“You’re with Sal?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you put me on speaker and he can listen to my plan too? It’d save me time from repeating myself,” she said.
Oh my sweet Gianna. Can’t you just let us handle this? He knew that wasn’t ever going to happen. For as stubborn as he was, she was his match. He pressed the speaker button and said, “Go ahead. Sal can hear you.”
“Awesome. Sal, I was thinking that…well I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think I know how to find Marvin.”
“What are you thinking?” Sal asked.
Jordan shot him a warning look. The last thing he needed was Sal encouraging Gianna to do something dangerous.
“Sal, Marvin is fixated on me right now, but that’s just now. I was thinking about when I first met him. The signs were all there, I just didn’t see them,” she said.
“You mean he was always attracted to you?” Sal inquired.
“No. He was obsessed with a woman named Rhonda. That’s how Marvin and I ended up…well we all know the story by now. But I think if we find Rhonda, we might be able to find Marvin.”
“You think Marvin is with Rhonda?” Jordan asked.
“Not now. But if he’s keeping an eye on me, all we need to do is remind him of who he always wanted,” Gianna said.
Sal cocked a brow and said, “So you want to take the focus off you and send it back to Rhonda?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to set her up for the same stuff I’m going through. I mean, she might not be the brightest woman, but I still believe we need to ensure she’s not going to be hurt in the process either,” Gianna added.
That’s my girl. Always thinking of someone else first. Sometimes, like now, he didn’t like that trait. He also knew nothing he said would change her mind if she really wanted to do this.
“I’ll have Connor start looking for Rhonda. That is if you two want me to,” Sal asked.
“Yes. What do we have to lose if it doesn’t work?” she asked.
You.
“I can’t picture Rhonda wanting to meet with us,” Jordan said.
Gianna replied, “Not us, me. If you go, Marvin won’t show. He’ll know it’s a set up. It needs to be just us ladies.”
“Hell no!” Jordan barked. “It’s too dangerous.”
He heard Gianna sigh. “Jordan, you say you trust and love me.”
“I do but…”
“No but. I want to do this. I really think it’ll work. And if it doesn’t, then at least Marvin will see that I’m not afraid of him,” she said firmly. “If you don’t like that idea, I have others, but they are not as…safe.”
God no.
“Oh, that’s Mary-Lou calling. I have to take this call. Sal, let me know when you find her,” Gianna said, then ended the call.
Jordan slipped his phone into his jacket’s breast pocket then turned to Sal. “Don’t tell me you really think this is a good idea.”
“Actually, yes. Marvin won’t be able to stop himself if he believes his ex and the one he currently wants, are talking about him. This is all about his ego.”
“Well then you might as well grab his other ex-wives to and make it a reunion,” he said sarcastically.
Sal leaned back in the chair and said, “That might work too.”
“I either need more sleep or a damn stiff drink,” Jordan said. “If you ask me, there is nothing good about this plan.”
“But there is. It’s Gianna’s plan. She’s trying take back some type of control. I’m not saying we do this. But I’ll do what she asked. And in the meantime, go home and you two can talk about it in person. Let me know if you want to proceed,” Sal said.
Part of him was glad Gianna called when she did. It reminded him that they have to address this together. He couldn’t be making the decision for her, but maybe if they sat and put their heads together, they’d come up with something they both could agree on.
I should’ve just agreed to marry her. At least then I would know we’re doing it together.
Gianna said, “Mary-Lou, hold on, someone is at the door.”
“Don’t answer it. What if it’s Marvin?” she stated.
“He wouldn’t have made it past the security downstairs.” That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to look and see who it was first. She’d given Jordan a key to her apartment, since they practically were living together anyway. The knock came again and she shouted, “Hold on, I’m coming.”
With her phone in her left hand, she walked over and looked through the peephole. A smile crossed her face. She lifted the phone and said, “I’ve got to go. It’s my parents at the door.”
“Nice. Tell them I said hi and I’ll talk to you later,” Mary-Lou said before ending the call.
Gianna unlocked the door and welcomed them inside. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Well, since you haven’t come home in a while, we figured we better come to you. Your mother said we should call first,” he father said.
“I hope you don’t mind us just dropping in,” her mother asked.
“Mom, I’ve been trying to get you two here since I moved. Come, sit down and I’ll make us some coffee,” Gianna said.
“No coffee for us. It’s too late for coffee,” her father said.
“See how he is. Always trying to take care of me,” her mother smiled.
She knew what that felt like, just on an entirely different level. That’s why she wasn’t complaining too much to Jordan. She knew everything he did was because he loved her. Just sometimes it felt as though she was being smothered.
“I’m so glad you are here, but I know better than to think you just came by to say hello. What’s going on?” she asked.
Her parents looked at each other and then her mother spoke. “We’re worried about you.”
“I’m okay. Trust me, nothing’s going to happen,” she said. Her parents didn’t even know what Marvin had done to Mary-Lou and Jordan. If they did, they’d be pleading with her to move back home. That definitely wasn’t going to happen. Not only wasn’t she leaving her company, but she wasn’t leaving Jordan either.
“I should hope not. But that’s not the type of worried we were talking about. We’re worried that you’re holding onto what happened with Marvin years ago, and that it’s standing between you and Jordan being happy,” her mom explained.
She knew it was time. Marvin had held this over her head for so long. “Mom. Dad. I have something I need to tell you,”
“You’re getting married?” she asked. Gianna shook her head. “Pregnant?” her mother asked softly.”
Gianna said, “Mom, this has nothing to do with me and Jordan. I want to talk to you about me and Marvin.”
He father said, “Do we have to talk about that man?”
“Unfortunately yes. I know why you’re worried. You think that I never healed from what happened back then. But you’re wrong. I have moved past that a long time ago.”
Her father said, “No you haven’t.”
“And how do you know Dad?” she asked.
“Because you never told your mother and I the truth,” he replied.
“About?”
“Your wedding. You never told us that it wasn’t real. That Marvin practically hired you to play along with him,” her mother said. “Because you never told us, that meant you were carrying it all those years. The only way to really get past something is to admit what really happened.”
They know. It was a weight being lifted off her. “You’re right. I should’ve told you. I just didn’t know how. At first it was because Marvin told me not to. After that, I was…ashamed of what I did.”
“And that is how someone like Marvin controls people. We like Jordan and you seem happy. But it’s important, actually even more important, that you tell him the truth,” her father said.
“Dad, he knows. I told him. You’re right. The lies can hold you down. I’m tired of them too. I’m glad you both know. And I’m so sorry I’m not the one wh
o told you. But how did you find out?”
“Marvin hurt my little girl. Did you really think just because he had all that money that I wasn’t going to go and speak my mind?”
“Dad, you didn’t. Marvin is…unstable.”
“I don’t care. He wasn’t going to get away with hurting my daughter like that. At first when he told me everything, I was pissed and hurt that you went along with it. And then afterwards, I was only relieved that you really hadn’t loved someone like him. He’s not what I’d ever have wanted as a son-in-law,” he said.
“That’s why we were so upset when that announcement came in the mail. We thought…we thought that you were doing it again,” her mother said. “It’s not what we wanted for you. You deserve all the happiness in the world. You have no idea how happy we were to hear about you and Jordan. Now if we get an announce like that from you two, I’ll be crying for a good reason.”
“Mother. Stop talking about us getting married. We haven’t been together that long. And besides, not everyone gets married anymore. It’s not for everyone.”
“You don’t want to get married?” her mother said as Jordan was entering the apartment.
Gianna looked at him and he obviously had heard that comment. Then she looked back at her mother and said, “Maybe we should change the subject.”
Her father looked at Jordan and asked, “Do you feel the same way? You don’t want to marry Gianna?”
Oh God. Not this. Things were going so great. A lovely conversation and now, pressure.
“Dad, you can’t just ask him something like that,” Gianna said.
Jordan walked over and asked, “Why not? He’s your father. He wants to know what my intentions are.”
“Exactly. So Jordan, what are your intentions?” he asked.
Gianna held her breath not having a clue what Jordan was going to say. They were so wrapped up with what was going on with Marvin that they hadn’t even talked about their own future.
Jordan looked at her while he answered the question. “I’m not going anywhere. I love your daughter.”
Gianna got up and walked over to him, “I love you too Jordan.”
“But what about marriage? That’s really not an old fashion concept you know. People still do it today,” her father added.
“Dad, can we change the subject?” Gianna asked.
“Does it make you uncomfortable Jordan?”
“Not one bit,” he replied.
“You’re not helping,” she whispered.
Jordan turned to her father and said, “I promise you, that if Gianna and I decide to get married, you won’t need to hear it from anyone but us.”
“Good. Now don’t wait too long. Grandchildren while we’re still young would be nice,” her mother said.
Gianna rolled her eyes and placed her forehead on Jordan’s chest. Jordan thankfully changed the subject. “I was just about to take this lovely lady out for dinner. Would you like to join us?”
“We’d love to, thank you,” her mother said.
Her father asked, “You wouldn’t know any good Italian restaurants do you?”
“Actually we do,” Jordan said. “Have you ever been to Mama’s Place?”
Gianna wasn’t sure if going to Mama’s Place was going to help change the subject or was Mama Marciano going to team up with Mom Ionnetty and she and Jordan would end up being engaged before the night was over.
She looked up into Jordan’s smiling face and realized that wasn’t such a scary thought any longer. But if Jordan asked her, she wanted it to be for one reason only. Because he wanted to.
No matter what, it was nice for them to be out and not to be talking about Marvin.
14
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Jordan asked.
“I’m positive. Trust me, if I have learned anything, it’s that Marvin has only the power over me that I give him. Since everyone I care about knows the truth, what does it matter if I tell the rest of the world? Besides, maybe my doing this will help another young woman who might fall into the same trap,” Gianna said.
“When you said meet with Rhonda, I thought maybe a coffee shop, not on national television,” Jordan added.
“It’s kind of funny how that all worked out. When Mary-Lou suggested I email the NO MORE show, I thought she was joking. But really, what better place to take a stand?”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “Do you know how amazing you are? You’re fearless.”
Gianna chuckled. “Tell that to my stomach that keeps wanting to hurl.”
“Worried about Marvin?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Nope. The millions of people watching the show.”
“You don’t have to do this you know,” he said.
“Are you kidding me? I have to after your speech about how strong I am,” Gianna said in a joking tone.
“And you’re sure you don’t want me with you?”
Gianna looked up at him, “I thought you said you’d never do it?”
He had said that. At the time, he’d meant it. It was funny how one look in her beautiful eyes changed everything. It wasn’t all about what he wanted, but more about what she needed.
Trying to lighten the mood and her nerves he said, “I only said that so they didn’t put make-up on me.”
“Hmm. You looked great in the cowboy hat, but make-up? Maybe not,” she laughed. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and said, “They’re calling my name. Wish me luck.”
He said, “You don’t need it. You’re going to do great.”
As she walked way, he went to take his seat in the audience so he could watch with the others. It as no surprise that Rhonda and the others backed out at the last minute. But he was glad they had. He knew those other women would be all dramatic and the message Gianna was trying to put out would get lost.
Jordan sat and listened while they introduced Gianna. She gave her back story as to what had happened when she was nineteen. How she was afraid to come forward and tell people the truth, but that the lie was what held her back from ever really moving forward. They asked some detail questions about her personal life and he thought for sure Gianna was going to tell him it was none of his business. But instead she held her head up high and answered each one.
“And what is it you want people to know about your ordeal?” they asked.
“That one mistake doesn’t have to determine your entire life. And you can’t live your life in fear of how people will judge you for making a mistake. Own it, and move forward. Because if you don’t, it will own you and you’ll never truly be free.”
“Ms. Ionnetty, thank you for coming onto our show today. We hope more people will take your advice. And we’re happy to see that Marvin Granger hasn’t killed your spirit. So what is next for you?”
“I’m going home and living my life. Hopefully Marvin moves on and does the same,” she said.
Jordan wasn’t so sure that would be the case. Connor and Sal were going to keep their eye out for him, but he’d promised Gianna, after this interview, they stopped letting it run their lives.
It was going to be so much easier said than done for him. But he had made her a promise, and was going to do everything within him to keep it.
“We wanted to open the line for any callers who might have questions or comments. Are you up for taking a few?”
“Yes.”
The first caller on the line said, “I’ve been hiding a secret for a year now. It’s got to the point I hate looking at myself in the mirror. But I’m done hiding. Tonight I’m going to tell my husband. You’re right. Holding onto the lie is worst than the lie itself.”
“The next caller said, “I couldn’t ever do what you just did. Maybe someday I’ll get that brave. But thank you for sharing your story with us.”
“We have time for one more caller.”
As soon as the voice came on the air, Jordan wanted to rush up on the stage and get her out of there. Marvin, you better watch your words. But they kn
ew this could happen, he just never believed it would.
“Gianna, you say you’re past the lie. But are you saying that you hated it all?”
“I’m saying that I hated what it became. Instead of a friend helping a friend, it became one hurting the other. For that, I wish I never agreed to help.”
Marvin said, “Are you saying you hate him for what he’s done to you?”
“I’m saying that he should follow my example. Tell the truth and move on. But I don’t think about him. He hasn’t ruined my life. But if he doesn’t change, maybe get some help, he might find he’s ruined his own.”
There was a pause on the air and then Marvin said softly, “You’ve always been a special person Gianna. I don’t believe you’ll hear from him again.”
The call ended and the cameraman said they went to commercial. He watched as Gianna thanked everyone and stepped off the stage. Jordan left his seat to go and meet her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “He called.”
“I heard.” Not sure I believe him. “You were…right.”
“Honestly, I never thought he’d call. I was just hoping he’d have watched the show or someone would tell him about it. I wonder how he knew I was going to be on that show?” she said.
“I have no idea, but I’m glad he did. By the way, you were amazing,” Jordan said.
“I’m just glad it’s over with. Next time I come up with a bright idea like this, please remind me how much I hated being on live TV. I actually don’t even want to watch TV for a month now. That was…nerve racking.”
“I’m sure we can find something to do to fill that time,” Jordan said and gave her a wink.
“Jordan, are we really going back to our normal lives?” she asked.
“I promised you we would. But there are some changes I think we should make,” he said.
“Besides no TV?” she teased.
“Yes.”
Gianna sighed. “Okay, what are they?”
“Your bed is too small,” he said.
She chuckled. “Bigger bed. That’s doable. Anything else?”
“Every Tuesday should be pizza night,” he smiled.
The Billionaire's Revenge (The Blank Check Series Book 6) Page 15
