Chapter 47

Brad wakes up in the morning and sees Jane laying there. Her hair is light and wispy, laying on the satin pillow so beautifully. He strokes the strands, and she whimpers a bit.

He kisses her shoulder and caresses her arm gently. He looks at her with infatuation.

Whispering in her ear, he says, “You are the most precious young woman, Jane. I adore you.”

She doesn’t hear him and even rolls over to get comfortable again.

There is a knock at the door. Brad goes over to open it and finds that it’s room service. Right, he forgot he ordered it the day before as part of this whole experience. He was going to suggest they lay in bed all day and just make love, eat in, and do nothing else.

“Where would you like me to put it, sir,” asks the waiter.

“Right over there, please. Thank you,” he says.

The waiter leaves after Brad gives him a tip.

Brad goes back to the table to make sure everything is in order. He notices the New York Star on the table and sees the headlines.

“Oh, fuck!” says Brad. “What the hell?”

Brad doesn’t want to upset Jane, so he gets dressed quietly and leaves the room to go call his lawyer downstairs from the private meeting room. He pulls out the gift he was going to give to Jane tomorrow while he is off doing business, the finger vibrator. He writes a note to her, just in case she wakes up, hoping that she will not.

This is not what he wanted for today, and he is horrified he has to leave Jane behind. He hopes he can make a quick call and come straight back upstairs.

Brad panics. Even though he knew this could be a consequence, he didn’t realize how much he would be affected. His heart races with anger and fear.

He lets the front desk know not to disturb him in the private meeting room. They have heard the news and they see the panic in his eyes.

“Would you like us to bring you a coffee and a muffin, sir?”

“No, I hope it won’t be long.”

An hour passes by and Brad is on and off the phone with various people, including the media. He’s trying to explain himself and get his side of the story out to the world.

After Brad hangs up and leaves the room, he bumps into John.

“Good morning, John,” Brad says.

“Good morning, sir,” John says, but with disdain in his voice.

Brad has not heard that side of John before. He asks what is going on with him and if there was something he has said or done to upset him.

“Sir, with all due respect, I have to say I don’t like how you treated Jane. She is a fine young lady with a trusting heart,” John says.

“I don’t know what you mean, John, but I agree she is a fine woman. She is the first woman who has trusted me so openly.”

Brad walks up to his room, shaking his head, wishing people would just stay out of his personal life. He opens the door and walks in.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he says to Jane. He is ready to go over to the bed and kiss her from her head to her toes and send shivers up her spine, then make love to her slowly and gently.

As he moves into the room, he notices the note card crumpled on the bed, the vibrator tossed on the floor, and the pillows in shambles. There is no Jane.

“Oh my God, where is she? Where did she go?” Brad is in tears. He starts to leave the room and passes by the breakfast table. He notices the newspaper has been opened up.

“Oh God, she saw the headline!”

Brad is horrified. He falls to the floor and starts sobbing.

“I didn’t do it, Jane. It’s not my child. I swear to you!” He cries on the floor, afraid he will never see Jane again.

He gets up to go knock on her door. No answer. He goes down to the front desk and asks if they have seen her.

John comes up to him. “Jane has her dignity, Mr. Halliwell. She left about an hour ago. I called her a private jet and put it on your tab. Fire me if you want, but it was the least I could do for her. She heard the news about you, and is really shaken up about it. Quite frankly, all of us are,” John says courageously.

“I understand, John. Thank you for taking care of her. Honestly, this is not my child they are talking about. I’ve never met this woman, and even if I have, I had no idea she was pregnant. She’s just using this to defame me for some reason.”

“Well, we don’t know who to trust, Mr. Halliwell, though we know you have treated us well. I hope what you are saying is true.”

“It is, John. It is,” Brad says, trying to redeem himself.

Brad calls the driver, Sam, to find out if her flight has left.

“Yes, sir, about 10 minutes ago.”

“Damn it.” Brad hangs up the phone. He’s beside himself. He can’t go to the States to reach her and explain things. This is a nightmare.

Brad goes to the beach and tries to settle down. He orders two piña coladas and sucks them back.

“All I can do at this point is wait,” he sighs, falling back on the lawn chair and catching the sun.

He’s so depressed that he can’t be close to Jane and comfort her right now. All he wanted to do was make her feel special and desired today.

He had plans to sleep in, feed her strawberries, roll over onto her, kiss her tits and her belly button, lick her inside and out, and get her all juicy. He wanted them to spend the day in the room, naked, aroused, and making love. Not this.

She must be absolutely devastated right now and that tears him up inside. Worse, he can’t go and make it right. This has to be the worst day of his life.