Chapter Twenty
Brady
I hadn’t slept very well the night before. Dana’s sleep had been restless. Her restlessness was not the only thing that had kept me awake until the wee hours of the morning. As I laid in bed next to her, listening to her soft breathing, I struggled between pure, unadulterated panic, processing the news of a baby and the possibility that Dana would leave me when this was all over. Walk right out that door as if we had never… well, I had fallen for her, but did she feel the same? She hadn’t responded to my declaration of love, but I didn’t fault her for that. She was already obviously overwhelmed at the pregnancy and all it entailed. And while I know that producing a baby for my dad was the ultimate point of all of this, until the moment I saw that pregnancy stick, the thought was still untenable, ethereal, and difficult to truly imagine.
That pregnancy stick had brought everything crashing down into three-dimensional, concrete reality. What the hell had I been thinking? Now that the pregnancy was verified, I didn’t know what to do. I had meant everything I said to Dana, but that didn’t make me less afraid. For the first time in my life, I had to take responsibility. I had to do the right thing. And if that meant letting Dana go, I would do it, as much as I was loathed to.
The sun peeked through the windows, bathing the bedroom in a soft glow. Careful not to wake her, I rose, showered, and reached into the open closet door to grab a pair of chinos from the hanger, then stepped to my dresser for a clean t-shirt. I left the room to dress in the living room. I decided that I would go to my office, where I could think in private. I couldn’t get the look on Dana’s face last night out of my head. The myriad of emotion. Surprise, anxiety, and yes, fear. I had a feeling that both of us now realized the true ramifications of this agreement we had made.
A mistake? Certainly, and I realized that now, although I would never regret meeting her, regardless of the circumstances that brought us together; she might very well come to hate me for putting her through this. Yes, she had signed the agreement, but a baby changed everything. What made either one of us think that a baby wouldn’t change us, or our feelings toward bringing a new life into the world? What had made either of us think that once a baby was born, we could hand it over to my dad and go on with our merry lives?
“You’re such a fucking idiot,” I muttered to myself as I left the apartment and headed for the elevators.
And yet, without that damned agreement, I never would have met Dana. I never would have imagined that a woman could change me so completely in such a short time, that I would fall in love with her.
I took the elevator downstairs, not sure what to think. To be completely honest with myself, I acknowledged the sudden surge of nausea that rose in my throat. Damn right I was scared. It wasn’t every day that you learned you were going to be a father. I swallowed and stiffened my shoulders. Shame on me. How many times I had fucked a woman and not given a thought to what might happen? I always wore a condom, made it clear that I wasn’t interested in long-term relationships. I engaged in responsible sex.
I realized how stupid that sounded now. I hadn’t been responsible. I hadn’t cared about any of the women I’d slept with in the past, except Elise, of course, and Dana. What kind of a track record was that? Over the past decade and the dozens of women I had slept with in between, maybe even hundreds… what did that say about me?
I had called Stella, Dad’s secretary, before I met with Nick at the club, rescheduling our meeting for later this morning. I would hang out in the office and then meet with Dad. I’d give Dana time to herself before returning to the apartment. I think both of us could do with some space to process the news.
Maybe Dana and I would go do something later today. I’d suggest something fun, something to take our minds off the baby for a little while. We needed to adjust, and it wouldn’t happen overnight. My plans made, I reached my building and took the elevator up to my office feeling a little better.
I got to my office at about eight o’clock, but kept glancing at the clock. My appointment with my father was scheduled for ten o’clock. I didn’t want to deal with him right now, but I’d put him off too many times. If I didn’t see him today, I knew that he would either show up at my office or, God forbid, my apartment.
To say that I was distracted was putting it lightly. I needed to talk to Cassie, to get her advice. I knew what Nick would say, and I didn’t want to hear that. He wouldn’t understand. We had put the seal on the deal, and that’s all that mattered. That’s what Nick would say. Yet my emotions had gotten in the way of this ludicrous deal, this plan to… oh God, I felt so ashamed. And angry. As far as I was concerned, half of this was my dad’s fault for giving me such a ridiculous ultimatum in the first place.
But mainly I faulted myself. I’m the one who had come up with the plan, with Nick of course, but if I had been a man, I would’ve told my father to go to hell. I would’ve been willing to turn my back on my inheritance.
So now what did that make me? A greedy, spoiled, self-involved bastard, a bastard who only cared about himself.
Until now.
By the time I left the office and drove to my dad’s estate, I had regained my composure. Well, most of it anyway. I had decided to just lay it all out. But when I crossed the threshold into his office, that changed. This didn’t look normal. I found him sitting behind his massive desk, which was not unusual at all. What was unusual was that his normally messy desk was surprisingly neat, folders and paperwork stacked on one side, maybe three inches thick, the rest of the desk orderly. In front of them on the dark green blotter lay a single folder. He sat rigid in his chair, hands folded on top of that folder. As if he’d been waiting.
“Brady, nice of you to grace me with your presence.”
I said nothing, though I had to bite my tongue. What was this? I felt my blood pressure rise, as it usually did in my dad’s presence, but I also tensed. Something was up. His desk, his posture, the calmness in his tone…
I didn’t need this. Today of all days, I needed time to think, but with my dad breathing down my neck that was just about impossible. I played it cool. “What did you do need to see me about?”
“Sit down.”
At first I wasn’t going to, but I changed my mind. I had enough emotional baggage on my shoulders today. Picking a fight with my dad was not high on my list of important things to do at the moment.
Dad unfolded his hands, picked up the folder, and leaning over his desk, handed it to me. I gazed curiously at him and then reached forward, took the folder, and opened it. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I saw the first eight-by-ten photograph. Dana at school. The next one, Dana at work. The next one of Dana and I sitting at the diner when we signed the contract.
Behind the photographs, I found several pages of typed information. A report by a private investigator. A background check. Biographical information on Dana and a brother named Charlie. I glanced at my father, who stared implacably back at me. My head pounded anew.
“I know about your scam, Brady.” He leaned back in his chair, hands folded over his slightly protruding stomach. “The moment you left that day, I had my guy following you. And of course, Nick. I should’ve known you would come up with something like this, paying a woman off to pretend to be your girlfriend, your fiancée… to have a baby?”
My mouth had gone dry, my mind spinning.
He leaned forward, nostrils flared, features tight with tension. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I lost it. “What the hell is wrong with you, giving me an ultimatum like that? Backing me into a corner. What the hell did you think I was going to do?” He didn’t answer that question but asked another.
“Did you even bother checking into her background? Did you know that, that fifty grand you pulled out of your account—and no, I didn’t find out from Frederick—went to pay off her brother’s gambling debt? He’s been in and out of trouble most of his life! He’s into drugs, or has his history of it, and an addiction to gambling, and God knows what else. Did you know that her parents’ are dead, and she lived years with an uncle with a felony in his past?” He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “Do you know what kind of family of you’ve gotten yourself involved with? Did you even think of that?”
Resentment bubbled up inside me. That and a surge of emotion, seeking to protect Dana from my father’s prejudice. “She’s not like her brother. She’s a hard worker. She’s kind and compassionate. She’s trying to finish up nursing school to make a better life for herself and—”
He cut me off with a slash of his hand.
“While I applaud her going to nursing school, she comes from a questionable background, Brady. She’s—”
I knew what he was going to say, but if he called Dana white trash, I swear, I was going to—”Don’t say it, Dad. Don’t.”
He paused, mouth open, and then shook his head. “You’re playing games with people’s lives, for the sake of money? I thought I raised—”
Now it was my turn to interrupt. “You do it every day, don’t you? You buy and sell, wheel and deal, and because it’s business—” I emphasized the word with air quotes— “you figure it’s okay, that no one’s going to get hurt? Believe me, I learned from the best.”
I leaned forward, tamping down the desire to reach across the desk and… I sat back, one hand grasping the side of the chair. “Just because a person doesn’t have money doesn’t mean they’re less than worthy.” I grew irate. To imply that Dana was less desirable or less acceptable as a partner, just because of her background… “I don’t care about her background. Do you understand that? She shouldn’t be blamed for the faults of others. And I don’t give a shit what she did with that fifty grand. My God, doesn’t it say something to you about her character that she’s… that she was willing to go through with this deal, not only to help her brother but—”
I had to stop, my voice choked with unfamiliar emotion. I wasn’t going to deal with this. I rose from my chair, prepared to leave. I didn’t want to listen to him anymore.
“Sit down!”
The tone of my father’s voice prompted me to pause. I froze. His face had turned beet red. I saw the pulse pounding in his temple. His harsh breathing. His hands trembled. Was he going to have a heart attack? I had never seen him so angry. I sat down.
“You’ve done a lot of things that have disappointed me, Brady, but this takes the cake. Honestly, bribing that girl to pretend to be your fiancée? You didn’t even bother to check her background, did you? Did you even bother to ask why she wanted fifty thousand dollars? Fifty thousand?”
No. I hadn’t, not because I felt it was none of my business, nor that I wasn’t curious. I didn’t ask because I was afraid if I did, she would call off the deal then and there. But I wasn’t going to admit that to him. “That’s none of your business,” I said quietly. “You insisted I had a year to get married and produce a grandchild. This is what you wanted, remember?” I shook my head. “What difference does it make how I did it? You don’t care about me or Dana. All you want is a grandchild; a grandchild that you can mold into what you want, and to hell with what anyone else wants.”
We glared at each other for several seconds. When I spoke again, my voice sounded eerily calm. “You forced me into this corner. You’re the one who—”
“Oh, shut up, Brady,” he interrupted. “For the first time in your life, take responsibility! You’re so afraid that you’ll lose out on your playboy lifestyle, that you can’t go around fucking women left and right, and playing the big shot. You want everything handed to you on a silver platter. I earned all of it, Brady, do you get that? All of it! You want the money, you just don’t want to work for it!”
“I’ve been sitting at my desk in my office every day for the past three months!”
“Yes, I know,” he nodded. “And you’re doing a fine job, but how long is that going to last? The minute you get what you want, you’re going to disappear again? Is that it?”
Of course, that had originally been my intention. Now? I wasn’t too sure.
“I’m done with this, Brady. I’m done with your games, your lies, your laziness! This is about the worst thing you’ve ever done. And I’m telling you right now, if you go through with this farce and marry that woman, you’re still not going to get your inheritance. It’s all a lie!”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I started to protest, then decided he wouldn’t believe me anyway. Why waste my breath. So, I said the first thing that came into my head. “What difference does it make to you who I marry as long as that woman produces a precious grandchild for you? You didn’t care about that before!”
“The only way you’re getting any more money, now or in the future, is if you marry Mary Von Brown!”
I sputtered, speechless for several long seconds before I found my voice. “You can’t be serious!” I shook my head. “An arranged marriage? To suit your purposes? And you’re sitting there berating me for what I’ve done? I won’t do it!”
He leaned back in his chair, hands once again crossed over his stomach. “And isn’t that what you just did with Dana? An arrangement for financial gain?”
I was so angry I wasn’t about to admit that he was right.
“The Von Browns’ are an influential family, as you know. Our businesses would benefit tremendously through such a union.”
My mouth dropped open and stood. “You’re a hypocrite, Dad. A hypocrite!”
He offered a slight shrug. “You can still sleep with Dana on the side,” he said. “What difference does it make to you? All you’re interested in is money anyway.”
I couldn’t believe this. While my dad and I hadn’t seen eye to eye in years, this was beyond… fury erupted inside me. My hands tightened into fists as I stared at my father. He couldn’t be serious. But I knew he was. My heart pounding, the blood roaring in my ears, I glared at him for several moments before I turned and headed for the door.
“Brady!”
I turned, one hand on the door as I looked over my shoulder at him. “To hell with it, Dad. All of it. I’m not marrying Mary Von Brown. And I don’t give a shit what you do about it!” I stepped halfway through the door, but just before I slammed it shut I shot my parting words back at him. “Oh, and by the way, Dana is pregnant. Have a nice day, Grandpa!”
The door slammed shut behind me.
My mind spinning, my breath harsh in my chest, I took the stairs down rather than use the elevator. The adrenaline pounded through my body so angrily that I wanted to shout at the walls, to punch something. As I took the stairs, my footsteps echoed dully in the stairwell, filled with disbelief.
I meant every word I said. I wasn’t going to marry Mary Von Brown, no matter what carrot Dad dangled in front of my nose. At that moment, I knew what I wanted, and it wasn’t money. I wanted Dana. I’d be able to find a job, I had no doubt about it. Sure, I hated to lose out on my inheritance, but over the past couple of months, I had found something more important. Something that meant more to me than all the money in the world.
I pulled the cell phone from my pocket, thinking to call Dana. I needed to hear her voice. No cell reception. By the time I pushed open the door on the ground floor and stalked through the foyer to the sidewalk outside, I had calmed down, but only slightly. Once outside, I looked at my phone again and saw that I had bars. Taking a deep breath, lifting my face to the warm mid-morning sunshine, I took a deep breath, calmed my thoughts, and dialed Dana’s number.
It rang four times before the call went to voicemail. I just started to leave a message when I heard the beep notifying me of an incoming call. I looked at the screen. Cassie. I switched over and accepted her call. “Hey, Cassie, I need to talk to you. Do you have—”
“Brady.”
Her voice was somber, tinged with a hint of urgency. I knew Cassie well enough to translate it. “Cassie, what’s wrong?”
“Brady, you better get to the ER at Mercy General.”
“Mercy General? Are you all right? What’s happened—”
“It’s Dana.”