A Promise of Forever

by M. E. Brady

  “Miss Donavan, you’re the only one who stands between me and total ruin. I cannot take back what I said to you yesterday. I can only beg your forgiveness and ask for your pity,” Jack added apprehensively.

  Jack could see that his confession rendered her speechless. “I find myself in a very awkward situation. On the one hand, I was right about you and Adam,” he acknowledged before pausing.

  “Neither of you are right for each other,” he added as matter of fact. The elder Taylor was under enormous pressure; she could see that and he wasn’t comfortable with the foreign feeling. “I’m here today to implore you to reconsider your resignation. Unless you’re back at your desk with a signed contract very soon Broccolini has threatened to pull the deal.”

  Katelyn knew why Gianfranco had done this. She would have been offered a place at the magazine regardless of what happened today. But Gianfranco wanted Jack Taylor to eat some humble pie, to feel what it was like to make someone feel insignificant just as he had enjoyed doing to her the day before. The one thing Gianfranco hadn’t counted on was that she wasn’t as hard as he was; she felt sorry for the man who stood before her.

  “I will talk to Mr. Broccolini and have him withdraw his ultimatum. It wasn’t fair that he put you in this situation,” she added, trying to give him back what little dignity he had left.

  “I think you’re wrong in this instance, I’m afraid. He was adamant about his demands and I have too much to lose to gamble that this was some required punishment. It’s ironic, isn’t it? Adam allowed himself to get lured into a deal with the devil and that deal could cost us everything. He thought that using shares from the magazine as collateral to finance one of his other investments, would be a safe bet. He hadn’t anticipated Broccolini waiting in the wings for just that sort of mistake. Now I find myself in bed with the devil, doing his bidding in order to survive.”

  He was a beaten man and Katelyn couldn’t help but feel pity for him. She knew Gianfranco better than anyone and her gut instinct was telling her he had planned this takeover a long time ago and wanted it to happen exactly the way it did. Gianfranco didn’t leave things to chance; he made things happen. He might not have planned on making Jack Taylor suffer so publicly; but he would definitely enjoy bringing him to his knees because he messed with him and what he claimed as his.

  This whole situation is ridiculous. “I don’t like being used as a pawn, by either of you. I’m planning on going out of town, for a couple of weeks. I don’t really want, or need, this added pressure on me,” she said. She requested that he join his driver, who had just returned from his trip around the block. She watched as he walked in the direction of the waiting vehicle. The self-assuredness and the tough exterior she had witnessed the day before was all but gone.

  “If it’s any consolation, I’ll try to reason with Gianfranco before I leave. What he’s doing to you and your family is not fair,” she added offering a cryptic smile. Martin had overheard their latest exchange and told her with a glance that she was one classy lady. Jack Taylor didn’t deserve this much and she knew Martin was thinking just that.

  “Thank you, I know I don’t deserve even that much from you,” Taylor admitted in defeat. He faltered for a moment then stamped out the cigarette he had lit and turned again toward Martin. Katelyn noticed that Martin had bowed his head a little, a gesture toward her; he smiled before closing the door behind his employer. Jack put the window down and paused again before speaking to her through it. “I probably shouldn’t say this much but my son would have been a lucky man to have been married to you, even without the money.” He didn’t wait for a response as he closed the window and began his drive down the road.

  Katelyn tried to process what had just happened as the words echoed over and over in her head; still she couldn’t believe it. Gianfranco used his money and power to get what he wanted and he was using that power to control her life. Maybe it would do him good to have to part with some of that money! No matter what she accepted from him as support for their child, it would mean mere pennies to him. If he wanted to, he could turn around and use all that money and power to take Jenny away from her. That was a scenario, she didn’t want to visit.

  Gianfranco could very well convince a judge that he would be the better parent for Jenny. Suddenly, this train of thought wasn’t leaving a good taste in her mouth. Her life was spiraling out of control and, once again, the person pushing the buttons was Gianfranco Broccolini. She was still shaking from her own thoughts as she entered the elevator that led to her apartment.

  “Sorry that took so long; I had an unexpected visitor downstairs,” Katelyn explained to Rosa as she opened the door and tossed her coat on the chair. What else could possibly go wrong today?

  Rosa smiled warmly, wondering who the unexpected visitor was as she tapped Katelyn gently on the shoulder and handed her a glass of wine. “It can’t be all that bad. Once you let it all out you’ll feel much better. Who was your visitor?” she asked.

  “It was Jack Taylor, I’m afraid this story is so unbelievable that even you will be shocked by its twists and turns; it’s funny how one event in your life intertwines with another. I have to tell you, I’m beginning to think this day is a little more than I bargained for.” Katelyn took a sip of the wine and plopped down on her favorite chair.

  “This should be interesting. You rarely, if ever, drink alcohol and you’ve already had two drinks and its only 2:00 p.m. Are you sure, you’re going to be alright?” Rosa asked her friend. Despite her craving to hear Katelyn’s story, Rosa didn’t want to see her friend like this. She knew that when Katelyn was ready, she would tell her the story in her own way.

  Katelyn didn’t know where to begin. Two days ago, she was living a very dull existence and now it was anything but boring. Her life seemed to have taken on a very surreal spin, as if she were taking part in someone else’s life. She was being torn in different directions and that’s why the trip to visit Kevin came at the right time and made the most sense. “Yesterday, Jack Taylor warned me that, if I continued my relationship with his son, both he and I would be without employment and Adam would be left penniless. Gianfranco arrived here last night and, after we spoke, he didn’t like Mr. Taylor’s threats toward me and devised his own plan of retaliation.”

  Rosa heard the words but couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did this kind of stuff still happen in this day and age? Who was she kidding, of course it did. Money was money and it did strange things to people. She was even more shocked that someone would suggest to Katelyn, of all people, that she give her child away, as if that were ever something she would ever consider. “I can’t imagine you taking the suggestion to give up Jenny without a fight?” she added dumbfounded and with attitude.

  “No, of course I didn’t. Rosa, by the time our meeting had concluded, I told Jack to take his job and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. That was how angry he had gotten me,” she said, before picking up her drink and offering a silent toast. Katelyn thought for a moment or two before continuing her story, not wanting to confuse Rosa with all the twists and turns.

  “That’s not the worst of it. Do you remember me telling you that I would reveal who Jenny’s father was to you when the time was right?” She could see Rosa’s eyes perk up over her wine glass. “Well, Glitz, was recently taken over and will merge with Intrigue. It seems that my boss, Jack Taylor, was in way over his head financially and stands to lose it all if the sale of the magazine falls through for any reason. Merging the two magazines wasn’t his intention but apparently he had little choice because a takeover was set in motion; it seems the CEO of GFB Enterprises, who currently owns Intrigue, set his sights on Glitz and right now is threatening to pull out of the deal, unless I come as part of the package.”

  Rosa was a little puzzled at first and wondered why Katelyn, of all people, was being used as a pawn in this sale, but she knew it would all make sense soon enough. “Why are you part of the deal? I’m not understanding something,” she asked,
knowing her friend was about to tell her something important.

  “Do you remember the man Jenny mentioned this morning?” Katelyn asked as she watched her friend’s eye twinkle with clarity. “Rosa, the man who is taking us to Montana is Gianfranco Broccolini; the sole shareholder of GBF Enterprises. Gianfranco Broccolini is GBF Enterprises.” Katelyn added uneasily.

  Rosa was shocked and it took a little time for the bulk of the conversation to sink in; but when it did she had no idea what to say. For the first time Rosa was rendered speechless. Gianfranco and Kevin are good friends; that has to be good thing, she thought to herself after a few seconds. She almost fell off the chair when Katelyn declared that Gianfranco Broccolini was, in fact, Jenny’s biological father. Rosa grew concerned for her friend. Things didn’t seem so easy any longer, and, worst of all, she knew her friend was in way over her head. She shuddered, thinking about what was going to happen when the truth was finally revealed to Gianfranco, that he had a child.

  Katelyn swallowed another sip of wine and walked over to the terrace doors. She stared out at the ocean waves as they hit the jetty below. The ocean offered some comfort to her even in her darkest hours. “It’s a tremendous relief to admit the truth out loud to someone. Rosa, Gianfranco was here last night; he left only because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. I don’t know how or when it happened. It was as though we were transported back in time, back to that summer again,” she said turning to her friend.

  Katelyn sighed as if it was all too much to take. “I don’t understand this game he’s playing with Jack Taylor. Gianfranco likes to be in control of everything he touches and that kind of scares me when I think about what that will mean when I finally tell him about Jenny.” She turned to her friend and watched Rosa’s reaction to the information she was being bombarded with.

  Both women took a swig from their glasses at the same time and laughed. Rosa put hers down as she reached out to embrace Katelyn. “What do you think he’ll say when you tell him about Jenny?” Rosa asked the question but already knew the answer from her friend’s demeanor. It was clear that Gianfranco Broccolini was not the type of man to be an absent father. “What happens now?” Rosa asked.

  “I’m not sure. After my reaction to him last night, it is obvious that I am like putty in his hands. Which, to tell you the truth, frightens me when it comes to making decisions about the role he will play in Jenny’s life. Why do I feel like such an idiot?” She started to pace back and forth in front of the window; that was something she did when she was feeling nervous. “I almost let him make love to me again last night, Rosa. What’s worse than anything is the fact that neither of us was thinking clearly, yet again; we almost threw caution to the wind, not thinking about the consequences of another union between us. How stupid is that?” she asked, as tears ran down her cheeks. “I don’t think he was carrying any protection on him and I certainly have had no need for it.”

  Rosa hugged her friend. She knew that Katelyn must really love this guy to be willing to make such a foolish mistake, not only once in her life but almost a second time. Rosa also began to wonder about Gianfranco Broccolini, the man. He had to have feelings for Katelyn too if he was also willing to behave so recklessly. She couldn’t imagine that he had gotten where he was by making careless mistakes. Rosa was sure that Gianfranco had been Katelyn’s one and only lover and that her friend was still in love with the man. “You’ll get through this. Tell me; how did you meet him?” she asked.

  Katelyn recalled the memories as though it had happened yesterday. No matter how many years had passed, the memories of that summer were vivid and, honestly, it was that raw rapture that they shared that saw her through some very rough periods of her life.

  “The first time I saw him, was at Kevin’s wedding. Do you remember me telling you stories about Kevin’s college buddies? Gianfranco was one of them,” she said smiling, as she recalled the three musketeers. She remembered fondly the nickname they were given all through college and it was a well-deserved metaphor. They were always together, one as rogue as the other. She could see that Rosa realized who Gianfranco was. After all, she had stared at those pictures in the hallway for years. Gianfranco was the third musketeer that, she hadn’t yet had the pleasure to meet.

  “It was funny that, as fate would have it, Kevin came home from school during the early years of college on many occasions and would bring his friends with him. Gianfranco and Jake would come to our home but, for one reason or another, I wasn’t around when Gianfranco was there. I did get to meet Jake on two or three occasions during that time. It was accidental but I think fate had a different kind of meeting in store for us. Our paths crossed, for the very first time, at Kevin’s wedding.” Katelyn drifted off into her own private memories for a second before continuing her story.

  “He was Kevin’s best man at the wedding and I was one of Sylvia’s bridesmaids. Jake was a groomsman and, actually, my partner. I had arrived just in time to take my place in the wedding procession. I had just flown in from meeting with representatives from Berkley College in California. I had big plans for my future back then. Up until that point, my plans were set in stone and I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything derail me until the night I met Gianfranco Broccolini,” she said.

  Katelyn recalled the dress she wore keenly. She remembered how it made her look older than her eighteen years. It was a very pale sea foam green, long silk flowing gown. The front of the dress draped over the bust giving the illusion of modesty, yet making her look fuller than she actually was. The most dangerous part of the dress was the back; it dipped quite low. She remembered the way Gianfranco made her feel when he stared at her. She could still feel his stare now all these years later.

  “I have to admit, the gown that Sylvia picked out for the wedding party was very sexy; it looked great on each and every girl, regardless of size and shape. It was during their vows to each other that I felt eyes on me. He stood right next to Kevin; I looked up and I could feel his eyes burning through my skin. No one else noticed what he was doing because it was ever so subtle. At first glance, I thought that I had imagined it; he was so dangerous, so good-looking. He could have had any woman in the room and, in the end, he wanted me.” Rosa was captivated by the story of love and lust and listened intently. She was beginning to like this guy and somehow she knew that the story of Katelyn and Gianfranco wasn’t complete. She knew they needed to find a way back to each other again; maybe when they did they would better understand what had kept them from each other this long.

  “I tried, time and again during the wedding, to turn my focus away from him but it was almost as if he held me in a trance with those ebony eyes of his. We were in a room full of people and yet to me it was like being trapped in a cocoon that he had created for us. I couldn’t believe the way my body was betraying me. He was a complete stranger and I was totally, uncontrollably, wanton-like in his presence. It was terrifying to me and intriguing at the same time. At eighteen, I wasn’t ready to deal with someone so sophisticated and worldly but I couldn’t back away from the challenge either.” Katelyn went on tell Rosa how he had awakened a desire so deep within herself that she thought she would faint with the embarrassment of it all.

  “I’ll never forget how flushed I became. One of the other bridesmaids became concerned for me and thought that I was ill. I don’t think I ever believed in soul-mates before that night; but what we shared was bigger than the two of us.” She wasn’t so sure she believed in soul-mates any longer though. Her feelings were a bit more one-sided these days. She continued to pour out her story; Rosa was shocked and saddened at how naive Katelyn had been in the past. Of course, her age had a lot to do with that. She wondered about Gianfranco; with all his worldly experience back then, what was he thinking?

  “I was so stubborn and I didn’t want to back away from his challenge, no matter who he was. I glanced over at him during the vows and I saw in his eyes that he was accomplishing exactly what he had set out to do. He knew h
e had awakened wantonness in me that I had never felt before. He also knew that I was questioning what I was feeling. I remember he smiled smugly, as if to say he’d finished what he set out to do and, for the time being, he would leave me alone to bask in my new feelings. At least, that’s what I felt,” she added.

  “Rosa, I had thoughts about him that I had never allowed myself to think about before. It was strange; he had done such a complete job of captivating me, I was surprised he had retreated so hastily. I knew he was dangerous and that I should keep my distance but I was compelled to find out who he was and what he wanted from me that night.”

  She pushed her drink aside, leaned back on the couch and continued her story, in complete detail. “After the service was over, we went to the reception hall and the bridal party was asked to join in the first dance. Jake and I were partners; he led me out to the dance floor and together, along with the rest of the bridal party, we danced. It was then that I found out that Gianfranco Broccolini was the third musketeer; the one I hadn’t met until that moment. The man who had captivated me only moments before in the chapel was about to be introduced to me, by Jake. He introduced us as we were all dancing. Jake said that both he and Kevin were kind of embarrassed that Gianfranco and I hadn’t had an opportunity to meet sooner.”

  Rosa smiled at the innocence of the teenager she had been and thought about how that young girl transformed into the woman she became later. She couldn’t help being curious about Gianfranco Broccolini. He had to know that Kevin would be upset if he hurt his sister. Somehow, she chose to believe that there was more to the man and his feelings for her friend than Katelyn was leading her to believe.

  “Jake went on and on at the wedding, telling Gianfranco how proud he was of me and all my accomplishments. He told him that I had received a scholarship and was going away to college that fall.” Katelyn went on to explain how Jake continued to talk to Gianfranco while dancing with her and when the song ended he hugged her affectionately and said that he was going to leave her because he was on the prowl for a loose woman. Gianfranco saw this as his chance to join her on the dance floor.