Chapter 28: Chapter 28

“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?

“The buyer wants an agreement with you that you will star in ten movies produced by the company in the next five years. All major roles, all paid at or above your going rate at the time filming begins. They want to continue to use the Verona name to their advantage, and for some reason, they seem to think your return to Hollywood is bound to attract a lot of attention. If you say no, they’ll pull the offer.”

Once again, Rome caught Bart’s eyes. His friend’s were slightly wider now, which wasn’t a surprise. Rome felt as if his were about to bulge out of his head. He had come into this meeting assuming he’d be asked to work for his father’s company some. Now, he had the opportunity to do so without his father in the picture. He’d get to do what he loved, and he’d be making a lot of money. The fact that he didn’t know who the buyer was bothered him, but he couldn’t imagine any foreign buyer coming in wanting to get a piece of the American market by making such a large investment would make bad choices in the movies they released. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

“You will?” A smile broke out across his father’s face.

“Yes, under one condition. You stop stalking me. I don’t want you or your men showing up anywhere I’m at anymore. I take it, when you retire, you’ll be headed to Europe?” Monty nodded. “Good. I’ll check in with you once a week so you know how I’m doing, but I don’t want any more suits showing up, got it?”

“What if Sinders comes after you?” his mother asked, that worried expression back on her face.

“I have my own people. I’ll be fine,” Rome assured them.

“Fine, fine. I’ll call them off,” Monty said with a sharp nod. “Now, let me get your portion of the contract so you can sign it.” He bent down and opened the attaché case, pulling out a stapled document about five pages long for Rome to sign.

He wished he had his lawyer there to look it over, but it all looked straightforward to him, nothing different than the contracts he was used to signing. He handed it down to Bart to read through, just to have a second pair of eyes on it. Bart nodded and handed it back, and Rome took the pen from his father, signing the contract and dating it. He prayed he was doing the right thing and this wasn’t just another one of his father’s tricks. The opportunity to get his parents off of his back would make it worth it, assuming this wasn’t some form of deception.

Monty put the contract back into his case. “I’ll get you a copy of that, and of the lawsuit paperwork, for your records.”

“Lawsuit paperwork?” Rome asked, confused again. “Why would I need that?”

Tipping his head to the side, Monty studied his son for a second before he said, “You were named in the lawsuits, too, Rome.”

All the blood seemed to drain out of his face as Rome realized what his father was saying. Again, he wasn’t surprised that Lloyd Sinders would sue him--but Genevieve Bolt had done so? “I was?”

“Yes, of course. They hardly had a case against me, for Tim, anyway, but you--well, clearly, they could argue you had something to do with Tim’s death. All they need is a reasonable doubt in the judge’s mind, and they win.”

Rome’s unsettled feeling was growing. He had spent enough time talking to his parents. While he hadn’t been able to try to convince them to go speak to Lloyd, it seemed evident now that that couldn’t happen, not under the circumstances. He wasn’t even about to try. “I think I should go.”

“Already?” Lacy asked. “It’s been so nice to see you, dear.”

“Yes, I think so. I have some things I need to do.”

“When do you start filming on the Wynnie project?” Monty asked, as if he hadn’t heard him say he needed to leave.

“Uh… couple of weeks.”

“That’ll be big. Soon as it’s over, I’m guessing the new owners will want you for one of their movies.”

“Probably so.”

“Are you seeing anyone, honey?” Lacy asked, drawing Rome’s eyes to her face. He was certain his expression was a mix of disbelief and hatred that someone would dare ask him that under the circumstances. “It’s just… we saw the pictures from Dallas.”

Rome closed his eyes. He shouldn’t have been so quick to grow angry at her. It was an assumption anyone would make. “No. That was just a woman I met at the airport. She was also headed to California, to see her boyfriend, and we decided to ride together.”

“Oh. She was lovely,” Lacy said, slightly disappointed. “I thought perhaps she was someone you’d met on your...adventure.”

That was an interesting way to put it. “No. Haven’t met anyone.” Rome hoped his father would end his snooping before he noted Rome wasn’t living alone, if he didn’t know already.

“Pretty girl,” Monty said, rubbing his chin. “Looked a little, uh, familiar, to me. She… remind you of anyone?”

The look in his eyes as he met Rome’s gaze let him know the suspicions were there. Calling upon all of his skills as an actor, Rome looked right back and said, “No, no she didn’t.”

Monty chuckled slightly, looking away. “I’ll get you a copy of this paperwork. You take care, son. Check in with your mother.”

Rome nodded and pushed back his chair. Lacy was on her feet, her arms open. He walked around and hugged his mother, kissing her cheek, and then shook his father’s offered hand. As soon as he withdrew it, he had the urge to wipe it off, but he didn’t. Instead, he put his hands in his jacket pocket, and turned to signal to Bart that he was ready to go. There was no sense in trying to pay for his portion of the meal. All that would do was hurt his mother’s feelings.

As they headed toward the door, Rome realized there was something small and round in his pocket. It felt almost like a button or a cufflink, but smaller. He didn’t normally put his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket, so he had no idea how the item might’ve gotten there, but he didn’t stop to pull it out. Instead, he followed Bart out the door, ready to be free of this situation once and for all.