K. Janssen - Hampton Manor

“How can you be so cold. This is your own flesh and blood we’re talking about.”

He ignored her question. “I’ll have my lawyer contact you about your expenses. If you insist on having that baby, you will have to take full responsibility. My conscience is clear about this. Goodbye, Evelyn.”

Adam walked out of her house and out of her life.

Eight months later, on October 6, 1974, Evelyn had a baby boy. She named him Kane. A nurse came to her while she was in a semi-sleep state and asked if the baby’s father was Peter Masterson. She said yes without giving it any thought. Peter had fled the scene months earlier with his waitress friend. That was the last time she heard from him.

Chapter 23

Adam returned to Hampton Industries at one o’clock. He immediately called Marcia into his office, but before he could confront her, she handed him her resignation. He read it quickly, folded it in half and tossed it on his desk.

“I won’t accept this,” he said calmly. “You have too much work yet to do on this merger to be so cavalier about your responsibilities to Hampton Industries.”

“You don’t have any choice. I delivered a signed copy to Personnel before I came here. I am not going to quibble with you, Adam. My decision is final.”

“What’s wrong with you, Marcia? Why such bitterness all of a sudden? I thought we had a much better relationship than that. Doesn’t our personal time together mean anything to you?”

“You know what’s wrong. Did you think you could have someone spy on me and I wouldn’t find out? You have no right to pry into my personal life. What I do away from this office is strictly my business. You’ve stepped way over the line and if you try to stop me from resigning, I’ll file a harassment suit against you before you know what hit you.”

Adam started to deny her accusation, but thought the better of it. For him a small embellishment of the truth would suffice. “I never had anyone follow you. It was Masterson who I had followed, not you. I’ve had his movements watched since he got here. This merger is for high stakes for me. I was just protecting my investment. I had no idea that you were seeing him. Unfortunately, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Are you having an affair with Masterson or needn’t I ask?”

“That’s none of your damn business. What I do on my own time is private.”

“I know that, but what about us?”

Marcia held back the laugh that was begging to get out. “Don’t you get it, Adam, there is no us. Just because we jumped into the sack a couple of times doesn’t mean that we have anything permanent going on, because we don’t and we’re not going to.”

His voice softened as he said, “I thought we had something special going on.”

Marcia had no reason to be cruel, so she answered, “Adam, we had a couple of dates and we had some good times, but it just didn’t feel right for me.”

“Is it because of that misunderstanding about the CEO job?

“It’s got nothing to do with that.”

“Is it because of Masterson?”

“I had already made my decision before anything started with Kane.”

Adam moved to his desk and slumped into his chair. It took a few minutes for the full impact of her words to register. He regained his composure. “Of course that’s up to you to decide, but you don’t have to leave the company over this. You’ve done a great job on this merger and when it’s complete I plan to move you up to CEO of Bretton Trading. It’s the promotion you’ve always wanted. It’s still possible. I promise that the job is yours. Please reconsider. You can’t throw away an opportunity like this.”

“I appreciate that and under different circumstances, I would be grateful, but my mind is made up. I’m going to pack my bags and leave Old Brooking forever.”

“Are you running off with him?”

Marcia was getting annoyed by his line of questioning. “As a matter of fact I am, not that it’s any of your business.”

Adam fidgeted in his chair. He already suspected that Kane knew in advance about the customer defection and now this. How can that loser be getting the best of me? “You’re making a big mistake, you know. I can offer you so much more than Kane Masterson ever can.”

“Everything isn’t about money, Adam. Please don’t make this anymore difficult than it already is. My resignation stands. I’m sure that if you think about it you’ll realize that. it’s for the best.”

Adam’s cool quickly turned to anger. “You ungrateful bitch. You’re no better than he is. You both can rot in hell. You’re fired! Get your things together and be off the premises in one hour.” Adam’s face turned red as he gestured toward the door. “Get out!”

Marcia had a shocked look on her face, but inside she was thinking, Oh, my god. He did it. I’m free! She stormed out of Adam’s office and slammed the door for effect.

Marcia was out of the building in fifteen minutes. Within another twenty-five she joined Kane in the front seat of his car which was still parked in front of Evelyn Littleton’s house. They were anxious to tell each other their news. He let her go first.

“It went just as we were hoping it would. He actually fired me, but not before he admitted that he had someone following you. He said that you’ve been watched since you first arrived in Old Brooking and that I just got caught in the crosshairs.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute. I think I would have spotted a tail right away if they were following just me. Well, that doesn’t really matter, now. Does that mean you’re ready to shake this town?”

“The sooner, the better. Now tell me, how was lunch with your mother?”

“Well, that’s a whole other story. Unfortunately it took a totally unexpected turn. It wasn’t entirely her fault, though. It was mostly of my doing.”

“What happened?”

“Well, do you remember that I told you that my father ran off before I was born? Well it seems that Peter Masterson ran off, alright, but he was not my real father. My mother says that she had an affair with a married man and that I’m the bastard son of a mystery man. Worse than that, she flat out refuses to tell me his name.”

“She must have a good reason, Kane, although, after all these years, I can’t imagine what it might be, except, perhaps it might be someone you know.”

“She’s obviously covering up for someone and she’s very adamant about disclosing his name. I haven’t a clue as to who it might be. What should I do?”

“I think you have to respect her wishes. I’m sure it was hard for her to admit as much as she did. You need to cut her some slack. When the time is right, she’ll tell you.”

“I‘m not so sure. I could see that it was tearing her apart just talking about him.”

“That’s all the more reason for easing off. What are you going to do, now?”

“I’m going to try to locate Peter Masterson. Maybe he can shed some light on this.”

“I’m not surprised. May I suggest that you don’t tell your mother what you’re planning to do. She’s upset enough as it is.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to make some discreet inquiry into his whereabouts. That way I can keep my options open.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “She wants to meet you, you know.”

“I’m anxious to meet her too. She sounds like a remarkable woman.”

“She is,” he said, “But she’s also stubborn and very proud.”

Kane’s mother answered the door with a big smile on her face. Her eyes still showed a slight puffiness from the tears that flowed so freely an hour earlier. Evelyn reached out and drew Marcia into a close hug, catching her off-guard, but since she came from a family of huggers, it felt comfortable.