Chapter Ten #2
Ann barely waited for the hello. “Elle? Have you seen today’s papers?”
“Max and Piaget mentioned we made the Times,” replied Elle. “Noah went out to buy one.”
Ann had a panicked laugh. She could imagine Noah when he saw the tabloids at the newspaper stands.
“Ann, are you okay? Max didn’t think it was that bad,” a concerned Elle said.
Ann groaned. “We made more than the Times.”
“I am sure the Journal has followed suit. You know how newspapers all print nearly the same thing,” Ann could hear one of the twins babbling in the background. “Ethan, let go of the phone. Sorry about that.”
“We made the tabloids. It is lurid and trashy, and it is front page,” Ann repeated the headline.
Elle was silent for a moment. “This isn’t good.”
“No,” she could not bring herself to tell Elle about the baby bump speculation. Her phone vibrated. “Geanie is on the other line. I will add her to our call.”
Ann punched in the necessary buttons, “Hi Geanie.”
“On my aunt Viola’s grave, are you preggers with Michael’s baby?!”
“What?” demanded Elle.
“No!” Ann sat down abruptly on a street bench that was meant for people waiting for the bus. An old man looked at her and kept feeding the pigeons.
“Then it is George’s,” Geanie sounded so disappointed.
“There is no baby,” clarified Ann. “Apparently I just was fat in the dress.”
“The one you wore yesterday? You looked beautiful in that dress,” protested Elle.
“Yeah, well tell it to the press,” Ann had a bitter laugh. “They think you are pregnant with a second set of twins.”
Elle was silent.
“Elle?” Geanie drew out her name. “Is there something you would like to share?”
“I just went to the doctor this past week. I am expecting. I haven’t even told Noah yet!”
“Is it twins?” gushed Geanie.
“It is far too early to tell that sort of thing. Besides, the chances of having twins twice is unlikely. How did they know?” wondered Elle, bewildered.
“Congratulations,” said Ann. She was happy for her friend. She was also a little sad she had no baby bump of her own. “How was Michael this morning?”
“Good. He slept through most of our visit, but the nurses said that was normal. They expect he will be more awake this afternoon,” Elle was kind with her next question. “Are you going to go see him?”
“Yes,” Ann could not imagine not seeing him.
“Are you certain, Ann?” Geanie is voice was gentle. “You will get sucked into his life again.”
“I love him,” Ann replied simply. She was already sucked into his life. She didn’t want to live without him. “I am going home to eat a pint of ice cream since I am fat anyways. I will let you know what I decide to do.”
There was a loud noise in the background of the phone. Elle’s voice came through, dryly. “Noah is home with five tabloids and two newspapers. He looks fit to be tied. I will call back later.”
“Good luck,” Ann said before Elle disconnected.
“Honey, did you really throw that ring or did they photoshop that?” asked a curious Geanie.
Ann sighed and gave her a rundown on the entire evening.
∞
Michael flushed. He was embarrassed. He was angry. He was devastated.
Ann with a baby bump? Did the math even add up? He knew nothing about when women were supposed to show. Could she be carrying George’s child already? He felt sick.
Kelly continued reading, perched on his bed. She had come in, all excited that he was a celebrity and that the nurses had a famous patient in their hospital. She teased that he was going to need security now.
Then Kelly had sat down and proceeded to fill Michael in on the horror show that was his life.
Noah. Noah would threaten to sue and get Deegal to get all this stuff removed and retracted.
A retraction and apology on the bottom of the twelfth page in the tiniest print possible knowing the tabloid industry.
Michael wondered what Ann thought of the whole business.
Had she really thrown her ring? That was probably photoshopped. Tabloids liked drama.
He stared at the photos. When Max had said Michael had made the wedding the talk of the season, he had understated things. It looked like they were going to be the talk of the city, whether they liked it or not.
“Turn on channel three!” A nurse, Michael thought her name might be Dana, came charging into the room. She grabbed the remote before Kelly could and turned the television to the correct station, putting up the sound.
It was one of those shows that talk about celebrities and movies. Now they were discussing the wedding and the photos in the tabloids. The Rameslys had been upgraded to the talk of the nation.
“Everyone is speculating about what is really going on behind the public facade presented by the Rameslys,” a woman was saying.
“Ramesly Pharmaceuticals is one of the largest drug companies in the country and recently, Michael Ramesly made headlines when he gave his secretary all his controlling shares before leaving the company.”
“That is right, Carol,” a man now took over and a picture of Business Weekly showed the article detailing the transfer.
“Brothers Max and Noah have both been in the press before, but Michael appears to have been hiding. The former head of Ramesly Pharma is speculated to have been involved in a twenty-year affair with his secretary Ann Schaeffer, the same woman that he handed over a fortune in company shares to.”
“Indeed Tom,” said Carol. “However, it looked like things were not going well for the couple as Ann had recently become engaged to George Stapleton, the dental king.”
“But it looks like that is off! We have exclusive video of Ann throwing away her eighty thousand dollar diamond engagement ring,” Tom pointed to the screen and there it was in cellphone recorded glory, Ann pitching the ring after Noah telling her that she was engaged to George.
She really had broken it off. In an incredibly public way.
Michael did not know what to think of that.
“We tried to reach out to George, but he has yet made no comment to the press,” Carol tittered to Tom. “Perhaps he is just sad that his crowning achievement has cracked his veneer?”
“George was seen on his hands and knees searching for the diamond,” Tom allowed. “It is said that he used some language that would not be fit for his dental commercials.”
“Let’s talk about Ann’s unconfirmed baby bump!” gushed Carol. “I think it is Michael’s.”
“Is the baby yours?” Kelly asked him.
Michael shook his head. This was a train wreck.
“Well, at least she broke up with George,” Kelly said sympathetically.
Carol and Tom speculated on what kind of disease he might have and if he was dying.
How could they even say this stuff on television and not worry about being sued? Michael gently took the remote from Dana and shut the television off. Noah was going to have a fit. Max could not have known it was this bad otherwise he would have been angry.
Their father was going to have a coronary. Michael could imagine David’s rant once he found out. He had always disliked Ann. David would say that this entire episode had proved him right.
Well, Michael had no intention of sitting through another lecture. He was not his father’s employee anymore. Perhaps his father would stop speaking to Michael altogether, like he had with Max.
Sadly, it would be a relief.
What did Ann think?
“Ann! How are you?” Kelly popped up off the bed and put the tabloid behind her back, trying to hide the evidence of what she had been up to.
Michael looked at Ann, hungry to see how she was. She looked tired and frustrated. She came forward and plucked the paper from Kelly is hands. Ann sighed, tossing it and her bag onto the available chair. “Please go away.”
She followed Kelly and Dana to the door then shut it after them. Perching on the bed, Ann took Michael’s hand. He drank in the sight of her.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
He gestured that he was okay.
“You scared us all.”
He nodded gravely.
“I am glad you are okay,” Ann tucked a bit of hair behind her ear that had managed to escape the bun.
He took her left hand and rubbed his thumb over her ring finger.
“I didn’t love him,” Ann shrugged then wiped away a tear. “I thought maybe, given time I could learn to but…”
Michael put a hand to her cheek. Then, because he had to know, he motioned to her stomach.
Ann gave a watery laugh. “No. I am not pregnant.”
Good. He was reassured to hear that. She sniffed, so he tugged on her gently until she was resting beside him on the bed, head on his chest, his arm around her. Maybe there was a chance for him after all.
Michael tried to say that George was an idiot. It came out, “I June… June George…”
Ann looked at him confused.
Michael sighed. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair.
“It is okay, Michael.”
It was not. He stared at the ceiling. Ann sat up. Putting a hand on his cheek, she turned his head so that he looked at her. She looked so sad. “Please don’t be upset. I am upset enough for both of us today.”
He nodded.
“I guess you heard all about the trash they are printing?” she pointed to the tabloid.
It was worse than that. Michael reached over and grabbed the remote, turning on the television. On came Carol and Tom, talking about some celebrity going into rehab.
Ann looked from the television to him. “What is going on?”
He pulled her against him so that she could comfortably see the television and motioned from the tabloid to the television.
“They didn’t?” she asked in horror.