Many Shades of Gray (33 page)

“I don’t have time right now.” He took his ear from the phone. “I’m coming, honey,” he answered. “I have to go to my wife. Harold, you have to take care of this. Make the calls, stop it. If you can’t…” Simon cursed softly. “If you can’t—”

“Yeah, I know. Make it so you’re not connected. Damn it, Simon, you should have listened to me.”

“I know that but I don’t have time to debate with you. I’m about to find out if I’m going to be a father.” He hung up the phone and ran up the stairs two at a time, praying Harold would be able to repair the damage that he’d done.

The moment he stepped into his bedroom Simon was filled with excitement. He hadn’t expected to find Janice waiting nervously, but holding out something and telling him the news.

“What is it?” he asked. “Are we having a baby?”

“I didn’t look. I waited for you.”

He took her hand and together they entered the bathroom as cautiously as if they expected an incendiary device to blow up. He stood a step behind his wife as she picked up the first test strip and waited for her reaction. Joy radiated from every pore as she passed the plastic handle over to him for his inspection. Then like two children they went from one of the pregnancy tests strips that Janice had lining the counters in the bathroom to the next. When they saw the positive signs in all of the test kits Simon grabbed her up in a bear hug and spun her around as she screamed.

“You meant it when you said you’d bought a dozen kits. I thought you were only kidding.”

“I wanted to be sure.”

“Thank you baby,” he said. Thank you God, he murmured in his head. Thank you.

“Simon, no more secrets, okay? No more. We don’t need them. We’re finally going to be a family. I can’t believe it,” Janice said. “I can’t believe it.” Tears filled her eyes and slid down her face. “I love you,” she said. “You’re everything I ever wanted. I trust you with my life and my heart.”

He kissed her with all the love and longing that was in his soul. Inwardly he was cursing his stupidity. He had everything he’d always wanted but because of his temper and his arrogance he now stood to lose it.

* * *

“Congratulations,” Harold said and kissed Janice’s cheek. Then he hugged Simon close. “We need to talk,” he whispered.

Simon pulled away and held the chair out for Janice. “Harold, sit down. You’re the first person we’re sharing our news with. That’s why we invited you to dinner. This isn’t about work.” Simon cautioned him with his eyes. “We don’t need any stress right now. When we leave the restaurant I have the jet waiting. We’re going to pop in and surprise Janice’s parents.”

“Simon, I need to talk with you for a few minutes before you leave. I’m sure your beautiful wife won’t mind.”

“No, but I do,” Simon said and smiled at Janice. “I mind. Business can wait.” Simon knew what Harold wanted to tell him. Things had not been so easy to halt. But at the moment he didn’t want to know what had been happening in the two days since he’d placed the calls. He just wanted to take Janice to her parents and celebrate.

“Those stocks that you wanted me to buy; I couldn’t get what you wanted. I’m sorry.”

Simon sighed, blew out his breath and looked in disappointment at his second in command. “You’re determined to ruin this celebration, aren’t you?” he said and shook his head. “Eat your lobster, Harold. Everything will work out in the end.”

“I don’t think so,” Harold replied quietly as he began eating.

Simon heard him but ignored the words. He would not take this moment from his wife or himself. He’d waited too long for it.

Simon looked at the two-story brick house and smiled. “Why don’t we buy your parents a new home?”

“They wouldn’t accept it,” Janice answered. “But thanks for thinking of them; they love you already. You don’t have to try so hard.”

“You think they’re going to be happy?” he asked, suddenly nervous.

“Of course they’re going to be happy; they’re going to be grandparents.”

“But they already are.”

“Yes, but this is our first baby. Besides, it doesn’t matter with grandparents. They always get excited about a new baby each and every time. Don’t worry, Simon, they’re going to be thrilled.

“Are you going to tell them about my past?”

“I don’t see a need for them to know.”

“Are you ashamed?”

Janice stopped and surveyed her husband. “You really are worried about that, aren’t you? Baby, there is no reason to be. Even if they hated you I would still love you.”

“You think knowing would change how they feel about me?”

“Not one bit. They love you.”

The door opened at that moment. Before she could do any more thinking about it, everyone was all over them, hugging and kissing her—two brothers, her sister, and the horde of nieces and nephews. They had only called her parents a few hours earlier and asked them to get everyone over, that they had a surprise.

“Now for our surprise,” Janice said. Simon was glowing and had his arm around Janice as they stood together in the center of the room.

“You’re going to have a baby,” Carol burst out, unable to contain herself any longer. She ran to hug Simon.

“Yes,” he said. “We’re going to have a baby.” For the next few minutes Simon was swamped with well wishes and with love. A family. Finally he had a family. When they at last went to bed, Simon turned toward Janice in the double bed.“I think we should get one of these.”

“What?”

“A smaller bed. I like being close to you.” He sat up and looked around the purple room. He saw posters of a young Mary Jo dressed in a purple and white cheerleader outfit.

“This is your old bedroom?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Yes, can you believe they have kept all of this junk?”

“I can believe it. I plan on keeping everything connected with our son.”

“What if it’s a girl?”

“Then I will keep every memento of hers with the exception of cheerleader outfits. She won’t have any because I won’t let her wear those skimpy skirts.”

“So you don’t like what I had on?”

“I like it on you, just not for my daughter.” He looked at the white wicker chair with the purple cushion. Then he took another look at the walls. “This room has been freshly painted.”

“They always keep it like this just in case.”

Simon smiled down at her. “Just in case you ever wanted to come home.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you’re going to need this room anymore, do you?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Then tell them that they can repaint it.”

“Does it make you nervous, them having this room for me?”

“A bit, but I also like it. Tell me something. If you like purple so much, why don’t we have anything in our bedroom that’s purple?”

“Mary Jo liked purple.”

“Well, I love Mary Jo and I love Janice, so I’m going to love whatever color the two of you come up with. Want to redecorate?”

“I would, but my deadline was pushed up to a month. That’s the reason I told you we could only stay a day or so. I have to work at least twelve hours a day writing this book until I’m done. I won’t have time to redecorate or anything else. I’m not going to have much time for you either. Is that okay with you?”

Simon had forgotten about changing her deadline and felt a stab of guilt. “Do you want me to call and have that changed?”

“Don’t do that, Simon, please. I’d rather do what I have to do in my career. I know how much behind the scenes help you’ve already given me. Please just let me do this on my own. Actually I’m kind of glad the deadline was advanced. It shows that your money and influence didn’t help. I’m being treated like everyone else. I like the feeling.”

Simon lay back down and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead. “Go to sleep, baby. We’ll leave tomorrow night so you can get some rest before you have to start writing.”

Damn, he thought, like hell my money and influence had nothing to do with her changed schedule. I’ll make it up to her, he thought and pulled her even closer. He’d make sure that the moment the book was released it would go straight to number one on The New York Times list. And that’s another secret I’ll have to keep from her. he thought and groaned. He was raking up a hell of a lot of karmic debt. This time at least he was trying to do it for the right reason.

* * *

“We wish we could stay,” Simon said to his father-in-law, “but Mary Jo has to work on her new book. She has only a month and we need her to get some rest before she starts. She needs a good night’s sleep.”

Simon tilted the can of Miller’s up to his lips, doing what everyone else was doing. Carol had asked if he wanted a glass and had brightened when he’d said no.

“I really have enjoyed myself.” He smiled. “We couldn’t wait to tell you.” He glanced over at Janice, his gaze lingering on her.
What the hell am I doing? She’d forgiven him. Why didn’t he just tell her what he’d done?

At that moment Janice turned and smiled at him and he had his answer. She looked at him with love and with pride and that was the reason he didn’t want to tell her. She wouldn’t be proud of what he’d done. She couldn’t be.

* * *

Janice had been working for three and a half weeks without a break. She didn’t know if she hated the book and the characters she’d created or if she loved them. She’d hardly spent more than an hour or so a night in her husband’s arms and it wasn’t because of his schedule but hers. Another day or so and she could send the book in. Only now she was so tired from writing her eyeballs hurt. She wanted to finish the book and go shopping for maternity clothes and baby furniture. Although she needed neither yet, she wanted to go, but she didn’t have the time.

The buzzer on her timer sounded and she reread the last line she’d written, saved her work and turned off the computer. She’d made an agreement with Simon that she would not work past seven-thirty. In fact, she’d promised and this time she was keeping all promises she made to him.

She’d faxed Tommy weeks before and told him of her schedule change, informing him that her book was due in a month and that she was pregnant. She’d almost ended it there but when she thought of Tommy hitting Simon she’d added, “After what happened, I think it best that you get another high profile African American author. I can’t do it any more.”

* * *

Simon looked at the clock. “Look, I have to go. Janice and I have an agreement that at seven-thirty it’s our time together. I’ll be in the office early tomorrow.”

“How have you managed to keep all of this from her? It’s been all over the news and in the papers. What have you done, locked her in a cave?”

Simon started to laugh until he realized that Harold was partially serious. “Don’t worry,” he reassured him. “This is all Janice’s doing. Whenever she works, she doesn’t like outside stimuli, nothing that could affect her stories. She unplugs the phone, the fax, and she doesn’t read the paper or watch the news. Her not knowing wasn’t my doing.”

“And you didn’t think you should tell her?”

“Listen, when she finishes each day she’s tired. I’m not going to give her any more stress. That’s not what she wants from me.”

“Bull, Simon. You’re only making your hole deeper. God, when it happens, you are going to have a hard fall.”

“Are you hoping that’s what will happen to me?”

“I’m just warning you that you’d better get ready, because she’s not going to stay hidden in a cave forever. You’re manipulating her life and that’s not right. It was one thing when you went digging into her past. I didn’t agree with it but in a way I understood it. I mean, a man with your money needs to make sure what he’s getting into.”

“That’s not why I did it.”

“I know, but everything that’s happened so far, you set in motion. You’re the one who brought Tommy Strong into your life. If you had not invaded her privacy, none of this would have occurred.”

“But good came out of that, Harold. It forced Janice to realize that she loved me.”

“That’s the operative word, isn’t it, forced?”

Harold was clicking his tongue and it was driving Simon crazy. “I had to know.”

“Why did you go behind her back and interfere in her career?”

“You know why I did that. I didn’t want her working with Tommy.”

“She’s going to be pissed when she finds out how you’ve been manipulating her. And the bookstores, she’s been working so hard to save them, and you’ve gone and destroyed them.”

“I’m trying to make up for that. I’m in negotiations with Eric Warren to buy the rights back from him.”

“He’s a rotten bastard. He’s not going to sell them back to you. He thinks you see gold in them and he’s not budging. Couldn’t you have picked someone else to do your dirty work? Why didn’t you just have me do it?”

“Would you have?”

“If you had ordered me to do it.”

“And what would you have thought about my ordering you?”