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CHAPTER12
ADRIANO
Infertility.
The word rang in Adriano’s head as he tried to focus on his phone call. The truth was, it had been almost as difficult to hear as his initial diagnosis had.
And he didn’t know why that might be. He could tell that Amy had been taken aback, and really, her reaction made sense. They were talking about something that might have the capacity to save his life. Nothing should be too high a price to pay.
Why did it feel like it might be?
“Mr. Canali,” the voice on the other end of the phone said, “my gym members have been complaining about this. You told me that I would have your direct line for the first six months of your machine being installed in our facility in order to address any problems. Well, this is a problem!”
Adriano focused. “You do have my number, Mr. Griggs,” he pointed out. “And I’m happy to help you. You said the users aren’t able to access the workout settings they’ve saved in the machine from one use to the next?”
“That’s right. They’re having to re-enter them each time. And I know that’s not such a big deal, it’s not as if they can’t do that—”
“No, but that’s part of the value of that machine,” Adriano said. “I know that. When you bought it, it was on the promise that users would be able to program it with their fitness requirements, and that it would adjust their workout plan as they got stronger. That’s what it should be doing. Of course we want to get that working right. Have you tried doing a hard reset?”
“No,” Mr. Griggs admitted.
“Reset the machine,” Adriano said. “When you do, it will ask for an admin code—put in three-three-four-eight. Then it’s going to take you through some setup options. It’s possible that whoever did the install on the machine forgot to activate that option, and if so, I’m very sorry. But as you’re starting it up, it’s going to ask you if you want to turn on Smart Fitness, and you’ll want to make sure to say yes. Once you’ve done that, you shouldn’t have this problem anymore—but if it comes up again, you know how to reach me.”
“All right,” Mr. Griggs said, sounding a good deal calmer than he had a moment ago. “Thank you, Mr. Canali.”
“Of course. I’m here to help.”
They hung up. Adriano was grateful that the man had called—the call had given him something to focus on besides what Amy had been talking about—but now there was nothing to do but look at the piece of paper on his desk.
Amy apparently thought these side effects were no big deal, but Adriano didn’t agree with that at all. It was true that there was nothing life-threatening on here, and that was a good thing, but everything listed would be hard to livewith. Constant nausea? Hair loss—the loss of his good looks? He knew that was a petty thing to be worried about, but how could he not worry about it? It wasn’t enough to just stay alive. He wanted to be able to actually live his life. He had already had to sacrifice an awful lot in the name of living with Barks-Howard’s.
And then there was the matter of infertility.
The fact was, though he had never exactly been called upon to spend time thinking about it before now, Adriano had always assumed he would have children one day. He had put a lot of work into building his business, and he’d wanted someone to leave it to. And—though he’d never exactly thought of it in these terms—there was more to it than wanting an heir. He had simply pictured children as a part of his future. Without that possibility, he would be forced to rethink the life he had planned.
It was a tough pill to swallow.
He didn’t want to stay in his office anymore, so he decided to go down to the lake. He did some of his best thinking there, beside the water. He had always found it a very peaceful place.
He called for his driver. A moment later, the car was brought around.
Adriano held out a hand for the keys. “I’ll drive myself today,” he said.
“Are you sure?” Luca asked. “You look a bit distressed, sir. Perhaps it will be better if I drive.”
“No, I’ll be fine,” Adriano said. Luca nodded and handed off the keys, and Adriano slid behind the wheel and set off.
For a while, he just drove around, no destination in mind at all. It was rare that he drove his own car—he usually preferred to let someone else do it so that he could focus on either work or relaxation. It felt good, he found, to do something as simple as this. It gave him the feeling of being in control, something he’d been missing for a while.
It occurred to him that the last time he’d felt fully in control of his own life had been when he’d had sex with Amy.
Maybe I need to find someone to hook up with again. Maybe that would help me.
He smiled wryly at the thought. He’d had plenty of experiences like that in his day, of course, but lately he had been so tired that it was hard to summon the energy to do the things you had to do to meet women. He’d gotten lucky that time at the hotel bar—he’d only meant to have a quick cocktail before going up to bed. Where would he even begin to look for someone now?
Besides, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure how he’d feel about being with another woman right now. Amy had been like a bolt of lightning. He’d never enjoyed being with someone quite that much before, and he definitely felt like the next woman was going to be a bit of a letdown after her.
Adriano sighed. He hadn’t realized how simple his life was until his diagnosis had come along and complicated everything. If only he could go back to the time when his biggest worry had been training for his next marathon or finding good hotel accommodations in whatever city he was planning to visit to promote TrainTech to a new gym or private user. Those problems seemed like something out of a fantasy life now.
