She knew he was right. She hadn’t been sleeping well, but it wasn’t because of her job. Her past with Gi had haunted her dreams from the beginning, and now their current encounters were invading her sleep.
“Things will get better once the new bar opens,” she reassured him.
“I hope so.”
Taren finished her wine and set the glass on the table. “How about sometime next fall?” said softly.
Ken shrugged. “That’s a year away.”
“It takes a while to plan a wedding and California summers are too damn hot.”
“That makes sense. I’ll tell we’re looking at next October?” He shrugged, looking at her for approval.
“Sure.” Taren smiled.
“Will I get to meet the infamous Gi at the VIP party next week?” he asked.
“She’ll be there,” Taren raised an eyebrow.
“Good. I plan to tell her to quit working my fiancé so hard; she has a wedding to plan.” He smiled.
Taren nearly dumped wine into her lap as she choked on the sip she’d just swallowed.
“Are you okay?” he asked, grabbing her glass and patting her back.
“Yeah…fine…went down…the wrong pipe,” she coughed and sputtered, trying to get the wine out of her lungs. “I think I’m going to go to bed and try to catch up on some sleep.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
Taren kissed his cheek. “Yes.”
“I’m going to watch the rest of the news.”
She nodded and walked into the kitchen to place her wine glass in the sink.
“I love you,” he called out.
“Love you, too,” she replied.
Chapter 19
Taren rolled to her back, covered in sweat and sated from a rigorous hour and a half in bed. She stared up at the vaulted ceiling, catching her breath as her body began to relax.
“What made you buy this place?” she asked, turning her head to the side.
“I fell in love with the mixture of modern style and antique architecture,” Gi replied, getting out of the bed to get dressed.
“Will you show me around?” Taren asked softly, rolling to her side.
Gi looked down at her. Taren’s tan skin contrasted against the light gray sheets and her long, wavy hair cascaded across the pillow behind her. She had a questioning look in her hazel eyes and a thin smile on her delicate lips.
“I thought you had to get back,” Gi answered.
“Ken’s usually gone most of the day when he plays golf,” Taren replied, finally getting out of bed to redress.
Gi nodded and walked into the bathroom to wash her hands and face.
“You don’t have to,” Taren murmured, stepping up to the other sink to do the same.
“Come on,” Gi said, grabbing her when she finished. The first place they went was through the French doors that led to the wide, square patio with modern furniture and a beautiful view.
“This is stunning. I’d be out here every night, looking at the stars.”
“I actually thought about you and your love of the stars the first time I came out here at night,” Gi murmured.
They walked across the master bedroom when they stepped back inside, through another door that opened into a large walk-in closet with four hanging areas, two built-in dressers, and a floor-to-ceiling mirror.
“Holy shit!” Taren exclaimed with a smile. “Who has this many clothes?”
Gi laughed and took her out of the master bedroom. Next were a library and a home office. It was long and slim with dark cherry floors and a matching antique bookcase that lined one whole wall. The walls were painted bluish-gray. A dark brown, leather chaise and a matching chair with an ottoman were in front of the corner fireplace. The other end of the room had a rolltop desk and an old-fashioned, wingback chair.
“Who is that?” she asked, pointing to the pictures along the wall.
“These are my great-grandfather and grandfather with the Outfit. That one over here is the ship they came over on from Italy when they immigrated.”
“Wow.”
“This is sort of my historical room.”
“I’m still floored by your family history,” Taren admitted.
“Did you think I was lying to you?” Gi grinned.
Taren shook her head. “You know how someone catches a fish and by the time they’ve told ten people, they caught a shark? I just figured you inflated your family’s story a little bit.”
Gi laughed and took her hand, leading her further down the hall opposite the master bedroom. “These two are spare bedrooms,” she said, showing them briefly, before heading down to the second floor.
“This kitchen is definitely fit for a chef,” Taren beamed, walking through the long space to the breakfast nook in the back. “Do you still cook?”
Gi shrugged. “Not much. I live alone, so…”
“Is the kitchen the only thing on this floor?”
“No.” Gi motioned for her to follow as she went down the hallway.
The room on the front of the house opened into den with an L-shaped, worn, leather couch and matching ottoman that took up most of the room. Pictures cluttered the walls and thick, Berber carpet covered the floor. A huge entertainment center sat along the wall.
Taren grinned. “This looks more like you,” she laughed, walking around.
“Yeah, I can’t live without my woman-cave.” Gi smiled.
“Our entire apartment in L.A. was a damn woman-cave. It looked a lot like this, actually.” Taren shook her head. “These are beautiful,” she said, looking at the pictures.
“Thanks. I took them while I was living in Paris and Milan.”
“When did you get into photography?” Taren asked.
Gi shrugged. “I wasn’t really. I wanted to remember the things and places that meant the most to me while I was in Paris, so I took a bunch of photos. They came out amazingly, so when I went to live in Milan, I did the same thing.”
“How long did you live there?”
“Milan or Paris?”
“Both. What made you travel internationally to begin with?”
Gi leaned against the back of the couch and crossed her arms. “When you left me, nothing felt right anymore. I was sort of in limbo. That’s when JW made me an offer to buy the gambling ring. I took it and graduated with my master’s a few weeks later. The day after graduation, I went to the airport to go home to Chicago and wound up on a plane bound for Paris.”
Taren nodded, unsure what to say. That hadn’t been the best time for her either.
“I stayed in France for a about a year, mostly in Paris.”
“What did you do there?”
“The same thing as everyone else. I ate food I couldn’t pronounce and toured a lot of neat places. I also made some friends who introduced me to the underworld. I spent a lot of time in night clubs, rubbing arms with people from all over the world. I wound up running a few girls and made a little money.” She shrugged.
“You were a pimp?” Taren raised an eyebrow.
“No. It was more of an escort service with a la carte benefits.”
“Seriously?” Taren exclaimed.
“Yeah. It didn’t last long, maybe four months. I’d already moved on when my dad got sick and I came home.”
Taren nodded. “How did you wind up in Milan?”
“I didn’t handle my dad’s death very well,” Gi sighed. “I took off to Tokyo, wanting to be away from everything. Anyway, after a couple of weeks, I met a girl who was traveling to Milan. I accompanied her and wound up staying for a year and a half.”
“With her?”
Gi shook her head. “That ended within weeks of our arrival.”
Taren bit her lower lip. “Did you run women there, too?”
“No. I got back into selling drugs.”
Taren crossed her arms. “So you became an international criminal after I left.”
/> “Pretty much,” Gi sighed.
“Why did you leave Milan?”
“My suppliers started pushing guns. I hadn’t intended on getting back into selling drugs to begin with, so when that happened, I guess I woke up. I walked away and booked my flight home the same day.” She pushed off the back of the couch. “I dumped my entire savings into R&R, and you know the rest.”
“You’ve come a long way from that college girl who wore ripped jeans and t-shirts, and lived in a one bedroom apartment.” Taren smiled, shaking her head. “I still find it hard to believe you’re a law-abiding citizen now.”
Gi pushed off the back of the couch. “I finally found something to love as much as I loved you.” She paused. “You know R&R is the acronym for Rapture and Rogue, but it was all inspired by Revisi and Rauley.” She smiled softly. “You’re the reason I’m where I am today,” she sighed, “though I never expected to see you again.”
Taren’s chest ached at the sentiment. “Gi…” she whispered, looking into the deep blue eyes staring back at her.
Gi moved closer, closing the gap between them. Taren’s cell phone rang loudly, severing the moment before their lips could meet. She froze when she saw the caller ID and Gi walked away, knowing who it was without asking.
“Hey,” she answered with a soft tone.
“Where are you?” he asked. “I just finished playing golf and was hoping to take you to Marcella’s for dinner. I know you’ve been stressed and my hounding you about the wedding probably isn’t helping.”
“It’s fine. I’m actually at the office right now.”
“On a Sunday?”
“Yeah. I forgot to send out the press release Friday for the VIP party,” she lied. “I’m leaving now, though. Marcella’s sounds good.”
“Okay. I’ll get in the shower then.”
“See you soon.” Taren ended the call and shoved the phone into her back pocket.
Gi was standing in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water when Taren walked in. She stepped closer and Gi set the glass in the sink, before turning away from her and walking towards the staircase. Taren hung her head and followed.
Chapter 20
Twenty-four hours before the new bar’s grand opening, Taren noticed one of the company accounts was missing nearly a hundred thousand dollars. She looked everywhere, trying to find invoices to match the discrepancy, and finally ran across a couple of new receipts that had been added under Gentlemen’s Rook. The vendors didn’t match anything in the system, so it was flagging as an error. Unsure who the vendor was, Taren called Gi to confirm since she was over at the new bar.
“That name doesn’t ring a bell with me,” Gi said. “It’s probably something to do with the press release or VIP party. Go ahead and put it through to reconcile the account.”
“Are you sure? Gi, it’s close to a hundred grand and it was removed from an account that isn’t linked to GR.”
“Yeah. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure everything will straighten out in a week or two.”
Taren hung up the phone and shook her head as she corrected the error. Something about the miscalculation didn’t sit well with her. Gi knew the business inside and out, so she had to trust her judgment, but it still bothered Taren knowing she was missing important details.
***
Gentleman’s Rook was bustling with people and music when Taren and Ken walked inside. Taren hadn’t seen it since its completion and the place looked like a large, bi-level speakeasy with a long bar against the side wall and vintage style leather chairs and smoking tables throughout. Everything was dark wood and aged-whiskey-colored, with old pictures all over the walls. It was like stepping into the 1920s. They’d done a great job matching the time period.
A jazz band was playing low music in one corner, and the caterer was set up in another with tables full of food. People mingled about, sipping cocktails and discussing everything from the new bar to who was running in the next election.
“This place is nothing like I expected,” Ken said. “I guess I couldn’t picture it when you described it.”
“It’s changed even more since I last saw it,” Taren replied. “If you were a whiskey and cigar man, is this somewhere you’d go?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” Ken smiled. “I hope they have more to drink than whiskey.”
Taren laughed. “Tonight yes, but once it opens officially, no. They have fifty different whiskey brands from all over the world though, which is why those women are walking around with mini-shots. Free samples,” She explained. “Do you want a drink?”
Ken nodded and they walked over to the bar, each getting a glass of wine. Taren noticed Gi at the end of the bar, wearing an expensive suit and sipping a glass of whiskey. She was talking to Uncle Bruno and a few other men who looked as much like mobsters as Gi’s uncle had when she’d first met him.
Taren and Ken had barely taken a sip of their drinks when Uncle Bruno appeared.
“What do you think?” Uncle Bruno asked with a big smile on his face.
“I can’t believe how different it looks,” Taren gushed. “I love it.” She smiled in Gi’s direction as she walked by.
Gi eyed the man standing with his arm around Taren’s waist as she moved past them to get a refill of her drink.
“Ken, this is Gi’s uncle—”
“Bruno,” he said, sticking his hand out. “You must be the fiancé.”
“Yes.” Ken smiled.
“Speaking of my niece,” Bruno said, patting Gi’s back.
Gi smiled at her uncle and turned to see Ken staring at her.
“Gianna Revisi,” she said, holding her hand out to him.
“Ken Myer,” he replied with a smile.
“The place looks great,” Taren said.
“Thanks.” Gi nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to mingle. It was nice meeting you, Ken. Taren, would you like to meet some of our business associates?” she added.
“Sure,” Taren shrugged.
“I won’t keep her long.” Gi grinned at him. “Help yourself to the food and whatever you want to drink.”
“What was that about?” Taren asked when she walked away with Gi’s hand on the small of her back.
“Some of our vendors are here, as well as the mayor and a state senator. I thought you’d like to meet them.”
Taren nodded.
***
A little while later, Taren returned, having met enough people for one night. Ken watched Gi move through the crowd, towards a pretty blond in a skimpy dress. “She’s not what I expected at all,” he murmured.
Following his line of sight, Taren watched Gi kiss the woman’s cheek, before moving on to someone else.
“She’s somewhat of a ladies woman, isn’t she?” he mumbled.
“Huh?” Taren watched Gi move around the room.
“Gi. It’s hard to picture you two as friends in college.”
“We were different people back then,” she sighed.
***
An hour later, Taren walked out of the back bathroom, having used it since the front one was packed with VIP guests. Gi walked out of the office, talking and laughing with the blond Taren had seen her with earlier. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
“Hey.” Gi walked over to her. “I was about to come find you.”
“Really?” Taren eyed her.
“Vivian, this is Taren Rauley, our Financial Director,” Gi said. “Taren, this is Vivian Sanders.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled. “Gianna, a pleasure to see you as always,” she said, kissing Gi’s cheek. “The place looks great.”
“Thanks.” Gi smiled.
Gi turned to Taren, who looked like she was trying to strangle Gi with her pretty, hazel eyes.
“Care to explain?” Taren questioned in a low voice. “Who the hell was that? One of your floozies?”
“My what?” Gi asked, taken aback. “What b
usiness is it of yours?”
“If you’re messing with other people, I think I have a right to know,” Taren growled. “I don’t want to catch something from you.”
Gi’s jaw stiffened. “You have a lot of nerve. It’s not like you’re going home alone every night. I don’t know where his dick’s been!”
“That’s low, even for you.”
Gi grabbed Taren’s hand and pulled her into the office, backing her up against the closed door. “First of all, I haven’t been with anyone but you since this thing between us started. I’m not the one having an affair while I’m engaged to someone else!” When Taren tried to talk, Gi shushed her. “Second, if you’d let me explain, you’d have found out that Vivian is the mayor’s assistant. I’m pretty sure she’s fucking him, but that’s not the point. I brought her in here because I promised I’d donate to his new campaign if she got him to come tonight as a guest; I wrote her a check from this company’s account.”
Taren wasn’t sure what to say.
Gi backed away, shaking her head.
***
Later that night, Taren sat on the couch with the blinds open, listening to the rain and thunder, and watching the lightning brighten the sky as a nasty thunderstorm passed over. She’d been unable to sleep and wound up on the couch sometime around two in the morning.
She kept replaying the night over in her head. She’d been so jealous and mad as a wet hen when she’d seen Gi with Vivian. Even worse was the fact that Gi was right. She really didn’t have a say. How could she be jealous when she was the one having an affair? It wasn’t like she and Gi had made any kind of commitment to each other. In fact, they hadn’t really talked about what was going on between them. The only thing they both knew for certain was their physical connection was just as strong as it had been five years ago.
Taren wiped a tear from her cheek as the sky lit up once again, followed by a loud crack of thunder. She didn’t want to hurt Ken; she loved him. At the same time, she couldn’t deny the attraction to Gi, the woman she once loved more than anything in the world.
Rapture & Rogue Page 10