“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
He felt tears spring to his eyes. Was that true? Were those words true? Was that how she truly felt about him? Had he taken her sunshine away? He knew for a fact that his sunshine was now gone.
He didn’t want to deal with this now. He had some business to sort out first. He composed himself and made the call to Fred Hammond.
Fred Hammond’s voice came over. “Hello.”
“Fred, it's Robert Cortelli.”
“Robert. How have you been?”
“Fine. Yourself?”
“Pretty good. I hope you’re calling with good news.”
“It depends on your point of view, I suppose. Anyway, I called to say I appreciate the fact that you’re willing to make changes to the script, but I’ve decided to turn down the movie. You’re going to have to find someone else.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for several beats.
“Well, if that’s how you feel, there’s nothing we can do. Contracts have been prepared, but nothing has been signed. There was just an understanding. The buzz to the press has been that you will be our star, but we’ll put out a statement that for personal reasons you won’t be doing the project anymore. We’ll find someone else, don’t worry.”
Robert didn’t think it necessary to point out that he wasn’t worried.
“All the best to you, Robert. If you ever change your position, we’ll be happy to work with you in the future.”
“Thanks for understanding, Fred.”
Now to Sandy. Robert was about to call him, but his hand stilled. No. He would meet with Sandy. Some things were best said in person.
~*~*~*~
Sandy Brown tapped and swiped his phone frantically. Where was that photo? Where had it gone? Today was D-day and in an attempt to prepare himself for the slim possibility that Dana Dickson would not keep up her part of the bargain and to remind her of what she had to lose he was going to send her the photo.
Except, he could no longer find it on his phone.
In agitation, he searched his brain. Had he saved it somewhere else? No, he hadn’t. He’d intended to but after Robert’s accident and all the drama and uncertainty about his health the whole business had been pushed to the back of his mind.
He searched his gallery of photos. Then he thought of the photo he had sent via WhatsApp to Robert. He had entered a code to block his number from showing up and then sent the photo to him. He launched the app and searched in his contacts for Robert’s number.
He had sent Robert Cortelli so many messages in the last few weeks, messages that had gone unanswered too, that he had to scroll up quite a bit. Then quite suddenly the chain came to an abrupt end. He stared at the screen agog. There was no history of a single message being sent to Robert Cortelli prior to the accident. No. It was impossible.
Cold sweats broke out over his face. This couldn’t be. He had sent the man a photo. The message couldn’t just disappear into thin air like that. He felt like smashing the phone to pieces. Technology was such a nuisance; so unpredictable and unreliable.
He desperately searched his brain for a plausible explanation. Then it dawned on him. A few days ago he’d gone over to his sister’s house for dinner and then caught one of her annoying kids, a five-year-old, with his phone. He had snatched it away and then discovered later that the destructive little monster had somehow taken out the memory card. Was it possible that this had caused a glitch?
He thought about how to handle this. He’d have to just bluff with Dana Dickson. He’d send her a message right now to let her know he was serious and awaiting Robert’s response. Let her simmer and stew.
He had halfway composed the message when his secretary buzzed him. He depressed the intercom button.
“Yes, Rose.”
“Mr. Brown, Robert Cortelli is here to see you,” she said breathlessly.
Sandy’s fingers hovered over his phone. “Um, let him come.”
He locked the screen on his phone and stood as Robert Cortelli was ushered in by his star-struck secretary. She was probably one of Robert’s most adoring fans. Sandy was still yet to fathom why a 50-something-year-old woman could be going gaga about a guy in his thirties who was so far out of her league it wasn’t funny.
He refocused and flashed the megastar a smile. It was a genuine smile. He really was happy to see Cortelli. He no doubt had news to brighten his day. Why else would Robert Cortelli come all the way across town to see him? In fact, come to think of it, in all the years he had represented the man, he could count on one hand the times he’d come to see him. He’d always been the one to visit Robert, not the other way around. He had been happy to do it too. After all, Cortelli was his biggest client. Due to a percentage from his films alone he had accumulated a nice little nest egg.
Sandy hopped around his desk with an outstretched hand.
“How have you been, buddy? Today is the day for the response to Silverline. Did you want to discuss it with me before you called? ‘Cause I’ve actually been thinking that I should negotiate for more money. After all, they clearly want you badly if they are willing to make changes to the script.”
He hurried back over to his seat while Robert took a seat opposite him.
“I called Fred already,” Cortelli said.
Sandy’s elbows remained in midair over the arm rest in surprise.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I turned down the film.”
Sandy could feel the blood drain from his face.
“You what?” he blurted out. “But Robert…”
“And I came here to tell you in person that I’m firing you.”
“What!?”
“Yes, you heard me.”
“But…no…I…”
“How dare you threaten my wife? How dare you try to pull my strings and manipulate me into making a self-serving decision? What kind of person are you?”
“I was just trying to help your career. I…”
“Spare me. I’m not fooled for a minute by your lies. Not anymore. It’s like I’ve been blind all these years but the scales are now off, and I see you for the snake you really are. To think that you’d do something like that to me, to my family. And you call yourself a Christian.”
“Listen, your wife is an adulterous tart, and you should thank me...”
Sandy stopped because he could see Robert Cortelli’s hands ball into fists. He gulped as his heart thundered in his chest.
“Thank you? What she did is between her and me. It’s none of your business. I want to see that photo.”
Sandy swallowed several times. Robert Cortelli looked very dangerous right now, like some deranged Mafioso.
“Um…look, Robert, I’m sure you’re right. It was a mistake. Let’s forget the whole thing ever happened.”
Cortelli resembled a cobra poised to spring into action.
“I said I want to see the photo you showed my wife!”
“I don’t have it on this phone. It’s on another device,” Sandy lied in a shrill voice as he ran his sweaty palms down his pants legs.
“Another device? What other device?”
“Look, I sent it to you months ago. Check your phone.”
Sandy couldn’t believe that a few minutes ago he’d been happy to see Cortelli. Now he would give anything to get him out of his office.
“My…What are you talking about?”
Robert leaned forward abruptly, splaying both palms on Sandy’s desk. Sandy jerked backward.
“When you were in Switzerland I was at a dinner party. I saw her and Corey Elsom, you know…” he cast a furtive look at Cortelli, not sure how the guy would react to what he was about to say, “…kissing. My first instinct was to alert you. I felt that it was something a man should know. You had the accident the same day so maybe you never saw it. I don’t know. If you still have that phone che
ck a WhatsApp message from me.”
“I don’t have the phone. It may have slipped out of my pocket or something during the fall. In any case, Dana said she told my cell phone provider to wipe the phone remotely in case it fell into the wrong hands.”
“I see…”
Sandy observed how Robert Cortelli’s whole countenance changed.
“I remember. I remember what happened. I got the photo on my phone. Someone sent me that picture.” His eyes slammed into Sandy’s. “It was you. It was just before the stunt. That’s what distracted me. What made me miss my target. It was you.”
“Me…I…” Sandy mumbled. Now Cortelli was trying to blame him for his accident as if he was the one who’d told him to do a stunt when he knew he was distracted. This was like a snowball getting bigger as it tumbled downhill.
Sandy was so sure that Cortelli would attack him his eyes darted to the door. He measured the distance and knew there was no way he could outrun the super-fit actor.
He took a shuddering breath and looked back at Cortelli. He was about to attempt to talk his way out of his predicament, as he had done countless times before, when he noticed, with astonishment, Cortelli’s facial expression. He didn’t seem enraged any longer. He seemed…relaxed.
“Sandy, I must confess to you that I came here with the intention of threatening to expose everything I know about you if you released that photo of my wife.”
“Everything you know about me?” Sandy heard his heartbeat thudding in his own ears.
“It so happens that a client of yours recently revealed something to a friend of mine. Things she found out about you when she was dating you. It seems as though you got rather soused one night and started blurting out a few things you shouldn’t have, like misrepresenting your income on your tax form, putting your home in your mother’s name to avoid paying taxes, claiming a non-existent dependent, stuff like that. You may not be aware of this but my brother, Nicholas, works with the IRS and from what I understand tax evasion is a serious offense, which can be punishable by imprisonment.
“God has spoken to my heart, though, and I see that threatening you just makes me the same as you. Not a better man. Vengeance is mine says the Lord, so I leave you to Him. He will deal with you as he sees fit. Do whatever you want with that photo. Before I leave, though, I feel compelled to remind you, Sandy, that there is a God above who loves you and whose deepest desire is that you come into relationship with him. I’ve taken stock of my life and made changes. I encourage you to do the same. Goodbye.”
Sandy didn’t respond. He barely noticed when Robert Cortelli left the room. Dana Dickson had called his bluff and confessed to her husband, who in turn had fired him. Now this talk about tax evasion. How had his life taken such a tragic turn? Maybe he’d better transfer all his assets to a Swiss bank account and then move to that country. He heard Zurich was a nice place. Because even if Cortelli didn’t go to the IRS, the information was clearly floating around out there and at some point one of his spiteful enemies could use it against him.
~*~*~*~
Robert sat in the last pew of a church in Santa Monica, bent over, his head in his hands.
“Lord, I’m here now. I’m asking for you to help me. I feel so betrayed by my wife, Lord. I love her, but I’m hurting so badly. How could she? How can I forgive her for this and move on?”
With clarity, a buried memory became unearthed. He’d been dishonest with Dana, and when she’d confronted him, he’d asked for her forgiveness. She’d asked him how many times she would have to keep forgiving him. He had said seventy times seven. He remembered it now like it was yesterday. He felt as though God was saying to him, “How can I forgive you, Robert, if you aren’t willing to forgive others?”
Tears flowed down his cheeks. “Forgive me, Lord. I’ve been so hateful and so unreasonable. Please forgive me. I’ve accused Dana of things I knew in my heart weren’t true. She didn’t sleep with Corey. I know she’s not a liar. I believe her.”
~*~*~*~
Dana and the children were having dinner. She felt at peace somehow. That praying and partially fasting the previous day with Heather had strengthened her spirit. She now felt revived. She trusted God. She knew that he was the God of second chances. He was the restorer, the healer. He would bring some miracle to heal her marriage.
It was for this reason, perhaps, that when Dana saw Robert appear in the living room with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, she wasn’t entirely surprised.
The kids screamed excitedly and scrambled to greet him as if he’d been gone for months, not days.
She remained glued to her seat and watched him warily. When he came over to present the flowers and then almost shyly pressed a kiss to her cheek, she tried not to react. She graciously acknowledged his gesture and left the room under the pretense of placing the flowers in water. But really she was looking for an excuse to gather her composure and not get too excited by his presence or its implications. She leaned against the kitchen sink and pressed a hand to her heart.
“Are you alright, Dana?” she heard Robert ask. Before she could respond, she felt his arms come around her shoulders. She turned abruptly. His face was inches from hers. Concern flowed from his espresso-colored eyes.
She nodded.
He searched her face and then brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he nodded.
“You do look better than when I last saw you…How are things with…” he trailed off here as he caught her look.
The last words he’d spoken to her two days ago sprang to mind, and her gaze instantly dropped to the floor. He sighed deeply. “Can we talk?”
She nodded. “Sure, but let me put the kids to bed first.”
“I’ll help.”
After they had successfully negotiated with the children for only a few pages of a story, walked them to their individual rooms, tucked them in and closed the last bedroom door, Robert and Dana went to their bedroom.
She sat in a corner of the couch and folded her arms over her chest as she watched him through her lashes. He didn’t join her on the couch. He sat on the vanity chair several feet away. She felt the Spirit telling her to be still. She was through trying to defend herself and make Robert understand. She wasn’t going to beg and plead with him to forgive her or grovel at his feet. Her heart was breaking, she loved him so much, but she had to maintain her dignity.
He looked down at his shoes. Then he gradually pulled his eyes up to meet hers.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
She started. She had almost expected more accusations. His words were as surprising as the tears she saw glistening in his eyes. She unfolded her arms, unsure what to say.
“Sorry for what?” she asked tentatively.
“For the horrible things I said to you. Beginning with my accusations about you and Corey. You told me you only kissed him that one time and that you were sorry. Do you want to tell me what happened now?”
“Are you sure?”
“No. But I think I need to hear it.”
“Well, it happened when you were filming The List. The night before you left you promised me we’d talk about your frequent absences but when I woke you were gone. I was still angry at you. I felt alone and abandoned. Then, I went to the benefit dinner that night, and Corey was there. I drank a few glasses of wine, and I guess it loosened my inhibitions. He seemed so attentive and so into me. It probably fed my ego and also made me feel valued and desirable. When he kissed me, I didn’t resist at first. I returned his kiss. But after a while, I realized it was wrong. It felt so wrong. Everything in me cried out against it, rejected it. He wasn’t you. His lips weren’t yours, and it just felt wrong. I pushed him away. I know he didn’t mean for it to happen either. He didn’t plan it. But we made some mistakes which I see now. Mistakes I’ll never make again. Like I didn’t protect my marriage enough. The time I spent with him when you were away wasn’t sensible. I didn’t acknowledge the risks.”
&nb
sp; Robert seemed to digest this information for a while. Then he took a deep breath.
“I was to blame for abandoning you and leaving you feeling so lonely that you gravitated to that kind of relationship with Corey.”
“Don’t make excuses for me, Robert. I’ve come to see that the problem wasn’t you. It was me and my relationship with God. God should have been number one in my life, not you. Because I had given you that position when you weren’t living up to expectations, I turned to someone else. I should have turned to God. I made wrong choices, and I paid the price. Unfortunately, you also suffered.”
Robert stared down at his shoes. Eventually, he looked up and met Dana’s eyes.
“I need to beg your forgiveness for my comment about the father of our child. I was being spiteful. I should have been celebrating that amazing news with you, but instead, I was busy trying to make you feel as awful as I did.”
He stood and closed the gap between them and fell on his knees before her.
“Oh, baby. I love you with all my heart. Can you ever forgive me for being the absentee husband, for putting my career first so many times, for being so blind I didn’t see the treasure in front of me?”
“Bobby, I will. I do. But I need you to also forgive me for what happened with Corey and for not telling you sooner.”
“I have already forgiven you, and I promise not to count it against you. If God can cast my sins into the deepest sea who am I to do less.”
Dana held her husband’s face in her hands and caressed it.
“Thank you. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I was so afraid you’d leave me if you found out or never trust me again. I was such a coward.”
Second Chance: A Christian Romance (Royals Book 2) Page 30
