They were staring at me wide-eyed, with serious expressions on their faces…unsure of what to expect. I trusted these two men with my life.
“I have a past that neither of you know about, and which I’m ashamed of,” I said, without meeting their eyes. I could sense them exchanging looks.
“What are you talking about Rhett? What could possibly be so bad?” Hunter was the one to speak up, in his deep, raspy voice. I met his eye briefly and then looked away.
“I’ve told you guys about how mom was struggling to make ends meet. We were going to lose the house and we were going to be taken away by social services,” I said and Owen stood up from his chair and walked towards me.
“You know you can tell us anything, Rhett. We know what you’ve gone through and we know you,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I raised my face to look at him and then clenched my jaw.
“I joined a gang when I was a teenager,” I said it bluntly.
“What kind of gang?” Hunter asked. He had stood up too.
“The kind that every kid should stay away from,” I said in a dejected voice.
“What were they involved in?” Owen asked and I stepped away from them to walk over to the window in my office. I couldn’t continue looking at them.
“Drugs, extortion, robbery…” I said and allowed my voice to drift. The shame that was running through my veins was painful. I had kept this hidden from my friends for so many years. Would they regret getting in business with a guy like me?
“What were you involved in?” Hunter asked and I recognized the worry in his voice.
“Pickpocketing, stealing stuff from grocery stores…” I replied.
“How old were you, Rhett?” Owen asked and I shook my head.
“Old enough to know that I shouldn’t have dropped out of school,” I replied and hung my head in shame.
It was Hunter who had walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“We’re glad you told us, Rhett…but we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he said. I whipped around to face him. I was panicking again.
“I robbed a bank. My first heist with the gang. I stole diamonds and jewelry,” I said and felt my heart racing.
“Did anyone get hurt?” Owen asked and I shook my head.
“You were a juvenile,” Hunter added but I was still shaking my head.
“It’s come back to haunt me. My past,” I said in a hoarse voice.
“What do you mean, Rhett? Tell us everything,” Hunter said.
“The guy who was training me…one of the leaders of the gang. He’s out of prison and traced me here. He wants money to keep his mouth shut,” I said and stepped away from them again. I felt dirty and disgusted with myself. I wanted to keep my distance from my friends.
“He’s threatening you?” Owen asked in an enraged voice and I nodded my head.
“He’s in town, and he’s trying to get me to pay up. Now that I’m successful and he knows I have the money and a lot to lose…he’s not going anywhere,” I said and I saw that Hunter had already started rolling up his sleeves.
“Where is the fucker? Do you know where he is?” he growled and I took in a deep breath.
“I’ve done that already. Massimo is a hardened ex-con. A few violent threats isn’t going to stop him from getting what he wants,” I said and clenched my fists beside me. Even saying his name was enough to get me mad. I wanted to smash something. Break something.
“We could give him more money than he’s asking for and make sure he never comes back to Brunswick?” Owen suggested and I grinned nastily at him, even though I knew that he was only trying to help.
“He’s not just going to go away. He expects continuous payment…till the day he dies. That’s his plan. And he can hurt me even if never steps into Brunswick again. All he has to do is pick up the phone and call a newspaper or a magazine somewhere,” I explained and started pacing the floor again.
“Before we do anything, I say we beat the shit out of him first,” Hunter was still seething with temper, and I could understand because that had been my first reaction as well. I hadn’t even told them about how Massimo had broken into mom’s house or threatened Heidi.
“There’s no point, Hunter. He’s not going to care,” I mumbled.
“So what are you going to do?” Owen asked and I shook my head.
“I don’t know. I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on. I owed you the truth,” I said and Hunter came over and patted me on my back.
“I’m glad you told us man. We can put our heads together and come up with a plan,” Hunter said and I nodded my head. But I knew that the truth was that I was going to have to deal with it alone. I wanted nobody else involved.
***
“So I’m not good enough for your fancy office?” those were Massimo’s first words when he took a seat beside me at the bar. I’d sent him a text to meet me there after I spoke to Hunter and Owen.
With one gulp I emptied the whisky in the glass and indicated to the bartender to pour me some more.
“I take it you got my note,” Massimo said and when I turned to him, I saw that he was smiling widely with a toothy grin. His greying hair was oily and slicked back and there were folds in his neck which settled over his chest. Some faint tattoos were visible over the neck of his shirt.
“You shouldn’t have gone to my mother’s house,” I said in a deep and low voice, holding Massimo’s eyes. But he just continued to smile at me.
“I didn’t think you were taking me seriously. I had to do something to make you see that I’m willing to take extreme measures to get what I want,” he said, just as the bartender placed a bottle of beer in front of him.
“My mother is out of reach. If you ever go near her or my brother again, I will rip your face off,” I threatened through gritted teeth, and Massimo turned away from me. His smile had dropped and changed into a sour look.
“And what about the girl? Isn’t she the one from the café? You were quick. I’ve taught you well,” he said and added a laugh and I jumped off my stool, close to grabbing him by his collar again.
“Don’t even think about talking about her!” I growled, in a voice louder than I intended and some people had turned to look at us. Massimo was grinning again. He was enjoying agitating me.
“What is it Rhett? Are you in love with her or something?” he asked and I clenched my jaw, and narrowed my eyes on him, trying to control my rage. The purpose of this meeting was not to punch him.
“You have nothing on me,” I said in a lower voice, trying to change the subject.
“You mean the photographs of the gang together? Even if I don’t have actual evidence that you were involved in the robberies, the media and your little community here are going to love it when they find out what kind of friends you had as a little boy in Brooklyn,” Massimo said and drank some of his beer.
I sat back down on the stool beside him and took a few gulps of my whisky.
“I was a teenager. You brainwashed me,” I said gratingly and Massimo laughed again.
“Brainwashed you? You practically begged me to teach you how to steal cigarettes,” he said and I noticed how his belly jiggled when he laughed. I was even more disgusted. I couldn’t believe that at one point I had actually looked up to this man.
“I’m not going to be blackmailed by a man like you,” I said through clenched jaws and Massimo shrugged his shoulders.
“It doesn’t matter to me what you think of me, boy,” he said and plonked his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. I flinched and as much as I wanted to yank myself away from him, I stayed put. I had to convince him that he was breaking me. That he’d got me. “You have to do as I say, or this cute little life that you’ve built for yourself here is going to come crashing down. I’ve seen your house. It’s huge!” Massimo said and went back to drinking his beer again.
I sucked in my gut and breathed deeply.
“I’ll give you the money,” I sai
d and Massimo whipped his head around to me. He wasn’t expecting me to give in easily, but now he was beginning to believe that his plan was working.
“And keep it coming,” he added and I turned to look at him, squinting my eyes at him.
“Whatever you say, Massimo. Just stay away from my family, and from Heidi. If you ever even go close to any of them again, I’ll turn myself in to the cops if I have to. After I kill you first,” I said and I held his gaze. Massimo glared back at me for a few moments and then held up his hands.
“Whatever you say, Rhett,” he said, grinning again.
“Give me a few days to arrange the money. I’ll contact you again about where to collect it,” I said and Massimo was fully smiling now.
“We need to set up a system, and remember, boy, that missing payments is not an option here. Releasing your story is one phone call away,” he said and I nodded my head.
“I won’t miss a payment,” I said and then stood up from my stool. It was done. I had no intention of sticking around and chatting with him. The more distance I could put between Massimo and myself, the better it would be for me.
As I buttoned up the jacket of my suit, Massimo stuck his hand out to me. He wanted to shake on it. My face twisted in a half smile as I looked down at his hand and then back up at his face.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Asshole,” I said and turned from him and walked towards the swinging doors of the bar. He could think he was going to get his way, but that didn’t mean I was going to shake his hand.
And he should have known better. He should have figured out that I didn’t make deals with criminals anymore. Not now when I had everything to lose, especially Heidi.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Heidi
One week later
I tucked some loose curls back behind my ears as I carefully placed a slice of toffee cake on a bone china plate.
“This is for table three,” I told Lucia when I handed it to her. She nodded and took the plate away and I sighed. I was keeping up appearances well. The past seven days had been a miserable experience for me. My mood swung constantly, from blaming myself for how I was feeling to wondering what Rhett was doing, to being angry with him for treating me the way he had. My emotions were jumbled up and I was beginning to feel like I would never be able to get over him.
I felt like I had lost a little something of me by being with Rhett. That he would always be in the back of my mind and I would remember him with fondness and sadness. I couldn’t deny it, that whenever I was with him, I had felt nothing other than excitement and joy. He was able to make me forget about everything else. That dinner on his balcony had been magical. I had opened myself up to him and despite what had happened after that, I didn’t regret it. Even if I had been made a fool of, I couldn’t stop myself from believing that the connection had been real. That for a few hours, we had truly felt a spark. I had just misjudged him by thinking that he was a different kind of guy when the truth was that he was like everyone else. Like every other guy I had trained myself to not trust.
“You’ve been complimented on your baking,” Lucia came back over to tell me, and I looked past her at the tourist couple sitting at table three and I smiled at them.
“How are you holding up?” I asked her, because I was aware that she had been feeling low over that guy she had told me about.
“Nothing’s changed. Everything’s the same. I’m still an idiot,” she said with a loud sigh and I pursed my lips together sympathetically. I knew exactly how she must have been feeling. I had practically gone through the same thing. Although, I hadn’t told her about that night in Rhett’s house. I didn’t feel the need to burden her with my own problems.
The phone at the cash register rang, interrupting us, and I picked it up and greeted the caller cheerily.
“Is this Heidi McNeil? Owner of Bread & Beans café?” the man at the other end of the line asked.
“Speaking,” I said, still cheerful.
“Hi! I’m Cormac, one of the organizers of the Brunswick Charity Ball, I was wondering if we could speak for a moment,” the man said in a pleasant voice. I hadn’t heard of this Charity Ball before and I was interested.
“Sure,” I said and placed a hand on my hip.
“As you might know already, Ms. McNeil, the BCB is an annual charity event which takes place on the eighth of May where we raise funds for a featured local charity,” he continued and I hummed a response of interest.
“We usually hire local caterers to take care of the food for the event, and based on the recommendations of all your happy customers, we are happy to tell you that we want your café to create a cake for the event,” he explained and I was already beaming from ear to ear.
“Are you serious?” I asked, smiling wide when I caught Lucia’s eye.
“Yes ma’am! Would you be able to do it? I know this is short notice and the event is only three days away,” he added but I was shaking my head.
“I’d be honored to do it, that’s enough time,” I said excitedly.
“That’s great Ms. McNeil. I’ll make note of it and email you the contract,” he said.
“A contract will not be required. I would like to donate the cake, no charge,” I said but the man was protesting.
“We always pay our caterers ma’am. We have generous funds from our patrons,” he said.
“Please accept it, Cormac. I cannot contribute with money at the moment, and I’d much rather donate the cake,” I protested back and finally, he relented.
“That is very generous of you Ms. McNeil., I will let the others know. Will you require help transporting the cake to the venue?” he asked.
“No need. I’ll figure something out. Thanks Cormac, you’ve made my day!” I said and he laughed in response.
After we talked for a few more moments and eventually he’d hung up the phone, I clapped my hands together and rushed to tell Lucia and Sophie. They were both excited to hear it as well.
“BCB! That is amazing, Heidi! Everyone who is anyone in Brunswick and from all over Georgia attend the event. You should see the beautiful dresses the women come in,” Sophie was gushing and giggling.
“I told him that I’d be bringing you two along,” I informed them and they were even more excited.
“We have to go shopping. Oh my God!” Sophie was saying, while Lucia and I hugged. It was an honor and a testament to how much the people in this town supported my business. I was in seventh heaven and had never felt more proud of myself.
“We also have a lot of work ahead of us. The event is in three days, and I’m thinking a four tiered Butterscotch cake with buttercream frosting,” I said and picked up a notepad from the counter beside me. I was already thinking of ideas, and writing down notes about the decoration.
“This is so exciting Heidi! We get to go to the ball!” Lucia and Sophie were still giggling over it and I smiled at them. My first few minutes of excitement and thrill had passed, and I was already wondering if Rhett Larkin was going to be at this event.
***
I steeped myself in the lavender scented bathwater and sipped cautiously from the glass of white wine in my hand. I needed a drink before I went to the event, because by now I was absolutely certain that Rhett was going to be there.
It was the last two hour countdown to the Ball and I had everything prepared. The final cake was a four tiered one, like I had initially planned, but every layer was a different flavor with a buttercream frosting over it. I had used a watercoloring technique with food colors to give the cake the look of a floral painting and had carefully handcrafted every purple and pink flower that went over it as decoration.
The end result looked stunning as I acknowledged it myself. After spending the past seventy-two hours working tirelessly on it, this had to be my best creation and I was proud of the achievement. Sophie’s brother who drove a van had generously offered to transport the cake to the venue and it had probably already arrived at its destination, and being carefull
y used as the centerpiece of the event. Just the thought of it put a smile on my face, but it didn’t take long for my mind to wander to Rhett again.
At an event like this, where all the wealthiest people of Georgia were going to gather, it was highly unlikely that Rhett wouldn’t be invited. Twice I nearly asked Lucia to do some snooping around and find out if my suspicions were correct, but I stopped myself in time. There would have to be a lot of explaining to do if I asked her about Rhett Larkin. She still had no idea that he was the guy I had told her about, and I wanted to keep it that way.
The wine I was drinking now was a form of strength-giver and a relaxation technique, as was the bath. I hadn’t seen or heard from Rhett in over a week, nearly ten days, and even though we had spent so much time apart by now, I was still thinking about him. The distance hadn’t made any difference. He was still the guy I had fallen so madly in love with…over a span of just a few days. The trouble was that he lived in my town. I was always wondering if he was just around the corner, if he was going to pass by the café today, or if he had seen me from across the street and avoided me. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and it had been driving me nuts.
And now being sure of the fact that he was going to be there at the Ball was even more nerve wracking. I didn’t want him to see it on my face…how much I missed him; how badly I had fallen for his lies and his games.
After I had soaked myself in the bath for close to an hour, I pulled myself out of the water and slowly dried myself off. Back in the bedroom, I stared at the shopping I had done at the last minute. I had gone out of my way to buy things that I wouldn’t normally ever wear. That I would never have a reason to. But both Lucia and Sophie had insisted when we went shopping together that morning that I get them. And besides, they seemed to know what they were talking about.
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