Chapter 22Me and mine
Chapter Twenty-Two
ME AND MINE
Jasmine Journee’s shaking hand covered her mouth. Her eyes swung wildly around the room. Leonardo rounded the table and tried to approach her. With every step he took, she retreated until she bumped into Frank.
She turned to him and asked, “what’s happening? Why are there two of them?”
“Jasmine, how about we have a seat, and I will explain what is happening?” Stepping to her side, Frank cupped her elbow and led her to a chair.
When she sat, Jasmine Journee finally seemed to register that Ivy was in the room. “Mrs. Scott?”
“Hello, Jasmine,” Ivy replied, her tone full of sympathy.
His wife sent him an unpleasant look. His little stunt had not only blindsided Leonardo, but everyone else in the room as well. From the expression on Ivy’s face, she was disappointed in him. Emmanuel would talk his way out of this later.
“I’m so confused.” Jasmine Journee said. Ivy held out a hand to her, and she took it.
His wife cleared her throat before she began. “I don’t know how else to deliver this news. So I am just going to rip the Band-Aid off. The man who you met here, at Lancaster all those months ago, wasn’t Emmanuel Scott. This is my husband.” She said, turning to Manny.
Jasmine Journee glanced at him and then turned her gaze back to Ivy. Pointing to where Leonardo stood, she asked, “then who is he?”
“That is his identical twin brother. His name is Leonardo Baldi.”
“His what? You knew about him when you visited me?” Jasmine’s gaze was steely.
“No. I didn’t. Well, I suspected, because the man you described sounded nothing like Emmanuel. We didn’t know my husband had a twin.”
“Jesus. But… I can’t do this.” Jasmin Journee stood and bolted from the room. Both Ivy and Frank ran after her.
Leonardo turned furious eyes on him as he approached. “Why would you do this to her?”
“I did nothing to her. You. You did this to Jasmine Journee. First, you lied about who you were. At any point, you could have corrected this situation. Instead, you set her up–”
“I know what I fucking did! The pain I caused her. You didn’t have to add to it. She was innocent in all of this.”
He rushed over to the table and slammed his hand down on it. The sound reverberated in the room.
“Don’t turn this on me. You made her collateral damage. Not me. You are the one who gave her my name and then pushed her to have me legally named as the father of her child. What did you think would happen when I figured out what you did? Did you think I would sit idly by and let the people who almost cost me my family go unscathed?”
“This was on me!” He slapped his chest. “My mistake. Leave her out of it. This goes no further.” Leonardo’s voice soared with each word.
“Do you think you are in any position to make demands? I fucking own you. If I were you, I’d watch how you speak to me.”
“I could give a fuck! When you grow up the way I did, you learn things come and go. Leave Jasmine out of whatever vendetta you have up your sleeves.”
“Again, you put her in the line of fire. You are responsible for her pain.”
“If I were you, I would be more concerned about your woman?—”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Emmanuel stood abruptly causing his chair toppled over.
Is this mother fucker crazy? Was he threatening Ivy? He would end him now.
“It means while you planned to hurt me by coming for Jasmine, you caused a disruption in your own home. Where is your wife? Because she didn’t look pleased with you when she left. Just remember that is on you. I’m fucking out of here.” Leonardo stormed out.
Ivy and he were solid. They had been through a lot. The end result was they always stood together. She’d forgive him. What had he really done? Nothing.
Emmanuel justified his actions. He hadn’t told her he’d invited Jasmine Journee. It wasn’t that bad. To be honest, Jasmine Journee was his back-up plan. He didn’t know Leonardo would show up and own his actions the way he did. This wasn’t on him.
Emmanuel sat in the room with his thoughts for a while before Ivy returned alone. She sighed deeply as she took the seat across the table from him.
“Manny, please tell me that you know you could have handled the situation with Jasmine better?”
Instead of answering her question, he addressed what was bothering him. “Doc, you are sitting awfully far away.” He gestured across the table to show the distance.
“I needed to look you in the eye when we had this discussion. I’m trying to figure out why you allowed her to walk into an ambush the way you did. I know this entire ordeal has been difficult for all of us, but you know she is innocent in all of this. Actually, she may be more innocent than everyone else.”
He arched his skeptical eyebrow at his wife.
“In five years, this whole incident will be a blip on the radar for you, for us.”
I doubt that shit very much. He didn’t interrupt; he allowed her to continue.
“But this situation will never fade into the background for her. Not as she continues to raise the child of a man who lied to her about everything.”
“How is that my fault? I didn’t lie to her.”
“No, but you broke a promise to me.”
“I didn’t?—”
“The hell you didn’t. You promised to tell me everything. Why didn’t you tell me about your little surprise?”
Emmanuel felt like a chastised child. Fuck, he was one. He hadn’t told Doc because he knew. He knew she would object.
“There was a better way to handle letting her know. I’m sure you know that because you aren’t a cruel man. I know this situation has fucked you up, but Jasmine isn’t who you are angry at,” Ivy sighed.
He could tell she was waiting for him to say something, but he just stared at her.
“For a while now, I wanted to bring something to your attention, but I didn’t know how you’d react.”
His stomach flinched at her words. Emmanuel didn’t think he could take any more upheaval. Not when he had just settled back into his home where he belonged. No matter how supportive he was of Ivy, he wasn’t willing to leave again. This time, he would put up a fight.
“You have been through so much. I don’t want you to lose who you are. Here goes, you need to see someone.”
“A shrink?” Manny asked incredulously. Seeing a therapist is the very last thing he wanted to do. He stood and paced. Ivy joined him and took his hand. Emmanuel looked into her eyes, and all her love and concern floored him. What had he done to deserve her?
“Yes. Manny, you need someone to help you navigate through all these overwhelming feelings. Help you make sense of everything. You are everything to us. This time, you need help.”
Emmanuel shook his head. Tried to make light of it. “I have you, Doc.”
“I’m not enough to get you through this.”
Pulling her into his embrace, he spoke into her hair. “You are more than enough.”
Emmanuel knew what she meant even though he didn’t want to go to therapy, but he wanted to put her at ease. “I will think about the therapy thing.” He rubbed her back, trying to assure her not to worry. She tilted her head up and he captured her mouth in a searing kiss.
“I think I want to lie down for a bit,” Ivy said as she spoke into his shirt.
“You sure you don’t want to grab some lunch first?” Emmanuel asked as he stepped back.
“Maybe later. You coming up?”
“I think I’ll come up to our room to change, and then I’ll head to the gym.”
It was there that Frank found Emmanuel. He jumped onto the treadmill beside his friend. “You had quite the day.”
“Did you join me to give me a lecture?”
“A lecture? It was just a statement. It’s not every day you meet a twin that you just found out existed.” Frank pressed the button so that he was on pace with Emmanuel. “And you crush a young woman because she was unfortunate enough to get caught up in shit she couldn’t control.”
“This is you not lecturing?”
“You call that a lecture? I was pointing some shit out to you. Jasmine is a nice young woman. Your brother really fucked her over, and you made an unpleasant situation so much worse. Was it necessary to add humiliation to all the shit she was already dealing with? Lecturing would be me telling you that you acted like a boorish fucking asshole.”
“Boorish?” Emmanuel scoffed, slowing his pace.
Frank immediately slowed his pace as well. “My partner is an English Professor. What do you expect? Don’t try to change the subject. What you did was a dickhole move.”
“You're right. I took the shit too far. I’ll apologise to her.”
“Oh, Ivy already made you see sense. Well, I’m glad to hear it. One more thing.”
“What Frank?” Emmanuel groaned. Today was tiresome. There was only so much growth one man could handle.
“You came all this way for answers. Leonardo can help you get them. I’m afraid you are going to have to play nice. How hard can it be when you have him by the balls?”
“You are a pain in my ass,” Emmanuel grumbled.
“I’m sorry. It must be a terrible hardship to have a friend that is so wise.”
“I suppose we can try this shit again. Bring all the players back to the table and sort this out. I want it behind me. Ivy has been through enough.”
“I appreciate you looking out for my cousin, but look out for you, too. I’ll speak to both Leonardo and Jasmine and arrange something.”
Emmanuel thanked him. Then they continued to work out as Frank gifted his friend with silence.
Jasmine Journee joined Emmanuel, Ivy, and Frank in a private dining room. This atmosphere was decidedly more welcome than their meeting two days ago. It had taken Frank some finessing to get her to agree to come back and talk with them. Emmanuel remembered his manners, and he stood as Jasmine Journee walked in. A glance at Ivy told him he was starting off the meeting on the right foot. Their greeting was brief as he encouraged her to take a seat.
Emmanuel didn’t hesitate to jump right in. They had pointed out to him he was in the wrong, so he manned up.
“Ms. Journee, I wanted to extend my apologies for ambushing you the other day. In no way am I excusing my behaviour, but this whole situation has been… difficult to wrap my head around.”
“It’s fine. I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted in either of your positions. This whole situation has been a horrible mess. Although I wasn’t privy to Leo’s deception, I still want to apologise for the part I played in what undoubtedly resulted in causing turmoil in your lives.” She looked from Ivy to Emmanuel.
Jasmine Journee looked so sincere as she spoke. Emmanuel realised how hard this situation was on her as well. She hadn’t asked to be a part of this mess, but here she was trying to take responsibility and, in her own way, make it right. She was as innocent as he was in all of this. He looked at Ivy and saw the empathy reflected there. So, when Ivy nodded at him, he knew what he had to do.
“You have nothing to apologise for, Ms Journee. You, like me, were thrown into a situation not of our own making.”
“Please call me Jasmine. I want you to know I’ll do whatever I can to make this right. My lawyer is looking into it, but he has never heard of anything like this before.”
It impressed Emmanuel that she had already contacted her attorney. Now he felt bad for her. Leonardo had really screwed her over.
“I appreciate that you have taken those steps.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Scott, I’m in the process of having the child support funds returned to you. My lawyers will figure out a way to have the ongoing support stopped, but in the meantime, I will have those funds returned as well.” The money hadn’t even crossed his mind. It was inconsequential.
Emmanuel didn’t have to look at Ivy to know that they would be on the same page concerning this matter. “First, please call me Emmanuel. Regarding the child support, there is no need to return it.”
“I can’t keep it in good conscious. I only received those funds because I believed they were coming from my child’s father.” Her voice broke on the last two words. The pain she was going through was palpable.
No wonder Ivy and Frank called him out on his horrible stunt. God, his brother was a piece of shit. Even though she was a stranger, why would he do this to her?
“While I am not your child’s father, but as it turns out, I am his relative. Well, his uncle, in fact. So, I feel I can speak for my family when I tell you to keep the funds you have already received and any upcoming support.”
“I can’t accept the funds.” Jasmine shook her head. “That is too much. The support is a lot.”
“It has been our belief that children can’t have too much support. Please keep the funds.” Ivy squeezed his knee when he finished speaking. It reminded him of something his wife had told him. “My wife mentioned your son bears a striking resemblance to our eldest when he was that age.”
“Really? Well, you can take a look for yourself. I have photos.” Jasmine said, pulling out her phone and opening her photo album. Her entire face lit up when she looked down at the pictures. She looked up at him and halted. “Well, if you would like to see them.”
“Of course.”
She probably thought he was some kind of ogre because of his actions when they met. She passed the phone to him, and damn if Doc wasn’t correct. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought Jasmine had gotten a hold of pictures of Oliver when he was little. He remembered the joy of being a new father and having a little guy be his mini-me. Leonardo was a complete fool to miss out on all of this.
Ivy moved closer, and they looked at the photos. “See told you. Totally a little Oliver. Look, Frank,” she said, showing the photos to him.
“That is completely uncanny. You have a beautiful son.”
“Thank you. He’s the sweetest little guy. So smart, and he already has this huge personality. He’s funny and headstrong.”
“Oliver,” Frank, Ivy, and Emmanuel said in unison.
“I know this situation has been difficult for you. Especially the last couple of days, but know that your son and, by extension you, have family. Actually, our little girl would love to meet her cousin. There is no rush. I know this has been a lot to process, but we are here.”
God, he loved Doc. Leave it to her to roll out the welcome mat. She was right, he had a nephew. It seemed their family would welcome the little guy into their fold.
“Wow. Thank you so much. You both have been so gracious. I do have to get going. I have a flight to catch. Tommy is with my parents. I need to get back to him.”
This time when someone knocked on the door. Emmanuel explained to Jasmine what was happening. “We aren’t expecting anyone other than Leonardo…” Jasmine visibly stiffened at the mention of his name. “…seems he has arrived early. I in no way intended this to be another ambush.”
In their brief encounter, Emmanuel had developed a soft spot for the younger woman. He was a father and if anyone did anything to hurt Sage, he would rip them apart and solder them back together with a blowtorch just so they could watch as he destroyed everything they loved. It pissed him off what this young woman was going through and what she would continue to have to deal with.
“It’s fine. Like I said, I have to get going anyway,” Jasmine assured him.
Frank, already standing by the door, allowed Leonardo and another man to enter the space.
Had she said it was fine? Because the moment Jasmine Journee set eyes on Leonardo, her face turned to a mask of fury.
“What the hell did you do to her now?” Leonardo thundered as he approached him.
“I think you will find her reaction directly resulted from your arrival.” Emmanuel took great satisfaction in informing his brother.
It was worth it to see Leonardo’s anger deflate, to be replaced with a look of anguish.
His brother's attention switched to the young woman.
“Jasmine,” he greeted.
“No,” she replied.
Her reply seemed to confuse Leonardo. “Sorry?”
“Just no. Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it. Stop calling and texting me. Whoever you are.” Jasmine stood. “Thank you again for being so gracious, Emmanuel and Ivy. Frank, it was nice seeing you again.”
They gave her a chorus of goodbyes. Without taking a glance or a word of acknowledgement to Leonardo or his guest, she left the room.
His brother tracked Jasmine’s movements until she closed the door behind her. Leonardo grimaced and shook his head. He seemed to take a moment with his thoughts. Then he turned back to Emmanuel.
“I hear you’ve been busy. Congratulations on becoming the major stockholder in my company.” Leonardo’s tone sounded borderline blasé, but his jaw ticked. The news was affecting him. Finding out the company which he had grown from the ground up could be taken from him at any moment should elicit an emotional reaction.
“Really, Leonardo?” The man he brought with him grumbled.
“What? I’m supposed to come here and pretend I don’t know what he did. Or better yet, beg for mercy. I will not tiptoe around him because I made a mistake.”
“Who is this?” Frank asked. Leave it to his friend to get to the point.
“Oh, this is Gordy. He is a friend. I figured I’d bring my own emotional support person as well.”
Gordy just rolled his eyes at Leonardo’s declaration. Frank introduced himself to Gordy. Then made introductions around the room, introducing him to Emmanuel and Ivy.
When everyone was seated, Leonardo asked, “what was Jasmine doing here? I thought I told you to leave her out of this.”
His tone and accusations ticked Emmanuel off. He’d promised Doc and Frank that he would exhibit some patience in an effort to get Leonardo to work with him. But Emmanuel was even more pissed at his brother than he was before.
“I don’t owe you answers. As for Jasmine, she wouldn’t be involved in this mess if you had just been honest with her. You are a fifty-year-old man pretending to be some stranger. Do you think this is a game? You played with her life and mine. Your actions have consequences.”
He could feel himself getting worked up. He couldn’t muster tolerance for Leonardo, even if that meant not getting answers for himself.
“Emmanuel,” Frank warned.
His expression pleaded with him to relax and take a step back. They had spoken about this. Fuck that shit.
“Just so you know, another by-product of your actions is I own you. Not only your company. I have the means to legally bankrupt you and take everything you possess. So, I would tread lightly if I were you. You’re starting at a deficit. I already don’t like you.”
Leonardo and Emmanuel locked eyes.
“Why am I here?” his brother asked.
Why indeed? He broke contact with Leonardo and his gaze clashed with Frank. His friend had laid out the pros of working with Leonardo on this. Besides, what was that saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
“You are here because we have answers to find. It is best if we work together and get them.”
“Then what?” Leonardo challenged.
Emmanuel wasn’t in the headspace to negotiate with his brother. “All I can promise is a cease-fire while we figure this out.”
Leonardo didn’t answer right away. “I get that. Just tell me you didn’t do the same financial shit to Jasmine as you did to me.”
“No, I didn’t do the same to her.”
“And promise you won’t,” Leonardo prodded.
“My beef is with you. Not with her. How I proceed with you will be determined by your ability not to piss me off or fuck with me and mine.”
“Fine. How do we figure this shit out?”