Mogul (9 page)

He sighed again as he glanced down at Andy as
she slept in his arms. He’d been such a dick for so long. Why
couldn’t he just keep it in his pants and be a grown-up? His
voracious lust for “strange” had compromised the integrity of their
relationship from the moment Kat winked at him during her first
audition to dance for the band.

Hell, it was there from the first time
Lourdes had been thrust in his face.

He had to face it… Holly’s being pregnant at
the same time he was so happy in his relationship with Andy was
just karma finally having the last laugh. He’d gotten away with a
lot over the years, eventually he knew the time would come he’d
have to make up for the mistakes he’d made. He’d been
extraordinarily lucky in all the years he’d bedded whatever sex
partner he pleased that he didn’t have a litany of kids all over
the world.

There was no way he’d escape cosmic justice
now, especially when everything else was falling neatly into place.
On the outside he was a successful mega star; wealthy, talented and
in demand. He had an amazing woman who loved him, and they were
expecting a baby… it was more than any man could ever hope to have.
Deep inside he was the same kid whose dad ran out on him, who
scraped and fought for everything he ever had, yet believed
everything worthwhile was more than he deserved. The better life
treated him, the more suspicious he got that it would all come
crashing down. That’s why he hadn’t been able to fully enjoy his
success up until now – he walked a tightrope between excesses. He
was either on top of the world… or he was scraping the bottom of
the barrel.

Many times he was the author of his own
destruction, just so he’d know when the blow was coming. It was so
much better than having the rug torn out from under him.

Now that he had his happily ever after with
Andy, there could be no other outcome. He always paid the price for
his happiness in some form or fashion. That’s why he hadn’t
bothered to chase after evidence the first time Holly told him she
was pregnant. He expected things to turn to shit, that was just the
way life was for a kid from the streets.

No one was more surprised than Vanni that she
wasn’t actually pregnant. He knew he had gotten extraordinarily
lucky. That was why he knew it in his heart he wasn’t going to be
that lucky again. That would be like winning the lottery twice.
Things just didn’t work out that way. He had a debt to pay, and the
Universe wasn’t going to be content until he paid it. He’d have bet
every last nickel he had on the fact Holly was pregnant, and he was
the dad.

He also knew he wasn’t going to be a
deadbeat, no matter how complicated their shithole of a
situation.

So the next day, when Andy had gone to work
at the studio with Shannon, Vanni made his way to Hollywood.

He pulled into the motel parking lot and
parked around back out of view. He had to go into his cell phone
account to unblock her number, and he called her she answered on
the third ring. “What do you want?” she asked in a weak voice that
didn’t make him feel any more confident about the situation.

“I need to see you,” he said simply.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “You made your
choice, Vanni. And it wasn’t me.”

“You lied to me,” he replied.

Her voice was so soft he could barely hear
her. “I was afraid to lose you,” she said. “I love you, Vanni.”

He closed his eyes and leaned against the
headrest of the seat. “What room are you in?”

She paused and he could almost hear her
thinking on the other end of the call. “221,” she finally said,
then disconnected.

Minutes later he was on the second story
landing in front of her door. She opened it quickly and pulled him
in before anyone could see. The room reeked of smoke, and looked as
though it hadn’t been renovated since the 1970s. The carpet was
drab and brown and short shag, the walls were paneled and covered
with tacky felt artwork.

There was one double bed in the room, with a
sagging mattress and rumpled sheets. A rickety table and two
upholstered chairs completed the ambiance, illuminated by a lamp
with a stained yellow shade with burn holes on the sides. It was a
depressing little hovel of a place, but it looked considerably
better than Holly herself.

She had lost at least fifteen pounds she
couldn’t afford to lose. There were dark circles under her eyes and
her pallid cheeks had sunken in. Her hair was tied back in a greasy
ponytail, and the cheap clothes she wore practically swallowed her
whole. There was no pregnancy glow like Andy, who was nurtured
every day and spoiled rotten with every benefit he could afford to
provide. Holly looked as though a stiff breeze would have blown her
over.

She motioned for him to sit before she
flopped down on the sagging mattress. “So why did you come here,
Vanni?”

“I need to know the truth. And I need you to
tell it to me.”

She sighed as she pushed a stray tendril that
had escaped from her ponytail out of her face. “When we had sex on
Thanksgiving, I truly thought we had conceived. I was so in love
with you by that point, and I wanted it to happen more than
anything. I thought I saw the signs, I even missed my period. When
that first test came out negative I thought maybe I had just tested
too soon. But by then I knew if I wasn’t pregnant, you would have
bolted. And I didn’t want to lose you. Not after I finally had
you.”

“So you lied.”

“I thought maybe if we had a bit more time,
you’d come to love me too. I knew I could make you happy, to be
everything you wanted or needed me to be. By the time I figured out
I wasn’t pregnant, you were already talking marriage. I thought
maybe if I had a bit more time…”

“You lied,” he repeated.

She nodded. “I started going to a fertility
clinic to make sure I’d conceive quickly and you’d be none the
wiser. We’d be married… we’d be happy…life would have taken care of
itself.” Her lip quivered. “Then I saw that photo of you kissing
Andy in the church we were supposed to be married. I realized you
were just using me because you couldn’t have her. So I left. And I
never contacted you even after I found out I was pregnant for real.
I’m letting you free, Vanni. I want nothing. Not even your money.”
Her chin tipped. “I want it all or nothing at all.”

He sighed. “How far along are you?”

“Eleven weeks. Near as I can
figure I got pregnant mid-December. I’m due September
6
^th
.”

“And how can I believe you?”

“You can’t,” she said. “So why don’t you do
us both a favor and leave? I’ve survived without anyone so
far.”

He looked around the shabby motel. Surviving
was a generous word for it. “You know I can’t do that, Holly. If
you are pregnant, if it’s my baby, then I want to help.” He paused.
“I’m going to help,” he corrected.

Her eyebrow rose. “Is Andy okay with
that?”

“My relationship with Andy is really none of
your business.”

She nodded, and then held her head. Before he
could ask her if she was okay she sprinted to the bathroom. He
heard her vomiting through the closed door. No wonder she had lost
weight. He glanced over at the wastebasket for any evidence of her
diet. It was loaded with wrappers and fast food bags. Lots of
preservatives, no nutritional value. There were also discarded
cigarette butts in the ashtray.

He waited until she stumbled out of the
bathroom, a wet washcloth against her face. “Who smokes?”

She lay on the bed in a miserable ball.
“Julian.”

“You know it’s bad for the baby, right?”

She glared at him. “Julian supports me right
now doing odd jobs and day labor. I had to ask myself which was
worse, second hand smoke? Or being homeless?”

Her situation was so dire Vanni had the
immediate impulse to fix it even if he wasn’t the father, which of
course was Andy’s greatest fear. He reached into his pocket for his
wallet.

“I don’t want your money,” Holly
repeated.

“Maybe not. But you need it.” He dug a
handful of twenties from his wallet. He had stopped at an ATM on
the way to Hollywood… just in case. It was a few hundred dollars he
and Andy wouldn’t even miss. If Holly really was pregnant, and he
suspected even more strongly that she was, then she needed it more
than he did.

He considered it his job to provide it. He
was no deadbeat. Not now. Not ever.

He held out the money but she didn’t reach
for it. She stared at him defiantly for long moments before he put
the money on the nightstand. “It’ll hold you over until we can take
the necessary tests to prove you are pregnant and it is mine. After
that, we’ll discuss specifics.”

“I told you. I want it all or I want nothing.
My child deserves more than a part-time parent who can check in or
check out as his schedule allows. You have other priorities, and
that’s not the life I want to give my child. I lived it, remember?
You lived it, too. A parent needs to be totally involved or the
child suffers.” Then, “You already rejected me. I’m not putting our
baby through that, Vanni. I’d rather die first.”

To make her point she staggered to her feet,
grabbed the bills and tossed it right in his face. “Take your
goddamn money and get the hell out of here!”

Her tirade nearly knocked her off her
unsteady feet. He caught her before she fell right to the floor.
She felt nearly skeletal in his strong hands as he carried her back
to the bed. “This isn’t about you,” he reminded with a clenched
jaw. “It’s not about me. It’s not about anything other than doing
the best you can for your child. I’m willing to do that,” he said
as he straightened up and towered over her. “Are you?”

Tears coursed down her face. “Get out of
here, Vanni. We don’t need you or your pity.” Her lip quivered as
she added, “I never asked you to come.”

He knelt down by the bed so he was at eye
level. “But I’m here,” he said. He reached over to brush the hair
from her face. She looked like a child herself as she lay there.
“Please let me help you.”

She stared into his eyes for a moment before
she whispered, “Okay,” so quietly he barely heard her. His eyes
traveled down her body to her stomach. Impulsively he reached over
and spread his large hand over her abdomen. He could feel the tiny,
firm mass nestled between her hips. It wasn’t as pronounced as his
little Bean with Andy – but it was unmistakable, especially given
how frighteningly thin she was.

His arm slumped to his side. “I’ll make an
appointment with a doctor,” he said.

“I’m already going to a free clinic,” she
said.

“Not anymore,” he assured.

He made up his mind the minute he felt that
firm little spot on her tummy. She could fake a lot of things, but
she couldn’t fake that. And if that baby was his, it needed him as
much as his little Bean.

He wasn’t going to let either of them
down.

He said nothing to Andy that night when she
got home. She took note of his quiet mood but didn’t do much to
draw it out. She had enough on her plate after Graham had come to
see her at the studio, concerned about her now that the scandal had
broken. He wanted to make sure that she knew that, no matter what,
she’d have allies in her corner.

She already knew it, but it was nice to
hear.

Vanni was the first to go to sleep that
night, with his back to her – which was unusual. She lay awake much
like he had done the night before. She caressed her tummy, watching
the low light dance off of her engagement ring as she did so.

This was her life now. The promises had been
made, the die had been cast. Vanni was her man and this was her
family. She made a vow that no one would jeopardize their
happiness… especially some two-bit con artist looking to cash in on
a famous baby daddy.

Andy turned off the light and cuddled up with
her future husband.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Malibu, California

February 18, 2011

The light from his laptop was the only source
of light in Graham’s darkened office as he scrolled through yet
another pregnancy calendar calculator online. He knew it was
pointless, but ever since Andy had told him about her pregnancy, he
had been unable to get the “what if” out of his mind. What if she
had gotten pregnant in November, rather than October? Just a few
scant weeks – that was all that separated a life committed to Vanni
and a life committed to Graham. A few scant weeks – that was all
that stood in between her giving birth to another man’s child in
July, and her giving him the purest gift of their own baby in
August.

He went through, week by week, to see how
their baby would have developed, when his or heart would have
started beating, when they could have announced the pregnancy to
the world. She would have been 14 weeks along by then. The baby
could make faces by then; an ultrasound might have even caught him
sucking his thumb.

His gut hurt as he slouched against the
chair. Just a few stupid weeks. Thanks to some really bad timing,
he’d have to watch from the sidelines as the man who had hurt Andy
the most got everything Graham wanted – and felt he deserved.

His eyes were bloodshot with unshed tears
when Maggie found him a little after one in the morning. “Hey,
you,” she said as she walked into the room. “Burning the midnight
oil?”

He glanced up at her. She thought he was
working hard on the new TV show, and it was probably better that
way. The only other person who knew about Andy’s pregnancy was
Shannon, who had offered her limited employment on the production
for as long as she was medically released to work.

As far as everyone else in the world was
concerned, the only baby Vanni was expecting was the one with
Holly.