Big Daddy Sinatra: There Was a Ruthless Man(72)

“You know she didn’t steal shit, so cut the crap, Abby. What do you want?”

“I want answers. I want to know why you haven’t at least given me a phone call. I heard about Donnie’s new troubles, and I wanted to reach out to you, but I knew you would be upset if I did. So I waited. And waited. But you never phoned. I was expecting you to come over, so I could relieve that stress.”

“No thanks,” Charles said, and leaned forward. “There won’t be any more visits like that.”

She stared at him. “No more visits?”

“None.”

She frowned. “And when did you intend to tell me this, Charles?”

Charles exhaled. “I hadn’t gotten around to it,” he said. “But I was going to tell you.”

“Is it because you weren’t sure? Is it because you had to make certain she was worth the sacrifice? Is that more like it? Is that why you’re telling me now?”

“What difference does it make?” he barked. “I’m telling you now. I’ll put the house in your name, and I will continue your monthly allowance payments, but it goes no further than that.”

Abby looked at him with anger in her heart. But she maintained her cool. “I’m afraid it goes much further than that,” she said.

“No, it does not,” Charles corrected her. “I’m not having a lady on the side. It’s over, Abby.”

“It won’t be over until I say it’s over,” she said. Then she pulled a sheet of paper out of her dainty purse and handed it to him, to prove her point.

“What is this?” he asked her. It looked like lab results.

“The results of my pregnancy test,” Abby said. “As you can see, I am in the family way.”

Charles’s heart rammed against his chest, and he looked at Abby. “What are you saying to me?”

“I’m pregnant, Charles, and you are most certainly the father.”

Charles felt as if he was going to melt with rage. “After all this time, after all these years, you mean to tell me you picked this time, this year, to pull this shit?”

This angered Abby. “What shit am I pulling? You were right there with me!”

“Your ass agreed to take those pills and to take them faithfully every single day!”

“And I did do that,” she lied. “Nothing’s one-hundred percent foolproof, Charles, and you know that! I didn’t plan this. I didn’t pull this. This didn’t just happen to you. It has happened to me too! What about me?”

Abby was so distraught, not by the pregnancy, but by his reaction to the pregnancy, that she could barely contain herself. She hated revealing her true emotions! But nobody angered her more than Charles. Nobody! She stood up. “You call me when you’re ready to speak to me civilly,” she said. “Because I will not stand here and be accused of something I did not do. I’m as devastated as you are.”

She said this and left his office. But Charles’s mind was in a different place. Not how he felt about the news, or even how he felt about Abby. But how Jenay was going to feel about it. They were just hitting their stride. It had been bumpy enough. And now this.

He leaned back, and let out a harsh exhale.



“It will need to go too,” Jenay said to Roy, her maintenance supervisor, as they stood on the side of the Inn and looked at the rotted wood beneath the deck. The landscapers were all around them, beautifying the grounds, and it was a bright sunny day in Jericho. The Inn had several decks, and all of them, Jenay had concluded, were in need of serious work. Today, Roy was taking notes.

“Could we at least save the railings?” he asked.

“We’ll have to see what the contractor says tomorrow,” Jenay said, “but I want it closed to public use right now, at least until I get his assessment.”

“Not even to walk across to get to the pool?”

“Not even that,” Jenay said. “Not until I get that assessment.”

Roy looked past her. He began to close his notebook.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Here comes, Mr. Sinatra,” he said. “I’m sure he’s here to see you. Is that a wrap?”

Jenay turned around and saw Charles coming their way. He had his suit coat off and looked every bit the handsome, muscular man that excited her. But he didn’t look happy. “Yes,” she said. “We’ll pick it back up after lunch.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Roy said, and began to leave. He threw his hand up at Charles. “Good morning, sir!” he yelled.

Charles waved back, and Roy left the area.

Jenay smiled as Charles made his way toward her. She remembered the wonderful night they had together, and in her new place of all places. It was tremendous. They were in a good space when they went their separate ways this morning. But something appeared to have changed his mood since then.