Dipping Into Sin (a BWWM Alpha Male Romance) (11 page)

T
his is the fucking eighth time that S.S. has called his phone.
Each time S.S. called, Andriano would look at his screen and press ignore. After a while, he put his phone on silent and put his phone face down on the kitchen counter.
His phone lit up each time a text message came through. But, he conveniently disabled the feature to prevent text messages from appearing on the screen. Rather, the name of the texter appeared.
He’s getting smarter
, I thought, as I became familiar with his methods of concealing the identity of endless flings.
Great, he’s going to the bathroom.
Looking down at his sleek black phone, I thought of all the possible passwords that I could use to unlock his phone.

While in Milan, I received a few alarming newsflashes about Andriano’s shiftiness. One thing that’s puzzling is his latest whore that he’s been running around with. It is some nobody—a black girl at that—who is occupying his time.
Hmm, that’s a first.
The reports even indicated that he stopped fucking his usual sidepieces since getting with this girl. I mean, who the fuck is she? I ordered my informant to send me pictures and a bio-sketch of this bitch. Lucky for me, he knows Andriano personally
.
In fact, he’s the last person who Andriano would suspect was ratting him out.

This girl is definitely going to be trouble. Apparently, she’s been in and out of his building all hours of the day and night. He even had the audacity to arrange a rooftop dinner for her. As much as I wanted to storm through his front door this morning, I chose the latter. I kept my composure intact when I remembered that we’re getting married. He promised that he would end all of flings and honor our matrimonial vows.

To be honest, I’m fine with his casual flings, for now. Andriano was always honest, for the most part, about all of the women he fucked. I would ask, and he would tell me the truth. Taking heed to his honesty, I paid close attention to the pattern of his flings over the past three years. They never lasted past a month. But, this time was different. My gut feeling knew this to be true.
No way is this merely a casual fling.

For his and her sake, it better not be Victoria’s friend. Her friend had cleaned up well when I saw her at the Christmas party. Earlier that day, my sister and I saw her, Victoria, and Kate Spillmore at the perfume boutique. She’s definitely not from money or status, as she meekly looked at the perfume bottles. She looked pathetic, almost like a peasant among us at that moment in time. I can’t say that I felt bad for her, but I knew that she shouldn’t be among us.

I saw the way Andriano feasted his eyes on her at the Christmas party. Still, there was no comparison between her and I. Together, Andriano and I are the perfect star-studded couple. I proved that when I walked over to him and kissed his cheek tenderly instead of sticking around to be introduced to her. Mother always said that we should remain unbothered by the meaningless things.

His phone lit up again with an incoming call from the infamous
S.S.
Taking this opportunity, I hastily answer his phone. A female’s voice was on the other end. When she asked who I was, I was ready to remind the whore of her position in Andriano’s life. But, I heard footsteps trail into the kitchen, and I instantly ended the phone call. Instead of Andriano coming into the kitchen, it was his darling little sister Katerina. I missed my opportunity to confront the whore.

Later that night, on the way to the city, I seductively asked Andriano to take me out. He seemed hesitant, and that’s when I knew that he had changed. After a moment of silence, I got straight to the point, “Who is S.S.?”

“My maid,” he said straightforwardly.

“Does she clean your house or clean your cock?” I asked. Even
I
knew that I overstepped that line. We never argued about anything, and I never used profanity around a man period. Yet, I was angry and maybe jealous.
No, fuck that, I’m not jealous
.

“Watch your fucking mouth,” he said sternly. I admit, Andriano’s temper is a total turn on.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I saw that S.S. called a few times while we were at your parent’s house,” I said softly.

“Like I told you, she’s my maid,” he said nonchalantly.

“Fire her, or else…” I said quietly.

Stopping short at a green light, Andriano put the car in park and turned to look at me despite people beeping their horns behind us. “Are you threatening me?” he asked, as his eyes filled up with darkness.

Shaking my head no, I sat in fear of what would occur next. He simply repositioned his body, shifted the car out of park, and took the red light. I was able to retain my normal breathing again after a few minutes.

“We’re going to
The Land
tonight. I don’t want you to worry about my maid. Josephine, you’re more important than any other woman in the world because you’re going to be my wife. You want her fired…fine…consider it done,” he said.

A smile of satisfaction emerged, as I felt I had been successful in putting an end to our problem. I should really tell my informant that he doesn’t have to send me any additional documents because it’s handled.
On second thought…maybe not.

“D
id you get it?” Victoria asked as she lay on the hospital bed of her private room in the alcohol and drug abuse recovery unit.

She looked so much better as each day passed. I opted to stay with her until she was cleared for release tomorrow. After watching Andriano hand in hand with Josephine, I decided to grab some extra clothes and stay with Victoria while she recovered. Her family seemed to be very pleased, as they did not protest. Finals were over, and I had already registered for next semester. The Spillmores encouraged me to spend the summer with them. Mrs. Spillmore planned out our whole summer to be filled with spas, retreats, and trips to the Caribbean. In the midst of everything that occurred over the past couple of weeks and the recent occurrences of Andriano’s deception, I didn’t realize that I was late. I attributed my nausea and fatigue to being overworked and depressed.

Victoria sat up on the bed and ate the creamy shrimp fettuccine alfredo pasta dish that I purchased from the Italian restaurant across from the hospital. For the past two days, I could not eat anything, and the smell of her food made me nauseous. This morning, I could not contain my vomit as I ran into the bathroom. After a moment or so, Victoria asked me if I had gotten my period. I looked at her confused and then pulled out my phone and checked my period tracker app.

“I’m two weeks late,” I said in a low whisper.

“I really think that you should take a test just to be sure,” she said.

I left the hospital and walked to the nearest drug store and purchased a pregnancy test. When I entered Victoria’s hospital room, she stood up and asked me if I bought the test. With a simple nod, I walked into the bathroom and took the test. For two minutes, Victoria and I stared from afar at the pregnancy test on her window sill. I walked over to the test after two minutes and held onto the stick for a few seconds before I looked down. A small squeal was followed by tears that slid down my cheeks in response to the positive reading. Victoria flew over to my side and looked down at the test. She held me, as I cried on her shoulder.

S
imone is ignoring me
; I came to terms with the unfortunate reality after four days of calling her non-stop. According to James, she took a week off from work for personal reasons. Feeling inclined to search for her, I walked onto Simone’s campus into the first dormitory building and demanded that the young Asian male Resident Assistant release Simone’s dorm room information. I went as far as calling big mouth Victoria, but she did not answer. Overwhelmed with panic, I feared the worst. The last time that I spoke to her was four days ago before I left with Josephine that morning. I spent most of that day watching my family express adoration over Josephine. They thought that she was a perfect addition to our large family. When Simone started calling, I had to forward all my phone calls to voicemail to avoid any suspicion. By the time I looked down at my phone after Sunday dinner, I saw that she called multiple times and sent numerous text messages. Everything pissed me off, from the employees to Josephine and my family. The date was approaching for me to propose to Josephine, and all I felt like doing was calling it off and searching for the woman who became my heartbeat.

After two weeks of searching for her, I returned to the campus dorms, with all intentions of beating the truth out of the first Resident Assistant that I saw. However, upon arriving at the first and second dormitory buildings, I was informed that all of the dorms were vacant for the summer. As I sat in my office at
The Land
, I stared at my glass cup that was filled up with Scotch. After a moment of thinking, I locked my office door and walked over to the wall that had the door size picture frame and pulled it off of the wall. Behind the picture was a fingerprint and voice command code. Unlocking the first set of locks, I waited for the secret door to open. As I walked into the room, I headed straight to the walk-in vault that was embedded in the wall. Unlocking the vault with the thirteen-digit code, I entered the vault that was both bullet proof and fire proof. I had twenty of these unique vaults and memorized all twenty different thirteen-digit codes. Three of these vaults were in New York, and the rest were scattered across the United States and in Italy. Each vault had guns, jewelry, burner phones, a bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a few hundred thousand dollars. Grabbing the manila folder that was on my bed, I walked out and locked up the vault. Now sitting at my desk, I looked through the file in search of any clues as to where she could have possibly gone.

I called her mother first, only to find out she was interning at some company in Manhattan, and they provided room and board for her for the whole summer. I had Lucas look into the networks to verify the story while I called her grandmother in North Carolina. The pleasant elderly lady claimed to have spoken to her earlier that morning and said she was fine. Complying with my requests for information at first, she then asked me about my intentions with her granddaughter.
She must have told her grandmother about
us, I thought, as I tried to figure out a way to answer honestly. Grudgingly, I answered all of her questions without mentioning the forthcoming of our breakup. We ended up being on the phone for thirty minutes talking about Simone. Somehow, it felt refreshing to express my feelings for Simone to her grandmother.

After two hours of waiting, Lucas called back and told me that he couldn’t find anyone by the name of Simone Sinn in any intern info database. He proceeded to give me the rundown of her most recent activities based on her bank account activity. Her bank statements revealed that she withdrew the whole $200,000 in small increments of $25,000 in a time frame of eight days. As of yesterday, her account balance is $5,500. Her phone records indicated that she spent five minutes on the phone with James, her employer. He revealed that she had extended her leave of absence from work for another week.

“Have you heard anything?” I asked when Lucas’s number appeared on my phone screen a day later.

“Yes, she actually just walked into your building with a large duffle bag. What do you need me to do?” he asked like a man on a mission.

“Stall her. Make sure that she does not leave my building,” I instructed before I ended the call and walked out of
The Land
. Less than ten minutes later, I arrived at my building and bypassed everyone without my usual greeting. Racing against time, I punched the elevator walls as if that was going to be able to speed up the trip to my floor. Just as the elevator doors parted, Simone and I came face to face. Walking out of the elevator, I pulled her body to mine and kissed her as if her lips alone could kill the agony of being away from her. She melted into my body after a moment of resistance. Our kiss ended abruptly after we both heard a man clearing his throat.

“Oh, um, I just uh…left a note. This man said that he knows you and told me that you would be here soon. But, I have some errands to run,” she said awkwardly, as she freed her body from my hold. She attempted to walk around me, but I stretched my arm out to block her entrance onto the elevator.

“This is my business associate. We had a meeting scheduled right now—but, uh, we are going to, unfortunately, have to reschedule our meeting,” I said, as I turned to Lucas and shook his hand. “My deepest apologies.”

“That’s alright, I can come back. Please don’t cancel your meeting for me. Just let me know what time you would like me to be back here,” Simone said with much regret, as she turned towards me and Lucas.

“No worries, I will be on my way. I’ll reschedule with your assistant,” said Lucas, in his best attempt to come off more as a nonchalant businessman and less of a cold-blooded former Naval Intelligence officer who’s now contracted to work for my family.

He walked onto the elevator before Simone could protest.

L
ooking down at the large black duffle bag that was now on the floor, Andriano reached for the bag and threw it over his shoulder. He turned to look at me when he realized just how heavy the bag was.

“What is in here,
bella mia
?”

Ignoring his question, I walked ahead towards the entrance of his apartment and waited for him to unlock the door. As we entered his loft and walked into his bedroom, I suddenly regretted not having this conversation in a public place. He dropped the bag on the floor of his bedroom and reached for me to embrace me in a hug.

“I missed you so much,” he began, as he stretched his arms out.

“Andriano, I’m pregnant,” I said straightforwardly.
There’s no reason to beat around the bush with his cheating ass
, I almost said out loud, as I remained stiff in his arms. Andriano’s arms dropped to his sides, as he turned away from me. He crossed over to the other side of the room and started pacing slowly while he rubbed his index finger across his bottom lip.

“You have to get an abortion, Simone,” exclaimed Andriano after a long moment of silence.

Shocked with disbelief at his bluntness, I rubbed the back of my hand on both eyes as suddenly tears started streaming down my cheeks.
After eight months of us being together…really?

I frowned at his insensitive statement. “An abortion, Andriano? That is the first thing that you tell me?” Truthfully, I half expected a different reaction—a reaction that was more along the lines of a conversation about our options. Instead, he demanded that I get an abortion.

“Simone, right now is not a good time. I already have a lot going on with my businesses, the pressure from my family, my father’s health…” Andriano began with his 101 excuses. He became unrecognizable as he searched for excuses. Throughout our eight months together, he always seemed upstanding and responsible. But then again, his true colors started to come out over the past few weeks.

“What does that have to do with you taking care of your responsibilities and your obligations to me? Grow the fuck up; you’re twenty-six years old,” I interjected, as I threw both hands in the air in defeat.

“Simone, I’m so sorry. Please try to understand my position on this. Besides…you’re in school and have your whole life ahead of you. Everything will change if you have this baby.”

“You mean everything will change between me and you …” I said while staring into Andriano’s eyes. His silence proved his answer, as he failed to deny my statement.

“Fuck…I should have known better. Don’t fucking worry about this problem of
ours
—I will correct it,” I raged, and storming out of his bedroom and heading towards the front door.

“Simone, please…” Andriano said as he grabbed my arm with enough firmness and pressure to restrain me without being painful.

“What more do you have to discuss with me? Don’t worry, I will get an abortion,” I said, as I attempted to yank my arm from his grasp. After a moment of looking at me, he released his hold and took a step back. He walked towards the direction of his office and came back after a few minutes with a stack of cash.

“Will $5,000 be enough?” he simply asked.

Mortified, I looked at him with utter disgust. I knew at that moment that our relationship would change forever.
“No, I will take care of it. It is my problem. So, I will pay for it,” I said.

“Baby, this is our problem and we will get through this together. Please let me pay,” said Andriano tenderly stroking my cheek.

“Fine, I will let you know how much the procedure is,” I said, as I ignored his hand.

“Why haven’t you been at work?” he asked suspiciously.

Thinking quickly of an excuse, I said, “Morning sickness and cramping.” Embracing my stiff body into a hug, Andriano began rubbing my back and planted soft kisses in the middle of my head. “I’m so sorry,
bella mia
, I should’ve been here for you,” he said, holding me tighter.

“I have to go,” I said, as I forcefully pushed my body away from his hard chest.

“Why? You just got here,
bella mia
. Please don’t leave,” he said in a panic.

“I’ll be back later. I just have to handle some things with financial aid at my school. The office is going to close in an hour,” I lied, as I looked down at my watch in order to solidify my story.

“My driver will drop you off and wait for you,” he said, as he pulled out his cell phone and made the arrangement.

“Can you keep my duffle bag here until I get back?” I asked as I spied the duffle bag that was filled with his money. I had no intention of returning back to Andriano’s loft. This relationship was over, and I intended to stay clear of him.