by Debra Lee
“For what?”
“I opened your mail.”
For the first time Desmond saw her fingers clutching what looked like a card. “I’m sure you had your reason.”
They started to move toward each other taking short steps until they met in the center of the room. Then Jackie handed him what she’d been clutching in her hand for hours. “Marcus is getting married.”
Desmond quickly scanned the invitation. Then his arms reached out to her. Instead of accepting the hug he offered, she stepped back.
“I’m all right now. I admit it gave me quite a jolt at first. After all, he did ask me to marry him once.” She forced a smile. “I even accepted.” A frown replaced the smile. “Stupid me, I should’ve known Marcus DeMario would never marry a whore.”
“Stop it, Jackie.”
“Stop what, remembering I was in love with him? Or that he played me for a fool? Or better yet, that I’ll never trust a man again.”
“You trust me.” A few seconds passed before he questioned her. “Jackie, you do trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” she finally told him and stepped forward and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“You have to know I’m not going.”
“To the wedding?”
“Yes. I don’t know this Talia woman he’s marrying. Besides, I couldn’t hurt you that way.”
Jackie smiled up at him as his fingertips glided over her cheek. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness. But I want you to go.”
“No.”
“Please. If you don’t go how will I know what she looks like? I need to know why he picked her instead of me.”
Desmond looked off into empty space, like he had traveled off to that private place where not even Jackie was permitted entry.
“Perhaps I should go. I’m long overdue my trip abroad.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down into her sea blue eyes. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes.”
“Hey, why don’t you come along? Of course not to the wedding. That would be terribly uncomfortable for you. But we can take a few days, even weeks if you’d like, to vacation.”
“No thanks.”
“But it’s your homeland.”
“America is my home now. So you go. Take as long as you like. You deserve a vacation after this past year.”
“It has been a long one. But you’ve worked equally as hard. Keeping your honor role status in a new school that was foreign on top of everything else is a great accomplishment.”
“I know. But I don’t need a break. I’m anxious to get started on my new job.”
“Oh, you are, huh?”
“Sure am. Though mailroom person isn’t quite what I had in mind. But I’ll settle for it this summer.”
“And next?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“You aren’t by any chance after my job, now are you?”
“Jacqueline Bertoni, Producer. I do like the sound of that.”
They both laughed. But Jackie didn’t see the humor in the goal she aimed to achieve.
“Maybe I better stay home, too. I might not have a job when I get back.”
Jackie’s mood became serious again. “Don’t stay home.”
“Is there a message I can give Marcus from you?”
A strange sensation washed over her. She didn’t understand if it left her feeling good or bad. Perhaps why she told Desmond, “I don’t want Marcus to know where I am.”
“He can’t hurt you here.” The words came before Desmond realized how wrong he was. The girl’s swollen eyes from crying were proof of how Marcus DeMario could hurt her in spite of the miles between them. “I won’t tell him you’re here.”
“Thank you. And I don’t want you to worry about me while you’re gone. I have Sara and Charles to keep me out of trouble.”
Desmond laughed. “I’d sooner believe it will be you keeping our man Charles out of trouble.”
Jackie thought about the days Charles would be waiting in the limousine for her when she came out of school. She knew he thought she didn’t see him all those times he had rammed the latest issue of his girly magazine under the seat the minute she opened the car door. And then there was that time on one of Sara’s days off that Jackie drove herself to school and came home early with cramps. She walked in on Charles making it with a red head on the living room sofa.
She looked at Desmond and snickered. “You know, I tend to agree with you.”
Chapter Twenty Four
Marcus hung up the phone after summoning Tony to bring the limousine to his hotel in LA. He could count on his number one man always doing as told. The man had been a loyal employee from the beginning.
Marcus remembered the day he married Talia and had summoned Tony into his home office in Italy minutes before the ceremony was due to take place. Behind closed doors Marcus gave detailed instructions of the business Tony was to handle in the coming week when Marcus and his new bride would be honeymooning in Greece.
Marcus trusted Tony Muzzerelli implicitly. At least he thought Tony believed he did. The truth, Marcus trusted no one. The war with the Delio family the year before had opened his eyes, forcing him to see that even ties of the blood and flesh did not mean safety from betrayal. His cousin Salvatore was unable to go through with the planned assassination on his life, but that didn’t mean the next time another would choose loyalty over betrayal.
“Then everything is set for the shipment to America?” Marcus questioned.
“Our men at the dock will have the heroin loaded before dawn when the ship is to set sail.”
Marcus slid back his chair, stood and walked to the window behind him. He opened the blind just far enough to get a look outside. The folding chairs lined in rows next to the pool were no longer empty. Over two hundred guests were being ushered to their seats. For the past two weeks, Marcus had listened to his fiancée fret about being hit by a cloud burst at the altar when he had decided they’d have the wedding ceremony outdoors. A smile played around the corners of Marcus’s mouth when he saw the cloudless sky. He turned away from the window and reached for his tuxedo jacket he’d draped over the back of his chair earlier. As he pulled it on, he posed another question that hadn’t been premeditated.
“What do you think of the soon to be lady of the house?”
Tony followed his lead toward the door. “With her father’s political connections she’ll be a major asset.”
“Precisely why I got down on my knees to propose.” A hoarse chuckle came before the seriousness. “Now let’s hope she can give me a son.”
Marcus waited on the roofed patio with Tony, his best man, until the precise second the organist played the first note of the traditional wedding march.
“Last chance to change your mind, boss.”
Marcus smiled as he approached the priest. When he turned around and saw his soon to be bride, thoughts of Jackie Bertoni flooded his head.
“Do you Marcus Romulus DeMario take Talia Maria Calvetti to be your wife…”
That’s all Marcus remembered of the ceremony. Once the congratulations began from guests, he regained complete control.
“Desmond Sinclair,” Marcus said, surprised as he shook the American’s hand.
“Congratulations, Marcus.”
“Thank you.” He turned to his bride at his side. “Talia, I’d like you to meet my American associate Desmond Sinclair.”
As Desmond’s lips brushed the girl’s cheek he offered a whispered congratulation. The glowing bride thanked him with a smile.
“We will talk then?”
Marcus’s words followed Desmond as he moved on to shake hands with the wedding party. When he reached the end of the line he helped himself to a glass of champagne from the tray a waiter carried as he passed.
Taking a few steps backward he put himself in the shadows of the crowd. He wanted to observe, eavesdrop on bits and pieces of the Italian conversations as people mingled
nearby. He occasionally caught himself glancing over at the bride and groom, at times comparing Talia to Jackie. Only there was no comparison.
The girl didn’t come close to measuring up to Jackie. Though pretty enough with brown eyes and shoulder length dark hair. She had more the wholesome look. Nothing about her left him feeling dazzled like with Jackie. The sea blue shade of her eyes and the blonde-almost white color of her curls were a part of it. But her passion for life, learning and pure determination to succeed at whatever she set out to do was what made Jackie so overwhelming.
Desmond watched Marcus pull his bride into the circle of people clapping as the violin music played. After a few spins and dips the guests joined them dancing on the patio. Desmond made a mental note of everything. He wanted to be ready for Jackie when she began picking his brain about the details of the ceremony and reception. And he knew she would. Just like he knew it would bring the tears all over again. He only wished he could understand why the girl insisted on punishing herself over a man Desmond thought beneath her.
He stopped watching the newlyweds to feast his sights on the tall brunette woman who glided past him. When he looked back to the bride and groom, Marcus’s eyes met his and remained fixed on him as he dodged dancing couples until he stood before him.
“I’m really happy you could come, Desmond.”
“You know I’d have to be on my death bed to refuse an invitation to this country.” He watched the excitement in Marcus’s expression turn to disappointment. “Of course I could never miss my most reliable business associate’s wedding.”
Marcus smiled. “I’m glad you mentioned business. Is everything set at your end?”
“It’s a go.”
“Good. I’ll put Tony on lining up a companion for you immediately.”
“No.” Desmond’s firm tone halted Marcus’s sudden move to hurry off. “Regretfully I must return to California tonight.”
“That’s too bad.” Marcus pressed his fingers against his brow. “By the way, you never did comment on last year’s girl. I believe her name was Jackie?”
Desmond smiled through clenched teeth. “Yes, Jackie. Now if you were to offer that one again, I might be tempted to cancel my evening flight.”
“Wish I could, but I have no idea what became of her.”
“No idea?”
“None. But you’re right. A real nice piece of ass that one.”
Desmond saw red but managed to contain his anger. “A wonderful girl.”
It had been a long time since Marcus let himself think about Jacqueline Bertoni, first at the altar and now a flash of her naked in Desmond’s arms. He didn’t understand why he had the sudden urge to knock the American to the ground and spit on him.
Chapter Twenty Five
The instant Desmond climbed inside the limousine at the airport, Jackie gave him a quick kiss and welcome home then poured on the questions just as Desmond had anticipated. “So, was the wedding the event of the year for all of Italy?”
Desmond glanced over at her and smiled. “I doubt I’d go that far. As a matter of fact, there were only a few hundred guests.
Jackie folded her hands together in her lap and stared straight ahead. “I’m ready for the rest.”
Desmond reached over and patted her locked together hands. “Talia seemed nice enough. A bit too shy for my taste. But certainly an asset to Marcus.”
Jackie shot him a look. “How so?”
“Her father is a powerful political figure. I’m sure the marriage was arranged a long time ago.”
“Do you think Marcus is in love with her?”
Desmond gently squeezed her hands. “Marcus DeMario loves only himself.”
Jackie gave a sigh of relief. If he doesn’t love his new bride, there’s a chance he meant it when he told her he loved her. She still couldn’t fully accept that she meant nothing more to him than a piece of property to profit from.
“Did they return from their honeymoon before you left?”
Desmond’s hand eased away from hers. “I suppose they did.”
“You didn’t see them?”
“No. I left the villa in Rome after the ceremony.”
“So did you spend the past week on your favorite island?”
Desmond didn’t know if he could bring himself to lie to her when she was staring him in the eye. He turned and looked through the tinted glass to the passing traffic when he answered. “Yes. I had a relaxing vacation on Capri.”
Jackie wanted to ask if Marcus had supplied him with a female companion like the summer before, but decided against it. Desmond’s sex life was his business as long as he made no demands on her and continued treating her like the daughter who’d died.
Desmond became preoccupied with thoughts of where he’d spent the past week to see Charles hadn’t made the turn off to Beverly Hills. By the time he did, the car was already stopping outside his production company in Hollywood.
“I confess I’m a workaholic, Charles, but I was planning a quick trip home before coming to the studio.”
“Don’t scold Charles. He’ll drive you home. But I’m already late,” Jackie informed, reaching for the door handle.
“You’re working?”
She smiled. “Day and night just like my teacher.”
“You like it don’t you?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I love it,” she confessed and stepped out of the car. Before she closed the door, she leaned down and looked in at him. “I suggest you go home and get some rest because when I get there I have some serious business to discuss. You’ll need to be fully alert.”
“Oh I will, huh?”
She grinned mischievously and winked before closing the door and dashing off.
Desmond relaxed in his seat as Charles turned the car around and drove through the main entrance. Under other circumstances Desmond would’ve remained behind with Jackie. But this time he needed to get home. He’d feel more at ease once he had the documents safely locked away in his vault at home until arrangements could be made for them to be put in the proper hands. He’d call the man he’d come to trust implicitly over the years. Then a call to his man on the east coast responsible for picking up the shipment of drugs, as he had for the past five years when Desmond made his first connection with Joseph DeMario.
He’d have to work quickly though. The documents must be picked up before Jackie arrived home. She must never know anything about what he was doing. Or that he’d spent the last week gathering documentation on all Marcus DeMario’s holdings to be delivered to his boss, also his brother.
Nico had sent Desmond to make connections with Joseph six years ago. He sent him back annually for an update on the DeMario families operations.
“So, how have things been with you while I was away, Charles?”
The chauffeur looked in the rearview mirror to his passenger. He had great respect for the man. If it weren’t for Desmond Sinclair Charles believed he’d still be standing in an unemployment line. Desmond gave him a second chance when no one else would after seeing the file on him from his previous employers. He’d been fired from his last two jobs for making passes at his boss’s wives. Mr. Sinclair had no wife.
“Pretty much the same. I’ve made the same early morning and late night trips to the studio. Only Jackie keeps later hours than you.”
Desmond chuckled. “She is an ambitious one. Give her time and she’ll be heading her own production company.”
It warmed Desmond’s heart knowing she took such great interest in her summer job. But he wished she’d taken the summer like he’d suggested and had some fun. It hadn’t taken long for him to discover she wasn’t a typical teenager. But he never expected her to last the summer stuffing envelopes.
His main reason for giving her one of the most boring jobs in the industry was to discourage her from wanting to enter the adult world too soon. He also hoped to discourage her from wanting to become a part of the movie making business.
&n
bsp; With the growing number of career options opened to young women today, Desmond had hoped she’d steer clear of the one that had a way of turning the meekest of souls into cold hearted backstabbing creatures who belonged in a class all their own.
Chapter Twenty Six
Shortly past eight o’clock Jackie charged in the front door. “I’m home,” she announced as she headed for the living room to find Desmond.
A warm sensation filled Desmond as he stood from behind his desk in front of the wall of glass at the one end of the room.
“I was beginning to worry.”
“Sorry I’m so late.” Jackie’s apology came before the usual kiss on the cheek after a long day of being apart.
With his hand on her shoulder he guided her to the sofa. “You’re really taking this job seriously.”
“That’s what I need to talk to you about.” She reached for her attaché case she’d dropped nearby. “I have something I want you to read,” she told him as she pulled out a notebook and handed it to him.
“What have we here?”
“The script that is going to be next year’s box office smash hit.”
Desmond quickly leafed through the typewritten pages. “Where’d you get this?”
Jackie cleared her throat. “Okay, I know my job is just to return the scripts, but when things are slow I—”
“Read them,” he finished for her.
“Only the ones that get me to page two.”
“What’s so special about this one? I mean didn’t one of my paid readers reject it?”
“He shouldn’t have. It would be a high budget, but-”
“I don’t like high budget.”
“That’s why your reader rejected it. But I’m telling you that’s the only reason. Please, just read it.”
Desmond tossed her a smile. The one Jackie recognized as his yes. “You have to promise you’ll accept my decision.”
“Of course.”
Jackie left him alone with the script and went up to her room. The entire time she spent undressing and showering her insides bubbled over with excitement.