One Night Stand (New Yorker III) (6 page)

Survive
. Those words were imprinted in
her mind.

She
pulled out of the embrace. “Tortilla’s for the pregnant woman.”

As soon
as she could, Catalella escaped into the bathroom and let out the gut-wrenching
pain she felt in her heart.
I’m pregnant,
I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant…
Lisette’s voice echoed in her ear, reminding her
of how inadequate she was. Catalella was a failure, and barely a woman. The
realization that she would never feel that kind of closeness to another human
being, that she would never utter those words, made her glad that Rich had left
when he did. The last thing she wanted was to go through another rejection.

* * *
*

Monday
morning met Catalella with the same problems. She couldn’t get rid of the baby
blues but at least the bruise on her cheek was fading. She had used her make-up
to cover it up, as well as the black rims under her eyes. When she got back
home on Sunday all she did was cry. There was no way that she could survive,
not now. She found herself needing Rich but she promised herself not to return
to De Alma
.
She wasn’t going to give
him the pleasure of seeing how crushed he had left her.

A knock
on the door brought Catalella back to the present. “What’s up, Darcy?”

“What
happened with tall, blond and handsome?” There was a cheeky, excited look on
Darcy’s face and Catalella wished that she could share it.

“He
came, he saw, he conquered, then he left,” Catalella summarized.

“But
you are going to see him again, right?”
Hopefully.
Catalella
saw the word Darcy left out in the expression on her face.

“Nope.
Apparently I’m too damaged for
him.”

“Did he
say that or are you assuming?”

“He
didn’t say those exact words.” She didn’t feel comfortable giving Darcy the
note. It was private, plus she didn’t want to look desperate since she carried
it everywhere with her.

“Survive!”
Darcy bellowed. “What the hell is wrong with this guy?”

“He
might be right,” Catalella confessed. “On Saturday my sister told me she was
pregnant and I haven’t stopped crying.”

Catalella
dabbed the tears starting to form in her eyes. The look of pity Darcy gave her
broke her heart. It usually enraged her but this time it just broke her heart.

* * *
*

“Keep
it together.” Catalella leaned over the bathroom sink. This was her third trip
here. Throwing up and cleaning up. She didn’t like how exhausted she looked or
felt. It was like her body was repelling everything she ate for the past week.
Catalella felt a tremble in her hand and bit back a gasp. She didn’t want to
think the worst, but how could she not?

The
meeting with the McCrery representative was today. She only had to get through
her meeting, do her best,
then
later on she would go
see her doctor.

She
walked out of the bathroom and to her office, determined that the morning would
go on without a hitch. She stopped at Darcy’s desk,
then
said. “Call doctor…” She stuttered—just saying his name gave her a chill, a
premonition of what was to come. “Call Doctor Caplain, and don’t tell anyone
else.”

A
startled Darcy stared at her, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to hide
her gasp.
“Your oncologist?
Why do you want to talk to
your oncologist?”

Catalella
stared back at her, silent. She didn’t have an answer. She didn’t want an
answer. Dennis escorted an older man to the boardroom and, to her dismay,
Michael Mathews followed behind the two men. Catalella’s hand reached for the
chair next to her. The shock seemed to have rendered her legs useless. From now
on she had Michael to remind her of how unworthy she was as a woman. There was
no escaping from it now. There was a reason she worked to the wee hours of the
night, to keep her mind occupied with work. She wanted to keep busy so that her
mind wouldn’t wander to what was wrong with her life. But now Michael was a
visual reminder.

* * *
*

“Survive!”
Rich hissed. “How stupid could I be?” He sat in his limo, imprisoned by his
latest decision.

Rich
hadn’t seen Catalella in two months and it was harder to let her go than he'd
thought. It had taken him five different business trips out of the continent to
keep himself away from her. But now that he was so close, all he wanted to do
was rush into the building and take her into his arms. He could still remember
how small she felt in his arms, the gentle touch of her soft skin against his.
How she whispered and shrieked his name in the throes of passion. He wanted to
be with Catalella again…she seemed to have bewitched him. Rich hadn’t been able
to go out with any other girl and he was living his life in total seclusion.

When
they had arrived at the law firm, Ross and Kent, Rich remembered that Catalella
had said that she worked there. He had already been away for so long he didn’t
want to barge into her life once again. Besides, he knew how hard she had
worked for that account and seeing him in that boardroom would only set her off
the rails. He chose to stay in the limo, feigning fatigue. His uncle didn’t
argue because Rich had dedicated his life to being the man he wanted to be, a
responsible grown up.

He
smiled when his uncle asked: “What brought on this sudden change?”

And he
said: “A special woman told me to be the best for myself and no one else.”

But now
he couldn’t tell his uncle that the woman was Catalella or she would surely
lose the account. Old man Harold didn’t believe in mixing business with
pleasure.

* * *
*

“Are
you still cursing yourself?” Harold joined him in the back seat.

“How
did it go?” Rich asked nervously, but tried not to seem too interested in his
uncle’s decision.

“She’s
awesome—very organized, straight to the point and meticulous in her work. She
reminds me of her father.”

“Did
she get it?” Rich paused. “I mean did the firm get the account?”

“They
got it.” His uncle shot him a suspicious look. “Why are you so interested?”

“It’s
my company and I only want the best,” Rich lied as he looked out the window to
avoid Harold’s gaze. Normally when it came to women and business he had a very
good poker face. But when trying to lie to a man who had seen him in diapers,
he found it very hard to keep a straight face.

As they
pulled away, Rich regretted his decision to not go into the building to see
Catalella. He didn’t exactly miss her…there was nothing but a sexual
relationship between them. Sure, Catalella understood him better than people he
knew all his life just by reading a document about him and his business. He
felt that they had bonded in some way. —Rich in his confusion of whom he was
meant to be, and Catalella in the pain of
who
she was.
But, even with a bond between them, he knew they were never going to work out.

“The
papers are going to be signed next week.” Harold cut into his thoughts. “Then
there will be a pitch about getting us as a permanent client.”

“I need
to be there, right?” Rich cleared his throat.

“Any
permanent legal representation contracts need both our signatures. Monday
morning, kid, no excuses this time.”

“Monday
morning,” Rich echoed.

Chapter Five

“Miss
Ross, please lay back. I want to take a look at something.”

Catalella
stared at the nurse who had walked in pushing something that looked like an
ultrasound machine into the room. She lay back on the bed, holding the hospital
gown at her hips so that it wouldn’t lift as she moved.

“Where
is my doctor?” Catalella asked, and after no response she asked again. “Where
is Doctor Caplain?”

She
knew something was wrong. Her doctor had been gone too long after checking her
in. She had already gone through a series of blood tests and now she was
waiting for the usual scans and MRIs. But instead of her doctor there was a
lethargic nurse with a permanent scowl on her face squirting gel on her belly.

The
nurse grunted and groaned as she scrolled the scan over Catalella’s belly. She
couldn’t get a read on the nurse’s expression. Nothing that would tell her what
the nurse was seeing in the ultra sound, or whether it was good or bad.

“It’s
back, isn’t it?” Catalella asked in a panic. “The cancer is back. Is it in my
ovaries?”

The
nurse shot her a glance but said nothing. She handed Catalella a box of
tissues, got up and left the room.

“You’re
not going to tell me anything?” Catalella shouted after her. “Am I dying?”

Catalella
heard the door open and she sat up just in time to see her doctor walk in, an
incredulous expression on his face.

“I’m
dying, aren’t I? How long have I got before my life is over?” She was
hysterical at this point, gasping and wiping the tears streaming down her face
as she searched the room frantically, for what she didn’t know.

“First
of all you are not dying.” The doctor sat on the bed next to Catalella, holding
her hand in support. “As for your
life being over, most women
think
it all ends and begins once you are in the third trimester.”

“What?”
She stared at him with silent surprise. And hope…there was definitely hope blooming
in her chest.

She
could hear what he was insinuating. She was paid to read between the lines. But
nothing
good
ever happened in her
life. And the idea that her doctor was sitting next to her, not a whiff of
alcohol on him, looking as sober as he ever did was implying that she was…

“You’re
pregnant!” he said out loud with gusto. “I can’t believe it either, but you are
definitely pregnant.”

“What?”
Catalella said in a whisper. She didn’t believe it, wouldn’t let herself
believe it. Even when he put the miniature ultrasound pictures in front of her,
she didn’t believe that little blob was her baby.

A
baby
.

“You’re
about two months along,” he continued. Catalella knew how far along she was. It
was Rich. The man had walked into the picture and shaken her bed and her life
along with it. The idiot had given her a baby.

She
felt her lips curl into a smile as the doctor’s voice droned on and on. She
couldn’t hear it. She was staring at the ultra sound pictures in a trance.
Catalella was looking at her baby.
Her
baby.

“You
need to take care of yourself. I may be a scientist but I am not afraid to
admit that this is a miracle.
A definite fluke, but a miracle
nonetheless.”
Catalella turned to face him when he held onto her arms.
“You need to understand something, Catalella, this is it. There is nothing to
suggest that you could ever get pregnant again after this. This is your
one
chance so you need to take care of
yourself.”

There he goes with the numbers
again.
She knew
having something easy and smooth was too good to be true. She had gotten her
good news and her warning. She was going to hold onto both of them with equal
importance.

Catalella
got into her car and immediately put the hazard lights on. She was going to
take care of her pregnancy even if it meant driving well below the
grandma-limit. As the cars hooted at her she stuck her hand out the window and
waved them on. Before long she was outside De Alma. Consciously, she didn’t
want to be here. She thought about it, and sharing her miracle was the last
thing she wanted. But she had to tell Rich. She had to say thank you at least.

Although
she was here she was terrified of getting out of her car. But the valet opened
her door before she could protest. She grabbed her handbag and took a
courageous walk towards the front door.

* * *
*

Rich
had a feeling she was here, an inkling. A tremor rocked through him but it
wasn’t excitement—it was fear. What did Catalella want here? She hadn’t been to
the restaurant since their little sexcapade. He never thought he would see her
at De Alma
again. He was ready to
face her in a board room but not where they first met, where they had their
first dance and kiss. But there she was, stepping out of her BMW, her skirt
clinging to her hips as her jacket hugged her torso, bringing out the shape of
her well-rounded breasts. He remembered how cozy he felt being in between those
thighs, having those breasts pressed against his strong chest and, damn him, he
wanted to be there again.

But
fear, or cowardice, won over lust. He rose from his stool, leaving his drink
behind at the bar. The bartender stared after him in shock. Rich ducked through
the kitchen to the back alley where his car was parked. He slipped in and
mercilessly pushed the sports car to get him out of Dodge. Rich promised never
to let himself get led by his cock ever again. But Catalella was different and
he didn’t know how to handle different. He knew how to deal with gold diggers
after sex and money. But Catalella wanted love, comfort and caring. She needed
someone to be responsible for her, to love her. And nothing frightened Rich as
much as falling in love…

Catalella
could have sworn she had seen someone like Rich at the bar, but he wasn’t
there. She looked around, hoping to find someone she could ask in a way that it
wasn’t so obvious she was desperate to see him. She took a seat at her usual
table and, as she was about to order, she saw the familiar red Maserati speed
off. In silent surprise Catalella watched as Rich ran away from her.

* * *
*

Catalella
sat at the large dining table, food and memories sprawled before her. She had
always loved her mother’s paella but she couldn’t eat it. The spices in the
food had suddenly grown too much for her. It had been a month since she’d found
out she was pregnant. A lot had happened between then and now.

At work,
Michael Mathews—she said his full name with as much disdain as she would utter
a curse—had interrupted her business with McCrery Holdings. He had cited some
irregularities in her contract that she had never believed were there in the
first place. Catalella was cautious and meticulous in her work. She strived for
perfection and nothing else, but Harold didn’t see it that way. She wondered
why the old man had given her a second chance and she appreciated it. But she
wouldn’t be able to get an appointment with him and the CEO until later on that
month.

At
home, she hadn’t been as lonely as she used to be.
Knowing
that there was another life around, although it wasn’t born yet, comforted her.
She still had Rich’s note with her—she stared at it each morning before she
left for work and in the evening before she slept.
Survive.
The word flashed in her mind over and over again,
screaming at her to listen and she finally was. She needed to get rid of all
the hurt and resentment if she was going to make room for all the love she
would have for the little baby.

Her
hand dropped to her belly, as it did a million times over during the day. It
was her body acknowledging the new life within it, as if the fatigue, nausea
and moodiness hadn’t already.

“
Mija?”

Catalella
was pulled out of her thoughts by her mother’s worried question. She hadn’t
said it out loud, but in that one word there were three others:
are you okay?
Catalella smiled,
reassuring her, and picked up her well-packed tortilla. But, no matter how hard
she tried to convince herself, she couldn’t take a bite.

“
How’re the wedding
plans coming?” her sister asked.

Catalella
was appreciative of Lisette’s meddling ways. The topic of a wedding was
something her mother couldn’t turn away from.

“Pretty
good,” Katherine answered.

Catalella
watched as her brother and his fiancée stared at each other, lost in each
other’s gazes. That was what she wanted. But she reprimanded herself for being
greedy. She already had a baby. She was content for now.

“I wish
you would get married during the summer.” Her mother groaned. “I know
it's
spring, but it’s still a little chilly. Imagine having
the wedding at our backyard instead of a hotel.”

“I can
afford to pay for my son’s wedding to be in a hotel,” Adrian senior grumbled.

“That’s
not the point, sweetheart.” Rosalinda tapped his hand as if to reassure him.
But then an incredulous look came over her mother’s face that had everyone on
the table pulled in. “Are you pregnant? Is that it? Is that why you want such a
quick wedding?”

“No!”
AJ and Katherine said in unison.

“I am.”
Catalella sneaked in. She had whispered it, more to herself than everyone else,
so that she didn’t think anyone had heard.

“I
can’t believe AJ knocked you up.” Lisette chortled.

“I
didn’t,” AJ said defensively.

“Quiet!
All of you.”

Catalella
stared at Reno. He never raised his voice. Usually that was left for his
chattering wife. He was silent while Lisette was loud. They balanced each
other.

“What
did you say?” Reno asked
,
his body turned towards
Catalella.

How
could she think no one heard? The man was sitting right next to her and his
usual silence allowed him to hear everyone. She thought he had picked up his
keen sense of listening when his first child was born a few years back. But
that was Reno—he was always in big brother mode when he was around his sister,
Daniela, and her. He was caring, loving, and considerate. That was what made
him a great father. But what qualities or qualifications did Rich possess that
would make him a good dad?

Catalella
shook her head, terrified all of a sudden to divulge her secret.

“I
heard what you said, Lella.” Reno took her hand and squeezed it in support.

“Are
you dumb all of a sudden?” Lisette put in. Although she meant for it to mean
she could hear the concern in her voice.

“Peanut?”

“I’m...”
Catalella stared at her siblings, not once risking a glance at her parents. She
swallowed hard and a squeeze for support from Reno urged her on. “I’m
pregnant.”

The
next thing Catalella heard were chairs being pushed back and feet rushing
towards her. Lisette scanned her with a worried look—Catalella was sure her
older sister thought she was mad. But AJ grabbed her arm and lifted her off her
seat, leading her into the living room. Catalella heard the rest follow. She
had no doubt that her brother was about to play doctor.

Silently
he instructed her to lie flat on the sofa and kneeled next to her. His hands
hovered over her as he stared into her eyes.

“Let me
do it,” Katherine offered.

Reluctantly,
AJ moved away to give Katherine space. She was an OBGYN so Catalella was sure
that she knew what she was doing.

“I’m
going to use my hands to examine you. You are going to feel a little pressure,”
Katherine said as her hands pressed on Catalella’s abdomen as she felt around.

A gasp
and a proud look on Katherine’s face confirmed what Catalella had said. “If you
had asked I would have shown you the ultrasound pictures,” she said.

“Are
you serious?” Her father’s voice boomed in the room.

Catalella
sat up and stared at her family as they stared back at her. “Doctor Caplain
said everything is fine. He says it’s a miracle…a fluke, that I should be
careful. I am. I have a better diet, and I’m taking my vitamins everyday—”
Catalella held onto her mother when she pulled her into a hug and went on with
her list. “I try my best to eat five times a day even though I’m nauseous all
the time. I don’t work overtime. I’m careful, I promise.”

Catalella
fell silent when Rosalinda framed her face with her hands. Her mother pressed
her forehead to hers as she had countless times when she was emotional.
Rosalinda pulled away and hugged her daughter then made room for Adrian.

“I’m
proud of you,” the large man said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“My
sister has been having sex,” Lisette exclaimed, making everyone in the room
laugh, but her father groaned.

“I feel
like I should beat up this guy. But I want to buy him a drink even more,” AJ
put in.