SIERRA
I move in closer to Pen on the couch as she Googles his name, watching pages upon pages uploading.
“He sure gets around,” Pen mutters. There’s an edge to her tone and a look of disgust on her face as she scrolls through images of him with various women. The photos are taken at prestigious events or glitzy balls, and the women are all stunning. It’s no wonder he dismissed me so readily if these are the type of women he usually dates. Models, politician’s daughters, socialites, and successful businesswomen. Blondes, brunettes, redheads. He doesn’t appear to discriminate, as long as they are beautiful.
Ignoring the sinking feeling in my gut, I urge Pen to move forward, pointing at an article in a leading business magazine about Caltimore Holdings. I read it aloud.
“Bennett Mazzone, son of Angelo Mazzone and the late Jillian Carver, has been making waves in New York as the newly-appointed CEO of Caltimore Holdings. Caltimore Holdings is the business empire founded by his great-grandfather in the nineteen twenties. Initially focused on construction, shipping, and transportation, under Angelo Mazzone’s stewardship, the company also ventured into the retail and service industry, being full or part owner in a host of different restaurants, clubs, and casinos. In a surprising yet bold move, Bennett Mazzone’s first maneuver as CEO was a hostile takeover of IT company FistMine. Does this signal plans to move Caltimore away from its traditional core businesses or is Mazzone supplementing their existing billion-dollar empire with smart investments in tech-savvy industries with huge growth potential? Only time will tell. Key Caltimore employees we spoke to said Mazzone has ambitious plans for overhauling every aspect of the company and strong ideas about modernizing the brand. Feared as much as he is admired, it’s clear Bennett Mazzone is a force to be reckoned with and a man to be watched.”
“Huh.” Pen rubs a spot between her brows. “It seems like he’s a legit businessman.”
“And a CEO at twenty-nine.” I can’t help but be impressed. “Still, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
We spend another half hour trawling through the web, but we don’t find anything linking Ben to the mafia. There is also no mention of how he came to find his father or why he just disappeared from Illinois eight years ago. The Caltimore Holdings website has a run-of-the-mill bio that says plenty but tells you nothing.
Pen prints off the address to the main Caltimore Holdings offices in Midtown Manhattan. “Considering we can’t find any personal address for him, you’ll have to go to his place of work and hope you can get a meeting with him.”
“I’ll hang around outside until he makes an appearance if it comes down to it.”
“I bet someone in the IT department of Lawson Pharma has skills you could use,” she suggests.
I bark out a laugh. “You’re not seriously suggesting I tell my father before I tell Ben?”
“I was more thinking out loud,” Pen says, pulling her legs up onto the couch. “When are you planning on telling your family?”
“Never?” I joke. “If I thought I could get away with it, I’d abscond overseas. Get a fake ID and hide.”
She shoots me a sympathetic look. “They’ll come around.”
“Have you met my father?” My voice betrays my disbelief. “There is no part of him that will ever be okay with any part of this. Ever.” I might not know how Ben will react to the news, but I know with certainty that my father will hate this. “I’m the mistake they were never meant to have. In his eyes, his mistake will just be giving birth to another mistake. You know how anal he is. Having a child out of wedlock is committing a mortal sin to him. It’s just another way I’m making him look bad in front of the world.”
“Your father is an ass.”
“Yup. And he’ll never change. He’ll probably disown me. God knows, he threatens to kick me out at least once a month.”
“Oh my God.” Pen sits up straighter, her eyes popping wide. A wicked grin slips over her mouth. “Saskia is going to throw an epic hissy fit when she discovers you slept with Ben and now you’re having his baby.”
I sigh. “I know. It will be a real sore point because she hasn’t had a baby yet.” As much as I dislike my sister, and we aren’t close in any way, I never want to deliberately hurt her. And this will hurt her. She’s been married to Felix for over seven years, and according to Mom, they’ve been trying to have kids for the past four years with no success. “Knowing Saskia, she will accuse me of doing this on purpose just to piss her off.”
“Damn straight. She has always been competitive with you. I think it’s jealousy.”
I crank out a laugh. “Are you kidding? Why on earth would she be jealous of me? She’s the one with the business degree from U of C, a rich, handsome husband, gorgeous house, and a promising career at Lawson Pharma. She is also the apple of our father’s eye. As far as he is concerned, she can do no wrong.”
“She’s a fucking bitch,” Pen seethes.
“Of the highest order,” I agree. “Dishonesty and sucking ass are traits my father seems to covet over truth and authenticity.” I check the time on my watch, and it’s getting late. I swing my legs around. “Saskia is the least of my worries now.” I’ll deal with my problems, one at a time. “I need to book a flight to New York and prepare to tell my teen crush he put a bun in my oven.”
“You’re what?” Tony stares at me like I’m pooping rainbows from my ass.
“Pregnant. I’m having a baby.”
He blinks profusely as horror washes over his face. I know he’s wondering why I’m telling him this. “The guy in Vegas?” he surmises.
I nod. “I’m sorry, Tony.” We both know what this means for his job.
“Don’t apologize.” He drags his hands through his hair. “Shit.” His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as he leans his elbows on the Formica tabletop.
“Hot tea and a cappuccino,” the waitress says, setting our drinks on the table.
“Thanks.” I offer her a terse smile.
“Lemme know if you need anything else.” She saunters off, swaying her hips.
We’re tucked into the back booth of my favorite little coffee place, a few blocks from Loyola. It’s quiet at this time of night, like I knew it would be.
“How long have you known?” he asks as I slide his coffee to him.
“I’ve suspected for a few weeks, but I only took a test earlier today.” I blow across the top of my mug.
“Will he stand by you?” he asks before taking a mouthful of his drink.
“I don’t know. I need to go to New York to tell him.” I wrap my hands around my mug, letting the warmth sink into my skin. “Which is where you come in. I was hoping you’d come with me and that we can keep it from my father.” He opens his mouth to speak, and I raise one hand. “Just hear me out, please.”
He clamps his lips shut, nodding.
“You know as soon as my father hears I got knocked up, he is quite likely to murder both of us. So, I have a plan.” I take a sip of my tea, watching the wariness creeping into Tony’s eyes. “Hey, give me some credit here. I could’ve escaped and traveled to the Big Apple alone, but I promised you I wouldn’t sneak off again, and I keep my promises.” I lean across the table, glancing around the room, ensuring no one is paying us any attention. “Here’s what I’m proposing.” I lower my voice. “You will help me plan this trip without anyone knowing. You’ll come with me and cover our tracks. After, I’ll return to Illinois alone. You should stay in New York and keep far away from Chicago. I’ll give you cash to keep you on your feet until you find a new position.”