Chapter Eight

~ Janos ~

"Sir, the DNA paternity test result is back," Lester said as he hurried into my office with a manila envelope.

I jumped up from my seat and took the envelope, quickly opening it. My heart pounded in my chest as I pulled the papers out and started to read over them. I had to flip through several pages before I found the answer I was after.

I collapsed in my chair.

"Are you sure this is accurate?"

Was there any way they could have been tampered with?

"I had them run the test three times, sir."

Holy shit!

I was going to be a father.

"I want you to use every resource and find out who this person is." I wanted to know where my kid was and who the other parent was. "And inform the mailroom that anything like the previous letters is to be delivered to me immediately."

"Yes, sir."

I blew out a breath as I stared down at the test report. I was really going to be a father. I knew that it would happen eventually, but I always assumed I would be married first, and hopefully in love with the person I married.

Didn't matter. This was my child. Married or not, I wanted it. I just had to find the person I'd slept with. I could offer them a lot of money to let me have the kid. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of being a single parent, but I was less thrilled with the idea of never seeing my child.

I needed to figure out a way to tell my grandmother. I wanted to wait until I found the person behind all of this and got them to sign an iron-clad agreement to give me the child when it was born. I didn't want to get Yiayia's hopes up in case it didn't work out for some reason.

"Lester, get my lawyer on the phone."

I needed to know where I stood in relation to this kid and their other parent. What were my rights and what were my options. I also needed paperwork. I wanted everything tied up in a nice neat legal package. I'd even put a bow on it.

Lester held the phone receiver out to me. "Sir, Mr. Anderson."

"Bob," I said after taking the receiver and putting it to my ear. "This is Janos. I'm in need of your assistance. I also want to pick your brain."

"Pick away, my friend."

I briefly explained the situation I was in and what I wanted to do. After some going back and forth about the laws pertaining to child custody and my rights as the non-birthing father, we settled on an agreement I felt was fair to all parties involved.

I reached up and rubbed the bridge of my nose with my fingers. The conversation with my lawyer had taken about an hour. By the time it was done, I had a deep ache right behind my eyes. Not because of anything my lawyer said specifically, but because of how involved all of this was.

It was crazy more than anything. My rights as the non-birthing father were not that much. If this person decided to move across the world and never tell me, I had no real recourse.

On the other hand, if I could get this person to sign the paperwork my lawyer was preparing for me, I could gain custody of my child. I had no doubts that I'd have to hand over a significant amount of money, but I could make it so the other parent wasn't even in the picture.

I wasn't sure that was the right thing to do, though. I knew I wanted full custody. That thought was firm in my mind. But cutting the other parent completely out of our child's life might not be the way to go either.

It all depended on who they were, their character, and what they were trying to get out of me. If they truly just wanted to inform me of the child's existence and get child support, why be so mysterious?

They could have just called.

I glanced at my cell phone when it rang, a smile spreading across my lips when I saw who the caller was. This was a sure fire way to get my headache to go away.

"Hello," I said as soon as I answered the call. "Are you back in town?"

"Flew in with my parents last night," Gianni replied.

"Everything go okay?"

"For the most part."

"Good." I smiled, my body relaxing at the sweet sound of Gianni's voice. "Now for the important question. Did you have fun?"

Gianni chuckled. "I did. We had all the family in the same place for once."

"For once?" I asked.

"Well, with my brothers and their families on the west coast and us on the east coast, plus our work schedules, we don't get to have family get-togethers as often as we used to. Usually just around the holidays."

"I usually spend the holidays with my grandmother. My parents passed away when I was just a kid so she raised me and my younger sister."

"Oh." Gianni's voice became somber. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It was sudden, a car accident when I was about seven years old, but at least they went together."

I still missed them.

"Your brothers are on the west coast, right?"

"Yes," Gianni replied.

"I spoke to Frank just last month. He said I needed to change some of my bathroom designs and add more ADA compliant stalls."

"Oh." Gianni's voice began to warm once again. "I thought you only bought and sold real estate."

"While the bulk of my business is just buying and selling land, I sometimes buy land that is vacant and build something on it or I buy buildings that need to be modernized."

"And you work with Galeazzi Construction?"

"Not every time, but yes, over the years Galeazzi Construction has either built or retrofitted several of my properties."

"And that's how you know my brothers?"

"It is."

"So, if I was to call them and ask them about you, what would they tell me?"

I chuckled. "I need more ADA compliant bathrooms."

I loved the sound of Gianni's laughter. It was clear, light, and unabashed. It made me think of warm sunshine. I knew that didn't make sense because sunshine was naturally warm, but that's how it sounded.

"Since you're back in town, does that mean we can do that dinner we talked about?" I wanted to see him. It didn't matter if it was a walk in the park, coffee somewhere, or dinner at my penthouse. I needed to see him.

"Dinner sounds nice," Gianni replied. "I want to see that sunset you told me about."

"Great." A wide smile spread across my face as delight filled me. "Say, about six then? That will give us a little time to eat before the sun goes down." I was already starting to make plans in my head. "Is there anything you can't eat?"

"No, but not anything too heavy, please."

"Okay, then, I'll see you at six."

"One problem."

My heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"I don't know where you live."

I snorted before stating, "I'll text you my address." I was reluctant to hang up, but I had plans to make and people to call. "I'll see you tonight at six then."

"Okay, see you then."

I hung up and immediately sent Gianni the address and then dialed Vasso. The penthouse needed to be gone over and dinner needed to be started. I wanted something outside on the patio, something that would be romantic without seeming to be romantic.

Gianni had been pretty firm on his friends only boundaries. I planned to test those boundaries, but I wouldn't cross them until I had his permission. Despite what the media liked to report, I was not a beast. If all I could ever be to Gianni was a friend, I'd accept it. I just hoped for more.

Waiting for work to be over was excruciating. By the time five o'clock rolled around, I had mastered clock watching. The second the big hand hit the five, I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door.

I got more than a few surprised looks.

Having no social life to speak of, I tended to stay late at the office. People were used to seeing behind my computer as they left work. They weren't used to me speeding out of the office at a fast clip.

Vasso should have already done what I'd asked him to do, so I knew I just needed to get home, shower, and change into something a little more comfortable. I didn't want to meet Gianni in a three piece suit. I wanted our evening together to be more casual.

This wasn't a board meeting.

I arrived home soon enough and hurried upstairs to my penthouse. Vasso was waiting for me at the door. "Is everything ready?"

Gianni was to be here in a half hour.

"It is, sir. Dinner is almost done and I've set a place for you to eat on the patio. As soon as your guest arrives, I will light the candles and the fire pit."

"Thank you, Vasso. I'm going to jump in the shower and change my clothes. Would you put on some jazz?"

I figured a little background music would be nice, but I wanted something mellow and soothing. I didn't want it to overtake our possible conversation.

"Of course, sir."

Without saying another word, I headed for my bedroom and ultimately the bathroom. I only had about thirty minutes left and I wanted to be prepared for when Gianni arrived.

My heart was beating a little faster and there was a strong sense of anticipation filling me. I admit, I hadn't felt something like this in longer than I could remember.

Showering was done quickly. Picking out something casual to wear for our "first date" was a bit trickier. I went through my entire closet before finally settling on a simple pair of tan slacks and a white button down shirt.

After pulling them on, I neatly rolled the sleeves halfway up my forearm and left the first couple of buttons at the collar undone. I finished the ensemble with a tan leather belt and matching loafers. Lastly, I splashed a little cologne on my neck and wrists and then headed out of the bedroom.

The soft sounds of Coltrane filled the air. I stopped for a moment, closing my eyes as I listened to the soft sultry music. I wanted soothing music and that's exactly what I got. I could feel the tension rolling off of me by the second.

Of course, it all came rushing back when I heard the doorbell ring.

"I've got it," I told Vasso when I saw him heading for the door. I wanted to greet Gianni myself. Well, truth be told, I wanted all of his attention for myself.

Yeah, it was petty.

Sue me.

I had a smile on my face even before I opened the front door. "Gianni."

A flickered moved across my forehead when I saw a small shudder shake the man. "I see you found the place."

Gianni's smile was somewhat shy, which was weird. "It wasn't that hard."

"Come in, come in." I stepped back to allow Gianni into my home. As soon as he passed me, I closed and locked the door. "Can I take your jacket?"

I had dressed casually and so had Gianni. His was a button down shirt and a pair of faded denim jeans. I still nearly swallowed my tongue when he took his black leather jacket off and turned to face me, holding the jacket out to me.

"Thank you."

I quickly hung the jacket up in the closet and then led Gianni through the penthouse to the patio just off the living room. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Oh, um, do you have anything non-alcoholic?"

I was a bit surprised, but I wasn't going to argue about it.

"Vasso, do we have anything non-alcoholic for Mr. Galeazzi?"

"Hot or cold, sir?" Vasso asked.

"Oh, cold if you have it," Gianni replied.

Vasso nodded once. "Right away, sir."

Gianni waited until Vasso walked away before glancing at me. "He seems...nice."

"Vasso is very good at his job and that is all I care about." The man had actually been with me for many years. We weren't friends, but I respected him.

I smiled as I pressed my hand to the middle of Gianni's back. "Come on, let's head out to the patio. Dinner is just about ready."

And tonight was just starting.