Chapter6
Violet had no idea what had happened. They walked to the restaurant. Amedeo had looked at her for a time as if she was going to erupt. Now she felt okay, but she wasn’t a crier. What had happened?
Pregnancy hormones. Now she was starving. Was that the problem? Had she waited too long to eat this morning? She couldn’t keep doing that. She wasn’t normally a breakfast person. Guess she had to start eating.
“You okay?” Amedeo said.
He’d been very sweet. She might have thrown herself out on her ass for that behavior. “I’m better, but I can’t wait for those pancakes.”
He smiled. “You don’t have to cook for me. I like that you do, but if you ever don’t want to, I can cook and we can get take out. Please don’t put some much pressure on yourself,” he said.
Could he get any nicer? She’d turned his life upside down all because of a one-night stand and he was letting her stay in his house. He was paying her bills. He needed to stop. She was going to get used to it and miss it when it was gone. No one had ever taken care of her.
“Okay. I’ll remember that. My brain is just a fog lately.”
“I think it might be that way the whole time.”
“What do you know about pregnancy?” Violet said.
“Well, I’ve been listening to Dante talk about his wife who is pregnant right now. Due soon, I think. He said she was not herself either. It’s normal.”
“I feel bad that you have to deal with this.”
“I was there when you got pregnant. Remember? I also want this child and to know this child, so it’s what I have to do.”
He was so realistic. Why hadn’t she called him? Why hadn’t she pursued him? Probably because they didn’t talk much during their night of passion. She didn’t get to know him at all. She was glad he was the father of her baby.
She had to admit that she was beginning to toy with the idea of keeping the baby. Would Amedeo really want to be part of his life? He said he did, but at this point the whole idea was abstract. Would he feel the same when she was showing? When he knew there was an actual baby involved instead of them just playing house and having sex?
“You don’t look as if you believe me,” he said.
“It’s hard to imagine a bachelor wanting a child.”
“I was engaged, remember? Having children was a sticking point. Tory didn’t think she wanted them and I wanted to be with her enough to let it go. She did me a favor.”
“You wanted children?”
“I did and I forgot that. I remembered it when you told me you were pregnant. I would have been in a marriage and not true to myself,” he said.
She was so independent that she couldn’t imagine doing that. She only had herself to rely on for most of her life. Her mother hadn’t been useful in that sense. Or maybe she had since Violet knew how to survive on her own. Maybe her mother had done her a favor.
“Did you want children?” he said.
“I never planned on getting married and girls in my neighborhood got pregnant to hold onto a guy.”
“How did that work out?”
“Not well. If the baby daddies had a job their wages would be garnished, but if they didn’t they were long gone before the baby came.”
“Is that what your father did?”
Violet sighed. She hadn’t wanted to talk about her childhood. “Yes. My mother didn’t pursue him either. She wasn’t a strong woman.”
“Wasn’t?”
“No, she died a few years ago. She was an alcoholic and she finally drank herself to death.”
He reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.”
She looked down at his olive-skinned hand on her much darker one. His fingers were long and lean while hers were short and round. Swelling already.
“Still. I’m sorry that you had to go through something like that. Other than my father dying at a younger age, my life was pretty easy. Not that I haven’t worked as an adult for all that I have, but I had a good base. Must be tougher when you don’t.”
Violet shrugged. “I’ve never thought about it that way. I’ve never assumed I was a victim. I just carried on.”
“I hope our child gets that strength from you.”
“You’ve sold two companies. You have determination, too,” she said.
He nodded. “Then our child will have no choice, but to be successful.”
The food came. Violet dug into hers. She was starving. As the food filled her stomach, she felt better and better. Calmer. Amedeo had ordered a muffin and coffee. He was finished long before she was. He leaned back and watched her eat as he drank the rest of his drink.
“I’m sorry I ordered so much, but I was really hungry.”
“You’re eating for two. It’s understandable.”
“Still.”
“No, enjoy. I’m in no hurry.”
“You sure? I know we have to get to work.”
“It’s fine. I told my assistant I’d be late. I also told Carl, my IT guy, to be ready for you later in the morning. I can fix it all, don’t worry.”
She glanced up at him, her fork part way to her mouth. She’d bet he could fix anything. Isn’t that what men did? Fixed things? It was just part of their nature. She finished putting the food in her mouth.
“I could get used to this and that scares me, Amedeo.”
“Why? We will have a child together. I will always be in your life in some form.”
She knew that. She wondered how she would handle it when he did finally marry and had a child with that person. Right now, she had him all to herself.
Yikes. She had to stop thinking that way.
***
Violet had been quiet since the end of breakfast. They’d walked home in silence then she showered and changed for work. They’d only arrived an hour later than everyone else arrived at work. More like two hours later than he normally entered his office. He did run the company so he liked to be there first.
“Are you nervous?” he said when they climbed into the car.
“No, why?”
“You’re just being quiet.”
She rubbed a hand down her face. “I guess I’m embarrassed about this morning.”
He took her hand in his. “Don’t be. You’re pregnant. It’s to be expected.”
“Still.”
“Please don’t be, Violet. I’m not going to judge you.”
He wanted her to know that. He understood. He would understand. This child was his also and he was willing to invest the time.
“Thanks. Tell me about your IT guy.”
“Carl? He’s a former Marine. Tough as nails, but fair. His employees say they never have to guess what he is thinking. He’s well liked and the only person who has left his department since we started left because she quit to have a child.”
“Sounds good. Are his skills good?”
“He’s good, but he’s assembled a great team. I was surprised when he told me someone had hacked into my system. They are top notch and often get headhunted by bigger companies”
“But they stay?”
“We always counter offer. Carl thinks they’re all worth it so I believe him.”
Amedeo still held Violet’s hand. It was warm and soft and he liked holding it. She didn’t retrieve it until they arrived at work. She followed him to his office where he called his employee.
Carl was a squat man and Violet instantly liked him. He shook her hand, looking her in the eye.
“How much experience do you have with security?” he said when they sat down in Amedeo’s office.
“It’s mainly what I do. I’ve done some app development, but I really prefer the security aspect of systems. I can usually get into a system pretty easily.”
An eyebrow of Carl’s went up. “Oh? Let me see.”
She pulled out her laptop and fifteen minutes later, she showed him that she was in their system. Amedeo’s phone rang. He was impressed with her skills.
“Yes, Carl is here.”
He handed the phone to his employee who said that they were doing a test and that it was okay that someone had hacked into them this time. He handed the phone back to Amedeo.
“For the record, I used brute force not finesse, this time. I wanted to show you that it can be done and to show you that I was in there. If I were truly hacking, I’d have taken more time and you wouldn’t have known I was there,” she said.
Amedeo flushed with pride. Violet was really good at this. Why was she wasting her time doing this freelance or why wasn’t she paid more than she was? They hadn’t talked pay, but he would give her whatever she wanted.
“Got it,” Carl said, grinning. “I think you’re the person for the job.”
“I need a way to get into the system without looking like an employee.”
“Each user name has a pattern to identify someone as working here,” Carl said. “I can give you an administrator login that only I have. And Amedeo of course, but I altered it a bit so I know it’s you in there.”
“Good. You don’t think this is an inside job?” she said.
Amedeo glanced at Carl. “What do you think?”
“No, I don’t. I trust my people implicitly,” Carl said. “I hired every one of them and did a thorough background check.”
“Will you do that on me?” Violet asked.
“No, I’m trusting Amedeo’s opinion of you. And frankly I’m not sure I care about your background. I saw what you can do and I think you can help us.”
“What do you want to do next?” Violet said.
“Let’s meet the staff?” Carl said.
He stood. Violet stood also. She nodded at Amedeo and they left. He leaned back in his chair. That had worked out. Now he needed to get down to business. He was behind, but he wouldn’t tell Violet that.
He had only worked for a half an hour when he heard a voice outside his door.
“I know he’ll want to see me. You can’t stop me.”
His eyes fell closed. Tory.
What the Hell was she doing here? Hadn’t he made it clear his feelings about her? He ended up being happy that they’d broken up, but he had no desire to see her. His office door flew open. Tory sailed in with Madge chasing behind her.
Save him from females today.
“I’m sorry, Amedeo. She pushed past me and I didn’t want to be arrested for assault,” Madge said.
“It’s okay, Madge. I’ll deal with this.”
His assistant backed out of the doorway, not closing the door. Good girl. She would probably wait right outside in case he needed any help. That’s why he paid her the big bucks.
He turned his attention to the intruder. “What do you want, Tory?”
She strode to his desk, standing in his personal space. He moved his chair away from her. When she’d canceled the wedding, she’d lost the right to be that close.
“I want you back, Amedeo. I miss you.”
“You might miss my big dick, but I doubt you miss me.”
Her mouth dropped open. He’d never talked to her like that. She didn’t like dirty talk. She didn’t even like dirty sex. Missionary position. Lights off. In bed. Sometimes she’d deign to be on top. Though her blow jobs were legendary. When she chose to give one.
“That’s awful, Amedeo. I don’t deserve that.”
“Tory, you don’t deserve my time.”
A security guard appeared in his doorway. Madge must have called him. “Is there a problem, Mr. Killiano?”
Tory’s eyes widened.
“Could you please escort this young lady out of my building?”
“Sure, sir.”
Problem solved.
***
Violet almost ran into Tory and the security guard as she walked to Amedeo’s office.
“Bitch,” Tory said. “Give me back my man.”
Tory cocked her arm backwards, but the security guard grabbed it before she could connect with Violet’s face. Holy shit. And she thought she could be ghetto. The security guy led a screaming Tory away from Amedeo’s doorway. Violet’s heart pounded in her chest. Not because Tory had scared her, but because she would have had to mess up that bitch if she’d punched her.
Violet had tried to leave the ghetto behind, but if someone threatened her, it came out. She couldn’t help it. It was a part of her she’d probably never get rid of.
She didn’t really want Amedeo to see that. He might rethink her raising his child. She shook off the encounter with Tory, but when she looked up. Amedeo was in his doorway. He grabbed her hand, dragging her into his office.
“You okay? I’m sorry about her.”
She blinked. He was apologizing for Tory? “Her crazy isn’t your fault.”
“Still, I brought her into your life,” Amedeo said.
This man never ceased to amaze her. “It’s fine, Amedeo. I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure it was okay that I got started. Do I need to sign any paperwork to take on this project?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess you’ll have to. How about you get started with IT and I’ll have the papers sent down?”
“That’s fine.”
She trusted him. He wouldn’t screw her over. Too bad she didn’t think this was a real job. Carl was waiting for her when she returned to one floor down where the IT guys had offices.
“I’ve found a place you can work. Did Amedeo get you situated with paperwork?”
“He’s going to send it down here for me to sign.”
“Okay, but you can get started?”
“I can. Do you have my user ID and password?”
“You’re all set. You’ll enter the system as a user that only Amedeo and I recognize. I’ll know when you’ve been in because my staff will report to me, but they won’t know who you are.”
She nodded. She’d never had such unlimited access. It was a little unnerving. “You’ll be able to track what I’m doing?”
“Yes.”
“Where am I not allowed in case I go there accidentally?
Carl laughed. “Anything to do with finance. You can’t go write yourself a check.”
She chuckled. “That’s where I was going first.” Not that she needed to. Amedeo was offering her double her usual fee. She sobered. “Does Amedeo often use outside help?”
“No, but this is a unique case. He doesn’t hand out jobs to anyone if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I am.”
Carl shook his head. “Amedeo is serious about his business. He wouldn’t bring you in unless he trusted you and thought you could do the job.”
She wasn’t completely reassured. “All I need now is to log in and for you to show me where you think this person has been. I can assess if any damage has been done. And I can contain him or her.”
“That sounds great.”
“Will I have offsite access?”
“No, that’s not negotiable. You’ll have to come in to get onto our system. Amedeo doesn’t even have offsite access.”
“Wow. That’s secure. I’m surprised someone got in,” she said.
Carl shrugged. “Most likely some kid who just wanted a challenge.”
“They can be the worst. Some snot sitting in his dorm room with nothing to do,” she said. “I’ve fixed a few of those.”
She logged into the system to check around. She saw the back door the hacker left, but she wasn’t ready to close it. He or she would know that they’d been found. No, she had to be stealthy and quick.
If the person was in here now, they’d see her and hopefully to the interloper, she’d look like an employee. Carl had said her login would work that way. She hoped he’d done it properly. Otherwise the hacker might leave mines for her to stumble on and blow up the system. That would be bad both for Amedeo and for her.
“Have you worked for Amedeo long?”
They sat in an office down the hall. She didn’t mind if Carl wanted to watch. She appreciated the company.
“Since he started this company.”
She nodded. “He spoke highly of you.”
“He spoke highly of you. How do you know each other?”
She didn’t want to start gossip, nor did she know how much Amedeo had said to Carl. “Uh, we ran into each other in a bar.”
Carl smirked, but let the subject drop. She’d bet that Amedeo often picked up women in bars. Usually they didn’t look like her. At least not based on what his ex-fiancé looked like. She was a tall, leggy blonde. Violet was not. Why was Amedeo so enamored of her? She wasn’t his type.
She’d have to keep remembering that. This was all temporary. They would see each other once the baby was here, but they wouldn’t be lovers anymore. She sighed at the idea. It might be months before she would have sex again. Maybe years. She’d have to get as much as she could before he was repulsed by her large belly.
It would probably happen. If Tory was Amedeo’s ideal, then Violet didn’t stand a chance. Certainly not pregnant and cranky. Her time was limited so she might as well make the best of it.
Despite not wanting to rely on Amedeo, she had no choice. She had no means of income other than freelancing. No health insurance. No place to stay other than Amedeo’s house. Why had she agreed to that?
Once again, her pregnancy brain struck. She had a feeling that these moments of lucidity were going to be few and far between.
*
Amedeo looked at his phone and realized that it was almost six. He hadn’t seen Violet all day. His assistant had grabbed some lunch for him, but he didn’t know if Violet had eaten. She must be starved.
They could go out. He was too tired and keyed up to cook. He’d take her some place nice, but not so nice that they would be underdressed. He’d ask what she wanted. That would be the thing to do. If she didn’t have a preference, he knew where he’d bring her. He had a few places he liked that were small and intimate.
They could talk about the baby.
He found Violet in an office, all alone. The rest of the IT department must have gone home.
“Hi.”
She looked up at him startled. “Hi.” She studied him. “You ready to go already?”
“It’s six, Violet. Time to eat. Did you get lunch?”
“Yes, Carl hooked me up.”
“Good.”
At least his employee was taking care of her. Even if the man didn’t know their story, Carl probably suspected there was more to the story than Amedeo had let on. His employee wouldn’t ask, but if he did tell him the truth, would be discreet. He had no doubt of the man’s loyalty to him. Amedeo knew how to pick employees.
“I need five minutes,” Violet said.
“That’s all I’ll give you and I’m timing you,” he said.
He settled himself on the chair opposite her, but didn’t stare. No matter how much he wanted to. She stuck her tongue out at him, just a little. Her brow was creased from concentrating. He played a game on his phone instead of reading emails. The emails could wait until he wasn’t hungry anymore. He might not give the person the answer they wanted.
His phone dinged when the time was up. Violet looked up at him. “Time?”
“Yes, Violet. Time. We need to get you some food. I can hear your stomach rumbling from here,” he said.
She packed up her laptop then followed him out the door to the car.
He picked an Italian restaurant. This was New Jersey so you could find one on any street corner or strip mall. All of them were delicious because a bad one would close quickly. He didn’t order wine since Violet couldn’t drink any.
She ordered the veal. He asked for manicotti in meat sauce.
“No wine?” she said.
“No.”
“You don’t have to go without on my account. I’m not a big wine drinker at all. I don’t miss it.”
He shrugged. “I’d like to talk.”
“That never sounds good.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. It’s not bad. I just think we need to finally talk about this baby.”
She nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Well, have you made a decision about raising this child?”
She took a deep breath, her gaze bouncing around the room. “No, because I’m not sure it’s real to me yet. I don’t feel the baby move, so I guess I’m not ready to make a decision.”
“I see. Well, I’ve made some decisions of my own. I’m setting up a college fund for him or her. No reason to wait.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do, Violet. I want to see my child succeed. He or she will need college.”
“He.”
“You know for sure?”
“No, I just have a feeling,” she said.
“Okay. Then I guess until we know for sure, the baby is a he.”
“Right.”
“Have you thought about names?”
“No. If the baby is a boy, it will make it harder for me to pick. There haven’t been any male role models in my life that I want to name him after,” she said.
The waitress brought rolls, butter, and olive oil. Amedeo poured some onto a plate between them then put pepper on it. He handed her the bread basket. Violet took two slices, dipping them into the olive oil before devouring them.
Guess she was hungry.
“I have some ideas. We have a few family names we pass down.”
“Okay. Not sure I’m ready for that discussion. Maybe we should wait until we know it’s a boy for sure.”
“Okay.” He chewed his bread then swallowed. “Are you planning on taking some time off when the baby comes? I can spend some time working from home at that time.”
She rubbed a hand down her face. “Amedeo.”
“Yes.”
“I’m hungry and tired. Can this wait until I’ve eaten?”
He smiled at her. “Of course. I’m just a man of action.”
“I get that, but right now I could eat this table.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
She ate another piece of bread. Thankfully the waitress arrived with their food. Violet dug into it. She ate with gusto and Amedeo found it refreshing to have dinner with someone who did more than push food around her plate.
Violet stopped. “What?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re staring at me.”
“Most of my dates eat salad like they have to make it last for a year. You actually eat.”
“I’m pregnant and I’m not your date.”
“We’re lovers.”
“Yes, but that’s different.”
“You don’t think I can take my lover out to dinner?”
She shrugged. “I think the expectations are different.”
“How?”
“Still hungry, Amedeo.”
He waved his hand. “Go ahead. We can talk later.”
He wanted to laugh, but he didn’t want her to think he was laughing at her. He was just amused by her forthrightness. He always knew where he stood with Violet. That was good. He found it a nice change from most women who tended to tell him what he wanted to hear. Not that his ego minded that, but if he was going to be hooked to someone for the rest of his life, it might as well be someone he can communicate with.
***
With her stomach full, Violet found a renewed energy. When Amedeo suggested they do some baby shopping, she jumped at the idea. Now they were in a baby superstore.
“Who knew there was so much stuff?” Amedeo said.
They paused just inside the door of the big box store. Amedeo took her hand. “Maybe we should find someone to help us. Maybe there’s a checklist.”
“Have you seen your brother’s nursery?”
“No, but I may have to pick his brain.”
“Might be a good source.”
She held his hand like a life line as the shelves and shelves of clothing and accessories overwhelmed her. A woman came up to them, smiling. “May I help you?”
“We’re looking for items for a baby,” Amedeo said.
They’d come to the right place. At least Violet hoped. If they couldn’t find it here, it probably didn’t exist.
“I’m Janice. I can help you find what you need. Is this for a shower?”
“No, we’re having a baby,” Violet said.
“When is the baby due?” Janice said.
“Don’t know yet for sure,” Violet said and realized how stupid that sounded.
Janice’s smile didn’t dim. “I’m assuming you have time, but are on top of things.”
“Yes. I’m a man of action so we might as well figure out what we need,” Amedeo said.
“Follow me.”
Amedeo put a hand on Violet’s back, nudging her to go after Janice. She did and he kept his hand in hers. He was her anchor, even though she knew he didn’t have any more knowledge on this subject than he did. She couldn’t imagine what this would be like if she were doing it alone. Why did women choose that? This was all bearable with someone else in the picture.
Even if he would never love her, he’d love her child.
Janice motioned for them to sit at a desk while she took the chair opposite them. “We have a check list for you to start.”
She put a paper in front of them that was filling from top to bottom. Bottles, diapers. The other side had questions to answer. “I didn’t know there was going to be a quiz.”
Janice just kept smiling. What they must look like to her. Violet wasn’t even showing and they didn’t have wedding rings on. That probably wasn’t as uncommon these days as it used to be.
Amedeo took the list in his hand, reading it over. “Wow.”
“Yes, it’s overwhelming, but you don’t have to purchase it all now. You can take your time over the coming months. A lot of people order the furniture first and the bedding once they choose a theme.”
Violet glanced at Amedeo whose eyebrows were raised. “Theme?”
Janice pulled a large binder out of a drawer. “Here are the bedding themes.”
Violet bought her sheets at Walmart. Was her kid going to have satin ones? She blinked at the book as Amedeo flipped the pages. “Any ideas?”
She shook her head. “Maybe we’re doing this too soon.”
“It can take a few months for the bedding to arrive,” Janice said. “The sooner the better in terms of ordering it.”
They may have to make a decision right now. “It’s not like it affects the child’s future.”
Amedeo nodded. “I think we’ll wait on this for a few weeks. What can we purchase now?”
“Diapers,” Janice said. “You will never have enough. Five or six a day at least. More if you breastfeed.” She turned her attention to Violet. “You are going to breastfeed right?”
Violet’s mouth moved, but she couldn’t make any sounds. Amedeo jumped in. “She hasn’t made that decision yet, but we’ll appreciate you respecting that.”
Janice pressed her lips together then finally a smile broke the tension. “You’ll need diapers.”
“Diapers, check,” Amedeo said.
Violet was still pondering the idea of breastfeeding. She should probably want to do that, but she wasn’t keen on the idea. This child was going to be so dependent on her. What a concept. Someone depending on her that wasn’t paying her.
“Clothing of course, but they live in onesies for the first few weeks so you’ll need a lot.”
“Then we’ll stock up on those first,” Amedeo said. He stood, reaching out for Violet’s hand.
She took his hand, following him to a rack of the smallest clothing she’d ever seen. In terms of Amedeo’s size they looked miniscule, but then she realized that she was going to push that human out of her in the future. Holy shit.
“What colors, Violet?” Amedeo said.
“Uh, I guess yellow and blue. Girls can wear blue, but a boy looks odd in pink,” she said.
Amedeo rifled through the rack. He picked out several onesies in different colors. “We should probably get them in several sizes, just to be prepared. You could have a big baby. He or she might start out in six month clothing.”
“Were you a big baby?”
He was a tall man so he must have started out tall.
“I was ten pounds.”
“That’s a small turkey,” she said.
He shrugged. “My father was tall and my brothers are tall.”
“Yikes. I hadn’t thought about that.”
Janice, thankfully, had left them alone with their list.
Amedeo had his arms full with onesies. “We need a cart.”
Violet returned with one from the front of the store. They found the diapers and loaded up the cart with those. Next they looked at bottles. “We should get some just in case you don’t breastfeed.”
“Okay. I hope you don’t care which I do.”
“It’s your body. You choose.”
“Thanks.”
Amedeo pushed the cart to the checkout line. It was taller than Violet with all the stuff in it. Once they checked out, he filled the trunk and the front seat of the car. His driver didn’t say anything, but Violet could only imagine what he was thinking. Bet he’d never hauled baby gear before today.
Ensconced in the back seat of the car, surrounded by diapers and onesies, they headed home.
***
Amedeo’s ex had been barred from his company, but apparently she wasn’t done with him. He stepped out to get some fresh air. He needed to clear his head. The shopping trip from last night had brought home some truths for him. He hadn’t slept well, finally leaving a snoring Violet in his bed to go work.
She’d disappeared as soon as they arrived and he hoped she would be free for lunch. He expected not. She could be as much a workaholic as he was.
He stood on the sidewalk outside his building, his face to the sun, when he heard her voice. He opened his eyes to see Tory charging toward him. Shit.
“What do you want, Tory?”
She shoved some papers in his face. He pushed them away. “What are these?”
“Your new skank of a girlfriend has a past.”
“She isn’t a skank. You don’t even know her.”
“She stole you from me.”
He was tiring of pointing out that Tory had broken the engagement off and that Violet wasn’t in the picture then. He pressed his lips together instead. No need to engage the crazy person. “That’s not what happened.”
“Read these. She’s been arrested.”
Amedeo blinked. He didn’t know much about Violet’s past so it was possible that she’d been arrested. Maybe unpaid parking tickets? He doubted she was a murderer. He also didn’t want Tory to know that he was unaware of Violet’s past. This was none of her business.
“Tory, you exhaust me. Go away.”
“Read it, Amedeo. Read about the woman you’ve let into your house,” Tory said.
He took the papers, but only to get her away from him. “Go away, Tory. Or I’ll have the cops escort you.”
She backed away. She didn’t like scenes or so she said but she was certainly making one. “You read it then call me.”
“No matter what is on these papers, I won’t be calling you.”
“You’ll come back to me, Amedeo. She isn’t your type. She isn’t from our world.”
Was that a reference to Violet being black? Was Tory a bigot? Another reason he was glad he hadn’t married her. He didn’t care about the color of Violet’s skin. It was just window dressing. What mattered was on the inside.
Tory left and it took Amedeo a few minutes to get back to the calm of a few minutes ago. He still had the papers in his hand while he contemplated putting them in the garbage. Maybe he should know about the mother of his child. What type of DNA was she contributing to his child?
He entered the elevator to take him back to his office, but he wasn’t sure if what she’d done in the past mattered. She was still carrying his child. Her past had no effect on the future in this case.
Unless she’d killed someone and not in self-defense. That would be a game changer. He would have to get custody of the baby. He would raise him or her. He couldn’t let a murderer raise his child.
When the elevator doors opened, he was sure he was going to read what Tory had given him. He settled at his desk, but he had misgivings. He and Violet had never spoken about what had come before their night of passion. Was any of this his business?
Yes it was. She carried his child. She was possibly going to raise his child. He should know what he was in for.
“Or should I ask her first?”
He was torn. He wanted to know and didn’t want to know at the same time. He wasn’t usually this indecisive. Finally he smoothed out the papers on his desk and set about reading them.
This was a juvenile file. How did Tory get ahold of it? She must have done something illegal because this should have been expunged or at least sealed when Violet turned eighteen.
He sighed. Armed robbery. An accessory to armed robbery, really. That could mean a lot of things. She could have just been in the car or she could have masterminded it. That wasn’t the woman he knew. She was kind and funny and sexy.
Damn. Now he was sorry he looked at this paper. He should have talked to Violet first. This was an invasion of her privacy. She wouldn’t expect this to come back to haunt her. She’d been younger than eighteen when it happened.
He rose from his desk, feeling guilty, but knew he had to talk to Violet. With it being almost lunch time, maybe he could coax her out. He needed to know her side or the story.
She didn’t look up when he entered her office. He sat and waited for her to notice him. Not his usual stance, but he felt bad about seeing her arrest record. She was a grown woman now and shouldn’t have to answer for what she’d done as a teenager.
“You just going to stare at me?” she said.
Her gaze had connected with his for a moment as her fingers danced across the keyboard. She hadn’t paused.
“You ready for lunch?”
“The department has already ordered something for me.”
They could talk in her office. He would close the door.
“I saw Tory,” she said.
Her office did overlook the front sidewalk. Maybe this was his opening. “Yes, she was here.”
Violet nodded, but didn’t ask him anything else.
“I need to talk to you about something,” Amedeo said.
She sighed, her fingers pausing over her keyboard. “Can this wait until tonight? I’m on a roll here.”
“I guess.”
She was right. It could wait. Her answer didn’t impact anything she was doing for him. He rose. “We can talk tonight.”
“Thanks, Amedeo.”
He nodded then left. He should leave her to her work and they could talk tonight. He hoped he liked what she had to say.