A Promise of Forever (13 page)

As he figured out the dates, he realized that conception was on or around August 12th.
That made it official; little Jenny Donavan wasn’t Jenny Donavan at all; she was Jenny Broccolini.
There was absolutely no mistake; she was his daughter.
No matter how you figured it, whether you gave two weeks either way, Katelyn had only been with one man during that exact time and that was him.
In fact, he was the man who took her virginity that summer and there was no doubt that he was the only man in her life, before she left for school.

Gianfranco stared at the picture of the woman he adored and couldn’t believe what he was thinking of her at this moment.
How could she keep his child from him?
How was she able to keep her lie from all of them, for this long?
He had a daughter that he had never so much as laid eyes on.
The little girl he was afraid to meet was his own flesh and blood.
The little girl he was so jealous of, who would remind him each day of her father, was his own child.

Anger reared its ugly head, as he tried to remain calm.
He could never forgive her for what she had done to him, regardless of her excuse.
He placed his chair facing the window and sat staring out at the streets below.
He tried to decide what he should do next that didn’t involve violence of any kind.
Could he forgive her and get past this?
Was he even rational enough to listen to her reasoning right now, before reacting explosively?
He didn’t know.
He was sure of one thing and that was that nothing was going to keep him from his child any longer.

He thought about it for a long time before pushing the button on the intercom and ordering Dana to ring Jake for him.
It took him a few seconds to gain his composure; he felt badly about the way he growled at Dana and apologized for it instantly.
Dana felt his wrath on the rare occasion and she also knew that he’d later apologize and make up for it when he came to his senses.
She knew that he let his guard down around her because he trusted her.
To everyone else, Gianfranco was always cool, calm and collected; his enemies were never aware of his inner thoughts.

Dana was efficient and Jake was on the line in minutes.
“Jake, I need to see you right away.
Could you spare me an hour at some point today?” Gianfranco asked his friend.

Jake Lonetree, the third musketeer, had no idea what was happening but Gianfranco Broccolini never asked for favors.
And he most certainly never sounded out of sorts, which was the only way to describe his friend’s behavior at the moment.
“I don’t have anything on my calendar for this evening, want to meet then?” he asked.
“I have to meet with a client in midtown later this afternoon.
How about we meet somewhere around there?
I know a little tavern, we could talk there, and it doesn’t get too crowded.
I’ll leave the address with Dana before I hang up.
This must be something important for you to be calling for a powwow.
Is everything alright?” Jake asked with concern.

“I think it’s better if I tell you this in person.
I’ll get all the information from Dana and I’ll meet you there.”
He knew Jake was going to be disappointed in him when he found out that he was the one who fathered Jenny.
He also knew his friend would understand why he was upset about Katelyn’s decision to keep their child a secret from him.

“You didn’t give away the ring did you?” Jake teased.
It took a minute for Gianfranco to register what his friend had asked and what he was referring to but he left the question unanswered.

After hanging up the phone, Gianfranco closed his eyes to try to ward off some of the pain and tension he was feeling in his head.
It came as a shock to him to feel tears trickling down his face.
Tears were foreign to him.
He had never let himself get emotionally involved with anyone except Katelyn, and he hadn’t since that time.

He had a daughter with the only woman he had ever loved in his life and she let him down by keeping that child a secret from him.
Gianfranco sat quietly for awhile and thought about another time.
Jake had reminded him of it; the time he and Kevin joined Jake at the Indian Reservation.
While there, an elder tribeswoman gave each of them a small block of teakwood and taught them to carve wooden eternity bands from the piece of wood.
She told them about an old Indian prophecy regarding the handling of the rings once they completed them.

The elderly woman warned that they should wear them around their necks until they met someone worthy to accept the ring, as long as the offer came from their hearts.
“For the bearer of your ring will also be the bearer of your heart and soul.”
She warned that their lives would forever be entwined with the woman who held each of their rings.

Gianfranco remembered the day he gave the ring to Katelyn.
He thought she would laugh at him but she found the gesture romantic and endearing.
He hadn’t thought about that ring until now.
He had long ago forgotten about it.
Perhaps the old lady was right
.
He pulled himself together again and asked Dana to contact a private detective that he often used for business.
“Dana, call Tom Parker and tell him I need to speak to him as soon as possible.
Tell him I have an urgent job for him.”

He paced the floor waiting for Tom to arrive.
Rarely was Gianfranco kept waiting.
When Tom arrived, he almost bit his head off for taking so long.
Tom was the best private detective money could buy and, though Gianfranco hated the thought of spying on Katelyn, it was the only way he’d know for sure if Jenny was his child without asking her directly.
Besides, he thought she gave up her right to privacy the day she decided to lie to him about their child.
Gianfranco gave Tom all the information he could supply and what he couldn’t; he told him where to find the information that would lead to Jenny’s parentage.
He knew Katelyn better than anyone and he had all the information he needed about that summer.
Unless Jenny was born very prematurely, she was his child.

“The only thing I want you to find out is if Katelyn Donavan could have had another lover during the time her child was conceived.”
Gianfranco didn’t like the look on Tom’s face so he set him straight right away.
“Look Tom, let me be clear about this.
I’m sure this child is mine.
I want you to bring me the proof I need to legally acknowledge the fact.”

Tom understood his meaning and was shocked that he was trying to prove paternity, rather than disprove it.
These rich clients he served were usually on the other side of the fence.
He wondered if the mother of this child had any idea who she was dealing with.
He almost felt sorry for the woman.
Gianfranco Broccolini was a fair man but you didn’t cross him because, if you did, you were surely going to pay a high price for doing it.

Katelyn sat at the end of the bar waiting patiently for Adam to arrive.
He had never kept her waiting like this before and she was a little uncomfortable sitting at a bar alone. At this moment, her red dress she wore wasn’t helping her feel very confident.
She wondered if she had made a mistake listening to Rosa in the first place.
The dress would have felt empowering under different circumstances but she felt a little awkward, as if she were at the bar looking to pick up a man; judging by the looks she was getting, she could have succeeded.
If that had that been the mission.

Finally, the waiter came over to her and said a table had opened up in the corner she had requested.
It was a quiet corner where they could talk but Katelyn realized, after sitting down, that it was impossible to see whoever walked through the entrance from that angle.
The waiter assured her that he would look out for Adam and show him to her table as soon as he arrived.

Adam finally arrived but not before Katelyn had regrettably added two drinks to the ones she shared earlier that day with Rosa at lunch to calm her nerves.
She was not a drinker and the alcohol was beginning to take effect.
“Thank you, for showing up,” she said to Adam slurring her words.
“You were the one who asked for this meeting; the least you could have done was to arrive on time.”
She knew she sounded annoyed and angry.
He had kept her waiting too long.

“Now, don’t go getting yourself all worked up,” he said dismissively.
“I asked for this meeting with you because I think your decision about us was made in haste.
I don’t understand why you can’t take the time that you’re spending with Kevin to rethink our situation.
Given a chance, Katelyn, we could make it work.
I’m asking you to reconsider; don’t let my father come between us.”

“It’s not about your father.”
She tried to reason with him but he wasn’t hearing her.
She saw his face suddenly transform in front of her, filling with the same rage she had witnessed back at the apartment.
Why haven’t I ever seen this part of his personality before?
As she started to speak again, she noticed a weird expression come over his face.
She was tempted to turn around to see what sparked the unkind recognition in his eyes but opted against it.
And then, just as quickly, his demeanor changed back and he focused his attention on her again.
Perhaps, he had seen an old girlfriend and didn’t want to make a scene.
She didn’t understand anything that was going on with him.

“My father told me what transpired between you both.
I didn’t want to believe him but I see the way you’re dressed tonight and the amount of drinking you’re doing.
So there must be some merit to his claim.
Tell me Katelyn, did Broccolini offer you more than I could offer you?”
To her astonishment, he became physical and grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
“Let me have something to remember you by sweetie,” he said, as his wet foul mouth came crushing down on hers.

“What the hell has gotten into you?”
She tried to wipe his kiss away and was appalled at his behavior. She couldn’t help but wonder why she had never seen this side of him before and she fought to free herself from his wicked embrace.
If she hadn’t been kept waiting and didn’t have those added two drinks she would have seen this situation coming and been better prepared to handle it.
His kiss was wet, sloppy and uninvited, not at all like the man who could make love to her with his eyes.

Adam lingered for a few minutes before his final bit of payback.
“I think you’ll have a little difficulty explaining that kiss to lover boy over there.
By the look on his face, I’d say he was ready to kill us both, which is my cue to leave.
Good luck, you’re going to need it,” Adam snarled as he let her go and retreated.
He escaped out the side door; Katelyn looked toward the direction Adam had indicated and saw Gianfranco standing there.

She might not be able to explain that kiss to him but he had to know that there was a reasonable explanation for what he had just witnessed.
She felt that he should, at the very least, be willing to listen.
Katelyn stood up abruptly and thought he had no right to be angry, not after what he did, interfering in her career.
He was trying to control her life from behind the scenes.
She knew she might be naïve as far as men were concerned but she was well in control of her own life.
She would tell him that just because he thought his word was law, didn’t make it so.
She was walking in his direction when she heard a female voice approach nearby.

“Gianfranco, darling, I wasn’t aware that you were back in the States. Why didn’t you tell me?
How could you sneak back into the country, and not call me?” the tall voluptuous red-haired woman, who appeared out of the blue, said for all to hear.
Katelyn watched as the woman embraced Gianfranco and kissed him in a way only a woman familiar to him would have kissed.
He’d seen her, she was sure of it and yet he allowed this woman to continue to stroke him.
She stood there reluctantly, almost in a trance before getting up the courage to run.

When their eyes finally connected, Katelyn thought she saw hate and resentment flare up.
He must have regretted the act she had witnessed between him and his lady friend because she thought she saw him try to distance himself from the woman.
As she was running out the door, with tears stinging her eyes, she thought she heard Jake call out to her but she couldn’t get away fast enough and didn’t care to search for his voice.
It had hurt her too much to witness the exchange and, lucky for her, there was a taxi at the curb outside dropping off patrons.
She was able to escape with what little dignity she had left still intact.