The Billionaire's Proposition (The Romero Brothers, Book 4) (13 page)

“Who are you and where is Tristan’s real
mother?”

“Carl, what are you talking about? I…I’m
Tristan’s mother.”

“Don’t lie to me, Venus. You know you are
not. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“That you were a virgin,” he said, and he
rose from his chair to full height. He placed his hands in the pockets of his
silk pajama bottoms and paced by the window, eyeing Venus occasionally. He
looked as if someone had punched him in the gut and ripped out his heart. He
looked…crushed. Disappointed.
In shock.

Venus flinched.

“There’s no way you gave birth,” he
continued. “You sure as hell didn’t do it naturally and you have no signs of
ever having a surgery or C-section. What’s going on? Who are you? You came to
work for my family saying that you were a single mother and needed a job. You
lied right there. You’re not a mother.”

Venus trembled inside. “I…I am, Carl.”
Caught up in
her own
web of lies. Now what? “Okay,
Carl,” she said, sitting back down on the side of the bed. She covered her face
with her hands and willed her tears to stop. She then looked up and heaved a
deep sigh. “Carl, I’m so very sorry, you had to…find out like that. You’re
right. I’m not Tristan’s…real mother.”

“What? So it is true,” he said, looking
more shocked. Finally hearing the truth from her lips knocked reality to him.

“M-my name…is not Venus Jackson.”

“Who are you then?”

“M-my real name is Nadya. Nadya Korosokowii.”

“You know, I’m worried about Carl,” Toni
said turning to his wife, Shelly. It was four in the morning, but for some
reason Toni could not sleep. He was propped up on his side of the automatic
reclining bed. Thankfully, it had two power modes where each side of the bed could
be lowered or raised separately.

Shelly turned over to face him. The
nightlight on his side of the bed was turned on.

“Toni, what are you doing up at this hour?”

“I’m worried about that grandson of mine.
You know, him being in Vegas with Venus and…well, planning this one-year
marriage for the sake of the election and his public image. I wish he would do
this for real.”

“I agree,” she said, raising her side of
the bed. “But I think he knows what he’s doing. Carl is a
good
 
man
, the best man for the job,
Toni. We both know that. But we also know that a disadvantage like being single
and young can run high, too.”

“That’s true,” Toni admitted, adjusting his
glasses over his nose. He dropped the newspaper on his lap. “But right now, the
media is saying all kinds of nasty lies about him. I hate it. My blood is
boiling over just thinking about them getting away with putting him down before
he even has a chance to announce his candidacy. And you know where all this is
coming from?” he said, rhetorically. “Those Bronsons! They own half the media
outlets in this town and they’re always all too happy to put my boys down. They’d
done so in the past. Not to mention Carl’s potential rivals who are trying to
dig up dirt on him so that they can bury him before the election. I tell ya,
politics is a dirty game. It’s not for the faint of heart.”

“Oh, no. You’re not still reading all that
gossip, are you?” Shelly commented. “Toni, that’s going to drive you crazy, up
the wall.”

“I just need to keep up-to-date on what’s
being said about my grandson. You know how much that matters to me.”

“I know. But you also have your detectives
on the case, too. You told me that your men are keeping an eye on what’s going
on. If they come up with anything libelous then we can go after them.”

“I know, I know,” he said. “It’s just that
the boys have been through so much in their lives. They’ve really had it rough,
as you know. They used to be poorer than poor before they came into my
life—after they lost their mother and their dad lost their home.”

“I know. But they’re grown now and doing so
much for themselves. God, Toni, those young men have skins more solid than
steel. Nothing can penetrate them. You know that. They’ve accomplished so much,
too. You can’t keep seeing them as boys, Toni. You have to let go at some point.
All you can do is guide them and offer them your opinion and let them do the
rest.”

“Yes, of course,” he said dismissively.

“Why do I get the feeling that’s not all
that’s bothering you?” Shelly probed perceptively, raising her brow.

“You’re right, my dear. That’s not all
that’s bothering me.”

“Well, what is it then?” she asked softly.

“I just don’t want to see my grandsons
alone, that’s all. I see the way Venus looks at Carl.
 
Just the way Lucy looked at Antonio and
Maxine at Lucas. And of course let’s not forget Zack who’s
more
happy
than he’s ever been now that he’s married to Blue. Marriage is
magical when you’re with the one who would do everything in the world to make
you happy. Someone who loves you for who you are and cherishes you,” he said.

“I agree. Couldn’t have said it better!”
Shelly smiled.

“Venus seems to care so much for Carl and
he doesn’t seem to see it. Or at least, he dismisses it. He’s been…well, hurt
before by a bad relationship with that Nea girl, his first real love, and I
think he finds it hard to trust and lose love again. But life is about taking
chances. That’s what living is—or we’d all be sitting in a closet
withering away.
 
I hope and pray
that he gives Venus a chance.
If nothing else comes out of
this...political game.
I pray that they will at least find love with
each other.”

“I hear you,” Shelly said.

“I mean, look at us. Who would have ever thought
we’d end up together? You worked for me as my nurse, remember?”

“How could I forget?” She grinned. “I’m
still your nurse.”

He chuckled, momentarily. “Well, you know
what I mean. The family didn’t think we’d be good together because of our age
difference and the fact that you were wife number five but the fact remains is
that we gave love a chance.”

“I know,” she said, and she reached over to
him and kissed his cheek.

Toni felt warm inside and patted her arm affectionately.
“I don’t know what I would do without you, Shelly.”

“Probably enjoying a peaceful night sleep
without someone nagging you all the time,” she teased.

Toni grinned. “Yeah, yeah. I just hope that
Carl sees Venus as more than just a meal ticket to a high-profile position.”

“Oh, now stop. You don’t give those boys
much credit sometimes, Toni. You know Carl is a lot more profound than that.”

“I know, I know. But I hope he doesn’t
throw love away. You and I both know that there’s a lot of politics in…politics,
right?”

“Yeah,” she said, “and what are you getting
at?”

“Life can be hard sometimes. Any place in
life worth going, like the road to happiness, is often paved with a lot of
trials and tribulations. It’s not always smooth.”

“I know,” she said, “and having someone by
your side makes it all the more worthwhile and tolerable,” she said, finishing
his sentiment.

“That’s right. You know I’m not going to be
around forever, you know. I’m getting old. I know the boys keep saying that I’m
always nagging them about marriage but marriage is the best partnership a
person can have.”

“Well said, Toni.”

He chuckled. “Well, you know me and
philosophy, right?”

“Yes, and you’re my modern day Aristotle,”
she said, playfully.

“I just hope it really does work out for
Carl and Venus. I don’t know what I would do if it doesn’t work out between
them.”

Carl narrowed his eyes, overcome with shock
and disbelief. The blood drained from his face. “Nadya. Korosokowii?” he echoed
her name.

His gut instinct was right. He’d suspected
something about her but nothing close to this. Not even remotely. This woman
was a complete fraud. An imposter.

He paced by the fireplace in the hotel room
and ran his fingers through his hair, dazed. His heart thumped fierce and hard
in his chest. He felt his blood pressure soar. A humorless chuckle parted from
his lips.

“It isn’t what it looks like, Carl.”

“No?” he said indifferently. “Why did you
lie about who you were on the job application when you came to work for my
family?”

“I…I didn’t,” she denied.

“Oh? But you just told me you’re Nadya
whatever.”

“Yes. I…mean, no. I mean, yes, I am now,”
she stuttered. Carl could see terror in her eyes. There was so much more to
this.
So much more.

“Okay,” he said, trying to sound
more calm
to give this woman a chance to explain herself.
“Do you mind explaining to me what’s really going on, Venus, or rather, Nadya?”

“I…” she got up, wringing her hands, the
sheet tied around her, covering her voluptuous cleavage that hours ago he’d
pleasured.
My goodness.
He’d just
made love to a stranger.

She drew in a deep breath and gazed out at
the window, taking in the city lights in the darkness of the early morning.
The city that never slept.
And it looked as if they would
not be getting any sleep either, any time soon.

“You see, I was born Nadya Kosorokwii and
Tristan was born Niko,” she paused, breathing hard as if overcome with anxiety.

“Are you going to be all right?”

“Yes,” she assured before continuing. “You
see
,
Tristan is not my son. He’s my…my baby brother.”

“What?” Carl rubbed the top of his head.
Shit, this night’s getting crazier by the minute!
“Okay, whoa there.
Your
brother
?
Tristan is your
brother
?”

Well, now it all made sense why that little
kid had her eyes, her nose, her face, and everything about her. They damn well
looked alike.
But not as mother and son.
As sister and
brother. What the hell was going on? What had he gotten himself into, marrying
this woman with the intent of presenting her to the world as his wife?

“Yes.”

“So what about your parents?”

“Well, that’s where it gets complicated.
Oh, Carl. I’m so sorry I…I didn’t tell you but I couldn’t before.”

“Why, Venus…Nadya…or whoever you are?”
Damn! This is all crazy!

“You can call me Venus. Please. That is my
real name,” she said with conviction. “Well, at least now it is.”

“So you changed your name and kidnapped
your brother.”

“No, Carl. I…” Venus drew in a deep breath.
Carl sensed this was difficult for her. He felt sorry for her. No matter who
the hell she really was, he still had real feelings for her. His body could not
deny that. Heck, he couldn’t deny it to himself. But he couldn’t go further
without an explanation. He needed to know what the hell was going on and what
he and she had gotten herself into. The press would have a field day with this
if word ever got out.

“Are you in trouble?” he asked pointedly. Was
she running from someone? Hiding from something?

“No. Yes. I mean
,
I was but not now.”

“Okay, tell me everything, Nad—I
mean, Venus.”

“Okay. My name was Nadya and my brother’s
name was Niko. He is now officially my son.”

“How come?”

“Well, you see, it all started a few years
ago. In Murumba.”

“So that’s where you’re really from. Why did
you tell me Kansas?”

“I had been to Kansas once a long time ago,
so I thought it would be safe to say I’d spent longer than I had actually
stayed there.”

“I see.” His arms remained folded across
his chest; his eyes penetrated her. She was still painstakingly beautiful.
But just a beautiful liar now.

“I had to say that so that your men, your
people around your family could not pinpoint where I’m really from. My parents
were brutally murdered in front of me, and Tristan—but he was just a baby
so he wasn’t aware of it,” she said in a low voice, anger more than sorrow
reflected in her voice and her beautiful dark brown eyes.

“Oh, God! Venus, I’m so sorry. When did
this happen? How?”

“Well, first I will tell you that I had a
part-time job to help make ends meet because my family lived on a substandard income.
My employer, Eduardo Meritos,” she said.

“Wait a minute. That name sounds familiar.
Isn’t he some mob boss?”

She nodded, her eyes downcast. “We didn’t
know what he was about at the time. He offered me a job so that I could help
make ends meet for my family. But then he started…making passes at me. And
well,” she breathed hard.

Carl bowed his head. He didn’t think he
wanted to hear more. Anger seethed inside him mixed with sorrow. He’d kill
anyone who laid a finger on her. “What happened?” his voice was dark, void of
emotion. “Did he…?”