AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 38
Isabella
Isat staring out the large picture window in Jennings Abernathy’s office. The leaves rustled in the ocean breeze. Over the soft music playing through the speakers, I could hear the birds chirping.
The serene environment was in direct opposition to the war of emotions and thoughts that were battling it out in my mind. My head was filled to capacity with everything I was feeling and thinking, and I was doing my best to sort it out.
There was so much information to take in. I was trying to process it, but failing miserably.
My father had offered Jimmy a bribe to stop seeing me. I didn’t have any proof, but I had to think that he’d done that with the other relationships I’d started in the past. The difference was, those men had taken the payoff and run. Jimmy not only told me about the offer, he’d also told my father exactly what he thought of him. I doubted that my father had ever been spoken to like that. At least not in his adult life.
And I couldn’t even begin to process everything that Jimmy had said to me. He’d said “love” and “walking down the aisle” after we’d known each other one week! And the scariest part of all was that, it wasn’t crazy that he had. I was feeling and thinking the same thing. I just knew it wasn’t going to happen. And that’s where the emotion came in.
I loved Jimmy Comfort. I wanted to be with Jimmy. But it was one thing to be his girlfriend. It was another to be his wife. Could I actually do that, in good conscience? What if he regretted the decision to marry me but didn’t feel like he could tell me because of my condition? Just like I didn’t want him to pity-exclusive-date-me, I sure as heck didn’t want him to pity-stay-married-to-me.
I heard the door open and sat up straighter in my chair. I needed to pull myself together. This wasn’t about me. It was about getting answers for Cheyenne.
“Ms. Santini. I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. What can I do for you?”
It took me a moment to take in the man who had just entered the room. He was shorter and rounder than I’d expected. And from the air of superiority he carried, I knew that he was exactly the sort of man that my father chewed up and spit out. Men who had such high opinions of themselves that they had too much pride to admit when they were in over their heads.
What made men behave the way they did?
Men like my father.
Why would my father leave my mother when I was four? And why hadn’t he just sent me to a boarding school, since he’d obviously had no interest in actually getting to know me? Why had he insisted I work at his company in exchange for paying for my education when he didn’t even acknowledge my existence in front of anyone? And most importantly, why had he paid off men that showed interest in me?
And then there was Jimmy Comfort.
Why would a man that could have anyone want me?
“Ms. Santini? Is everything okay?”
“Um, yes. Sorry. I have someone joining me if that’s all right.”
I sent a text to Cheyenne letting her know that he was in the room.
“Of course, of course. Is it by any chance your father? Will he be joining us?”
If this were a soap opera, Cheyenne would have opened the door and dramatically said, “No, it’s your daughter.”
But this wasn’t a soap opera, it was real life, so instead I simply replied, “No.”
“How is your father? I must admit, I have admired him from afar.”
The buzzer on his desk went off and I heard the receptionist’s voice coming through. “Mr. Abernathy, I tried to st—”
He pressed the mute button, obviously not wanting to be interrupted while speaking about my father. “Sorry about that. You were saying?”
I wasn’t. And thankfully, I didn’t have to.
Cheyenne walked in and his jaw dropped. It wasn’t quite soap opera level histrionics, but it was still satisfyingly dramatic.
“Mr. Abernathy, I’m sure you know Cheyenne Comfort. She is who will be joining me. We have some questions about paternity.”
Jennings looked between me and Cheyenne. For a moment, I thought that he was going to make a break for it, but instead, he sighed. “I knew this day might come. Take a seat, young lady.”
Cheyenne gave me a look, as if to ask what I thought about his reaction. I honestly wasn’t sure.
