"That's not possible, I disposed two used condoms that night, I remember clearly." Leonardo was confused already.
A knock on the door got he and Cecelia staring at the door simultaneously before Monica's voice came from outside.
"What do we do?" Cecelia asked in a low voice, she was worried that Monica might have seen Leonardo's car outside and she could not picture what she could possibly do.
"Hide me" Leonardo whispered and she led him to the room and asked him to lock the door from within.
"Open the door Cecelia" Monica banged the door.
"Chill girl, I'm coming" Cecelia used the back of her hand to clean the forming perspiration that was coming up from the panic she was feeling.
"What took you so long?" Monica asked and entered the apartment.
"I was busy"
"With whom? I could have sworn I heard voices" Monica interrogated.
"I'm not a child, and you are certainly not my mom, and besides this is my house." Cecelia rolled her eyes feeling irritated for the first time about Monica's controlling attitude.
"I think I left my purse in your bedroom, I need to take my vitamins, don't want to lose this baby"
"What has your purse got to do with vitamins?"
"I kept it in the purse, step aside I need to check your room, must have left it on the bed when I used your restroom earlier."
"You don't need to go into my bedroom, your purse is by my coffee maker, and you left it there earlier."
"Thank gracious, I was worried, anyways I still need to use your bathroom."
"You can't go in there" Cecelia said standing by the door.
"Why? What are you hiding Cecelia?" Monica asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, I'm just a bit embarrassed"
"You have a man in there? I want to see him."
"No, I locked the door, and can't seem to remember where I left the key"
"When did you start locking the door to your bedroom?"
"I have asked myself that question, and I don't seem to have an answer to that. I guess I was lost in thought and wasn't thinking."
"Good luck finding your missing keys, I have to go."
"Hmm, before you leave, how were you able to get pregnant for Leonardo?" Cecelia asked in a voice a little too loud so Leonardo could pay attention and listen.
"I'm so smart, I had strategically planned all this for a few weeks when I saw him at the bar, so that day, I had put milk in a condom and kept it in my bag, when he got distracted after our love making, I swapped a used condom with the fake one I was with, then after I left, I inserted his semen inside me. I'm so smart."
"Yeah, you are smart." Cecelia agreed sarcastically.
"Good night" Monica said and left her apartment.
Leonardo came out some moments after Cecelia had come to tell him he could come out that Monica had left.
"Did you hear all she said?" Cecelia asked him feeling very ashamed to have a friend like Monica
"I did, everything, but it is not clear on recording, I tried to have it recorded."
"What will you do now?" Cecelia asked concerned, and for a moment, Leonardo knew she was not in support of what her friend did.
"I will speak to my lawyer about it, but then I will have everything sorted out for your trip, my secretary will assist in making everything you'll need available, thank you again Cecelia, you are not like her." Cecelia gave a weak smile.
They said their good nights, and Leonardo left her house while she went to start getting her things ready.
The next morning, Leonardo had called his lawyer, the baby was his, and for now they had no evidence to use against her, so they had to keep playing along.
Cecelia on the other hand with Leonardo's connection had been able to leave California as early as she could, she feared that Monica would harm her.
Monica had come to Leonardo to request for money to go baby shopping, if she had come to him before he found out about her manipulation, he would have given her the money, but now that he knew better, he told her to hold on while his lawyer prepared some papers that stated her allowances and every other details.
Monica believed him, knowing that he was rich and was going to take care of the child especially since he would not want a media scandal.
However, two days later she came back again complaining that she was yet to receive any response from him or his lawyer.
"Monica, sit down and listen to all I have to say" Leonardo said calmly.
"I will not sit down, how can you be so inconsiderate and leave me in this state of pregnancy unattended to, was it my fault that you got me pregnant?" she ranted.
"Monica, I will not have you shouting at me, I can throw you in jail for what you did and how you got pregnant, you and I know what you did was illegal, I don't need to give you the details you planned it all out so nicely, now if you don't mind and you'll allow me decide what I am going to do with you and that baby, I suggest you don't show your face here until I ask to see you."
Monica looked shocked and scared, she ran out of Leonardo's office in embarrassment. She got to the elevator, and it was wasting time to open up.
"Monica" Leonardo called her up from behind.
In fear that he was going to embarrass her further, she ran towards the stairs.
"Monica, you left your…" Leonardo was saying, but before he could complete his statement, he watched her rolling down the stairs.
Some minutes later, an ambulance rode Monica to the hospital. Leonardo knew she had done wrong, but she was still carrying his child either the idea went down with him or not, so he drove to the hospital behind the ambulance.
He waited for a long while before the doctor came to give updates.
"She has a neck fracture, and will need a cervical collar for a while until she heals, the baby is also fine, but she'll need a lot of rest." The doctor said to Leonardo.
Leonardo cleared the bills, and then went to Monica so she could call any member of her family.
"There's really no one to call, my mother is out of the country, and Cecelia's number has not been connecting."
"Oh, you'll be fine, I have to go now" Leonardo left her at the hospital and went back to his business, she wasn't his to babysit, he said to himself.
He stopped by to get a burger and met Mr. Adams on line.
"Oh hello, Mr. Adams" he smiled at him.
"Oh its you, I heard about that lady, so you are going around getting them all pregnant now?"
Leonardo rolled his eyes and tried to suppress an anger from forming. How did he get to hear about Monica, and getting them pregnant? It was just one lady who got pregnant, so what them was he talking about?
"I'm sorry Mr. Adams but I am sure you got the all story wrongly."
"Wrongly? Did you get her pregnant without having sex with her? And to even think that you got her pregnant while you were still with Alisha, you disgust me, I'm glad Alisha left you."
Leonardo was furious at this point, he could as well just punch this man on the face, but then he was still his legal father in law.
"Have a nice day too, Mr. Adams" Leonardo said and walked out without waiting to get his burger.
"Who does that man think he is?"
Leonardo asked his steering wheel as he drove back to the office.
"I got one woman pregnant, it's not even my fault, and he is going on about it as if I had gotten half the women in California pregnant, even if I did get half the women pregnant, I didn't get his own daughter pregnant, so he should get a grip of himself." Leonardo was nagging at his wheels.
The next morning, Leonardo had a breakfast meeting in the private section of a restaurant, the deal with the client had gone well, in a light mood, he went to the office and met Monica sitting at the reception with the cervical collar around her neck.
"What are you doing here? You should be in the hospital" he said the moment he saw her
"Can we speak in your office, I wanted to see you, and I didn't think you will come by the hospital to see me."
They rode in the elevator to his office, both quiet while a million and one things ran through their head.
Leonardo thought, "maybe she is here for money, so maybe she wants to state my responsibilities over the child.
He offered her a sit and started speaking almost immediately.
"I have thought about all this, and I have spoken to my lawyer, all your needs will be provided while you are pregnant, but once the baby is born, you hand him over to me at three months, then I pay you off.
You will not have any rights over the child, I will hire someone to watch over the baby. So how much do you want?" Leonardo said
"Sounds like a good deal, I could just pretend and gladly take the money, but I had a lot of rethinking to do last night.
I lost the baby shortly after you left the hospital yesterday, and then I spoke a lot to myself, I shouldn't have done what I did, I called my mom last night, she has forgiven me and wants me back, so I will be going to San Francisco to start all over.
I'm just so glad mom had forgiven me and has been waiting for me to call her, after I had slept with her husband, my step dad, I thought she was disgusted to look at me,
Although he died in an accident last year, mom had already forgiven me long before that."
"I am happy you found you peace and place, and I am sorry about the loss of the baby, let me know if there is anything you want me to do"
As Leonardo handed her a box of tissue while she cried before him, he was glad. He knew it was wrong to be happy that Monica had lost her child, but he could not help the relief it had brought, he had been so troubled about it last night that he barely had a good sleep, then he had come up with the plan to pay her off when the baby was three months.
He was not going to judge her for sleeping with her step father, neither was he going to ask her how long or how the mother found out, he was just glad all this was going to be a thing of the past.
He was not sure if this episode was going to keep him from further flings and one night stand, but he knew this was going to give him a new view of things and get him extra careful.
"I'm so sorry, I…"
"It's fine, have this" he offered her a cup of coffee he had brewed from his coffee maker inside his office, one he had gotten when he had no secretary after he had gotten Chloe transferred.
"Thank you" she said as she sipped from the mug.
She was feeling better and she took up her bag to leave him, his office, and his life for good.
"Thank you Leonardo, you are a good man." She gave him a weak smile and he nodded to her as she opened the door.
"Wait Monica" he called out to her before she got a chance to shut the door behind her.