Сьюзен Мэллери – Lone Star Millionaire (страница 4)

“Cal, are you still there?” his attorney asked. “Did you hear me? You’ve got a twelve-year-old daughter.”

A daughter? From Janice? The enormity of the information stunned him. Nothing made sense. A child? Him? No wonder Sabrina had left the room.

“I heard you, Jack.” He’d heard, although he didn’t have a damn clue as to what he was going to do now.

Chapter 2

“I don’t know what to say,” Cal told his attorney. He turned in his chair so he was facing the window, but he didn’t even see the view. Instead, images of Janice filled his mind. He remembered her as being of average height and pretty. They’d met while interning for the same oil-and-gas firm one summer. “Are you sure about this? Why didn’t she tell me she was pregnant?”

“Like I said, she was after money, not matrimony. I guess she knew about the trouble your parents had with Tracey and figured they would be willing to pay her off. One of the retired partners here at the firm prepared the paperwork, Cal. I’ve seen it. In fact, telling you this raises some issues regarding attorney-client privileges within the firm. But this is important enough that I’m willing to deal with any backlash. Janice was offered a sizable amount to keep quiet and stay away from you. If she hadn’t died unexpectedly, she wouldn’t have had to work again for life.”

Nothing made sense. Cal tried to pick a rooftop outside and focus on it, but the task was too difficult. Janice had gotten pregnant? She’d gone to his parents instead of him? She hadn’t wanted to get married, she’d just wanted the money?

“I don’t want to believe any of this,” he said, too stunned to be angry. “I tried to get in touch with her when I went back to college. She just disappeared. I thought she’d run off with someone else.”

A child. He couldn’t imagine that being real. That one of those long summer nights had resulted in a new life.

Jack cleared his throat. “Look, Cal, I’m your lawyer, not your conscience. You say the word and I’ll pretend this conversation never happened. You don’t know this kid from a rock and that doesn’t have to change. Let the aunt turn her over to the state. It’s probably better that way. The reports I have say she’s been having problems. Poor adjustment in her new school, falling grades, antisocial behavior. Do you really want that kind of mess right now? Face it, your life is pretty damned good. Why change that?”

Cal knew Jack was just trying to do his job—which was to make his most wealthy client’s life easier, however possible. Cal supposed there were many men who would simply walk away from this kind of information—he had a feeling he was going to wish he had. But he couldn’t.

“If she lost her parents less than a year ago, I’m not surprised she’s having trouble adjusting,” Cal said. “Everything’s been taken away from her. She’s living with an aunt who doesn’t want her. She probably knows she’s going to get thrown out any minute. These circumstances wouldn’t make anyone look like a poster child for mental health.”

“You’re right, of course,” Jack said. “I’m not the enemy here, I’m simply pointing out different options.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Cal said. “This is impossible for me to believe. I can’t help thinking I would have known if Janice was pregnant, but that, as Sabrina would gladly tell me, is male arrogance at its worst.”

“I understand. You’re going to need some time to think about this. The aunt will keep her about two more weeks, so no decisions have to made today. There are a lot of different ways to play this one. I suspect with a little financial encouragement, the aunt might be willing to keep her longer. If you want, I can look into boarding schools. Or, as I already mentioned, she can go into foster care. You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

Cal felt as if he’d been blindsided by a tanker. He heard his attorney’s words and knew he had plenty to think about, but one thing was certain. “I’m not going to let her go to the state. If there’s proof she’s my daughter, then she’s my responsibility.”

“Oh, there’s proof. Your parents had her checked when she was born. She’s yours.”

That was all Cal had to know. He’d done a lot of things in his life that he wasn’t especially proud of, but he’d never walked away from his responsibilities. “I have a few things to take care of. Sabrina or I will be in touch in the next day or so with the particulars. In the meantime, call the aunt back and tell her I’ll be out to pick up my daughter before the end of the week.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

No, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He only knew he had to. “If she’s mine, Jack, I don’t have a choice.”

His lawyer sighed. “I figured as much. I’ll let her know.”

“I’m going to New York to talk to my mother. If you have to get in touch with me, the office will know where I am.”

“Will do.”

Cal was about to hang up the phone when he heard Jack call his name. “What?” he asked.

“Don’t you want to know her name?”

The question shocked him. Giving the child a name made her more real—an actual person with an identity. “Yes.”

“Anastasia Overton.”

“Anastasia? What the hell kind of name is that for a twelve-year-old kid?” He shrugged. “I know you can’t answer that one, either. Okay, Jack, I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up the phone.

Silence filled the room. Cal leaned back in his chair and swore. He pushed to his feet and stalked to the window. “What the hell is going on? How did this happen?”

He didn’t even know what he was asking. Did he mean how had Janice gotten pregnant? That would be pretty easy to answer. Maybe he meant how had the pregnancy been kept from him? Or maybe how had his parents thought they could get away with keeping news of his own child from him?

But they had, a small voice whispered inside his head. For twelve years his mother had sat in silence. She’d sacrificed her own grandchild for the greater good. At least that’s what she would tell him. He could already hear her voice.

The quiet got to him, and without thinking he turned back to his desk and hit a button beside his telephone. Less than thirty seconds later Sabrina stepped into the room.

Her usually animated face was strangely solemn. He half expected a crack, then realized that was never her style. She liked to banter and fight with him, but only on even terms. She would never attack him when he was vulnerable.

“How much did Jack tell you?” he asked.

Sabrina walked to one of the leather sofas and gracefully sank onto a cushion. He walked toward her and took a seat at the far end of the same sofa. He wanted to be close, but he found he couldn’t face her. Odd, because Sabrina knew the worst there was to know about him. Knew it and didn’t judge him. That was one of the reasons he kept her around.

“He said that you’d been involved with a young woman about thirteen years ago and she’d gotten pregnant, apparently on purpose. When you went off to grad school, she approached your parents, promising to stay out of your life if they paid her enough. They agreed. When the woman died in childbirth, the child was put up for adoption. She’s now living in Ohio with an elderly aunt.”

He faced front and braced his elbows on his knees, then clasped his hands together. “That about sums it up. Her name was Janice—the woman, not the kid.” He glanced at her. “This is one of the bigger messes you’ve had to help me clean up. I guess you’re going to be expecting a substantial raise this year.”

She gave him a slight smile. “This isn’t a mess. I would never think that. You didn’t know about this. Jack told me he’d only found out about it a couple of days ago.”

“You believe him?” He asked the question casually but suddenly found that her opinion mattered.

“Of course.” She angled toward him. “Cal, you’re nothing like your sister. Tracey is spoiled and willful. If this were her problem, she would have let the child go without giving him or her a second thought. You’re not like that. If you’d known about your daughter from the beginning, you would have done the right thing, whether that meant marrying Janice or just providing for your child.”

Her expression was earnest, her words sincere. He appreciated that. Jack had claimed not to be Cal’s conscience, and Cal agreed. But there were times he wondered if that was actually part of Sabrina’s job. Knowing that he was going to have to look her in the eye often influenced his behavior, and for the better.

“You’re right. So thirteen years after the fact, I’m going to do the right thing. But first I’m going to New York to talk to my mother.”

Sabrina raised her eyebrows. “I’m surprised.”

“That I’m going to take my daughter or that I’m going to visit my mother.”

“Both, although I’m more surprised about your mother. I don’t remember you ever going to see her.”

Cal grimaced. “We’re not what you would call a close family. I think I’ve seen her twice since my father died, and that was nearly ten years ago. She wasn’t the maternal type. Mother is very big on how things look rather than how they are. This situation proves that.”

“Have you thought this through?” Sabrina asked.