The Billionaire’s Prodigal Wife
Chapter 42

Mackenna sat at her desk on Monday morning and practiced the grounding exercises her counsellor had taught her. She needed to refocus her mind from the anger she was feeling.

It was beyond Alessandro’s deadline and even with the news hitting every news syndicate, tabloid, and glossy magazine, he had not called her. He made no effort to call, contact her or even attempt an apology. Though as Savannah stated this morning, how do you apologize to someone for their family trying to murder you?

The paparazzi were in full force but thankfully her new building had great security in place. All she had to do was walk from the locked doors to the waiting car and Nuncio escorted her in and out of her home and her work without a qualm.

A knock on her door brought her out of her failed attempt at meditating and she looked at her admin assistant, Tabitha curiously.

“Hey Mac, there’s a couple here to set up billing for their son. He was admitted last night.” She stepped into the room. “He’s been admitted to pediatrics under Doctor Luke.” Doctor Luke was the head of the cancer ward, and she felt her heart drop.

“Send them in please.”

For the next two hours, she helped the couple navigate the insurance system providing them phone numbers for support services to help with any billing which may not be covered under their insurance. Then she walked them back to their six-year-old son, who was sitting with his grandmother in the bed reading a book.

“Mac, thank you,” his mother said clutching her hands.

“Of course,” she said squeezing her hands in response before reaching up and patting the father on the shoulder. “If you need anything, any questions at all, whether related to the insurance, the billing, where you can support services or anything else, you call me right away and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll replace it for you. Okay?”

She left them then and ran into another mother on the floor. “Hey Gina, how are things? When is he going to break out of this place?”

“According to him, today.” The woman grinned and motioned to the couple who stepped into the room. “I know you can’t divulge anything patient confidentiality and all but are they someone I should talk to?”

“I think it would be a very kind thing to do,” she poked her head into the room. “Hey, Niblet,” she moved to sit in the seat next to the bed.

“Mac, what are you doing up here with all us sickos?” Gregory smiled at her rubbing his bald head subconsciously. “Thanks for the popcorn by the way. It’s awesome.”

Gregory hadn’t had much of an appetite but craved popcorn and so Mackenna had made sure he had a never-ending supply. She had nicknamed him Niblet because he was a corn fanatic.

“Not sick of it yet? You tell me when you get tired of it, and we’ll bring in your next favorite treat.”

“Ha, I’m busting out of here,” he grinned as he looked at his mother. “Right mom?”

“Yup,” she laughed. “We just need four doctors and a team of nurses to sign off.”

“Good luck with that,” Mackenna reached out and tweaked his nose. “You have Doctor Luke and he’s the slowest at filling out paperwork.”

“I heard that Mac,” Doctor Luke stepped into the room, “are you disparaging my good name.”

“Me?” she put her hand to her chest innocently. “No, but I’m still waiting on some billing from you from last month so, you know if the shoe fits.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed the older man’s cheek. “Get your paperwork in!” she scolded him and then gave a wave. “I’ll let you do your rounds, starting with this young fella.” She looked at Gina, “call me if you need anything.”

She made her way back to her office, stopping for a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, hating she was being stared at. The whispers going on behind her back were annoying, but she forced herself to keep things as normal as possible and smiled at everyone as she normally would. She was not letting Giordano House take her work away from her too.

As she got back to her desk another man was sitting in the reception area and she stopped. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, my sister is staying in the hospital. She broke her leg.” He looked uncomfortable. “The ambulance brought her here, but we don’t have any insurance. I need to set up a payment plan or something.”

She reached out and offered her his hand. “My name is Mac Keebler. Come with me. I’ll help you.”

She got all the man’s details and did what she did best and found a local charity who would assist with the bills and then helped him set up a payment plan for what was left. “Now, if for any reason you can’t make these payments, do not avoid my calls. You call me. I’ve set this up based on what you’ve told me you can afford and because you have a job. If you lose your job, if you replace it too tough, if you are having to choose between eating and paying this bill,” she shook the paper she held out to him, “you call me. I will replace a way to help you. Understand?”

“Yes ma’am.” He wiped the tears off his face. “I am grateful for your help.”

“Now, your sister is probably out of surgery, and she’ll want to see your ugly mug,” she winked at him repeating back to him the joke he had said his sister told him just before they took her to the operating room.

As soon as the guy was out of her office Savannah was poking her head in.

“How long were you out there?”

“Long enough for me to know you spend way too much time with these folks.”

“It keeps you paid, doesn’t it?”

Savannah nodded, “Lunch?”

Mackenna made a face. “I was in the cafeteria for a coffee, and it was brutal. I’m the focus of the hospital gossip.”

“All the more reason to go. Shut it down.”

“Fine,” she grumbled and pulled her purse from her desk.

The cafeteria, it had more people in it than when she’d been in earlier and as soon as she walked in, it went quiet. “Oh, for crying out loud people, carry on. I promise I’m not so damn interesting,” she growled loudly as she grabbed a tray. “Don’t you all have better things to do?”

Savannah told them all what to do using four letter words and suddenly everyone’s eyes rounded, and they turned away while Mackenna chuckled.

“Classy,” she commented as she took a chocolate milk and a ham and cheese sandwich from the display. “We need to get the kitchen sorted so Nuncio can make my lunches again.”

“Yes,” Savannah grinned. “I really miss his turkey wraps.”

“You mean his sausage,” Mackenna teased.

“Nope, had it for breakfast,” she smirked. “I showed him where the doctor’s sleep when we’re on call.”

Mackenna pretended to gag and made a face at her friend. “I did not need to know.”

“I had to tell someone. He covered my mouth the whole time so nobody would hear us.” She whispered conspiratorially in her ear.

“Doctor Kirkland,” Mackenna scolded her as she dropped her food tray on an empty table and g*****d. “I am scarred for life.”

“Have you heard from you-know-who?”

“No.” Mackenna unwrapped her sandwich and pulled it apart to look at the insides before smashing it back together. “Remember the time I got the sandwich with the bad meat?”

“Yes, stop changing the subject,” Savannah argued. “Why don’t you call him?”

“Because I gave him a week to make a decision, the week passed, I haven’t heard from him.”

“Uh, in his defense, family crap hit the fan in a massive way. Imagine replaceing out someone in your family is a psychopath? Cut the guy some slack.”

“No,” Mackenna shook her head. “I don’t have to cut anyone slack ever again. I’m considering calling Camille again.”

“Mac don’t do it. You love him. He loves you.” Savannah spoke quietly. “You’re angry and you have every right to be, but can you imagine what he’s going through right now? Someone in his family basically put a hit on his child. It was his child too Mac. You show more compassion for strangers who come to your office than you do your own husband.”

“Why are you suddenly so in his corner?” Mackenna glared at her. “You’re in love now so you think you know it all?”

“No,” Savannah leaned back in her chair, “and there’s no need to be nasty.”

“Stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. I told you I’m done with Giordano House and all it comes with. “

“You’d cut your own nose off to spite your face,” Savannah flushed with anger.

“And you’d sell your best friend to the devil just because your boyfriend is employed by him. Guess I know where your loyalties lie.”

Savannah’s head snapped back like Mackenna had slapped her. She rose from the table and threw her uneaten food in the garbage bin and walked away, ignoring Savannah calling her name asking her to come back. She lifted a finger and shot in her direction and kept walking until she got to her office and slammed the door hard.

She g*****d as she pushed her palms into her eyes already regretting her argument with Savannah. She knew her friend was trying to help but she just wanted everyone to leave her alone. She pulled papers out of her drawer and started working on some of the work she was behind on because she’d had two impromptu and long meetings in the morning.

By the time she finished her work for the day it was well past six and she was late leaving. She didn’t care. She was in no hurry to go home to her new place. It held no memories, no safety for her. All her things were still in boxes in her room, and they barely had enough furniture to furnish the apartment. It wasn’t a home yet. She could go to an impersonal hotel room and get the same comfort.

As she opened her office door and stepped out, she saw Nuncio sitting in a chair in the waiting area scrolling on his new cell phone. She didn’t say anything to him as he stood up and followed her to the front entrance of the hospital. The photographers were waiting with a vengeance, and she kept her head down, making her way to the waiting car, wordlessly.

Once inside the car, she kept her face averted and stared out the window. Nuncio to his credit sensed her mood was not conducive to conversation and said nothing to her. When they reached the apartment complex, they took the elevator in silence.

Stepping into the apartment she looked around and put her keys on the little table by the door and kicked her flats off into the little closet. She sighed deeply and walked straight to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She moved to her en-suite bathroom and ran a bath throwing bath salts into the water. She took her clothes off and stepped into the tub, sliding so she was completely submerged in the water. As she lay under the water, she heard Savannah’s voice echo in her head from lunch. It was his child too. It also meant the child was also part of whoever it was who forced the investigator to act rashly.

As she surfaced from the water, she kept wondering who would want not just to hurt her, stop her from giving Alessandro a child but who would want to hurt Alessandro. Savannah was right, he was probably hurting too. His world was probably turned upside down and she was so self-absorbed all she was thinking of was her own pain and her own heartache.

She sat in the tub a long time, considering her behavior, and thinking of Savannah insisting she had more compassion for strangers and accusing her of cutting off her own nose to spite her face. Was this what she was doing? Was she cutting Alessandro off from her life even though she knew without a doubt he was all she ever wanted? Could she deal with a life involving Dulce? Would he still want her after what she’d done?

She sat up and drained the plug, rising from the tub, she wrapped in a thick towel and sighed deeply. Mackenna exited her bathroom and moved to where she’d dropped her purse when she’d gotten home on the bed and pulled her cell phone out.

She scrolled through the phone and before she could stop herself dialed his number. It went straight to voice mail.

“Alessandro, it’s me. Um, Mackenna. I just wanted to know you were okay. I can’t imagine what you’re going through so if you need to talk or anything, um, you can call. I really miss you and need to hear your voice and know you are okay. Oh, and I love you. Please call me.”

She ended the call and then moved from the bed and got dressed into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and a sweater. She left her room and found Nuncio sitting in the living room quietly.

“I’m sorry.” She said to him. “I’ve been a bitch.”

“You’re hurting Mackenna. Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t call you a bitch.”

He hadn’t seen the argument with Savannah, obviously, she thought sadly. “I need to go back to the hospital.”

“Right now?”

“Yes please.”

“Okay,” he said, “I’ll get the car to come back.”

She hoped her friend accepted her apology. As it stood right now, she was alienating everyone, and she needed to start making it right.