K. Janssen - Hampton Manor

“Around the time you came on the scene,” she astutely observed.

He smiled as he replied, “I do have that powerful animal magnetism. I think I got that from you, but actually she says she decided before I made the scene.”

“This is no laughing matter. You’re messing with a very dangerous man. I warned you about that family when you first told me that you would be working with them. You should never have agreed to such an arrangement. You weren’t obligated in any way. You should have just walked away from the company.”

“I know, mother, but I felt duty bound to look after my employees and some of our vendors. They’ve been with us a long time. I know many of them personally. I’ve visited with them and met their families. Besides, I never would have met Marcia if I hadn’t stayed.”

“I’ll give you that, but I’m also a firm believer that if it was meant to be, it would have happened, somehow.”

“Perhaps! Right now I just want for us to get far away from Hampton Industries as quickly as possible.” He set his cell phone down on the cocktail table. “I asked Marcia to call as soon as she turns in her resignation to Hampton. She’s giving him two weeks’ notice.”

“Under the circumstances, why doesn’t she just walk out? That’s what I would have done.”

“It’s different with company officers. Vice-Presidents are bound by an unwritten code of conduct and usually by employment contracts. Normally the time frame would be a months’ notice or until a replacement is found. She feels that because of his outrageous behavior she is justified with the two weeks’ notice. Marsha wants to get out of there as soon as she can. Trust me.”

“That’s fine for her, but what kind of code does that man live by?”

“That’s beside the point. Marcia feels strongly about this. My only hope is that he will act irrationally and fire her on the spot. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“So, in the meantime, what have you been up to, mother? I haven’t seen your name in the gossip columns in a long time. Are you deliberately keeping a low profile on the social front?”

“Not everything I do makes the papers, you know, but if you’re really asking if I’m seeing anyone since I got rid of Donald? No, I’m not. I think four husbands is my limit. I’m getting too old for this romance stuff. It’s the big seven-oh coming up for me this year, you know.”

“You don’t have to marry them to enjoy their company. There must dozens of seniors who would enjoy being in the company of a sophisticated lady, such as yourself.”

“What would I want with a senior? If I took up with anyone, he’d be a young buck. I’ve still got a lot of life left in me yet, you know.”

He laughed. “Mom, you never change. On a related subject, Marcia was asking me about my family and she found it strange that I didn’t know anything about my father. It got me to thinking. I’ve got plenty of time now. I’m thinking about putting out a trace on Peter Masterson. I may actually meet up with him. I’m curious as to why he would leave you when you were carrying me. I want to see for myself what kind of a man would do that? I’d like him to tell me the truth, to my face.”

Evelyn turned ashen. Her voice was faint as she asked, “Why would you go and do that now, after all these years? Obviously, that man never cared about you.”

“Perhaps so, but suddenly there is something that I feel inside that is urging me to find out about him. I’m about to make a major commitment in my life. I’d like to clear up that one question before I do. Besides, what’s the harm? If I find him, he may even refuse to talk to me. What can you tell me about him?”

Evelyn didn’t answer him; she couldn’t. Tears began pouring down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She started sobbing and averted Kane’s gaze. “I don’t want you to speak with Peter.”

“Why on earth, not?”

“There’s nothing to be gained by dredging things up” Evelyn’s tears turned to sobs.

He slid across the sofa and took her in his arms. He said nothing. He simply held his mother, patting her gently on the back, determined to wait her out. Minutes passed before Evelyn’s sobbing quelled. She sat back against the cushions, her eyes unfocused, as she gathered her thoughts.

She spoke softly. Kane had to strain to make out the words. “I hoped and prayed that this day would never come. Kane, Peter Masterson is not your biological father. Peter and I had a marriage in name only. I had an affair with a married man and got pregnant. We both knew Peter wasn’t the father. The day after he found out about you he disappeared and I have never heard from him again. When you were born the hospital assumed, from the forms that I had to fill out, that Peter was the father. That is how you became a Masterson. Everything else I’ve told you about your father has been a lie.”

Kane sat quietly, in disbelief. Eventually he asked, “How could you deceive me all these years? I had the right to know the truth.”

“Well, now that you know the truth, does it really change anything? Are you any better off? Your sisters are still your sisters and I’m still your mother.”

“Yes you are, but right now, I’m very angry with you. I know that I rarely asked you about him. It wasn’t because I didn’t care, that I didn’t miss doing all the things that sons do with their fathers, because I did.” He looked directly into his mothers eyes as he said, “I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to remind you that he ran off because you were pregnant with me. I felt responsible. When I got older, I didn’t ask because I was too wrapped up in myself to really give a damn. I want to change that now. I don’t want to start a new life when my old one is incomplete.”

“I’m so sorry, Kane. I thought I was doing the right thing. After a while I came to believe it myself. Lying does that to a person sometimes. I thought I was protecting you. When I married Bruce Mason, you were only two years old. He accepted you and Melanie as his children. Unfortunately, when Bridget came along he turned all his affection towards her. She was such a beautiful baby. He was so proud that she was his.”

“That’s beside the point, mom. If Peter Masterson isn’t my father, then who is? I have a right to know.”

“I just can’t tell you that right now, I’m sorry, Kane. Someday maybe I’ll be able to, but not right now. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’ve been trusting you all these years and you have betrayed me. I want no more of your lies.” Kane got up and stormed out of the house. He sat in his car waiting for Marcia to call; his world in total disarray.

Evelyn sat alone on the sofa, her mind filled with feelings of regret. Those evil Hamptons. First the father walks out on Kane. I should never have let him get away with that. Why was I so proud? I could have made his life miserable. I guess what’s really important is that Kane made it on his own, without being tainted by that family. But, now, that bastard Adam Hampton III is hell bent on destroying Kane. Well I won’t let that happen. I know how to stop him and get even with his father at the same time. I’ve waited long enough for my revenge. I’ll wait no longer.

Adam sat with Chuck Meredith in a booth in the back of Ye Olde Taverne. Enlarged photos and a detailed report of Kane and Marcia’s date were spread across the table leaving no room for the tankards of beer when the waiter arrived. Adam moved the photos to one side to make the room and handed him the menus.

“We won’t be having anything to eat, thank you.” He turned his attention back to the photographs. His face turned crimson as he looked at the pictures of them kissing in the car and walking on the beach. He noted the times recorded on the report, especially the hour of their departure in the morning.