Mogul (14 page)

She shook her head. “Nothing concrete, yet.
It’s nothing dangerous, just more and more obscene. Obviously this
chick wants Vanni to get the hint that she’s completely and totally
available.”

“According to the world, he is,” Graham
pointed out. “When are you going to tell the world your happy
news?”

“This week,” she answered. “At the press
conference. He’s just going to get it all out in the open.”

Graham sighed. “Have you talked that over
with Shannon?”

“No. Why?”

“This Holly thing has her nervous. She wasn’t
kidding when she said she wanted him to keep his nose clean. It’s
in the contract.”

“So what are you saying? That we can’t
announce anything until after the show is over?”

“I don’t know. How forgiving will middle
America be if the new judge for a reality show is starring in his
own soap opera? Having two babies from two different mothers?
That’s a hard sell. To our audience and to our sponsors.”

“So PING screwed me again,” she surmised.
“Because we didn’t announce my pregnancy first, we missed our
window?”

“You know, it might be a good idea to hold
off telling the world anyway. Until you know how this thing with
Holly will turn out. Get the fertility test done before you bring
the media into it.”

“The media’s already into it,” she pointed
out angrily. “That’s the problem. This isn’t just a personal
problem with three private citizens. It’s front page news for every
tabloid in the country.”

“I’m just saying that maybe now isn’t the
time to air the dirty laundry. Let Vanni polish his image with the
show, and with everything he’s doing to make up for things that
happened with the Wilke girl and Holly.”

She rolled her eyes in frustration. “Do you
know how long that’s going to take?”

“It might not take long at all,” he reasoned.
“The Wilkes’ look content to get a payoff, and I’m sure Holly will
disappear if you throw enough money at her. That’s all she
wants.”

Andy shook her head. She wasn’t as sure of
that. It seemed to her that Holly got a lot out of being linked
with someone famous in the press. With his child, she was famous by
proxy. She wasn’t going to go away just because they gave her some
money. She’d keep coming back like a homeless cat that could turn
feral at a moment’s notice.

Andy scooted out of her chair and paced
around to the window overlooking the lot. “I can’t believe this.
All these years later and I’m still in hiding.”

Graham stood and walked slowly over to where
she stood. He wanted so badly to remind her that she wouldn’t have
to be hiding if she were with him. She wouldn’t have to worry about
another woman trying to steal him away; she wouldn’t have to worry
about suspicious packages on her doorstep. She could just be loved
like she should be. Yet he said nothing at all as he took her into
a hug. She let him hold her while she processed this information,
and didn’t pull away until they both heard someone clear his throat
in her doorway.

They turned to find Vanni standing there,
holding a plate from the food truck. She shrunk away from Graham
like a naughty child who had been caught with her hand in the
cookie jar. “You’re done for lunch?” she asked unnecessarily as she
rounded the desk to greet him at the door.

His eyes were narrowed as they traveled
between Graham and Andy. “I thought we could eat together,” he
said. “I figured you hadn’t broken away yet. Guess someone beat me
to it.” He glared at Graham, who wasn’t the least little bit guilty
about being in her office, bringing her lunch, or comforting her
through Vanni’s self-destructive, hurtful choices. He walked with
his cane, but with his chin high as he offered the younger man a
smile.

“Just holding your place, Hoss,” he said as
he walked between the two of them and out the door. He sent Andy a
glance. “Talk to Shannon. Let me know what you decide.”

She nodded and watched him disappear down the
hallway before she took the plate from Vanni and headed back to her
desk.

“Talk to Shannon about what?” he wanted to
know.

“About your big press conference,” she
answered as she sat. “Graham doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

Vanni chuckled. “Of course he doesn’t.” He
shut the door so they could have some privacy. “That man’s still in
love with you. Don’t tell me you can’t see that.”

“And I’m in love with you,” she clarified.
“Neither of which is the point. The point is they are worried that
they can’t sell you as a judge on their show when you’re juggling
two baby mamas. Mainstream America just won’t buy it.”

“Have you looked at any soap opera lately?
How about reality TV? Not only will they buy it, they’ll want
seconds. That’s the kind of society we live in, Andy.”

She shrugged. She wasn’t convinced. They
needed this job. Could they really risk gambling on such a big
“maybe?”

“So what are you suggesting, Andy? That we
say nothing? That we keep pretending? How long do you think that
will last? Your pregnancy is getting more noticeable by the day.
Shouldn’t we get in front of it and give them a chance to forget by
the time the baby is born?”

“Which one?” she asked before she could stop
herself. “Face it, the only baby on record is Holly’s. That’s the
one PING is obsessed with. It’s way more newsworthy, so the
controversy isn’t going to just go away. Graham says that doctors
are reluctant to perform a fertility test before the baby is born
due to complications. Holly’s already in the hospital. You’re
likely not to know until September whether or not you’re the
dad.”

He wanted to tell her he
already knew, but she seemed to cling to the waning hope it was
just another con from Holly and not a bitter reality they’d have to
face. “I don’t care what middle America has to say about anything.
I’m going to marry you and we’re going to have a baby.
That
is my family and I’m
damn proud of it. I don’t want to keep you hidden away in a locked
tower like a dirty little secret. Besides… we live together. You
wear my ring. You’re starting to show. Do you honestly think that
by not telling them what’s going on, they won’t know?”

She leaned back against the chair with
another sigh. Nothing could just be normal for them. “I don’t know
what I think, Vanni. I’m just scared. For you, for us. For the
future. It’s almost as though whenever we get too happy, life has
to take us down a few notches. The other shoe always seems to
drop.”

He leaned forward on her
desk. “Then let it. I don’t care what the tabloids say. I don’t
care what rubes across the rural wasteland of America think. I
never did. And if I lose this show, we’ll find some other way, even
if it means DIB does some big European tour until the fervor dies
down. But we
are
announcing the news this week.” He reached for her hands.
“Baby, trust me. The only thing that matters to me is
us.”

She nodded but wasn’t entirely reassured.
After a brief lunch they went their separate ways for the rest of
the day, and didn’t head for home until after seven o’clock that
evening. He wanted to stop by a restaurant on their way home, but
her ears were still ringing with Graham’s warnings from that
afternoon.

She was an unenthusiastic partner as they ran
the gauntlet of paparazzo at a popular restaurant on Melrose. She
found herself hiding her hand in her coat pocket as they were
ushered to a private booth in the back. It was the most
uncomfortable she had ever felt with him, and their little baby
Bean kept her stomach coiled in knots so that she really didn’t
enjoy the pricey meal despite the restaurant’s renowned
reputation.

He sensed her discomfort and slid around the
booth to pull her close. She shook her head and tried to keep him
at arm’s length, but he was undaunted as he kept her close. He
tipped her head up to look into his dark eyes. “Let them see,” he
said before his mouth lowered on hers and he kissed her for the
whole world – or at least a few dozen people in Beverly Hills – to
see. It was even more passionate than he’d normally indulge for a
public display of affection, or PDA, but he was determined to make
a statement.

In truth, he was trying to force the hand of
fate. He no longer wanted to wait for the end of the week. He
wanted the whole world to know he and Andy were in love, especially
since he was feeling particularly vulnerable finding her in
Graham’s arms that very afternoon.

His jaw still clenched to think about it. She
had found comfort in the arms of another man, another man who had
managed to wedge himself between them for the past few years. If
she had walked in on him holding Holly, he would have had hell to
pay. He had felt uncomfortable even touching her body to feel the
baby, or remembering how that baby was conceived. Now that he and
Andy were together, really, honestly together, he couldn’t imagine
being with anyone else.

He was an idiot for trying to fit anyone in
the Andy-shaped hole in his heart for the past four years. No one
fit. No one filled him like Andy. He kissed her again, and put her
hand on the table so the entire world – or at least the few dozen
people in Beverly Hills – could see the symbol of love he had
placed on her finger.

No one would get between them again. Not
Graham. Not Holly. Not PING.

He was rewarded for his efforts by breaking
news on the Internet by the time they got home.

DEADBEAT DAD GIOVANNI CARNEVALE CAUGHT
CANOODLING WITH OTHER WOMAN. Even though Andy had been linked with
Vanni in the press before, she wasn’t named. But Holly was. It was
pointed out almost gleefully that she was in serious condition at a
local hospital and had nearly lost their child. He was painted as
the loser who was spending too much money while he romanced an
“overweight” woman the press clearly didn’t think needed to be
fed.

Their romantic night together was interrupted
by texts from Holly and texts from Graham and Shannon. When they
collapsed into bed at midnight, neither was in the mood to resume
their amorous intent from that morning.

Even more disturbing, Vanni’s new stalker
left a doll in a box on their doorstep. It was a doll, its head
separated from its body, in some psychotic, unspoken threat. They
were late for work as they filed a report about the discomforting
discovery, and the security guy reported straight to Graham about
the new development. He had tried to call her but she silenced her
phone. Vanni didn’t need the extra aggravation.

Andy was pretty shaken when they met with
Shannon once they got to the lot. She and Dixie had already
discussed what they wanted to do about things. Essentially they
wanted everyone to keep a lid on any further scandal. Vanni told
them they could fire him if they wanted to, but he was still going
to announce his engagement and baby with Andy publicly. It could be
at their press conference or it could be a separate event, but it
was going to happen.

Later, in her office, Andy stared at the ring
on her finger. It was the proof of his love, and yet she was
considering taking it off until the furor died down surrounding
Holly. If Vanni had known he would have blown a gasket. He was
ready to brave the firestorm of media backlash in a way she had not
seen since he took a stand against Jasper Carrington years ago.
Only this time he wasn’t fighting for his reputation, he was
fighting for hers.

He had been livid when he read the hurtful
things they had written about her. And that could only get worse
once they knew he had chosen her over Holly. In their world, people
didn’t understand why he’d reject sweet, wholesome, beautiful Holly
over someone like Andy, who – if they connected the dots from
December – would be considered the home-wrecker that destroyed
their upcoming marriage.

As if PING read her mind, they released that
story almost verbatim, with corresponding photos, by lunch. Shannon
called them back into her office, only this time her tune had
changed. The tawdry way their relationship was being portrayed in
the press could only be helped by a press release detailing the
fact they were serious and committed. They called Gwen to have her
craft the announcement, but Andy was anything but excited as they
drove home that night.

Her stomach dropped when they found another
box. They called security, and the officer opened to find a similar
doll, this time missing her head and one of her arms. That night,
Andy didn’t have her dream about Vanni leaving her for another
woman.

Instead she dreamed that she opened her front
door to find Talia standing there, with a gun. In an explosive
blast, she felt every limb separate from her body and her head roll
away.

She jerked awake in a cold sweat. Vanni had
his arm draped across her stomach, and dozed peacefully through her
freak-out. She lay back against the pillows and tried to catch her
breath.

But there was no sleep for Andy Foster the
rest of that fitful night. Instead she watched the moonlight spark
off of her engagement ring and wondered what the hell she was going
to do next.

CHAPTER TEN

Redondo Beach, California

February 23, 2011

Both Vanni and Andy were cautious as they
opened their front door that following morning, but thankfully they
found no further disturbing packages on their porch. Thanks to
surveillance cameras that had been mounted the day before, courtesy
of Graham’s security team, apparently the stalker had been
sufficiently deterred. It was a good start but Andy was still
disturbed by her nightmare. She glanced over at Vanni, who was
driving them to work. “I think we should start looking for another
place to live,” she offered quietly.

As much as he loved their beach house, he had
been thinking the same thing. How could he ask her to stay in their
little love nest when it meant the crazies that orbited his world
could have easy access to her? The idea that someone as deranged as
Talia could easily show up on their doorstep to do whatever she
wanted when they had a baby to protect was almost too much for
Vanni to bear. Within days the stakes would rise for his family
exponentially and the world would know the true heart of his
vulnerability. He nodded. “We’ll start this weekend,” he
promised.