The Billionaire From New Jersey

by Sherie Keys

  Saturday was the only time the production could find, meaning Charlotte only had one day to show off her skills as Cinderella. There were likely going to be casting agents for different schools and productions in New York City that Charlotte would have the opportunity of impressing.

  “Why you lookin’ so sad, girl?” Angelo asked, opening his eyes slowly. Charlotte loved watching him wake up. She loved staring at the crevices in his face and smooth curves of his features. His face would turn and twitch while he was sleeping, always having deep and dark dreams. If Charlotte moved, he would sometimes wake up and mumble something inaudible.

  If Charlotte tried to engage in conversation with him during these sleepy stages, he would say something nonsensical and make her laugh so hard she’d wake him up for real. Falling asleep and waking up next to him were her favorite parts of every day. He would always catch her staring, but she couldn’t help but admire every little thing about his face.

  “Summer’s almost over,” she said with a frown. She wasn’t wrong. Although she wasn’t entering fall as a student, it was just a reminder of how fast time was passing. There were advertisements for back to school items on every type of media Charlotte consumed. Her friends on social media were talking about moving into their dorms and getting their class schedules.

  Charlotte was sad she wasn’t doing that, but she was still grateful for the way everything had turned out. She couldn’t even imagine an alternate reality in which Angelo wasn’t involved. Trying to picture life without him made her feel strange and he felt the same way.

  Angelo had asked Charlotte to move to the city with him. She didn’t ever think she would get that boy out of the city he loved so dearly. He hadn’t told his brothers what he was planning on doing yet, but he figured he would just deal with the consequences when it happened. He had continued taking orders from his brothers throughout the summer. If he slipped up, they would remind him of what happened if they couldn’t rely on him. Angelo wasn’t sure what would happen once they moved to the city, but he didn’t want to lose Charlotte and knew that her staying wasn’t an option.

  He agreed to pay for the house and living expenses while she applied to different schools. The offer had been a dream come true. Charlotte wouldn’t have to worry about running out of money and she would have the chance to find a school she really loved. The best part would be having Angelo there. It felt fast, but it felt right.

  Charlotte couldn’t really say that about a lot of things in her life. It was scary to think about what might happen after they moved in together, but the idea thrilled Charlotte. They would bicker every so often, but they would always come back to each other, knowing there wasn’t much that could break them apart.

  She had always dreamed of taking a year break to just audition. She was only going to be young for so long, and school would be there later if she needed it. It’s not like she didn’t respect school, but she certainly wanted to follow her dreams of dancing in a large production.

  Angelo was a reminder of what she was capable of. He would build her up when she was lacking confidence and always advise her to remain humble if she was being a little too cocky. They balanced each other out. The one thing that still worried Charlotte was Angelo’s involvement with illegal activity.

  He would take random phone calls in the middle of the night and show up late after her practices to walk her home. It was only small stuff that could have been something else, but Charlotte still worried how deep his involvement with the mob might be. She knew he couldn’t break things off right away, but she just wanted him to have logical, legal, reasons for the things he was doing. It still thrilled Charlotte to think of the dangerous life that she might be seeing. She couldn’t help but admit that mystery of who he really was still excited Charlotte’s curiosities.

  Falling in love over the summer allowed her to really get a sense of who Angelo was. They spent hours listening to music together during different summer street festivals. Local bands would set up in the middle of the street and food vendors would fill out in between, bringing neighbors together to celebrate the warm weather and culture of the city.

  Charlotte and Angelo could spend hours talking to each other while feeding bites of greasy festival food to one another. It seemed this activity would never get old. Charlotte hadn’t realized how many summers she had spent inside. She’d always wanted to have a picture-perfect summer, and she couldn’t deny that this was one of them.

  After the festival, they would either get cleaned up and go out, or stay home in their pajamas all night. Charlotte loved scary movies, but Angelo was surprisingly scared of most. Still, whenever it rained, they would have to pop on a thriller. There was nothing better than curling up in Angelo’s freezing cold air-conditioned house after a long day outside at a hot street festival. Charlotte was lucky enough to not only fall in love with an amazing man that summer, but she was infatuated with the city as well.

  Most of her life, she looked to New York City as the greatest place on the planet, but Angelo had shown her a different side to Jersey City that she couldn’t resist. Still, she longed for the bigger buildings across the Hudson for her future. It was hard to deny that Jersey City was a great place to fall in love, however.

  He never failed to make her fail like queen. It was just the little things Angelo did that could really make Charlotte feel amazing. He would always make sure she got in and out of the car OK and would usually walk behind her or right next to her, never leading himself.

  He helped build Charlotte up to be an independent woman, knowing that she was worthy and beautiful. This allowed to help her see just how much Angelo suited her. He made her a better woman than she could have ever dreamed of. It felt so good to have a boyfriend she felt comfortable enough around to joke with but attracted to enough to stay up all night making love.

  Her favorite activity that summer had been July 4th. After a grueling week of practice, she didn’t think she was going to make it to the holiday weekend. When she did manage to survive, Angelo surprised her with an amazing present. They watched fireworks from a private beach house he rented on The Fourth of July.

  He was always giving her presents for no reason. It wasn’t about the things he bought for her that made her fall in love, but just how often he proved that he was thinking of her. Just knowing how often she was on his mind was enough to make her feel like someone who was wanted and desired. It was refreshing to not have to play games to figure out whether or not Angelo was interested.

  They kissed under the fireworks all night that weekend. Charlotte had never cared too much about the summer holiday. She was usually working or practicing for dance. As a workaholic, it was hard for her to enjoy a holiday like that. Angelo reminded her that she needed to take a break every now and then and enjoy the small things. She had a breathtaking sight of the fireworks and really understood how magical they were.

  It made sense to her then, why so many people set them off so often. Having Angelo hold her under the night sky was a nice part too. She could spend all day with him without getting sick of anything, even on days when he would tease her a little bit too much. He knew how to bug her, but he was so charming that he could get away with it.

  She wasn’t the greatest swimmer and the activity itself scared her. Still, he managed to get her in the water. He had to convince her to enjoy the private beach that came along with the beach house he had rented. She was a little scared of the open water but having him there helped all the more.

  Swimming in minimal clothes and being able to freely float around a partner wasn’t something that she had experienced before. It was nice being able to hold him without feeling his weight or having a limb fall asleep. She realized how much she was missing out on by skipping the beachy water for years before. She loved that she could laugh and play and joke and tease with Angelo. Everything just felt so easy and fell into place, one thing right after the other. Having something so great still managed to frighten Charlotte.

  T
he hit would be so hard if she lost him. She didn’t think she would ever recover. Aside from a terrifying accident, Charlotte couldn’t think of any reason why they might part. As far as she knew, he was on good standing with his brothers and was working on distancing himself from the mob. She didn’t know how it worked, however, and he only revealed what he wanted her to know.

  Charlotte thought more about her and Angelo’s summer. With every new thing they did, she would get sad, already thinking about how it was over. It was still nice to not have to live her life from fun activity to the next big event, as all the little stuff in between their dates was just as good as when they went out. That was the best part of falling in love with her best friend. When they were together, she was never bored. It was fun exploring all the things she used to as a kid as well.

  They went to the science center, a place Charlotte had gone once as a child when her family visited April. Revisiting as an adult was an even greater experience than when she was a kid! She could understand things better and was able to learn things about the universe that she hadn’t thought about before.

  Angelo learned at the same time, allowing them to change together. Charlotte felt like she was a different person every day. She knew that if she went back and met herself at the beginning of the summer, she would likely be a completely different person. That alone was terrifying, yet brought along a comforting thrill, knowing that she was on an upward expansion.

  Although she was discovering herself every day, she also learned something new about Angelo every day. Sometimes it would scare her when she would ask a question about something that meant a lot to her. Luckily, he always had a good answer, reassuring Charlotte that they had more than just a physical connection. They agreed on things that mattered, but when it came to their disagreements, they were always constructive.

  They were able to state their opposing arguments without getting into a fight. Angelo was very good at respecting Charlotte when she disagreed about a matter. She might have trouble letting things go every now and then, but it was a quality that Angelo found oddly charming, believing it was a result of her being a passionate person. He was able to see things about her that other men might brush over.

  He was easily the funniest person Charlotte had ever met. Just when she thought she could tease him with a fresh joke, he would hit her with one better. He was constantly telling funny stories and had a way of making the simplest things seem hilarious. Charlotte thought that sometimes he needed to be a bit more serious, but she wouldn’t have it any other way, not wanting to risk his sense of humor. She worried about getting too many laugh lines as she got older, never being able to stop smiling.

  She reminded herself that that was not something she should have to worry about. She couldn’t help but let her mom’s thoughts creep into her brain, however.

  It was her chance to spoil him and have a relaxing beach day. He had treated her to so many surprises that summer that she wanted to do something for him, even though it wouldn’t compare. When she was a kid, she didn’t live close to a beach.

  This meant that whenever they would have a beach day, her mom would go all out. It would be a long drive, so they had to make the trip worth it. She would pack up two coolers full, one stuffed with snacks and food, the other just drinks. She would fill a bag with sheets, towels, and umbrellas so they could make a private beach fort. Her mom would also collect strange containers and other odd shaped things that Charlotte could build an intricate sand castle with.

  Charlotte wanted to relive those summer beach days, this time with Angelo. She had spent the night before preparing snacks for the beach day, stuffing bags full of games, books, and other things to do on the beach. She knew she couldn’t hire a private staff to work a yacht, but that wasn’t something Angelo was necessarily interested in receiving, anyway. All he needed was Charlotte next to him to have a good time. Still, it was Charlotte’s turn to go out of her way and plan a fun day for the two of them.

  He packed up one of his cars with beach chairs, towels, and everything else Charlotte had gotten ready for the day. They played summer rock songs in the car on the way and had the windows down, letting their hair blow free. The day was off to a great start and only made better once they finally arrived. Charlotte was able to find the perfect spot to set up camp, knowing her and Angelo would be spending all day there. It was her last chance to relax before the ballet the next day.

  “What’s your favorite fish?” Charlotte asked flirtatiously as she stretched across a towel she had laid out. She handed him a bottle of lotion and he started spreading it across her shoulders.

  “Do sharks count?” he said sassily.

  “You would,” she laughed.

  Angelo looked over at a man walking towards the water. “Hey, I think I know that guy,” he said nervously.

  “Which guy?” Charlotte asked, not knowing who he was referring to.

  “Never mind, forget about it,” he told her, keeping his focus on the man he thought he knew. “What’s your favorite fish?”

  “I’d have to say an octopus. They’re incredibly smart animals so it kind of makes me sad to think about all of the people that still use them to cook and stuff. I also love aquariums, but the octopus tanks are always way too small,” she explained. Charlotte could have gone on all day talking about how interesting she found the octopus to be but realized halfway through that Angelo had stopped listening. He was following someone with his eyes. “Okay, who is it?”

  “Who’s who?” Angelo asked.

  “The guy?!” Charlotte said.

  “Hold on,” Angelo responded. He started to jog away, leaving her there to sit alone. She watched as he ran behind the lifeguard stand, doing his best to go unseen. Charlotte didn’t like the way things were going. He peeked around the stand and started to nonchalantly follow a man wearing a blue baseball cap. Charlotte was getting worried, nervous about what might go down. It was not like her and Angelo to have deep discussions about what kind of business he was involved i; he reassured her that she didn’t have anything to worry about. But it seemed that was much easier said than done.

  He hadn’t been as low-key about his businesses as he had promised Charlotte. She hadn’t caught him with a gun in her grandmother’s house again, but she did see it at his own place a few times. She couldn’t be too mad about what he did in his own house, but she wondered what it might be like to live together.

  She would still check on his house across the alley from time to time, but she never saw anything too suspicious. She hoped that when they shared an apartment, she wouldn’t have to worry about strange guests coming in and out. Charlotte felt guilty from time to time, thinking she was being too hard on Angelo. Stalking some guy at the beach reminded her that she didn’t always know what she was dealing with.

  She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t see some benefits from him being in the mob. She hadn’t had to worry about money that summer, Angelo always being there to pay when they went out to eat or to a club. He would buy her gifts too, always treating her to something new. Charlotte didn’t need the glamour, and Angelo knew this, but it still felt good to get spoiled by him.

  Angelo certainly had expensive taste too. Sometimes, it worried Charlotte, wondering if he was a little too picky or if he just bought nice things because he could. Charlotte had to remind herself that it wasn’t her money he was spending, so it didn’t always matter.

  It was hard when she remembered how young she was. She didn’t see a future without Angelo, but she wondered if that meant that he was the last guy she was going to be dating. She thought that about her high school boyfriend but found surprising relief when they broke up. Charlotte feared that she might feel the same way one day, but it hurt thinking that Angelo might not be there. He wasn’t much older, but Charlotte was sure he had been with more girls than her with guys. Was he ready for Charlotte to be his last? She wasn’t so sure they would have the same answers as that.

  Charlotte couldn’t help but
think of these doubtful things when Angelo would get himself caught up in a moment like the one he was having then, hunting down a stranger on the beach. The man Angelo had been following walked towards the beach’s parking lot, and Angelo darted back to Charlotte.

  “We gotta get out of here,” he told Charlotte in a rushed tone. He started tossing towels back into bags and grabbing whatever he could to scramble towards the car. “Come on, we have to go!” he shouted at her. He had never spoken to Charlotte in a tone like that until now.

  “Don’t talk to me that way!” she said firmly, pulling towels back out of bags that he was trying to fill. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Charlotte, baby, please listen to me, we have to follow that man!” Angelo told her worriedly.

  “What do you mean? We just got here!” she said, crossing her arms.

  “This guy, if he’s who I think he is, Charlotte, he’s a bad guy. He owed my dad a lot of money. Millions of dollars. He didn’t have an alibi for the night my dad was murdered but the police didn’t have anything on him to make him a suspect. They couldn’t prove he owed my dad money,” Angelo explained worriedly.

  “So, why does that mean we have to leave the beach?” she asked.

  “He went missing. He just disappeared in thin air. He has kids that live here so I knew he’d be back at some point. This might be my only chance, Charlie, please, I’m begging you.” Angelo said. Charlotte hadn’t seen him that upset before.

  “I’m not getting involved. What are you going to do? Kill him? Angelo, I can’t know about this. I’d rather walk home instead,” she said. She didn’t want to leave the beach, but she also didn’t want to spend the day there alone.

  “Charlotte don’t be stupid, come on, we’re not going to do anything, I just want to find out where this guy is going,” he told her. “He could have been the guy that killed my dad.”