Chapter 6
Dragging themselves from the bed, Kelly and Alex head to the hotel exit ramp to catch a cab into town. When they get downstairs, Lola is waiting in the lobby. She explains that Roberto will drive them to lunch in his town car. Kelly is surprised Alex and Roberto seem to know each other. She is even more surprised when the two men shake hands and begin speaking in Italian. Kelly suspects there is more going on than a mere lunch date. But what could it be? Seeing her concerned expression, Alex hastens to reassure Kelly. "Everything is fine. Roberto and I have a quick errand to run while you ladies have a drink before lunch. We’ll soon join you at the restaurant." Speaking a little louder and with more emphasis he continues "Then I will finish my vacation! Be sure to wait for me." The Italian man chuckles and gets into the driver's seat.
It’s only a five minute drive to the restaurant. Kelly and Lola get out of the car and head inside. Looking over her shoulder at Alex, Kelly sees Roberto hand him a pistol and handcuffs, which he conceals inside his suit coat. Seeing her eyes following him looking so worried Alex quickly runs up the restaurant steps to give her a kiss. "Everything is fine, I swear" he murmurs quietly into her ear. "It's just a quick arrest, and then Roberto and his crew from Interpol will take over. They simply need a FBI agent present. Now quit worrying and have a drink. Roberto and I will soon join you.” Gently he ushers Kelly into the restaurant and rejoins Roberto outside.
Kelly and Lola have a drink. After waiting 30 minutes they decide to go ahead and eat. Although the food at the restaurant is incredible, Kelly can’t help but worry. She is picking at her shrimp platter when the distinct sound of gunfire erupts from behind the restaurant. There is loud shouting and the crashing of broken dishes. Suddenly a tough looking Mexican man comes running full speed through the restaurant. Alex, Roberto, and a few other men are in hot pursuit. Thinking quickly, Kelly shoves her table's empty chair right in front of the fleeing man as he comes barreling towards them. The fleeing man trips and falls to the floor. Alex leaps onto the man, pinning him down, finally subduing him. Roberto handcuffs the suspect and leads him away. Mission accomplished Alex brushes himself off, shakes his head and smiles at Kelly at the same time chiding her. “Kelly, you were incredibly brave but please never again. If you’d been injured I’d feel terrible.”
Chapter 7
Six months later Kelly is carrying a cardboard moving box up the front steps of her new home. She is so happy. Kelly always liked warm weather and moving from Boston to Alex’s home town of Corpus Christi, Texas is like a dream come true. Their new home is only a 15 minute drive to the white sand beaches and warm Gulf waters of Padre Island. She is sure her passion for writing will be rekindled in her new home. The spare bedroom will set up as a perfect work at home office. It’ll make a fine writer’s den. Alex’s FBI job requires frequent traveling so she’ll try her hand at writing romantic book after book while eagerly waiting for his return home. Since meeting Alex she has a lot of new material to write about.
On her left hand, an engagement ring sparkles in the bright afternoon sun. Walking into the home, she sits the box in her new living room, and is promptly blinded as Alex puts his hands over her eyes. "Come on, I have a surprise for you" he whispers in her ear. Carefully walking his blindfolded fiancé through the home, he stops in their bedroom. When he uncovers her eyes, Kelly sees a huge oil painting hanging on the wall. In the picture a perfect couple that looks very much like Kelly and Alex stand together in front of the ocean, watching the sunset. The water is aglow with pinks, blues, and oranges. "A little memorial of how we met" Alex tells her proudly. As Kelly kisses her beloved, she knows that even without the amazing painting, she will never forget the vacation that brought them together. She is really thankful she met up with that jellyfish.
Authors Comments
I hope you enjoyed reading my little short story. I have more outlined and plan to write many more. Please help me to improve my writing. I welcome honest reviews as they will help me write the type of story you want to read. If I’m on the right track or need to change course please let me know.
Many Thanks,
Kristina Belle
My website is new so don’t expect too much yet but take a look. I’ll be adding to it and open to suggestions. You can always reach me by using the “contact me” form at the website.
Kristina Belle Website
A Simple Task
By Kristina Belle
A Simple Task. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval or system without express written permission from the publisher.
Table of Contents
A Simple Task
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 1
Parking her car in front of an elegant Chicago home Ami O’Reilly hesitates before getting out. For long months she has been struggling under the weight of her father’s debt to the Roma family. Although Ami dearly loved her father John, she hated his gambling addiction with a passion. Over the years it caused him to lose so much- his self-respect, his job, his home, his wife, and eventually even his life. Ami grew up struggling to take care of herself and her little sister, Nicole, after their mother left them and their father. Life had been a constant string of incredible highs when John won, and terrible, terrifying lows when he lost. As soon as she was old enough, Ami took her sister and moved away from him. Now that Ami and her sister are adults, things began to look up. Ami works at a good job at an insurance office. Nicole was smart and lucky enough to earn a full scholarship from a local university and is entering her sophomore year. Ami thought the two of them finally free from their father’s frequent and continuing misfortunes. Three months ago, she found to her sorrow that is not at all the case.
Ami was jarred awake in the middle of the night by a phone call from her younger sister. This time their father landed both girls in big trouble. The day before, John was playing a high stakes card game in Atlantic City. The game was far too high and too dangerous for his limited resources. When he lost the game, he found he owed a spectacular amount of money to a young man named Tony Roma, the youngest son of the Godfather of an Italian crime family. Realizing he had no way to pay off the debt, John took his own life. The Roma’s had not, however, considered the debt repaid upon his death. They tracked Nicole down at her school, looking for the balance of her father’s debt to be repaid. Ami knew of this family’s reputation and feared for her sister’s life. She asked Nicole for Tony Roma’s phone number. Making a phone call, Ami agreed to repay the debt for her tragically dead father.
Chapter 2
Ami brokered a repayment plan with a member of the crime family claiming to represent Tony Roma. The terms were very steep. Two weeks ago, Ami finally had to admit defeat. There was simply no way to repay the debt with her meager salary. If she is to have enough money at the end of the day to pay her rent, bills and eat she has to find more income or reschedule the payment plan. Although Nicole offers to drop out of school, get a job, and help her repay the money, Ami refuses point blank. She’s proud of her sister. She’s the first one in the family to get a college education. There’s no reason they both have to suffer because of their late father’s gambling addiction.
Screwing up her courage, Ami calls Tony one last time. She asks if they can come up with an arrangement that won’t leave her completely destitute and starving. Claiming to be a reasonable man, he invites her to speak with him at his home in Chicago, to “see what we can come up with”. Although terrified of what might await her in a stranger’s home, and a criminal’s home at that, Ami wears her best conservative black dress and drives to Chicago to see what can be done. The trip is not pleasant as she knows the Roma crime family has a reputation for being ruthless. She tries her best to stay co
urageous and is determined to face up to whatever awaits her.
Now she’s arrived Ami finds her courage suddenly abandons her. Trembling she sits alone in her car, staring at the house as if it’s the house of doom. A sudden rap at her window nearly sends her through the roof. “Miss O’Reilly?” A heavy set man wearing designer sunglasses wearing an expensive looking suit stands at her door. He looks like he hasn’t shaved in three or four days. His breath reeks of garlic. “Follow me, please”. Clearly not about to take no for an answer, he opens the driver’s door and helps Ami out of her car. “Excuse me Miss, I need to make sure you aren’t carrying weapons.” The stranger quickly frisks her. Ami is certain he could feel her shaking. Seemingly satisfied, he directs her towards the house. “Mr. Roma is waiting for you.” As she is escorted up the long walkway, she hears a catcall from across the lawn. “Knock it off Don, and get back to work!” Her escort chided to a man standing in the driveway. “Ah, come on, Mick, I’m just paying the lady a compliment,” Ami hears the man complain in a distinct thick New Jersey accent. She nervously steps inside the front door not knowing what to expect.
Feeling like she just stepped into a modern version of The Godfather, Ami is shown through the house and left to stand in front of a beautifully paneled mahogany door. As her escort knocks and goes inside she gets a small glimpse of the very plush interior. Ami takes a few deep breaths in an attempt to settle a bad case of nerves. She hears two male voices conversing quietly just behind the door. The door swings open. Mick, her escort, indicates she can now enter. Feeling like she is headed to her own execution, Ami follows Mick into the room.
Ami is in a beautifully appointed study. It is bright and cheerful, not at all what she expected. The furniture is a warm cherry wood. Discreet paneled curtains cover the windows. A large flat screen monitor hangs on one wall, and an original oil painting of a sunny Mediterranean island hangs on another. The painting is very cheerful, full of orange, yellow, blue, and green colors. A strong masculine voice interrupts her inspection. “Ms. O’Reilly, I presume? Thank you Mick, please leave us alone.” As Mick steps out of her way and leaves the room, she is taken back by her first view of Tony Roma, the Godfather’s oldest son and heir to the throne.
Chapter 3
The man is stunningly handsome in a dark and commanding way. With black hair, dark eyes, and a powerful physique, Tony commands attention. There was no doubt he was in charge, and knew it. Definitely he looks like the kind of man you don’t want to mess with. For a moment he stares at Ami, in a coldly assessing manner, and then nods to the empty chair in front of his desk. “Please take a seat, Ms. O’Reilly.” As she sits, Ami watches him pick up a file folder. He carefully scans the contents. He clears his throat and shoots her an imperturbable glance. “It seems from your financial situation you will be unlikely to be able to pay off your father’s debt anytime soon.” Ami confirms his statement with a nervous mute nod. “You said on the phone, you wanted to find terms that wouldn’t leave you, how did you put it, destitute and starving?” Ami makes the mistake of looking into his face, and instantly Tony’s black eyes held her gaze captive, “I… I was hoping we could come to some sort of an alternative arrangement” Ami manages to squeak out, her voice barely above a whisper.
“An alternative arrangement, you say?” Tony stares at her, drumming his long elegant fingers on the top of the desk. He looked back through the file and begins asking her an odd series of questions: “Are you married?” “No” “Do you have any children?” “No” “Do you have a current lover?” “Well, no, not recently” “Have you ever been diagnosed with a STD?” “What? No! Sir, I don’t see what this has to do with my father’s debt” Ami sputters indignantly at the dark eyed man across from her. “I’m sure you will see the connection in a moment, Ms. O’Reilly.” Tony assures her coolly. “If you wish to alleviate yourself and your sister from your father’s burden, then I have a proposal for you.” He chuckled to himself as he continued on, “Quite literally as a matter of fact. A very simple task really. Are you interested?” Wanting to get the interview over with Ami says yes, she was. “You will pay off your father’s debt by marrying me.”
Shocked and incredulous Ami stares at the handsome dark Italian man. “I’m sorry I must not have heard you correctly.” She said shaking her head. Clearly her nerves had finally gotten to her. She must be getting in bad shape. “I thought you said I could pay off my father’s debt by marrying you? That’s ridiculous, I’m sorry I don’t understand.”
“I assure you, Ms. O’Reilly, you heard correctly. You gain comfort, security, and the pleasure of my bed. I gain a beautiful spouse without having to worry about any ulterior motives she may have. The debt is cleared, and you and your sister no longer have to worry about being out in the cold or being put away. And I don’t mean for just a little while. When you accept my proposal everyone is happy.” Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, Tony continues. “It’s not as unusual an arrangement as you seem to think. My dear Ami marriages were conducted as business arrangements for many, many centuries. Arranged marriages offer many benefits, unlike those between two young people who marry for what they think is love only to be divorced a year later as reality sets in. In some areas of the world arranged marriages are still the normal way of finding a suitable lifetime partner. Consider this to be another such arrangement.” He handed her a second folder from inside his desk. “These are the terms of my proposal. My expectations for you, and what you will be entitled to as my wife, everything is laid out in that folder.”
Ami takes the folder, wondering if she is perhaps the butt of some awful cruel joke. Determined not to be made a laughingstock by the man, she looks back into Tony’s eyes. “What if I refuse?” She challenges in a low voice, almost a whisper. She sees no humor in his eyes when he responds. “There are other, less pleasant ways to pay off a debt, Ms. O’Reilly. I believe you will find my offer to be the lesser of many evils. Take your time to review my terms, they’re quite generous. Mick will see you to your room while you… make your decision.”
With perfect timing, the door swings open and Mick walks in to stand next to her chair. As she stands, folder in hand, she turns back to look at Tony. “Why choose me?” She asks, in a daze and confused. For a moment, she sees his handsome face soften. Just a tiny bit. She thinks there is something… familiar about him. Then the look is gone, and with it the feeling of recognition. “I expect your answer in the next twenty four hours.” He simply says. Mick steps in and gently but firmly leads Ami out of the study.
Mick leads her through the hallway to a flight of stairs. As she walks up, the man from the driveway passes her headed down to the office. He is still leering at her, making her feel quite uncomfortable. His eyes seen fixed on her boobs. Mick notices the gaze and cautions him to mind his manners. Mick says to Ami only “he’s an asshole” and shows her up a flight of stairs to a luxuriously appointed bedroom. “The sooner you give Tony what he wants, Ms. O’Reilly, the easier it will be for everyone.” Mick tells her, not unkindly, as he shows her into the room. Mick only says, “I’ll be back with dinner in a few hours.” Turning and abruptly leaving he shuts the door behind him. When she hears a lock slam into place, Ami freaks out. She realizes without a doubt she is Tony Roma’s prisoner.
Feeling powerless and frightened out of her wits Ami sits down on the bed. Putting the folder with Tony’s proposal on the night stand, she sits on the bed and rolls onto the other side. It hardly matters what the terms of the marriage are. What can she do? The choice is the same regardless. She can marry the man, clearing her father’s debt and securing a comfortable, if loveless future. Or she could refuse, facing a lifetime of debt, and the anger of a crime family. Tony Roma even hinted she and her sister might be killed. Not much of a choice. Ami falls into a restless sleep, exhausted by the interview and her untenable situation.
Chapter 4
In her dream, Ami is a teenager again, outside yet another casino, while her father gambles away
what little money they have. She left little Nicole at their Winnebago home while she tries to find a way to rescue their father and bring him back home. Unfortunately, being under age, that was pretty much impossible, since she can’t even go into the casino. Frustrated, she begins to weep. Then she feels someone gently tap her on the shoulder. “What’s the matter, beautiful girl?” Standing before her was an angelic looking young man, so gorgeous he might have just stepped out of an Italian renaissance painting. When she explains her problem, the young man only smiles, gives her a knowing wink, and calls a security guard over. The two walk into the casino together. Like magic, a few minutes later her father appears, his wallet stuffed fat with cash. She turns to thank the dark haired young man but he is nowhere in sight. He disappeared without saying a word.
A knock at the door wakes Ami from her marvelous dream. Mick is there with her dinner. Looking at the file on the nightstand, she grabs it with a deep sigh. When Mick opens the door, Ami is already standing at the room’s entrance, waiting for him folder in hand. Handing the folder to Mick, she tells him to please inform his boss she will accept his proposal. Mick looks at her, not too surprised she decided so quickly. She didn’t really have much choice. Taking the folder, and leaving her food, Mick nods and tells her he’s sure her quick acceptance will make Mr. Roma extremely happy. “At least someone will be” Ami mutters as Mick closes the door behind him.
Kelly's Jellyfish Romance (Romantic Short Stories) Page 2