Surprises

I am very sorry for what happened to Ella Sinders. It was a tragedy,” Monty Verona began, finally setting his wine glass down to respond to Rome’s statement. “She was a beautiful young woman with her whole life in front of her. I have to say, though, son, I think it is for the better that you had disassociated with her. She clearly wasn’t stable.”
Anger began to seethe below the surface, but Rome fought it. So much of what his dad had to say made him want to yell, to reach across the table and punch his own father in the mouth. “Ella Verona--I don’t care what you did legally, she was my wife--and you have no idea what the mental anguish of going through everything she’d had to endure could do to you or to anyone.”
Monty seemed to concede, giving the response a small shrug. “Perhaps not, though I know more about struggle than you seem to realize. I wasn’t always the billionaire you see before you, you know, Rome? I started out with twenty bucks in my pocket and a dream. I built this empire….” Monty’s voice faded off as he stared up at the ceiling, lost in time for a moment.
His gaze returned to his son’s face. “It was Sinders who tried to take it all. He cost me more than money. He attempted to ruin my reputation, and in the film industry, that’s worth more than money. I understand you never cared to know the details of what went on between us, so I never went further than to tell you to steer clear of him, a warning you obviously failed to heed.” Lacy stirred in her seat next to Monty, catching Rome’s eyes for a moment. Whether she’d jabbed her husband or the movement had been enough to get him back on track, he changed courses. “I truly am sorry for your loss--but everything your mother and I did was in an effort to protect you, Rome.”
“We just wanted to make sure you were safe. Sinders is a bitter man.” Lacy shook her head adamantly as she spoke, the lines around her mouth more noticeable now than before, as if she’d finally started to age with everything that was going on. Rome thought she’d looked exactly the same for the majority of his life, but now, studying her face, he could see that wasn’t the case.
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that?” Rome asked, keeping his voice down. “If that were truly the case, that you were afraid Sinders might come after me, then why not explain it to me, and let me make my own decision?”
“This town had buried enough kids,” Monty said, his tone sharper than before. He didn’t like to be questioned. “I knew what you’d say. You’d refuse to go, or beg to be with her. Now that she’s gone… I’m not certain he won’t still come after you, though the settlement should help.” Monty had that far off look in his eyes again. This time it was tinged with bitterness.
“Settlement?” Rome repeated, having absolutely no idea what his father was talking about. “What settlement?”
Before he could get a response, Cristino was back with the food. He set all of the plates in their proper places and took his time asking if there was anything else he could get anyone. When he finally left, Monty already had his fork in his hand. “Let’s eat first. We'll get into business afterward.”
Rome opened his mouth to protest but closed it, knowing there was no reason to argue. His father had been accommodating in answering any questions at all before they ate. He certainly wasn’t going to change his mind now.
The older man took his time, savoring every bite, all of his attention focused on the pasta he carefully twisted around his fork before adding a small bit of cut-up meatball to the tip of each bite. Rome picked at his lasagna, not hungry at all. The dish tasted just fine, but his mind was elsewhere, and he remembered Ella’s warning about eating or drinking, though he thought such an establishment as this one wouldn’t want to be associated with the drugging and kidnapping of a famous actor.
A few times, his mother attempted to make small talk as she ingested tiny bites of her food, much like a bird. She’d been watching her weight as long as Rome could remember. He’d never seen her clean her plate--not once. Her attempts at trying to start a conversation so they wouldn’t have to suffer in silence were futile. No one wanted to talk about the lovely flowers the Gibsons had planted outside of their gate or the fact that Crystal Davis was getting married next weekend. Eventually, she gave up, eating a little more than normal, probably because her feelings were hurt that no one wanted to chat.
When Monty was finished, he pushed his plate aside, wiped his mouth on his napkin, and deposited the cloth on top of the empty dish. He took another drink of his wine, which had been refilled enough times that the bottle was nearly empty now, and then snapped his fingers.
It wasn’t the waiter he was summoning. A few tables over, a lanky man in his mid-forties wearing a nice suit and black tie approached, carrying an attaché case. He set it down next to Monty on the floor and then strode back to his table.
Rome shook his head. Even with all of their careful planning, they’d had no idea that man was part of Monty’s brigade. He was tempted to glance around and see if he could pick out anyone else. The woman sitting at the table with the suit was dressed nicely in an evening gown and seemed to be genuinely interested in his father’s goon when Rome had caught a glimpse of them earlier. Anyone could be a part of the Verona circus.
His father didn’t reach for the case just yet. Instead, he steepled his hands in front of his face. “After the unfortunate demise of Mark Hutio, Tim Bolt, and Ella Sin--Verona,” he began, catching himself, which brought a pleasant smile to Lacy’s face, “there was plenty of blame to throw around, despite the fact that you were found not to be responsible for Tim’s death and weren’t even in the country when Ella passed away. Mark’s parents sued Tim’s family and Sinders, saying someone needed to be held accountable for Mark’s death. They settled out of court quickly. After that, the enemy came looking for me. Both Tim’s parents and Ella’s father sued me for wrongful death.”
Rome’s eyebrows arched. He’d had no idea. While he could believe Lloyd Sinders would find any excuse possible to sue his father, he couldn’t believe Ella’s aunt would do such a thing. She knew the truth--that Ella was alive, and that she was still married to Rome, in practice if not legally. “Wh--what happened? Are you still fighting it?”
Monty sighed and ran a hand through his graying hair. “I’m tired of fighting things, Rome. I’m not getting any younger. We settled, just to get it over with. But… that did take a chunk out of our savings, son. And your mother and I have been discussing retirement for years.”
Rome didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t happy that Ella’s family had sued his, especially when what had happened to Tim was an accident, but he’d have to fight to make sense of all of that later. “Are you saying you’re going to retire?”
His parents exchanged glances. “I hadn’t planned on it, not so soon, but when we were approached by a buyer who was willing to give us even more than the company is currently worth, well, we’re strongly considering it now.”
“You have a buyer? Who is it?” Rome couldn’t imagine his father selling his company. He’d poured everything he had into it for so long, Rome didn’t even know who he’d be without it.
“The attorney won’t disclose the name, not until we agree to sell. Just that it’s a European firm with a strong background in film who would like to move into the American market.”
“It’s a fine offer,” Lacy said, smiling at her husband proudly, as if he’d somehow made the offer happen.
“Are you going to take it?” Rome asked. He glanced down at Bart, trying to get a read on whether or not his friend thought he was missing something, but Bart looked disinterested, which told Rome, while he was paying attention, he wasn’t alarmed.
“I think so,” Monty admitted with a shrug. “The company’s worth more right now than it ever has been, despite your antics. I had been pondering what to do with it when I retired, since clearly you want no part of it. So… I think I may sell. There’s just one stipulation you need to be aware of.”
“What’s that?” Rome gulped in air, swallowing hard. What could it possibly be now?