Uncensored Passion (Men of Passion) (8 page)

They didn’t have to speak for her to know they were in a rage. It was evident in the thin, compressed lines of their lips and their narrowed-eye glare when they realized who she was as she entered the reception area and was greeted by her secretary.

Her secretary/receptionist Amelia, quickly stepping away to follow her into the inner office, informed Kayla in a whisper that they had no appointment but insisted on speaking with her, even if they had to—and she air-quoted the last—“wait all day.”

“Who are they, Amelia?”

“I don’t know. They haven’t been here before and wouldn’t give me their names, but they sure are rude, not to mention arrogant. The man keeps muttering under his breath, I think in Spanish, and if I don’t miss my guess, obscenities. Do you want me to call security?”

“That won't be necessary.”

Kayla stepped back outside her office and walked over to the couple. As she always did with potential clients, she silently sized them up. The man was solidly built, impeccably dressed, with an air of arrogant overconfidence. He was obviously aloof and austere, with a permanently etched scowl that furrowed his thick brows and lent a glacial glint to his black eyes—eyes that Kayla realized were raking her over as though she were something he’d like to scrape off his shoe. The woman, attractive in a subdued kind of way, with smooth, olive skin, and luxuriously black hair cut fashionably, was completely overshadowed by her husband’s dominant personality. She sat nervously twisting a handkerchief and darting quick glances to him as though silently asking permission to be present.

Kayla instinctively did not like the man and felt a flash of sympathy for the woman, but masked her feelings as she said, “I’m Dr. Saradon. My secretary tells me you wish to speak with me but have no appointment. Perhaps we could set up a time when it’s convenient for both of us.”

“It’s convenient for us right now, Dr. Saradon,” the man snapped rudely.

The woman, with another anxious look to her husband, nodded her agreement solemnly.

“I’m afraid I’m at a disadvantage. You obviously know my name but I don’t know yours.”

“You might not know our name, but you sure as hell know our son.”

Aware that Amelia was listening with avid curiosity, Kayla stepped into her inner office and indicated with a wave of her hand they should follow.

As she closed the door, she asked, “Won’t you be seated?”’

“We probably won’t be here that long,” the man said brusquely. “We’ll say what we came to say then leave.”

“As you wish. What is it you came to say? But first, perhaps you will enlighten me with your name.”

“I am Dr. Carlos Javiero Romero and this is my wife, Rosanna. Our son is J.J. We visited your home earlier this morning where we found J.J. lounging in your Jacuzzi with three other men. They were all naked! I’m just glad I was the first one to enter your house—the first to notice and therefore spare my wife the embarrassment, ushering her back out and away while I got to the bottom of the deplorable situation.”

They must have arrived just after I left
, Kayla thought anxiously,
before the guys went about their business. Of all the mornings for them to chill out in the Jacuzzi first!

Looking indignant, Kayla said, “Excuse me! Would you tell me how you just ‘walked’ into my home without knocking?”

“The door was unlocked and slightly ajar. I called out and when no one responded, I went in, thinking perhaps there was a problem.”

Kayla didn’t say anything. But her thoughts were rushing ahead to when she would demand an explanation of her guys.

Her attention was pulled back to the present and the doctor as he said, “J.J. tells me he is your pool boy on occasion and even though he is now working for a company and could afford a decent apartment, he prefers to live in your pool house. I question that because what pool boy, especially one who is only occasionally utilized, has the run of their employer’s home and can use the Jacuzzi at will and feels free enough to do so naked?” he asked, incensed.

“It does not appear seemly to us. And those other three men explained that they rent apartments there, as well. We would like an explanation from you.”

Kayla composed herself inwardly, maintaining an outward appearance of calm she was far from feeling. “Mr. and Mrs. Romero, I do wish you would sit down and let us discuss this rationally.”

“
Doctor
Romero,” the man corrected pithily as they both reluctantly sat down on the edge of the couch and waited for her to speak.

“Dr. Romero, then. Yes, all of them live there. J.J., as he told you, does maintain my pool in exchange for which he lives in the pool house. And I assure you it is as comfortable, perhaps more so, than any inexpensive apartment he could rent.”

“And you let your tenants use your Jacuzzi whenever they want?”

“I do.”

“How come they were all there together? I assume to pay their rent, they must have jobs,” Dr. Romero said sarcastically, his tone suspicious and accusatory.

Forcing a smile, Kayla answered as tersely as the question had been asked. “My tenants are independent businessmen who come and go as they please. And frankly, Dr. Romero, that is none of your business.”

“What
is
my business is why my son feels he is better off being an occasional pool boy and working for a mediocre pool company rather than being at the university preparing for his true role in life, that of a doctor, or home with his family until he settles his foolish young mind on his life’s goals. And I should think you would not allow a mere employee the use of your private Jacuzzi, especially unclothed.”

Kayla decided not to address their being naked. Instead she said, “What your son decides about his future is not my concern. That is between you and J.J. But let me make one thing clear. I value J.J.’s services and don’t consider him a ‘mere employee.’ He’s honest and hardworking, and I give him the run of the house because I trust him completely and know I can depend on him to keep an eye on things. In this day and age, that is a rare thing, as I’m sure you will agree. And again, it’s none of your business.”

A fidgeting Rosanna Romero was eyeing her with a troubled, introspective glare. Kayla had the strange feeling the woman was seeing right through her flimsy answer, into the heart of her polyandry secret as she asked incredulously, “Don’t you find it uncomfortable, sharing your home with strangers?”

“No. The mansion has been divided into separate apartments and my tenants all value their privacy, as I do.”

“You don’t find strange men in your house intrusive?” Dr. Romero asked.

“They’re not strangers, as I have carefully checked each out, and to answer your question, not at all. It’s a very big house, as you saw. Could you tell me why you have such a problem with that?”

“It just doesn’t—well—that part is your concern. But we don’t want our J.J. to be nothing more than a pool boy!” Mrs. Romero said. “He should be in university or he should be at home, like his father said, with us until he decides what he wants to do with his life. He is only nineteen you know.”

“I suppose that choice is up to him. Did he say he wished to return with you? If so, I will have to place an ad for another pool boy.”

“No. He said he was never going to return to San Antonio. That he likes what he’s doing and where he’s living,” Dr. Romero said angrily. “And why shouldn’t he? What better life for a lazy, inconsiderate teenager? A pool boy! Throwing away his future, that is what he is doing and just to spite me. For a nineteen-year-old, what could be better than lounging around in a Jacuzzi and living it up with vagabond buddies?”

Kayla had to clench her teeth to keep from saying what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

“My tenants are hardly vagabonds, Dr. Romero. They are all highly successful businessmen. And as for J.J., I can’t see what you want me to do about the situation.”

“We want you to fire J.J. In fact, we insist on it. And since he will be out of a cushy place to live, he will return to San Antonio with us,” Mrs. Romero stated.

“Sorry, but I won’t do that. J.J. has been a perfect employee, and there is no reason to fire him. I’ve been more than pleased with his work and he knows that. Besides that, are you forgetting that he has that job with a large pool maintenance company, so my firing him would not necessarily force him to return with you. Like you said, J.J. is nineteen. He is considered a grown man, capable of making his own decisions.”

“But he isn’t really. He’s hardly more than a boy,” Rosanna said, wringing her hands. “He’s very headstrong and acting stupid and, as my husband said, preferring to be lazy, just throwing his life away. Will you at least talk with him, try to persuade him to reconsider?”

“I will definitely talk with him. But what he decides to do is entirely up to him. Are you staying in town long?”

“We’re staying at the Embassy Suites Nashville. I’ll write down the number and our room number so you can phone us after speaking with J.J.,” Dr. Romero said scathingly.

“Have you ever been married, Dr. Saradon?” Mrs. Romero suddenly asked.

“No.”

“That explains a lot. Obviously, you do not have children and cannot possibly understand the anguish J.J. is causing us by his rebelliousness. Dropping out of university and deliberately flaunting his lack of concern over his future by becoming a mere pool boy is a slap in our faces. We cannot allow this kind of behavior,” Dr. Romero said angrily.

“Again, I will talk with J.J. You say you won’t allow his behavior, but frankly, what he does or does not decide to do is up to him. At some point, parents have to relinquish control. Perhaps this is that time for both of you.”

The intercom buzzing stopped the furious retort Kayla could see was forthcoming from Dr. Romero. She pushed the button to inquire, “Yes, Amelia?”

“Your next appointment is here, Dr. Saradon.”

“Thank you. Tell him I will be just another moment.”

Turning to the Romeros she said dismissively, “You’ll have to excuse me now. As I said, I’ll talk to J.J. and have him call you with his decision.”

“Do
not
participate in our son’s ruining his life,” Dr. Romero said, his tone suggesting dire consequences to her if she refused to cooperate.

Kayla didn’t trust herself to respond to that. Instead she walked toward the door and they followed. She ushered them out and her patient in with a forced smile and clenched teeth.

The rest of Kayla’s day was mentally lost to her. She listened, pretending to care about the concerns of her three afternoon patients, although she couldn’t have repeated anything said to her if her life had depended on it. Her thoughts were completely consumed by what she should say to J.J. and how she should approach the obvious problem of his parents.

When the last patient and Amelia were finally gone, Kayla sat quietly at her desk, welcoming the silence as she tried to formulize some kind of plan.

Hopefully the Romeros believed my story. God, should I tell J.J. to leave? No! I won’t lose him. He doesn’t want to go, so he shouldn’t have to. Maybe I can persuade him to re-enroll in college. If not Vanderbilt, at least some junior college. Maybe that would satisfy them.

She left the office and drove home automatically, her mind in a quandary. When she entered the house, she could tell the men were all just as subdued as she was, no doubt thinking of the possible consequences of the Romeros’ visit.

She went into the den and once they were all seated, related the details of her own meeting with J.J.’s parents. When she finished, J.J. exclaimed, “Son-of-a-bitch! I told them what I’d decided. I can’t believe they went to your office. I’m sorry, Kayla. Now that you’ve met them, you understand why I couldn’t wait to get away. They never take no for an answer, never have. In fact, they never listen to anything I say. Regardless of what I say, they only hear what they want to hear.”

“I understand, J.J, but I’m afraid we might have a serious problem with them. And I would like to know how they just walked into my home. Your father said the door was ajar. Is that true?”

Luke spoke up. “Dammit, that’s my fault, Kayla. I was outside and came in for just a moment for a drink of water. Guess I didn’t close it completely. I saw the guys relaxing in the Jacuzzi, and when they asked me to join them, I did. I’m sorry. I should have made sure the door was closed and locked.”

Visibly shaken, J.J. asked tremulously, “Do you want me to leave, Kayla?”

The other three men chorused a “Hell no.”

She looked from one to another.

“Kayla?” J.J. voiced the one word question, his magnificent eyes suddenly tearing.

She leaned against him and he held her close, proclaiming, “I love you, Kayla. In fact, I’ve come to love all of you,” he said in a choked voice as he glanced at the other men. “And I don’t want to leave. This feels like the first home I’ve ever really known. Please don’t make me go. Somehow I’ll get it across to my parents that even if I do leave here, even if I stop being your pool boy, I’ll never go back to San Antonio, and they’ll never know where I do go from here. Maybe that will shut them up.”

Kayla was having a hard time holding back her emotions. So were Lee and Luke, who were both softhearted and obviously stricken by J.J.’s choked plea. Though Harm was clear-eyed, she could tell he was also deeply touched as he reached out to pat J.J.’s back.

“No one’s telling you to leave, J.J. We’re bound together, all of us,” Luke said quietly.

With a sigh, Kayla agreed, then added, “But I don’t think we’ve heard the last from your parents, even if you do tell them that, J.J. Maybe you could satisfy them with a compromise. Perhaps enroll in a community college at least, if you don’t want to go back to Vanderbilt. I have the number of the hotel where they’re staying. Give them a call. Tell them that and see how they respond. We’ll give you privacy for that. Come on, guys.”

She got up and the other men followed, leaving J.J. to make his call.

Once they were in the kitchen, she turned to each one to ask, “So what do you think I should do? I love J.J. and I know you all care for him, too, but is this situation going to throw us all under the bus?”