization considering how much he’d rued having to stay in the kitsch dwelling to start with. Apparently two months lodging there had made the place grow on him.
With another heavy sigh he thought back to the little town. He’d grimaced when he’d realized that he’d be stuck there, but now he could see the appeal of the place. He’d never expected to. After all, he was a city boy at heart. Just like Kendra had pointed out on their disastrous first date.
He’d gotten used to the lazy and quiet lifestyle of the place though. He’d started to enjoy the time just relaxing and basking in the surrounding nature. He’d liked knowing everybody in the place and being known by them in turn. Mitchell winced at that thought. No doubt by now they all knew about his deceit and treachery.
He wondered how Walter would take that news. No doubt when he saw the man next he’d be on the receiving end of the man’s famous shotgun. He might not be considered a tourist but he imagined his welcome wouldn’t be any friendlier upon his return.
Mitchell froze suddenly. Why was he even worrying about the issue? Is wasn’t likely that he’d ever return to the sleepy little town. There was no reason for him to go back there, after all. A realization that didn’t sit well with him. He’d grown close to everyone there over the past couple of months. No wonder Kendra felt that it was her home, the place could grow on you. And in a remarkably short space of time as well.
The idea of returning back to the cold and impersonal city wasn’t holding the same appeal to him as it used to. The anticipated noise was actually making Mitchell cringe. The rush was making him feel tense. The bright lights that were always shining were almost making him squint. When had the life that he’d always loved lost its appeal? What the heck had Kendra and Granville done to him?
* * *
Staring up at the man opposite her, Kendra found herself stunned speechless. What was he talking about?
Realizing that if what he was saying was true then they really did need to talk about things, Kendra stumbled back in a daze and just gestured vaguely for the man to enter her home.
“I don’t understand,” she managed as she lowered herself onto her couch after he’d made himself comfortable in the armchair she had opposite it.
“I don’t know why you’d think that I wouldn’t want anything to do with you, Kendra. You’re my daughter. Of course I want you as a part of my life. I thought you’d realize that,” he said in confusion.
“Why the heck would I realize that?” she asked in surprise. “It’s not like you did anything to contact me. Mom said that you’d found out about me, and that was two years ago. It’s not like you seem to have been champing at the bit to meet me,” she pointed out. She probably would have been angry at that thought if she weren’t so incredibly confused at this strange turn of events.
Sighing, the man settled his hands in his pockets again before he focused back on her to speak. “I was. I really was. I was ready to jump in my jet and wing my way right to you.”
“What happened?” she asked in confusion. She had a feeling that the man was telling the truth, but couldn’t understand what would have stopped him if he’d been that eager.
“Everyone around me,” he admitted with a rueful note in his voice. “I never should have listened to them. I realize that now,” he said almost to himself, and Kendra stared at him in bemusement. From what she knew about Howard Powers she’d expected a powerful and forceful man, a man who people respected. She hadn’t expected a man who seemed to be full of self-doubt.
“I still don’t understand,” she confessed. “What did they say?” she asked.
“They said that I should wait. That I should find out about you first,” he explained, and Kendra caught the underlying meaning.
“Making sure I was suitable. Respectable. Trustworthy,” she mused and watched as he winced. At least he wasn’t denying the accusation. “So you sent your top guy to vet me, so to speak,” she surmised.
“No,” he stated firmly. “No. I didn’t. I didn’t care, Kendra. You were my daughter. A daughter I’d wronged by never being there for you. When I found out about you I found out everything about your past. How hard your mother had had to work to provide for the pair of you. How she’d been on her own when her parents had kicked her out. I wanted to come straight there and undo all of the years of hardship that you’d had to endure with me not being on the scene.
“If you had unfavorable characteristics, then that would have been my fault for making you lead the life you had. I didn’t care about what it would mean for me.”
“So why didn’t you come then?”
“They convinced me. My top advisors convinced me that the shock wouldn’t be fair to you. Told me that you’d need time to adjust to the idea of me as your father. They thought that it would be unfair to swoop in and just drop the bombshell on you.
“They told me to give you time to adjust to it all, that you’d need space and time to assimilate it all. So they contacted your mom, told her that I was aware of your existence. Everyone reasoned that you’d take the news better from her, that she had a right to tell you the truth.
“So we gave her time. Gave you time. Then when you’d overcome the shock and gotten used to it all I was going to come and see you. That was the plan. That was what we’d set up. But things went wrong,” he said with a sigh.
“I left,” she said. “You put Nick there for me to turn to, had him watching me, ready and waiting, but I ruined your plans by leaving without a trace,” she said and watched as his brow furrowed.
“Nick?” he asked in confusion, and Kendra rolled her eyes at the man.
“Mitchell Astley.”
“Why do you keep calling him Nick?” he asked, and Kendra looked up to see the genuine confusion in the man’s eyes.
“Because that’s what he called himself. What did you think he called himself?”
“I thought he called himself Mitchell Astley,” the man said, and Kendra couldn’t help but smile at that. She had no idea why but the thought amused her.
“Uh, no. He told me that his name was Nick Clifton,” she expounded and watched as the man’s face clouded in confusion again.
“I don’t understand,” he mused. “Why would he give you a fake name? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I would hazard that he was worried that I’d find out who he really was if he used his real one,” she said with an eye-roll.
“What do you mean?” he asked, and Kendra studied the man closely. She had the very definitive feeling that Howard Powers had been misled as much as she had in all of this.
“What did you ask Nick … uh Mitchell to do, Mr Powers?” she asked as she studied him closely.
“What do you mean?” he asked again.
“What exactly was the man’s remit? What were his instructions?”
<
br /> “He was supposed to meet you, talk to you. He was supposed to explain that I wanted to see you, but that I was aware that you might not be amenable to that occurring, that you might need time and space before you were comfortable with the idea. He was supposed to answer any questions you had about me. He was supposed to help you see that we could develop a relationship with each other. If you want the summary, he was supposed to help convince you to let me into your life.”
“How?” she asked interestedly.
“Sorry?”
“How was he supposed to do that? What did you tell him to do? What was he supposed to be to me?” she asked as her heart started to beat more firmly in her chest.
“Befriend you, I guess. Once you knew he was my employee it should have been easy enough for you to question him about me. He was supposed to act as my representative to you, to be a trusted intermediary.”
“You never told him to seduce me?” she asked and watched as her father’s eyebrows shot up at the question.
“What?!” he said in a shocked bellow.
“You never told him to lie to me? To deceive me? To pretend to be someone else? You never told him to date me? To try to woo me? You never told him to do any of that?” she asked and watched as the man’s eyes continued to round with each subsequent question.
“What!?” he gasped. “No! No, of course not!” he said as he stared at her in shock. “What the heck happened here?!” he said as he sat in stunned confusion.
“What did he tell you happened? You turned up after your employee left, so he must have contacted you to tell you that he’d failed. How did he explain that to you?” she asked in confusion.
Masks and Lies Page 14