by Samantha Lee
Antony rolled his eyes, “Of course they can’t. I am taking them with me.” Antony reached out and pulled the handle to a drawer where earlier he had seen folders. He grabbed one and his keys, then walked to Sal. “Put it in here.” He held the folder out for Sal to take.
“Let’s go. Where did you park?” Antony asked as he opened the door and walked out. “Next to the entrance to the basement garage.” Sal said.
Antony nodded, they walked to the elevator. Antony noticed how empty the office was, not even the custodial team was on the floor. “I-” Antony was about to say he wanted to stop for a quick drink before they parted, when the rapid sound of heels hitting the marble filled the hallway.
Sal looked at Antony, his brow was raised. Antony shrugged. The sound was getting closer. Something dropped on the floor, keys if Antony had to guess.
“Goddamn it, what else? What the fuck else could happen today? The stupid new boss wasn’t enough, or maybe the fucked up financial statements, no, there’s room for more, staying late and being stalked by a rich idiot. Come on, cut a girl a break.”
Antony grinned. He knew that voice and he couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she turned the corner and saw said stupid new boss staring at her. “Where’s my phone?” Antony heard rummaging, “It’s lost somewhere in this stinking fucking abyss that I call a purse. I need to clean this out one day.” Antony heard her huff. Then he heard the click of her shoes again. She turned the corner and saw them, “Ahhh!” she screamed and dropped her purse and the contents covered the floor.
“Yvette. It’s just me and my friend Sal.” Her hand was over her chest and she was taking deep breaths. She looked down at her purse and immediately fell down to her knees to gather the spilled contents. Sal was already picking up stray items that rolled almost to the end of the hall. Antony picked up her tampon, sure, he could have picked up her make-up bag but her embarrassment was well deserved considering what she called him. He handed it to her, she snatched it from his hand. He tried to hide the smile that was begging to make an appearance.
“Are you laughing at me right now?” Yvette asked Antony.
Antony tried to hold in his laughter, but he couldn’t. Here he was standing in a hallway with his friend and one of his employees, handing his employee a tampon. But before he could say anything he spied something more interesting. A single condom lay by the elevator door. He knew this would mortify her, but that was what he was trying to do.
Yvette looked up at Antony. He was looking toward the elevator. No, was that, no, it couldn’t be the one condom she brought everywhere but never used. Hell, it could have expired long ago. The gold and silver wrapper’s shine glinted off the shiny elevator doors. No, Antony could not pick that up and give it to her. She moved to dive for it but Antony yelled, “Sal, pick that condom up by the elevator door and give it to Ms. Bradford.”
Yvette wanted to cry, she hadn’t gotten a good look at his friend but her first quick impression was that he was good looking. If she were lighter skinned, the blush she felt all over her face would have showed. But she wasn’t, and she would not give Antony the pleasure of seeing her embarrassed, which she was sure that was what he wanted.
Sal picked it up and gave it to her along with the other items he’d picked up, a lint brush, small deodorant, and red nail polish. Yvette whispered, “Thank you,” to Sal. He nodded and somehow kept a straight face. There was no amusement in his eyes. He wasn’t mocking her but helping her. Yvette looked at Antony, his eyes shone with amusement that he was barely able to contain. Yvette bent down and grabbed her final items, her phone, and planner. She walked to the elevator and pushed the down button. They all waited in silence. She contemplated faking like she left something in her office and taking the stairs to avoid being around them. She felt her body tense in indecision of what she should do. Yvette was leaning toward plan fake it, but the elevator came.
As soon as they all walked onto the elevator Yvette’s phone rang, and broke the silence in the elevator, and scared the shit out of her. She looked down, it was Donato. She sent the call to voice mail. He called again, she answered. She couldn’t say hello before Donato began talking, “Guess what I am doing right now?” Yvette rolled her eyes. “What are you doing?” she knew the people in the elevator could hear his voice, he was that loud. She didn’t know what he would say, she frantically pushed the volume button and tried to think of a way to hang up the phone. “I am about to fuck a beautiful woman. She is the exact opposite of you and she is going to get what you should have gotten, and she will love every bit of it. She wants every bit of what I will give to her all fucking night.” Yvette sighed, “That’s good. Make sure you have fun.” Frustrated and wanting to stand up for herself to at least one person, she said without thought, “Oh, and perhaps she could occupy the free time you have been using to stalk me.” She regretted what she said the minute it came out of her mouth. Not because of Donato but because of Sal and Antony. Shit, in her anger she forgot about them. She turned her head to see the look on Antony’s face, his face was blank. Maybe he didn’t pick up that last bit. Yvette could only hope. She didn’t want him to know about her personal problems in any form much less about Donato. Yvette hung up the phone while Donato was swearing about her being a bitch. The elevator doors opened and she stepped out first, she wanted to take off like the road runner, but she felt someone pull on her elbow. She turned around and saw Antony’s hand on her elbow. He dropped his hand immediately.
“It is late, let me walk you to your car.” He said.
“No thanks.”
“I promised you I would make sure you got to your car safely.” He said.
“That starts tomorrow.”
“Shut up and let me walk you to your car.” Antony said before he realized it. He hadn’t meant to tell her to shut up, but he wanted to walk her to her car, and she was being prideful and that never mixed with safety. Antony also wanted to know if he heard Donato Belmonte on the phone. He couldn’t hear much but what he heard was enough for him to believe it was Donato. She shrugged and he followed her to her car.
When they reached the door, Yvette fumbled in the large bag for her keys. When she found them she clicked the fob. Antony reached for the driver’s door and opened it for her. Yvette turned to say something to him but instead, she closed her mouth and stepped into her car. Antony looked down at her exposed legs, her skirt had inched up her thighs when she sat down, and he saw more of the soft, silky, brown skin. His body reacted, his shaft grew hard in his pants. That was never good but he reasoned, he was a healthy man, and she was a beautiful woman. Antony decided he would be worried if he hadn’t hardened, at least a little.
“Good night Ms. Bradford, see you tomorrow.” Antony closed the door, Yvette started her car and Antony moved aside as she backed out of her parking spot.
Chapter Four
Antony watched her leave and wondered if she would be okay when she got home. Whoever she was talking to didn’t sound happy with her. It bothered him that the voice sounded familiar, one he knew well, Donato Belmonte. If she was on the phone with Donato, his unhappiness may cause her more problems then she could possibly understand. Surprisingly, he cared, he didn’t want her tied up in the same situation as Jim, but not for the same reasons. He didn’t want the hint of innocence he saw in her eyes to be taken by anyone else. He wanted to be the one to ruin her, and that thought was just as abnormal as the ones that preceded it.
Antony turned toward his car, he pulled out his phone, and dialed Sal, “I’m waiting at the exit,” Sal said.
“Follow Yvette home make sure she gets in safe, I don’t want anyone giving her a hard time.” Antony turned and looked up in time to see the back lights of Yvette’s Lexus exiting the garage. “She is exiting now in a silver Lexus.”
“I see her, I am pulling in behind her now.”
“Good, the voice on the phone sounded like Donato’s, didn’t it?”
“I thought so too but I dismissed
it. Why would she know Donato?”
“That’s exactly what we need to figure out.”
Antony opened the door to his Audi, “Right, I will see you in the morning.” Sal said.
“If you see Donato don’t wait until the morning to call me and take no action unless you think there’s a problem.”
“Got it boss.”
***
The next morning Yvette’s alarm went off. She was already up, she didn’t sleep much last night, she kept tossing and turning. She turned over on her back and looked up at the ceiling to yet again relive the moment Antony yelled for his friend to pick up her condom. Yvette pulled a pillow over her face and groaned. How could she show her face to him. Yvette kicked her feet against the comforter in a tantrum. She punched her pillow, how fucking embarrassing. What would she say to him today? Good Morning Mr. Carbonaro, thank you for picking up my tampon and condom last night. It was nothing? Oh you’re so kind, well see you later. Yvette laughed, she didn’t know Antony, but she didn’t believe he would let this go quietly, he didn’t let her off easily yesterday. He could have picked up anything else, but he didn’t, he purposely chose the most embarrassing items, she knew he did it on purpose. No, Antony was not going to let her embarrassment end quietly.
Yvette threw her pillow at her wall, “Damn it!” there was no way around it, she had to suck it up and deal with it. She sank deeper under her covers and pulled them over her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, and images of Antony’s eyes dancing with laughter taunted her. Her stomach lurched, she did not want to think about Antony’s sexy as hell friend who per Antony’s order, picked up her condom. If there was even a remote possibility for the two of them, she effectively ruined it. Either Antony’s friend would think she was easy or an idiot, both were deal breakers.
Yvette knew the exact moment her love life had become cursed. It wasn’t a small curse either, it happened when she was young and stupid. She fell into the trap of cleverly placed sweet whispers in her ear by James Johnson, “Baby, just put your hand on my cock under our coats…nobody will notice.” Well, nobody but Jesus, because they were at Sunday night church service. She long accepted she would need to answer for her foolish behavior but for how long? She threw her comforter off and swung her legs over the bed. She stood and tilted her head toward the ceiling, as if Jesus lived in the drywall, “Jesus you shouldn’t hold a grudge...I really didn’t know any better at the time. Throw me a bone every now and then, huh, please?” she begged.
Yvette waited for an answer or lightning, anything but nothing happened, “Not yet?” she sighed, “the day must start somewhere might as well start with some good ol’ Catholic shaming.” Yvette stretched her arms far above her head. She dropped her hands to her sides and tiptoed to her bathroom, she tried not to make a sound because she wanted to take a hot shower today. Yvette showered, under the deliciously hot water, she let the water beat down her naked body until the water turned cool.
Yvette wasn’t in a rush to go to work, how could she be? She took her time when she picked out an outfit. She ran her fingers against the suits that hung in her closet. If she had to face the music, she decided she should look damn good doing it. She picked out a pearl white silk blouse, and charcoal gray pencil skirt with a matching belt. Yvette looked down at her shoes, she didn’t want low heels, nor did she want to wear her six-inch heels, she picked gray reasonable heels. Yvette made quick work of putting her hair up and applying a soft layer of makeup, only enough to cover her blemishes. She pressed her lips together to blend her red lipstick then glanced at her watch, she was going to be late, and she didn’t give a damn.
***
Sandra greeted Antony when he walked into the office, “Good morning Mr. Carbonaro.”
Antony walked to his closed door and placed a hand on the knob, “Good Morning, Sandra, can you send me my schedule for the day?” He opened the door and paused, “Oh, and Sandra,” he waited for her response.
“Yes Mr. Carbonaro?”
“Sal will be here shortly, he can come straight in,” Antony said.
“Yes Mr. Carbonaro.” Sandra said with a smile.
Antony dropped his briefcase on his desk, and sank into his chair. He unbuckled his briefcase and pulled out the thick bundle of documents he carried with him. On the way in, he received a text from Sal that Yvette had no visitors last night and that he was on his way. He was oddly pleased that she spent the night alone. He hadn’t realized that some part of him cared who visited her and hoped he was wrong about Donato. Antony rolled his eyes, annoyed with himself, he had no time for meaningless thoughts. There were so many other things he needed to think about and Yvette Bradford and her visitors weren’t included.
Antony turned on his computer, while he waited for the blue welcome message to appear, his thoughts returned to Yvette. “A magnum,” who was she fucking or who did Yvette want to fuck so much that she walked around with condoms. Antony tilted his head in thought, or was it normal for women to walk around with condoms. Maybe she was trying to fuck someone last night? His hands tightened into hard fists. He looked at them in surprise, he rarely felt a genuine emotion for anyone that wasn’t either his family or in the Family. He couldn’t remember a time he cared about a woman enough to care about who she fucked when she wasn’t fucking him.
Sandra looked past Antony’s office to Yvette’s office, usually she was here early, but today she was late. She pulled out her phone to text her brother Donato. Did he finally get her into his bed and get the information they needed? Or did he accidentally kill the bitch. She text Donato, “How did it go with Yvette?” Sandra waited a for a few minutes before she realized her brother wasn’t going to respond, she laughed, he was a fucking useless human being.
Sandra told Donato they needed to get in front of Antony, they needed to grab B&E’s clients before Pio gave him the operation. She told him to work harder to get Yvette to give him names, if they were going to take over the smuggling operation on this coast, they needed to do it while Peter and Jim were in his pocket. But he wasted the opportunity to get rid of the competition. They would never have another chance like the one he ruined, because, Antony Carbonaro had never failed at anything he set his sights on. She knew how Antony worked, once he decided to do something, he wouldn’t let go until he saw it through.
Antony would figure out a way to protect what he deemed was his, and B&E was now firmly in his territory. Donato should have acted sooner, he should have been smarter. Now the only thing they could do was try to get Antony out of the way, and that came with its own set of consequences.
Sandra ran one red nail down the length of her desk, contemplating what to do next. She considered her brother Donato. He was sloppy and couldn’t handle a single woman. She had been thinking a lot about re-evaluating their relationship. Donato wasn’t her only brother nor was he the only one who could inherit the Family from her father. She could help Stefano, her eldest brother. She grimaced, Stefano was a prick, she wouldn’t support either brother as the head of the Family. The thought of striking out on her own danced in the back of her mind. It was beginning to become a constant thought. Her father never said she couldn’t be the head of the Family, he only said that a half-breed had never held the title of Boss before, but that didn’t mean it was impossible just that someone like her needed to conquer the impossible.
Her decision was made, she would start to take matters into her own hands. She would be the next head of the Family, because out of all her siblings she was the only one who could.
Sandra heard a long determined stride, she looked up and smiled when she saw Sal Carlini walk into the office. Sal was good looking, almost better looking than Antony, and Antony was a throwback to what she imagined an old Roman god looked like. Sal’s hair was always kept cut close. The way Sal wore his clothes made Sandra start to believe in miracles. His suits were always black or charcoal, but different variations in style. Today he wore black slacks, a white shirt with a long black pencil tie. His sho
es had a high shine. A stranger could mistake Sal for a model opposed to a made man. He walked with authority and measured control. His Italian features gave him a dark and mysterious look. The energy around him told everyone he was not to be fucked with, and she knew he wasn’t. The rumor among the Families was that Sal was the one who took out Marco the Untouchable last year, and Giovanna the Ruthless the month before without breaking a sweat.
He stood in front of Sandra and she looked up and smiled, “Is the boss in?” His voice was sensual and wrapped around her like silk.
“Yes, Mr. Carlini. Mr. Carbonaro is waiting for you in his office.”
Chapter Five
Antony looked up from his desk when Sal walked in, he pointed to the sofa directing Sal to sit. Antony stood and walked to the sofa and sat across from Sal.
“Have you figured anything else out?” Sal asked.
“No, but I want to go over what we know so far,” Sal nodded and sat back to listen.
“Jim told us that the whore wanted shipment and account information, which he gave to her.” Sal nodded. Antony continued, “This is consistent with the missing information we found in the offline financial and shipping statements. We also know Jim was set up but what we don’t know is Peter’s part in this.” A thought speared Antony, he shot up. “Who executed Peter?” He asked excitedly.
“Torre,” Sal said moving to the edge of his seat.
Antony snapped his fingers. “Exactly, and I have heard nothing about Peter being interrogated before he was executed. An interrogation would have been ordered by my father given the circumstances.” Antony shook his head, “I should have thought of this to begin with.”
Sal put up a hand and pulled out his phone. “Yeah, this is Sal. What’s the status on Peter? Any information I need to know in order to pass onto the underboss? No, and everything has been taken care of? Alright thanks.”