“How are you holding up?” the woman asked with genuine concern.

Nicole looked away, uncertain of how to respond. “Maddy did all the work. I’m just relieved that they are both ok.”

A tall, dark haired man in a simple gray Fioravanti suit approached them. His hair was neatly trimmed in a traditional conservative style. The harsh lines of his face softened as soon as he saw the two women. “You found her!” he exclaimed and enveloped Nicole in a hug that lifted her clear off her feet.

Elise laughed, “Alessandro, put her down. Nicole, this very enthusiastic man is my husband.”

Once released, Nicole nervously smoothed her clothing back into place.

With an unabashed smile, he turned from Nicole to lift his wife in the same type of crushing hug. “Tesoro, I can’t help it. I just saw the baby. He’s so beautiful and he has my hair. Richard wants to name him Laurent, but I suggested Joseph after my father. Joseph, that could be a good French name, too, no?” He returned her to the ground, but kept an arm around her waist.

Elise shook her head in amusement. “Please excuse his manners. It’s not everyday that we have our first grandchild and we are so grateful to you.” She wagged a finger at her husband. “And let them decide on the name. Richard is French. If he likes Laurent we should respect his wishes.”

“I won’t have people calling my grandchild Larry. Now, Joe is a strong name. What do you think Nicole? Larry? or Joe?”

Nicole clasped her hands before her and said weakly, “I like both?” She looked over her shoulder, out the large window of the hospital, hoping to see her limo pull up.

“I still can’t believe that Maddy didn’t come to the hospital this morning when she first started to get pain. I told her to take them seriously, but children think they know more than their mothers,” Elise said.

Nicole shifted uncomfortably. She tried not to think about her mother. It had been fifteen years since the morning she’d heard that her mother had deserted them, a day that was forever vividly etched in her memories. The mere mention of a mother released a tsunami of painful questions she’d never been able to answer. Had she left because she wanted to or had she been taken from them? If she’d left Papa by her own choice, why hadn’t she taken her children with her? Why hadn’t she even said good-bye? And the most painful question of all - If she had stayed, would she still be alive today?

“You must be exhausted,” Elise said, sensing Nicole’s change in mood. “Alessandro, have our driver take her home.”

“No. No.” Nicole said quickly. "He’ll be here any second, but I appreciate the offer.”

Alessandro said, “We must call Stephan and tell him that he picked a good woman to marry. You’re a hero.”

Nicole’s stomach did a nervous flip. “Stephan and I aren’t…”

Elise chastised her husband softly, “You were supposed to say nothing.”

The large man shrugged as if it were of little consequence. “Si. Si. Maddy told us not to say a word, but surely it cannot be a secret now. Why would Stephan want to hide that he is marrying a woman we already love?”

Why would Maddy think…? She must have heard part of the conversation in Stephan’s office. This was not good.

Elise said, “Maybe he wants to wait until the time is right to tell us.”

Her words did not sway her husband. “And what did waiting do for Maddy? She had her baby in a limo, practically in the streets of New York. Dios Mio, Stephan is lucky everyone is ok. He should have stayed with her.”

Elise threw one hand in the air and added, “He’s not himself this week. You know how he gets about that horrible Corisi family.”

Instantly realizing her faux pas, they both quickly looked at Nicole.

“I didn’t mean…” Elise started.

“I understand,” Nicole said. When you had a father whose ruthlessness in the business world was legendary, and a brother who was following in his footsteps, you got used to hearing your last name and profanity used interchangeably.

Awkward silence in five, four, three…

“Please. I spoke without thinking.” High emotions brought quick tears to the woman’s eyes.

The phone in Nicole’s purse vibrated. “It’s ok. It doesn’t bother me, but I have to go. That’s my ride. ”

Alessandro handed her the plastic bag that contained her soiled clothing, a bag she’d meant to throw away, but had forgotten to. She took it now, unable to meet the couple’s eyes.

He didn’t let go of the bag until she looked up at him. When she did, he said, “No one blames you for the sins of your father or your brother. Tell Stephan that. He doesn’t have to protect you from us.”

“I will,” Nicole said, knowing full well that she wouldn’t.

Protect me?

Nicole was pretty sure that was not what Stephan was going to feel inclined to do the next time they spoke.

Nicole threw her bag of clothing into an outdoor trash bin before sliding into a very welcome open limo door. Once inside, she slumped into the back seat, slipping her shoes off and putting her feet up on the seat across from her.

Her driver, Jeff, turned in the front seat and asked, "Are you ok?"

Nicole snapped, "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

Isn’t it obvious? Jeff’s expression seemed to say before he turned forward and started the vehicle.

Nicole took out a compact mirror and was instantly sorry she had. Her hair had completely escaped its clip. She smoothed a few areas that were standing straight up, but there wasn’t much she could do with the tangled rampage of black hair without an elastic.

She caught Jeff watching her in his rearview mirror.

"Just take me home.” Her brisk tone was meant as a warning, but Jeff remained unimpressed. He turned and simply stared at her, waiting. Jeff had his own set of expectations regarding driver/passenger etiquette. It was inappropriate, but his father, Arnold, had endured her teenage fits without complaint. The least she could do was tolerate his son for a few weeks. “Please,” she added.

Satisfied, he turned and put on his seatbelt. After he pulled away from the curb and onto the main road, he said, "I've never seen you with your hair down."

She closed her eyes and sighed. “Do we need to discuss this? I know I look awful.”

“Actually, you’re hot. Who knew?”

Nicole didn’t know what was worse - that her driver was commenting on her looks and she was too tired to correct him or that he sounded so shocked that she looked good.

Hot? Hmm?

Nicole pressed the button to raise the glass partition, but her lips curled in a small, reluctant smile. I’ve been wasting money on stylists and designers when apparently all I needed to do was put my finger in an electrical outlet while wearing a potato sack. This is the look that works for me?

Men are funny creatures.

Chapter Four

An hour later, rinsing off beneath a warm stream of water, Nicole looked at her flat stomach and wondered if she would ever carry a life within her. And if she did, would anyone come to the hospital when it was born? How pathetic was it that the only people she thought might were somehow on her payroll?

Did Maddy fully appreciate what she had? Parents who loved her? A husband who cried for her? What would it be like to be an Andrade...or a D'Argenson as Maddy was? To be part of a huge extended family, surrounded by love, celebrated simply for being one of them?

It wasn't the first time Nicole had pondered this.

Seven and a half years ago, during an internship for the now dissolved Andrade Solutions, Nicole had visited their world. Stephan’s father, Victor Andrade, perhaps moved by Nicole's earnest desire to learn the ins and outs of running a computer company, had taken her into his confidence. Unlike most people Nicole met, Victor had been neither intimidated nor impressed by her family's influence in the computer market. In fact, in the beginning, they had spent more time discussing his extended family than her job description. Someone was always getting married or having a baby. Andrade arguments were sometimes heated, but more often hilarious. The clan was huge and gathered for seemingly any reason. Victor’s stories were addictive and foreign, like fairytales of some wonderful life Nicole could only dream of having.

Before long, Nicole shadowed Victor through most of his day. He let her sit in on important meetings and debriefed with her afterwards, often praising her on her fresh perspective. There had been gossip when she’d first joined his company that her loyalty might be with her father, but Victor had openly discussed this with her and believed her answer.

Nicole wanted to take over her father’s company, but she wasn’t looking to take over the world. She had a deep appreciation for the way Victor valued his staff and integrated his family into the company. It was amazing for her to see how his decisions were based on what was best for everyone — not just his wallet.

Victor’s acceptance of Nicole had opened the door for her with the rest of the family. His wife, Katrine, had taken Nicole to lunch one Thursday afternoon and the two had enjoyed each other’s company so much that it had become a weekly event.

Katrine was a tall, voluptuous blond with the same striking blue eyes as Stephan. It should have been easy to dislike her for that alone, but her warm personality diffused any jealousy. Although she didn’t work for the company, she knew everyone in the office and her opinions were valued. In fact, her suggestions often became policy after a period of debate. She openly adored her husband and son, but that didn’t mean she agreed with them. Watching Katrine and Victor argue over Stephan revealed a family dynamic so foreign to Nicole that she might have been watching a PBS special on alien cultures. They clashed, sometimes at high volumes, but their anger came and went like a flash of lightening in the sky. Points were made. Compromises were agreed upon. No harm done. Nothing festered. The Andrades were not afraid of offending each other, because they trusted the love that bound them together.

Nothing similar could be said for her family. Corisis were violent, vindictive, controlling, and unyielding on every point of consequence. The only thing they valued was the acquisition of wealth.

The Andrades had given Nicole hope. Corisi Ltd could be successful and still value its employees. Her future fantasy family could be loving and supportive. She was determined that her own children would never know the sting of loneliness or abandonment as she had. She told all of this to Victor, and he seemed to understand her as no one had before. He treated her more like a daughter than an employee. So, she’d never quite understood why Victor had frowned upon any interaction between her and his son.

Young Stephan. Hugely successful, if your definition of success was a deep tan and a frequent flier pass to the front page of the tabloids. He had spent most of his time on the west coast where he cultivated Hollywood friendships, made documentaries, and dated women with built-in floatation devices, returning to the East coast sporadically to visit his father and hold fundraisers for whatever environmental cause he thought was important that month.

Or as his father used to say — had been diddling his life away, instead of growing up and helping out with the family business.