Rude Boy USA

by Victoria Bolton

  Before they entered the house, John looked at Jerome. “You ready?” he asked.

  “Yep,” Jerome said.

  “Let’s go and light his ass up,” John responded.

  John and Jerome entered the house through an unlocked side window. They were surprised how easy it was to get in. That meant they did not have to leave any visible signs of a break-in. The window was located away from the room where Dante was sitting and drinking while reading the paper. Dante did not immediately notice that the generator was off, as he only had the fireplace and moonlight for light. John and Jerome made it in without tipping off any alarms. Dante did not have dogs, as Roma had an allergy to them and did not like them around the children. The Ambrosino family felt that no one had the balls to touch them in their homes, so they did not worry about security in the area. John and Jerome quietly walked through the house until they reached the room where Dante was sitting. He had nodded off. As they inched closer, John quietly cut every phone cord he passed. They walked up to Dante. John stood behind the chair, and Jerome stood before it. Dante suddenly woke up and saw the unidentified person standing in front of him. Dante asked him to identify himself.

  “It’s Monkey Man, motherfucker,” Jerome answered, and both he and John attacked the man, placing a chloroform-soaked cloth over his face until he passed out. Once he was out, they took part of the newspaper, lit it from the fireplace, and began burning things to make it look like an accidental fire. They burned his clothes and chair while he sat unconscious. The fire spread quickly, as many of the materials in the home were flammable. Jerome picked up the cloth they had used, and they headed out and left the area quickly. They burned the cloth when they returned to the city.

  Chapter 8

  After the hit on Dante Ambrosino, the calls stopped. The Ambrosino family was preoccupied with the death, which the investigators ruled an accident. The house burned quickly, and the top of Dante’s body burned beyond recognition. He was positively identified by a tattoo on his foot. The coroner found no signs of other trauma on his body. They established that there had been no foul play, as they could not detect an accelerant or any sign of illegal entry. The investigators concluded that a spark from the fireplace might have started the blaze, as Dante had used unsuitable wood that produced flying embers that spread into the room. John and Jerome had a clean hit. They could have had the Jet family come and do the job, but this was personal to both of them. They intended to send a hard message about the years of taunting and threats. Chimera was not to be fucked with. This counted as a needed hit in the way that Bernie had taught them. When your life or your family’s lives are in danger, you take the necessary steps to ensure their safety.

  Edina completed the secret deal with Enzo Ambrosino the night of Dante’s death. She was excited about the agreement and the future of the group, as well as her and John’s livelihoods. She had her entire plan to present to John, but she knew she would have some resistance. She called the office again, but this time asked to speak to Ben. She needed a pathway to John. Celia and Jerome were out of the question. Ben agreed to meet with her. She had not told him what the extent of the conversation would be.

  Ben and Edina met at a diner in Staten Island. Both of them thought that the place was off the radar and somewhere that John, Jerome, and Celia would not venture to. They began their conversation over a pasta dinner. Ben was still unsure about the meeting since their encounters had only been brief. Edina decided to break the ice and ask him about his life. He told her just the basics about himself, as he did not fully trust her with all of his information because of her connection with John. Edina then questioned him about Celia.

  “What do you know?” Edina asked him.

  “I work with her,” he answered.

  “That’s it?” Edina said.

  “No, but why is this important?” Ben responded.

  “OK, I will tell you what’s happening. I think they are having an affair,” Edina told him. Ben’s suspicions about the meeting waned. He was more than willing to spill what he knew about John. He started providing more information.

  “Well, I can tell you that nothing is happening now with them. They used to date, but I don’t know how far that went,” he told her.

  “Oh, but how are they now?” Edina probed.

  “I’m with her now,” Ben said to her. Celia had subsided contact with him, but Ben was in denial. Edina was slightly relieved to hear this. “But he keeps interfering. It bothers me, and she has now started to brush me off,” he added. Edina’s relief turned to discontent. “Look, I don’t know if he has feelings for her or what, and excuse me for my language, but I’ve wanted to punch him in the fucking mouth for a year now,” he added before putting a fork full of pasta in his mouth.

  Edina sat silent. Ben had just confirmed her worst suspicions about John and Celia. Edina knew that John slept with women, but she had always dismissed that as something physical only. He didn’t love those girls. John was emotionally vested in Celia. This was worse. Bernie had kept him obligated, and now that he was no longer there, she knew John had no one else to answer to. She realized that if she wanted a chance in hell to save their marriage, she would have to get Celia out of his mind. Edina cut to the chase.

  “Ben, I brought you here to sit you down and give you some important information. There have been things going on behind the scenes, a project that we’ve been working on,” she said.

  “Go on,” Ben said.

  “To put this simply, we’re merging,” Edina said.

  “What? Merging with whom?” Ben asked her.

  “Merging with Enzo Ambrosino,” she replied. Ben coughed as if he were choking.

  “Merging with Ambrosino? That makes no sense. They hate us,” Ben said.

  “No, it’s not like that. I’ve met with them. They are OK. They are investing in us,” Edina replied.

  “So, John is OK with this? Who else knows about this?” Ben questioned.

  “No, John does not know yet. Nobody knows. You are the first person who knows as of now,” she said.

  “If John wasn’t there, then who did the deal?” he asked.

  “I did,” she answered. Ben sat silent for ten seconds.

  “So you’re running things now?” he said sarcastically.

  “Ben, no, this was on the side. You know, and I know, and everybody else knows that since Bernie died, the group has been in a terrible position, and I know that you all are still trying to adjust. John needs the help. I used my connections and expertise to give you and him a life raft,” Edina said. “They were willing to bury the hatchet if we joined forces. It’s better for everybody. This move will make both groups stronger. I’m part of this as John’s wife. I knew Bernard before everyone else. I wanted you to know first because I need you as an anchor to John. He is going to resist this,” she said.

  “And rightfully fucking so. This is unbelievable,” he said. “This is disrespectful to Bernie. He put his life into us. What’s in the company—the money, the property, the clients, the history—it belongs to all of us.”

  Edina sensed that Ben was not thrilled about the news. She needed his cooperation. She decided to use Celia as a draw, and if that failed, she would put the moves on Ben herself. “Ben there is something else I have to tell you. The way the Ambrosino family works, there will be no purpose for Celia or Jerome, so we will have to let them go. You stay with us, and you will have a bigger role. You are one of them, I mean the Italians. They will relate to you the most,” she said.

  Ben sat there again in a ten-second pause. Despite their differences, dumping Jerome did not totally sit well with him. His only personal issue with Jerome was his cliquish relationship with John and the fact that Jerome has passed him in the ranks. He took an oath not to burn his brothers, even when at times he disliked them.

  “Think of it like this: we let Celia go, and you can have her to yourself or whatever. She will not be around John anymore, so there will not be any barriers between you
two. I sense that you care for her,” Edina said. Ben did not want to admit it, but he had fallen for Celia hard; however, his ego would never let him show that to her or anyone else. “We will buy them both out. It will be generous, I promise. I know it is not what you want to hear, but it is necessary, and it’s final. It’s already a done deal,” she said. “Just tell me that you are in. I promise you that you will be better off in this new system. Just give me your word,” she concluded.

  Ben sat there for the longest quiet period since they arrived at the restaurant. Edina put her hand on top of his and rubbed it gently. She looked at him seductively. She wanted to make sure she pulled all the stops. Ben knew what she was trying to do and pulled his hand away. He felt bad, but then again, Edina sold him an excellent opportunity. This would remove Jerome and force John to share the wealth. Ben was at a point of desperation. “OK,” he told her. “OK, I’m in. What do you need me to do? And when does this take place?”

  Ben’s decision thrilled Edina. “All I need you to do is keep quiet right now. I want to break the news to Celia myself, you know, have a powwow with her. I think this is something that another woman will have to discuss with her. We understand our wants and needs better than a man would. Just sit tight. I have taken care of everything. If I need your help with John, I will bring you into it. We help each other,” she said. Edina extended her hand to him, and he shook it. She gave him her number and address and told him to contact her when he needed to.

  Pleased with herself, Edina went back to her residence. There she had money paid as a binder from the Ambrosino family. She had accepted a down payment of four million dollars for the company and would receive another two million once everything merged. Edina felt that this was a great deal for all involved. She thought that she and John could branch off into something of their own and Ben would move up the ranks in the new family. She spent the rest of the evening calculating how much she should compensate Jerome and Celia for their time so that she could be rid of the both of them once and for all.

  Back at the offices, everything seemed normal until Edina paid another unannounced visit to Chimera. She went there to see if Celia and Jerome were present so she could give them the news. Celia was there alone with her security detail. She had many invoices and payroll issues to address, so she was very busy. John and Jerome were out on the field with members of the Jet family. Ben’s whereabouts were unknown. Edina thought that this was even better. Remove Celia without an audience. Edina walked into Celia’s office once again unannounced and sat down in a chair that Celia kept in front of her desk.

  “May I help you?” Celia asked tersely.

  Edina took a deep breath. “I’m here to speak with you. It’s important, and I need your undivided attention,” she said.

  Celia returned a deep breath. “I’m listening,” she said.

  “We got off to a bad start, and I would like to acknowledge how unfortunate that was,” Edina said. “I came here to give you news of changes in the company. We are growing! We are merging with a bigger group, and that will begin shortly. That’s exciting!” Edina said. With each word, her voice went a little higher. Celia continued to sit silently. “That means we had to do some trimming, as they did not need all of us. We do not need your position anymore. They have their people,” Edina added.

  Celia cleared her throat, as she thought that Edina was testing her again. “So what you are trying to say is that I am supposedly fired again,” she said.

  “No, we are eliminating your position. But I know how much the guys care about you, so here. This will make the transition go more smoothly for you,” Edina told her, handing her a check for two hundred thousand dollars. Celia looked at the check to see if it was legit. It was from John and Edina LeBlanc. Celia sat there in shock.

  Celia rebutted. “Why isn’t John telling me this? He is whom I work for, not you.”

  “John and I are a union. I know you have never been married before, but when that happens—if that happens—decisions are made as a couple. I do not always have to ask John permission about decisions regarding our family. I am sure you will experience that one day, sweetie. He’s busy right now and doesn’t have time to hurt your little feelings. There’s no need to talk to him. Take the check, start over, and live your life away from here. Two hundred grand is a lot of money, and you can do so much with it,” Edina said. “I will leave that here for you. I wanted to talk with your cousin too, but I see that he is not here. You two are closer, and I think you would be a better candidate to inform him of our decisions. There is a nice send-off gift for him too and a letter in this envelope. Make sure he gets that. You can collect your things anytime today when you’re ready.” Edina stood up to leave.

  “I’m not collecting anything,” Celia shot back at her.

  “Well, you do not have a choice. It’s a done deal,” Edina said as she walked away. She paused and turned back toward Celia. “I do not know what it is with you people. You do not know how to be appreciative when someone helps you,” she said and walked away.

  “I used to feel sorry for you. You are what he says about you!” Celia yelled as Edina was walking out. Edina took a cab back home feeling self-assured about what had just happened.

  Panicked, Celia went to one of the guards and asked if he could locate John. She needed to speak with him urgently, as this could not wait. Her heart was in a panic. She could fight words, but she could not deny a check with both of their names on it. That was as legal as it got. She sat there a few minutes while tears rolled down her face. She had not felt this uneasy since she was fired from the Playboy Club. The similarities between the two situations could not escape her. How could I have been so stupid? She thought.

  After an uncomfortable hour, John made it back to the office to see what was wrong with Celia. If she were ever in a panic, John would always rush right over to her. Celia told him to come into her office and close the door. He had the security stand outside of it. “John what is this?” she asked, handing him the check Edina had given her.

  John took the check from her and looked at it. “It’s a check,” he said. He examined it further and realized that this was a personal check taken from his joint marital account. It had Edina’s handwriting, and he noted the amount. On the notes line, it said severance. “Bunny, I don’t know what this is. I did not write it.” He crumbled it slightly and tossed it in the wastebasket.

  “She told me that we were merging and that that eliminated my position. She fired Jerome,” Celia said.

  “What are you talking about?” John asked her. “I don’t know anything about this, and I didn’t let anyone go. We are not merging. I don’t know anything about this.”

  Celia became frustrated. “Who do I work for?” she asked. “She’s always here now. She’s insolent. I can’t fight her.”

  “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. She will never be here anymore,” John said to reassure her.

  “But you said that before, and she keeps showing up. John, do you know how hard it was for me to come here, to give up my pride because I needed to work? I had to look at a man who I thought I had but who belonged to someone else, and to now have her come here and taunt me…And all I keep thinking is that there is nothing you can do about it; you’re stuck!” she said.

  “You are not the only one who is being tortured around here. You think I like hearing about you and Ben? How does that make me feel, Bunny? Do you like spreading yourself among the group?” John said.

  Celia was stunned. “John, there is a difference. I am not even with him now. That was one time. That was nothing. Not only do you have a wife, but you sleep with everybody. You can’t put me in the same category as you. I have never thrown that in your face,” she interjected. “The threatening calls here from them. Everything makes sense now.” She added, “I have to go. I am not feeling well.” She started picking up papers and removing others from her board. One of those papers included the Jamaica advert that she pinned up the very first week s
he started working there. She bent over to pick up the check.

  “Bunny, wait,” he said while trying to stop her. She left the envelope for Jerome on the desk. “Bunny, I’m sorry, I did not mean that.”

  She replied, “I have to go home.” Bunny left John in the office. The scene reminded him of when she had left him in the park.

  An enraged John told a Jet guard to find Jerome and Ben and make sure they got back to the office immediately. John unlocked his office and went straight to his phone. He went to dial Edina, but the phone rang before he picked it up. It was Enzo Ambrosino.

  “Hello, Mr. LeBlanc. I like how you are running things without Papa Bernard. Wise choice. I look forward to doing business with you. You have a lovely wife there,” Enzo said.

  John replied to him, “Fuck you, fuck her, fuck your family. We are not doing business. Oh, and enjoy your charbroiled brother!” John slammed the phone. He quickly dialed out to their marital residence. Edina picked up. “What the fuck is wrong with you!” he screamed into the phone.

  “John, lower your voice,” Edina responded.