Jamie Denton - The Secret Child

M ARNI COULD FEEL the blood drain from her face at his question. Her stomach churned from shock. “Who?” she managed to choke out, surprised she could utter the simple word.

“Jenna.”

She swallowed with difficulty. “Who?” Cole probably thought he was talking to an owl. An unintelligent owl.

“You asked Peg to tell her you‘d be late. Is she a friend of yours?”

Marni tried to ignore the humming in her ears and stirred uneasily in her chair. “Oh, yes, yes. We did have plans for dinner, but well, you know.” She closed her eyes and prayed. Prayed he‘d accept her feeble explanation and drop this line of questioning.

“Marni, are you all right?” The concern in his tone only increased her wariness.

“Fine,” she said with forced brightness. Her hands shook uncontrollably. “I‘m just thinking about all the work I have to do.”

“Hmmm. So I guess you‘ll be working through the weekend now.” He spoke tentatively, as if he hoped she might be free, after all.

“Yes, I will. I really have to go.” Marni tried to lower her tone an octave. She took a deep breath and willed her hands to stop shaking. The limbs refused to cooperate.

“I‘ll call you next week, then.”

“Sure. Bye, Cole.” He‘d sounded disappointed, but she practically flung the receiver back onto the cradle before he could ask her anything else about Jenna.

Marni leaned back in the worn burgundy chair and stared at the phone, concentrating on resuming a normal breathing pattern. What was she going to do? He couldn‘t keep calling her or following her to the courthouse! Marni glanced at the framed school photo of Jenna on her desk. If he came to her office and saw the photo...Marni refused to think about it. She couldn‘t or she‘d go crazy.

The door to her office opened and Rebecca Parks stepped in. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I‘d stop by.”

“Really? Come to get a copy of the warrant?” Marni didn‘t believe her friend for a minute. She‘d come here for one reason, and it had nothing to do with law. Rebecca wanted to know about Cole.

She smiled sheepishly. “Obvious, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” Marni nodded, still shaken by her near disaster with Cole.

Rebecca lowered herself into the chair across from Marni‘s desk. “Can you blame me for being curious? Who is he?” Her blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Who?” Marni seriously doubted her ability to converse logically. If all she uttered were inane animal sounds, her career would be over.

Rebecca sighed heavily. “The hunk, Marni.”

“An old friend.” Full custody. The dreadful words reverberated through Marni‘s mind.

“Ha! You don‘t expect me to believe that, do you?” Rebecca drummed her fingers impatiently on the coarse fabric of the chair. “Give up, Rodgers.”

Marni stood abruptly, crossing the room to the bookshelves. She stared at the titles, unable to concentrate. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Marni could feel Rebecca‘s eyes on her.

“Who is he? Really.” Her friend spoke quietly, her demeanor serious.

Marni slipped a law book from the shelf and continued to peruse the other titles. “I told you, an old friend. We grew up together.”

“High school sweethearts?” Rebecca teased.

“Something like that,” Marni mumbled, fingering one of the books filled with precedent-setting case law.

Rebecca issued a deep, throaty chuckle. “Where‘s he been all your life?”

Rebecca‘s pumps hit the floor with a thud, a sure indication her friend wasn‘t leaving until she got the information she wanted.

Marni pulled another book from the shelf and rested it against her hip. “Married.”

Rebecca sighed dramatically. “Why are all the gorgeous ones taken?”

“He‘s not. He married someone else two months after I moved to California, but they divorced.” Marni pulled two more books from the shelves and returned to her desk, still not looking at Rebecca.

“Someone else?” Rebecca asked in a silky voice. “Marni. Who is this guy?”

Marni let out a long, audible sigh. Now Rebecca would have to know everything. She would need her friend‘s legal expertise if Cole found out about Jenna. “I really hate to burden you with my problems.”

“Sweetie, if you can‘t talk to me, who can you talk to? Jenna? I know the kid‘s bright, but she doesn‘t have much experience in the male gender department.”

“Heavens, no.” What an interesting conversation that would be, Marni mused.

Rebecca remained quiet. Marni glanced at her friend and nearly shuddered at the thoughtful look on her face. Pulling one of the law books from the pile on her desk, Marni flipped through the pages trying to locate the case law she needed to prepare her opposing brief.

“It‘s him, isn‘t it.”

Marni‘s shoulders sagged. Her friend hadn‘t become a successful attorney because she was dumb.

Rebecca leaned forward in the chair, her blue eyes piercing. “He‘s the guy who got you pregnant and then skipped out, isn‘t he.”

“He didn‘t skip out,” Marni corrected her. “I just never told him about Jenna.”

“Well, he didn‘t give you a chance if he got married two months after you split.”

The sarcasm in Rebecca‘s voice made Marni wince. She sent Rebecca what she hoped was a glare. “Would you please stop!” Marni snapped the book closed in irritation. “Cole Ballinger is not one to run from his responsibilities.”

A startled gasp escaped Rebecca. “Cole Ballinger? Ballinger Electronics’ Cole Ballinger? Marni, you dog. Do you know who he is?”

Marni rolled her eyes. “Jenna‘s father?”

Rebecca ignored Marni‘s bad humor. “No, I mean financially. There was a big article on Ballinger Electronics in Time or Newsweek a month or so ago. He‘s a rich guy.”

“Gee, I must have missed a little detail.” Marni couldn‘t help the mockery of her tone. When it came to Cole, she knew just about everything there was to know.

“They were thinking of closing shop on their software division, and then Daddy gave it to Sonny Boy to play with. Boom. Six months later they‘re showing a huge profit margin. From what I understand, this isn‘t the first division Golden Boy‘s turned around.”

“Good. Maybe he‘ll go away and save another division of Daddy‘s company and leave me alone.” If only she could be so lucky.

Rebecca became serious again. “You‘re not going to tell him about Jenna, are you?”

Marni stood and walked to the window. She opened the venetian blinds and gazed out at the setting sun casting a deep orange hue over the skyline. “No, and he‘s not going to find out, either.” Turning back to face Rebecca, she leaned against the windowsill.

“He‘s bound to if he keeps coming around. And I get the impression this guy won‘t give up until he gets what he wants. Looks to me to be the determined type.” Rebecca looked pointedly at the framed photograph of Jenna on Marni‘s desk. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Marni nodded.

Rebecca leaned back in the chair again. “Well, the initial consultation is free, kiddo. I think it‘s time you told me everything.”

Marni stepped away from the window and reached into her desk to retrieve a legal pad. She tossed it to Rebecca. “I don‘t know where to start.”

Rebecca suddenly became every inch the lawyer. “The beginning is always a good place.”

Marni punched the Do Not Disturb button on her telephone, then came around to stand in front of the desk. “Do you need to know the first time I ever saw him?” She couldn‘t help the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Propping her hip against the desk, a vivid recollection struck her of the first time she‘d ever laid eyes on Cole Ballinger. A heavy sigh escaped her.