Page 83 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

“No. I don’t think you do because if you did, you’d have told him you were pregnant—”

“He told me he never wanted to see me—”

“You’d have come home and done right for Pax.” Clearly, she hadn’t heard what I’d said. “You know what, I can’t talk about this now. I’ve got to go.”

The line went dead. I sucked in a breath and tried to keep the tears at bay.

Work wasn’t any better. “I was so right about you.” Alan sneered at me. I had no response because technically, he was right.

The only sympathy I seemed to be getting was from Marie. She’d been shocked but then see-sawed her head. “Your mother thought something was up. She never guessed it was Mr. Banion, but she used to worry so much about you and about Pax’s not having a father.”

“I’m surprised she worried about Pax’s father considering mine is such a jerk.”

Marie looked at me with sympathy. “She hoped you’d find love and family. It’s what all moms want for their kids.”

I had that. It was there for the taking, and I let it slip away out of fear.

But her statement made me think. “Did you know Mom kept a diary?”

Marie nodded. “Yes. For many years.”

“I never saw her write in it. I didn’t find anything like that when I went through her things after her death.” Once again, I wondered if Marie had been helping my father too.

“I believe she kept it under her mattress.” Marie laughed. “Like a teenage girl.”

“I didn’t know that.” How much more did she know than I did about my mom?

“Well, I only knew because I changed the sheets.”

That made sense. “Would my dad have known?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Why?”

“Because he apparently found it. That’s how everything blew up in my face before I had the chance to come clean to Henry.”

She made a face of disgust. “Your father is a vile man. I’m glad he’s in jail. I hope he rots there for what he did to your mother and you.”

I nodded.

“Now, I know you’re looking forward, and part of that is starting a business. I’m here to help. What can I do?”

I felt guilty for suspecting Marie of anything but being loyal to my mom and me. “I’m having a hard time coming up with a business name.”

“I can make a list. But first, I’ll take Pax to preschool.” She stopped, giving me a sympathetic smile. “And I’ll bring him over to Mr. Banion’s house after school.”

I nodded. Victoria wasn’t the only one who couldn’t seem to talk to me. Henry called the night I moved back to my mother’s place and reminded me again that he wouldn’t allow me to keep Pax from him. I assured him that I wouldn’t. After that, he texted me to let me know he wanted to see Pax. To make it easier on all of us, I decided to have Marie deliver him.

“Thank you, Marie.”

Interesting, for all the worry Henry had gone through five years ago about what would happen if our affair got out, now that it was out, no one cared. Oh, sure, there were a few jokes about his being an older man or the clichéd boss fucking his secretary, but for the most part, no one cared. Not Victoria. Not his company. Not even the media except to offer support over having a son.

Two days in,I decided I’d work from home to avoid Alan and others who snickered when they saw me. I’d made attempts to contact Larry in Los Angeles regarding the plans we’d put in place and hopefully remind him of my talent so I could get referrals once my business was started, but he’d been avoiding my calls. Was it out of loyalty to Henry?

Late afternoon, Marie returned home and reported that she’d safely gotten Pax off to Henry’s. I thanked her and returned to work.

Since Pax was with Henry tonight, I had dinner alone. Afterward, I started to make a cup of tea but then switched to wine and plopped down in a chair, planning to read. I figured reading about someone else’s problems would distract me from my own. After several chapters in, my phone rang.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, but on the off chance it was Henry needing something or maybe Victoria, ready to talk, I picked it up.

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