by JJ Giles
“I’m sorry,” Brian whispered. Filled with hopelessness, he handed them to his father.
Greedily, Jerry grabbed them to turn to the last page to see them signed by Cheryl and witnessed by Brian. Impossible bitch. Yet, internally, he enjoyed a sigh of relief. And he knew Brian had been through hell with his mother, The Keeper of the Keys. “Brian, I’m sorry. I see how twisted this has you. That she would use you to send them to me...”
“Did she ever love us?” His voice was dull and void of emotion which made Jerry feel as if he held an uninhabited human body in his arms.
Jerry hesitated. To offer anything other than the truth would be a disservice to his son right now. “Honestly, Brian, I don’t know. What the woman feels in her heart is beyond my capacity to understand. Personally, I don’t think she’s ever felt anything but contempt for me. What she feels for you I don’t know.”
“I do and it feels like contempt. Like I’ve been nothing but a pain in her ass since the day I was born. I don’t know how you’ve lived like that.”
Ah, so Cheryl had used Brian these last few months as she had Jerry the entire length of their marriage. Her private whipping horse. That it was over for Jerry now was a relief but Brian was suffering badly.
“I’m sorry, Brian. I don’t know if my mother ever loved me or not, either. The only woman that ever truly cared for me was Molly.”
Molly. Their nanny, Brian thought bitterly. But Brian had the love of one incredible woman finally, a woman he walked out on in favor of a misguided notion that his mother needed him. That his mother would reveal him. That Morgan would reject him if she knew who he was.
But Morgan fell in love with his father, one of those prep school-yacht club-Billionaire Boy brats she so detested. That Brian had been so totally wrong about Morgan at every turn shamed him to his deepest darkest heart. That Morgan was a switch made him cringe to think what they had had in common and lost.
“It’s worse than that,” Brian whispered.
Jerry felt a current of fear strike at his heart. “Okay. Tell me everything and together we’ll fix it.”
Brian’s face contorted into mask of tragedy. He reached into his shirt this time, his tears flowing as freely as snow melt over a cliff as he retrieved a pure white vellum envelope and handed it to his father.
Curiously, Jerry opened it and pulled out another. A wedding invitation, obviously. He opened the second envelope and narrowed his eyes to focus on the black raised lettering without glasses. He smiled a little.
Mr. Jerome Bryant Alexander Abernathy VI
and
Ms. Morgan McCrory McFaye
He convulsed in pain to read the second name. A wrecking ball suddenly slammed into him and forced him off the sofa into the room. His guts curled into knots, the cramps impossible to fend off. Aimlessly, he staggered to the liquor cabinet and splashed bourbon over the surface finally hitting the glass. Without hesitation, he tipped it back and drank it down.
For a long moment Jerry hung on the edge, his weight supported only by the strength of his arms. Morgan, he cried inside himself, listening to his son’s muffled sobs in the distance. Morgan. Tears dripped from his eyes and he poured another glass and choked on it.
Everything Morgan had told him, everything Brian had said...the ten years of their relationship, his elegance, her viciousness all returned with vengeance to crush his heart. Breathless with the ache in his heart, he remembered that ring. Not just anyone could afford that ring. Her assessment of her lover’s emotional immaturity cut like a blade.
How stupid he had been, how fucking stupid...and selfish when all the signs were there. Oh God, he prayed to feel such debilitating trembling devour him.
Slowly, Jerry turned, shaking violently, unable to retain the bourbon in the glass. Brian was curled on the sofa, unable to quit crying, his face buried in his hands. How stupid he had been to not realize she spoke of Brian. But why the hell would Brian give him Morgan’s e-mail address in the first place? “Brian, what the hell are you thinking, son?”
Just as violently as his father, Brian shook. Slowly, he peered up. “I don’t know, Dad. The woman I’ve lived with, loved, served, coddled, adored, played with, fucked and loved won’t marry me. Apparently, I’m not what she wants. Quite obviously, you are.”
“Why would say that?”
“I stopped in to see you last night. You were in the cleaning room, but it was Morgan on your chain.” Again, he burst into tortured weeping.
Jesus. Quickly, Jerry rushed to his son. With an irresistible force, Jerry held to him while he sobbed, while he expressed everything Jerry felt at the moment. To have Brian back in his life was what he wanted so desperately for ten years. To have a woman like Morgan was what he wanted all of his life. But he couldn’t have them both and he too, broke out with the pain of that.
Why...why, oh God, why, did Brian wait until today to tell him this? Why couldn’t it have been last week? The day before yesterday? Even a moment before he made love to her last night would have been soon enough for Jerry to walk away. Why not when he was still in the cleaning room and she was still a submissive hanging from his chains? But now that he had had her the way he wanted her and found that she wanted him...why?
“Dad, she doesn’t know who I am. She thinks I’m Brian Alexander.”
Jerry’s mouth dropped open to stare in horror. “Oh, Brian, I understand now. Morgan must have told you to bring your mom home because she was getting beat up and you couldn’t do that because your mother would have told her you’re Brian Abernathy.”
“Yeah.”
“And you never told her you’re Brian Abernathy because of your family’s reputation.”
“Yeah.”
Yet a sudden anger broke loose in him and thrust him off the sofa. The bitch disciplined my son, he thought. My son surrendered to her. And what the fuck was her problem that she wouldn’t marry him? Ah, but he knew, didn’t he? “Did you ever tell her that your father beats your mother?”
Sadly, Brian nodded. “We talked about it often. We had that in common.”
Defeated and deflated Jerry fell beside Brian. Without will, he grabbed Brian’s cigarettes and lit one. Eight years since he had a heart attack and last night was the first he smoked again. Yet he pulled the cigarette out of the pack and lit it. A Virginia Slim. Morgan’s assessment that her lover’s masculinity was so assured that he could smoke her cigarettes without feeling belittled by them. Brian’s masculinity was intact, all the while his foundered on a distant shore all of his life.
“Good Lord, Brian, why did you give me her name?”
His father’s reaction was plain. Jerry was in love with Morgan. But he also understood that Jerry wouldn’t be so torn up about it if Jerry didn’t love him.
“I’m sorry, Dad. When I saw mom so fucked up again, something in me just snapped. I’ve never been able to fix it. Not even me being away for ten years fixed it. I wanted Morgan to fix it like she fixed me.”
“Oh, Brian.” He started to sob again as he peered up at the portrait of his devastatingly beautiful witch, Morgan le Fey. The real Morgan le Fey he’d spent Brian’s youth spinning tales about the succubus of his dreams. The witch who could cure anything by the very gaze of those green Gaelic eyes.
“There was nothing to fix, son.” Once again the errors of Jerry’s life were thrown at him again. The tragedies and the pain and Brian had taken those very things unto himself and blamed himself.
“Mom’s gone.”
“What do you mean?”
“She left for France last night, Dad. I went home ready to commit suicide and she came into your room ranting about how all of this was my fault. That you and Morgan are getting married. Even Alex said it’s my fault. She was knocked up with me. Threw the papers at me and told me she hopes me and my father rot in hell.”
“Brian, this is not your fault.”
“Then whose fault is it? And why the hell didn’t you tell me you’re not my real father? Why the hel
l did I have to hear it from her!?”
The weight of that simply collapsed on Jerry as if a mountain suddenly crumbled. But it was only his son’s weight fallen over him and Jerry wrapped around him with undeniable strength. Held his son in his arms, cradled in his arms as always he was until life, and Jerry’s grief separated them.
“God, I’m so sorry,” Jerry pleaded.
Quickly, Brian backed away but he didn’t stand. “But you still love me?”
“Brian, more than anything. Even Morgan.”
Brian shook his head as if to clear the buzz after a blow. “She doesn’t want me. Not good enough for her and the pain in that is still intense.” Angrily, he scraped at the moisture on his face.
“No,” Jerry said quickly. “She’s very much in love with you. She spent a great deal of last evening talking about elegance and grace, something about Paris and Hoboken. I’ve had the sense for a while now she feels rejected and now I understand. You traded her in for your poor, helpless mother. Morgan doesn’t buy into anyone being helpless, does she?”
Brian curled into his father’s lap with the pain of that. “No, she doesn’t. And knowing where she came from and what she’s accomplished, why would she?”
Quietly, Jerry nodded. Tenderly, he stroked through Brian’s sweat-soaked hair. “We need to do some serious talking. I love you, and somehow, this is going to work out. I don’t know how, but this is going to work out. You’re not leaving me again.”
“I don’t think this is something you and I can work out. It rather depends on what Morgan feels, doesn’t it?”
“No. No, it doesn’t. Yes...I am in love with her. You are, too. But nothing...nothing in the world means more to me than my children. And damnit, what the hell are you saying Alex told you this is your fault?”
Brian shook yet rose away. “On the way to the Mansion that day I thought you’d been kidnapped...things would have been very different for all of you if she hadn’t gotten pregnant with me. Isn’t that true?”
Jerry huffed with aggravation. “That’s true, Brian. There would have been no good reason for me to marry her. But it’s not your fault your mother got pregnant with you. And yes...Alex is your father.” Jerry choked as his stomach heaved with the thought of it. “But I don’t think Alex knows that. Truthfully, I’d like him to hear it from me. I went to St. Maarten not too long ago to tell Cherry she’s not mine, either.”
“Cherry?” Brian was clearly surprised.
Sadly, Jerry nodded. “She already knew, too. Cherry was still a teenager when Cheryl told her about it. But Cheryl has been telling me for months now that you don’t know when you’ve known for ten years. Renee told me about how your mother dumped on you the day you left me.”
“She’s been telling you this when she knows damn well that ten years ago she told me I’m not your son?”
“Yes, Brian.” Jerry wanted to calm him a little. “And even though I know she’s your mother, I’m telling you now that my ex-wife is a conniving bitch.”
Astounded, Brian merely stared. “How in the hell have you lived like this?”
Just then, the door thrust open and Bryant pounded into the office. A cursory glance at his brother and nephew told him they’d been crying. “I see you’ve heard.”
Instantly, Jerry tightened to Bryant’s defensive stance. “Heard what!?”
“And you, boy,” Bryant pointed at Brian, “it’s about time you get your ass back to work. We’re gonna need some serious creativity out of the accounting department now.”
“What the fuck happened?” Jerry screamed. Angrily, he pushed Brian away and stood.
“Oh, Jesus, where the fuck have you been, man?” Bryant grabbed the remote control to turn on the TV.
“Again, as reported in the World Star, Cheryl Abernathy has revealed...”
Jerry’s knees failed. He fell against the desk. His hands clutched to his aching stomach. “She did it. The fucking bitch, Bryant...”
“You ain’t heard the worst of it, baby. It gets really good.” He threw a copy of the World Star in Jerry’s direction.
“Oh, my God.” The picture of his ex-wife’s face was disfigured beyond recognition. Hard to even know it was his wife, if it was his wife.
“I thought one and half billion dollars was enough to shut her the fuck up,” Bryant shouted over the confusion on the TV. To relieve the clatter beyond the door in the reception area, he quickly picked up the phone. “Bryant Abernathy. Get all non-essential personnel out of the building...NOW...lock it down. Keep every fucking reporter away from us.”
“...Abernathy Acquisitions stock has dropped another fifteen points and sent Wall Street reeling,” the reporter on the national news informed them. “Where will it level out, Mike?”
“Impossible to say. But I would look for the feds to shut down the trading floor by noon. The crash of Abernathy could have dire consequences the world over.”
“Let’s go back to the news desk., Ann...”
“Thanks, Ted. We reported earlier that Jerome Abernathy V’s son as we all know and love, Brian, is yet to be found. There’s a world wide manhunt now for the world’s most eligible bachelor. All attempts to contact any of the family to confirm or deny that Brian’s mother was a prostitute, that Brian was fathered by Alex Abernathy, the identical twin brother of Jerome, current CEO, as Cheryl contends have not been successful.”
“Jesus Christ,” Bryant screamed. In a rage, he threw the decanter of bourbon at the TV shattering it into sputtering shards, the sparks swirling lazily to the floor. He turned to see Brian fallen into a chair, pale, sweating profusely, clutched to it as if it might swallow him and take him away from this.
“Jerry!” The shrill voice through the door rose above the din beyond it. Jerry nodded to Bryant, the sound of Alex’s voice unmistakable. Quickly, Bryant went to it and yelled out orders to security to let only Alex wriggle through.
“Jerry,” Alex gasped. “Brian.” Panicked, he ran to the man he thought of as his son. “Oh my God, he’s in shock, get a doctor.”
“Wait,” Brian said. “Wait a minute. What the hell’s going on?”
“Oh, precious,” Alex sobbed. “Oh, your mother. I could fucking kill that bitch.”
The confusion felt like a serious head injury to Brian. His uncle Bryant screamed in the background as security people moved in. Alex stood straight, his arms tucked to his body as tears dripped down his cheeks watching Brian suffer the consequences of his and Jerry’s actions.
Brian’s eyes blinked uncontrollably. He launched out of the chair screaming, “My mother is a company whore?”
Quickly, Jerry wrapped Brian in his arms again and Alex pushed near. Instinctively, Jerry’s arm wrapped around Alex, too. “Brian,” Jerry whispered softly. “The truth is, yes. Your mother, Cheryl, began work at Abernathy just a few months before she became pregnant with you. I’m sorry, I never wanted you to know that. I haven’t read the article yet, but if I know the woman at all, she didn’t mention herself as being that prostitute. The truth is yes, I married her. But because Alex and I are identical twins we’ll never determine which of us is your biological father through paternity tests. We would both match.” Silently, he hugged Brian a little tighter hoping to remind Brian of the secret was yet to be told to Alex and to beg of Brian to allow Jerry to do it.
The confusion muddled Brian’s mind. But that wasn’t the real pain in this. “And I’ve thought for ten years now that you would never accept Morgan because she once worked as a prostitute!”
On that, Jerry closed his eyes.
“What the hell is she doing now?” Brian gasped as he picked up the paper and stared in horror at the cover, his mother’s face splattered with blood.
“This is her parting shot, Brian. She always threatened to finish me off and this is her coup de grace.”
“How the fuck have you lived like this? With this threat hanging over you?” He was as livid with his mother as Bryant was, understanding now why she had to get the
hell out of town so fast last night. Out of the country. Why she wasn’t safe on US soil.
Jerry only shook his head, the background noise of Bryant barking out orders on three different phones simultaneously rising to swallow him.
* * * *
“Morning, Baby,” Morgan said wistfully. She took Kitty in her arms and kissed her tenderly.
“Where the hell have you been all night?” Kitty sneered.
Quickly, Morgan backed away. “That’s a little too much attitude first thing in the morning.”
“Shit, I know how screwed up you’ve been. How the hell did I know you didn’t jump off the Broad Street Bridge?”
Instantly, Morgan backed off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d be that worried about me.”
“Bullshit. That’s bullshit.”
“I sincerely apologize.” Tenderly, she wrapped Kitty up and nuzzled her breasts. “It won’t happen again. And I want you to pack everything today because we’re moving...into the Tower.”
An exaggerated squeal pierced the turbulent quiet. “You and Jerry?”
“Yes.” Morgan smiled broadly. “Me and Jerry.” She was almost unable to believe it herself. But she wasn’t quite ready to reveal to her submissive that she had the same tendencies buried deep in her heart. “So how about some breakfast? What time is my first appointment?”
“Margie just canceled. Something going on somewhere and she has to cover it live. So I guess your first appointment is at two.”
“I’ll be in the shower and I’m famished.”
“I’ll whip up some catnip.” Yet she bubbled with excitement. Living in the Tower!
“Thank you so much.”
* * * *
Jerry slouched in the chair, Brian and Alex standing close ready to go down with him. He held his hand over his face a moment as the latest stock report was hollered at him over the replaced television.
“Oh, God, thank you!” Bryant screamed out. “The feds just shut down the trading floor, Jerry.” His expression as dismal as anything Jerry had ever seen, Bryant crossed the room and propped his hip on Jerry’s desk to stare down at him. He had no experience at this sort of thing.
