But still, all things considered, he and Taylor would need to discuss the issue more in detail. There were a number of questions he needed answered, such as what joint custody of a child they shared would entail, and why did she think him making her pregnant would not cost him anything? Did she expect him to walk away from any financial obligations he had toward the child?
He settled back in the cushions of the seat thinking he was very much looking forward to his dinner date with Taylor later tonight.
* * *
“Your parents are waiting for you in your suite, Mr. Saxon.”
"Thanks, Harold,” Dominic said to the hotel manager moments before crossing the huge lobby to the bank of elevators that would carry him up to the penthouse. The Saxon Grand was a beautiful hotel and had been the first Saxon Hotel. It was built twenty-five years ago and Dominic was almost certain Harold was hired in some position at that time, which would make him one of Saxon Hotel’s oldest employees. And Harold was good at what he did, based on the customer satisfaction surveys that were periodically done. Customers visiting the area kept coming back knowing they would receive first-class service.
Moments later Dominic walked into his suite unannounced to find his parents in a loving embrace. He was not surprised nor the least embarrassed to see them standing in the middle of the floor sharing a passionate kiss. Despite having been married for thirty-six years, Marcello and Megan were still deeply in love. That was obvious to anyone around them for any length of time. As long as he could remember, his parents were openly affectionate. He’d always known how much they loved each other as well as how much they had unselfishly loved him.
He cleared his throat to let them know of his presence. “Mom and Dad, it’s good seeing you,” he said, and knew he didn’t have to add that it was also good seeing they were still very much in love.
His parents had met when Marcello Saxon had arrived in the United States from France to attend Yale. In his senior year he met the beautiful and vivacious Megan Spectrum and they fell in love immediately. It hadn’t mattered that he was French and she African-American. What had mattered was the love they had for each other. They had gone so far as to defy Marcello’s father, who’d threatened to disown his son—the heir to the Saxon wealth—if a marriage took place. Choosing love over wealth, Marcello had married Megan a year later and good to his word, Franco Saxon had practically disowned his son, had barely spoken to him since and only recently had acknowledged the marriage.
Dominic saw the worried look in his father’s gaze. “What’s wrong, Dad?” His father had recently had his annual checkup and Dominic inwardly prayed there wasn’t bad news in that regard.
Marcello read the concern in his son’s gaze and said, “No, I’m fine. The doctors gave me another clean bill of health after my last checkup. But we did get some news last night that your grandfather has taken ill.”
Dominic stared first at his father and then at his mother. Finally he shrugged nonchalantly as he crossed the room to give his father a bear hug. “Have you forgotten, Father, that I don’t have a grandfather?”
“Nick,” his father said in a frustrating tone, “how can you be so unforgiving?”
Dominic arched a brow. “And how can you be so forgiving? That man refused to accept my mother as your wife, publicly denounced your marriage and you, didn’t speak to you for years, never acknowledged my birth and then out of the clear blue sky last year when he’d heard you had taken ill, he showed up and expected everyone to kiss and make up. Well, I wasn’t in the kissing mood then and I’m not in it now,” he said in an angry tone.
He switched his gaze from his father to smile down at his mother. “Except for this beautiful woman here,” he said, before hugging her close and placing a soft kiss across her cheek. “How are you, Mama?”
Megan Saxon returned her son’s smile before giving him a scolding look. “I’m fine, Nick, and your father is right, you know. You can’t distance your grandfather forever.”
“Would you care to bet on that?”
She frowned. “You’re just like your father. Stubborn.”
A smile touched Dominic’s lips. “Yet you love us anyway.”
Dominic then glanced at the man who’d sired him. The man he loved, admired and respected above all else. The man who had not let his father’s rejection of the woman he loved destroy his determination to make her his wife and to make something out of his life—even without the Saxon wealth behind him. After college Marcello had started from the bottom and with keen intelligence, his father built his own Saxon empire, which consisted of hotels, cruise liners, restaurants, publishing companies and various auto dealerships across the country.
His mother hadn’t done badly, either, he thought with a proud smile. Megan Saxon’s name was known throughout the world and graced the garments of several international celebrities. She had a remarkable reputation for outstanding design and had established her own empire in the world of fashion.
The one thing his parents had taught him, Dominic concluded, was to increase his own wealth and not depend on what he might or might not inherit. And so he had. With their blessings he had carved out his personal legacy and thanks to a sharp wealth asset manager like Taylor, he was doing quite well for himself.
Taylor.
He glanced at his watch. They would be sharing dinner in less than four hours.
“Regardless of what you say or how you feel, Nick, he is still your grandfather.”
Dominic decided not to justify his father’s statement with a response.
“Will you at least think about going to see him, sweetheart?”
That question came from his mother. He glanced down at her. She was five feet, eight inches tall and in a room with her son and husband she looked small and delicate. But he knew the latter was far from the truth. She had to be one of the most headstrong women that he knew, definitely no pushover.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say there was nothing to think about and that under no circumstances did he intend to go see the man, but the last thing he wanted was to upset his mother any further. It bothered her that he disliked his grandfather so much because of the old man’s treatment of her.
“I’ll think about it,” he said, although he knew deep down that he wouldn’t.
“And that’s all we ask you to do, Nick,” his mother said softly. “We’re staying in the suite across the hall tonight and flying to France in the morning.”
He nodded. If they expected him to drop everything and fly to France with them because the old man had taken ill then they were wrong. He leaned over and swept another kiss across his mother’s cheek. “And I hope the two of you have a safe flight.”
He saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes and chose to ignore it. “Now if the two of you will excuse me I have a few things I need to take care of before my date tonight here in my suite.”
His mother’s brow lifted in surprise. “You have a date?”
He smiled. His mother was well aware that he rarely entertained anyone in a place he considered his private domain. “Yes. But don’t waste the excitement. I’m merely meeting with my financial advisor.”
“Oh.”
He chuckled. “The two of you can join us if you like,” he invited, knowing they wouldn’t.
“Your mother and I have other plans,” his father said, smiling and gently pulling Megan out of Dominic’s arms into his and kissing her lips. “We’re having dinner with friends.”
“Okay then. Enjoy yourselves.” And then Dominic’s thoughts