When she looked away, it broke the spell, but a tremor in his hand that he neither liked nor appreciated remained. He was better prepared when she looked directly at him again, and concentrated fully on keeping his brain functioning.
"Do I know you?" She asked, her voice soft so as not to carry.
He kept his voice as soft as hers. "Not officially."
"I'm sorry, I don't … " her eyes skimmed his name tag, "I don't recall meeting you, Mr. Viscolli."
His teeth flashed white against his olive skin. "I unofficially met you last night."
Panic skirted up her spine and she looked around the room. Lowering her voice even farther, she leaned closer so that he could hear her. "Please, don't say anything. I … we can't … I mean, another job … "
He placed a hand on her wrist, startling her. His hand felt rough, but warm. Warm enough that it sent heat up her arm, causing her to flush. "So, what you're saying is that your job may be in my hands."
The flush that covered her cheeks was no longer from heat, but from the anger he saw flash in her eyes. "Release me, sir." She bit out.
He didn't think he could. "What would you do to keep your job, I wonder?"
She could never take him on in a game of cards. Every cruel thought in her imagination seared right through her sapphire eyes and bored into his, which he struggled to keep impassive. Still, she maintained her cool façade, something he deeply admired amidst his mirth. Tony carefully bit down on the inside of his lip to keep himself from laughing at her next words. "I don't play those games, Mr. Viscolli. Remove your hand, or else I'll remove it."
He shifted his grip until his fingers encircled her wrist. They overlapped on the thin bones, and this time he did chuckle. "You think you could?"
In a panic, knowing how long she was taking with this customer, she glanced up and spotted Clarence watching her. Baring her teeth, she leaned close to this man's ear and whispered. "I can and I have, on men bigger than you. Are you willing to test me?"
With a grin, he reluctantly let her go. It was that or drag her into his lap, and he didn't think anyone in the room would appreciate that too much. "Perhaps another time I'll take you up on your challenge."
Unable to stand the thought of leaving him with the last word, she leaned forward again, barely speaking above a whisper. "If the thought of seeing you again didn't repulse me, Mr. Viscolli, I'd almost look forward to it."
With that she moved on down the table, ignoring his chuckle that followed her parting shot. She found it especially challenging to keep a polite smile on her face and make inane chatter with the other patrons as she continued to serve while seething inside. How dare he?
She headed back into the kitchen to get more coffee and Clarence immediately intercepted her. "Did you have a problem with that man, Robin?"
Out of earshot of the customers, she was able to slam things around, surprised that she didn't break the glass coffee carafe. "Nothing I couldn't handle," she said, slamming the top back on her serving container.
He gripped her elbow and kept her from reentering the room. "I know that sometimes customers might get a little – well – fresh with some of our girls, but I wouldn't want to think that you might have – albeit unintentionally – insulted one of them."
She bared her teeth at him. "Did he look insulted?"
"No, but you looked insulting, and I'm concerned because I've never seen you act that way before."
She slammed the coffee onto a counter and stepped closer, until she could poke his bony chest with her finger. "I didn't like the way he looked at me, I didn't like the way he touched me, and I didn't like what he implied when he spoke to me." When he flinched, she realized what she was doing and stepped away from him, drawing in a deep breath to calm down. "Now, you've had your little 'chat' with me. Do you intend to speak with him?"
Clarence's face fused with color. "Robin, do you have any idea who that is out there?"
"I don't quite have the approbation for most of our patrons as you do, because I truly don't care." She grabbed the pot of coffee and pushed open the door.
He took insult at her words, as was her intent, though she regretted it the second his face fell. She paused and went back into the kitchen. As she opened her mouth to retract it, he straightened, stiff as a board, and put a regal tone in his voice. "That is Mr. Antonio Viscolli. He is one of the stockholders of this club, and is hosting this morning's breakfast. If you would like to lodge a formal, written complaint, I will entertain reviewing it, but in the meantime, you are here to serve, so I suggest you return to your post." He looked her up and down, his expression hinting that he didn't much care for what he saw. "Unless, of course, you'd like me to have someone else wait the head table. I'm sure that any server out there would be happy to trade places with you."
Oh, what a tempting notion. She considered it, very seriously, for several breaths. Ultimately, she decided that trading tables would most certainly give Viscolli a great deal of satisfaction, a game point. No, she'd serve him, and do a heck of a good job at it. "That won't be necessary, sir. I'm fully capable of performing all of my duties."
His face softened, momentarily. "I know. Now, get back to work."
Not wanting to leave things tense with someone she considered a friend, she paused to make one of her normal parting remarks. "Purple and green," she said. At his confused look, she continued, "with bells. For Stan's hat."
His mouth twitched as he fought the smile and waved her away.
EXCERPT: GREATER THAN RUBIES
IF you missed the novella Greater Than Rubies, part 1 and a half of The Jewel Series, a story inspired by the first three books, download your FREE eBook today in most supported formats wherever fine books are sold.
ROBIN Bartlett said, "Yes!" Will she say, "I do," when the big day arrives?
Robin never had a chance to dream of a white wedding gown or a prince charming. Instead, her dreams were nightmares -- dark and clouded with fear and desperation. From his cultured handsome looks to his vast fortune, Antonio "Tony" Viscolli is every red-blooded American girl's dream match. Robin comes from a blistering past, struggling for survival in a cold, cruel world. By the time Tony thaws her heart, she has known hunger, poverty, violence, and want.
Tony proposed on a sunny Florida beach. Back in bitter cold Boston, doubts about becoming a billionaire's bride begin to crowd out her hopes for happiness. Robin struggles to cope feeling the pressures of relocating; of unreliable transportation; of the never-ending details of the shower, the ceremony, the reception, the honeymoon; of changing her name; all while dealing with her father's very serious legal problems.
As the date draws inexorably near and the pressure mounts, Robin questions whether she is truly the girl of Tony's dreams. Is she the woman God has made for him? As a wife, would she act as helpmeet or poison apple? In truly loving Tony, would it be better to bind herself to him for all eternity or return his freedom?
When her nightmares return in full force, they remind Robin of an even deeper and more terrifying prospect. Will she give in to her insecurities and cancel Boston's "Royal Wedding" for good? Or, with God's guidance, will Tony sacrifice everything to prove to his beloved Robin her true worth?
Enjoy this special excerpt from the critically acclaimed novella Greater Than Rubies.
ROBIN nervously fiddled with her ring while she waited for the Inside Boston magazine reporter to arrive. She sat in the conference room adjacent to the office of Tony's public relations manager, Linda Cross. She still wore the clothes and makeup from the photo shoot that had taken place in a room just down the hall. She'd hoped Tony could be there for the photos, but the magazine had specifically requested only her.
The door opened and Robin's heart lurched, but Linda entered alone. She was short and stocky, with a thick waist and jet black hair. Thick glasses with square black frames dominated her face. "Don will be in momentarily," she said. "He's signing some papers for me right now." She raised an eyebrow behind her glasses.
"No worries, Miss Bartlett. I'll be here the whole time."
"I've just never done this before." She licked her lips.
"A year from now, it will be old hat," Linda assured. Robin wondered if she meant that to intimidate her or make her feel more at ease, because, honestly, she wasn't feeling better in the wake of that remark.
A tap at the door preceded the entrance of Don Roberts. He was younger than Robin, tall, boy-next-door good looking with straight brown hair and a fake tan. Nothing about him made her feel at ease about this interview.
He shook her hand - again - then sat in the chair adjacent to her. He took a phone out of his pocket, pressed a series of buttons on it, then set it on the table in front of her. She could only assume he'd activated some sort of recording device. "Miss Bartlett, Robin, thank you for giving me this opportunity."
"It's my pleasure," she said around a suddenly too-dry mouth.
"Let's go ahead and cover the basics. Tell us how you met Tony."
This was the first person outside of church to address Tony as Tony and not Mr. Viscolli. It intrigued Robin. "He, ah, bought a restaurant where I worked." She cleared her throat. "We met then."
"When was that?"
"Last fall."
"And, to add a spice of romance to our story, how did he propose?"
Robin smiled and relaxed, thinking back. "Christmas Eve, on the beach in the Florida Keys."
"That's really nice," Don said. He smiled. "Tony Viscolli is a powerful force in the business world, and not just in the Boston area. He has businesses all over the country and thousands of employees. What do you think drew him to you in particular?"
Uncomfortable, Robin shrugged. "I really couldn't tell you. You'd have to ask him."
"But we can probably guess what drew you to him, right?"
Robin put her hands in her lap and laced her fingers, squeezing them tightly. "If you knew his heart, or anything about him personally, you'd not have to ask that question. He is amazing and generous and loving, and I feel so incredibly blessed."
"Is he?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Is he really all those things? Or simply uninformed?"
Robin felt her eyebrows crease under the thick makeup from the photo shoot. "What?"
"Does he know all there is to know about you?"
Robin shifted her eyes to Linda, who frowned but did not speak. "I beg your pardon?"
Don sat forward and tapped the top of the table with every question. He looked like an anaconda eyeing a mouse. "He knows you were a waitress moonlighting as a bartender. Does he know your father went to prison for drug smuggling and now faces double murder charges? Does he know your mother was an addict who was murdered in a drug deal? Does he know you, yourself, stabbed your foster parent in the back with a buck knife? Does he know you were a fugitive until you turned eighteen and your juvenile crimes were sealed? Does he know about the improprietary manner in which you had your former employer pull strings with city hall to clear your record so you could obtain custody of one of your sisters? How did you convince that retired sailor to help you pull those strings, Miss Bartlett?"
Panic swirled in her brain, freezing her ability to form cohesive thoughts. "I don't – what are you –?" Robin gasped and looked from Don to Linda. Her heart pounded and she felt sweat break out on her forehead.
Linda pressed a button on the table next to her before standing. "Mr. Roberts? This interview is over. Our attorneys at the Anderson firm will be in contact with your editor in light of the NDA you signed and this particular line of questioning."
"You can't hide her. Believe me if I know, the tabloids know, too. This is the kind of rags to riches story that everyone will be clamoring after. You need to let her – "
As he spoke the door opened and two uniformed security officers marched into the room. They walked straight up to Don. "You need to come with us, sir," one of them said.
"Now." The other one said, picking up the reporter's phone from the table.
"Hey! You can't have that!"
"We'll return your property when you're safely outside the building, sir." The guard stepped aside, placing his body between Roberts and the two women, and gestured with his hand. "Right this way, sir."
Roberts stood but quickly bent around the guard toward Robin. "You might as well figure out the best thing to do is embrace your story and tell it, or else others will do it with their own spin and you won't be able to influence what they say."
The second guard grabbed his arm at the elbow and said, "You've already outstayed your welcome, sir. Time to go."
Roberts jerked himself free. "Don't touch me. I'm leaving."
"Leave now," the guard warned, "Without another word, or I will use force." His finger stabbed in the direction of the door.
Robin stared at the closed door long after it shut behind them. Linda sat where Don had been and touched her hand. "I'm so sorry. All of his credentials checked out."
With a shaking hand, Robin brushed the hair off of her forehead. "I'm not doing something like this again."
Linda nodded. "I understand." She pressed some buttons on her phone. "Margaret? I need to talk to Mr. V. This isn't good."
Without waiting for Linda to hang up the phone or Tony to come gallantly into the room, Robin gathered her bag and her coat and left. Linda tried to call her back, but she was stuck on hold with Tony's office. Escape. Flee. Hide.
The elevator arrived. Thankful to find it empty, she slipped inside and pressed the lobby button, then the door close button in rapid succession. As soon as it started moving, she went to the back corner of the elevator and pressed back against the wall. She used to be good at hiding. Hide way in the back of the closet. Protect her sisters. Make the monsters forget you're there.
But she couldn't hide from her past, could she? What did she think she was doing, becoming Mrs. Antonio Viscolli? Inadequate didn't begin to describe her. Her cell phone started ringing, but she turned it off as she stepped off of the elevator and into the lobby of the hotel. As she walked out of the doors, the valet lifted his hand in greeting, grabbed her keys, and rushed to get her car. With no choice but to wait, she slipped her coat on and shoved her hands into the pockets, lifting her shoulders against the wind. Before her car arrived, she felt Tony at her elbow.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not doing that again."
"It will never happen again."
Robin turned her head and looked him straight in the eye. "Oh, I know it won't."
Her car pulled up in front of them. Tony touched her elbow. "Robin, please."
"It's okay. I have to go now. But I'll see you when you get back from California." He looked so worried and a frown marred his forehead. Putting a hand on his cheek, loving him, needing him, she pressed her lips to his. "I love you. Have a safe trip."
EXCERPT: EMERALD FIRE
Emerald Fire is a finalist for the 2012 RONE Award in the Inspirational category as Inspirational Novel of the Year. If you missed Emerald Fire, part 2 of The Jewel Series, buy it now in Paperback or eBook wherever fine books are sold.
A terrifying past imprisoned Maxine Bartlett all her adult life, shackling her with fear anytime a man even touched her.
In a spontaneous weekend, she unintentionally elopes with an unlikely groom. After a magical wedding night filled with love and passion, "Maxi" finally discards her dreadful chains.
She doesn't know that her new husband has turned his back on God. Worried over how the world might see the completely unexpected – and some would certainly say inappropriate – marriage, in his pride he promises Maxine a quiet annulment.
Unwilling to let their marriage disappear as if it never happened, Maxine refuses to cooperate. Seeking God's will, she moves in with him and informs him that when he decides to act like her husband again, he will find his loving wife waiting for him right there in their home. As the days stretch into weeks, the newlyweds slowly begin to trust and even love each other.
Then, just as t
hey begin to live the "happily ever after" love story that neither of them ever dreamed could come true, a sudden and nightmarish catastrophe strikes that could wreck everything. Will her husband realize that he must trust God once more? Can he find peace and strength enough to carry them through the flames?
Enjoy this special excerpt from the critically acclaimed awards nominated full length novel Emerald Fire.
MAXINE rolled over in the bed. As the blankets slipped off, she felt cool air on her shoulders. While her partially asleep brain pondered that, she tugged the sheets back up to cover herself and her ring caught a thread on the blanket.
Her ring?
Maxine's eyes flew open as memories of the night before flooded her mind. She whipped her head around. The bed next to her was empty, the pillow indented from where her husband's head had recently lain.
Her husband!
Alone in the bedroom, she lifted her left hand and stared. There sat the ridiculously enormous, preposterously expensive platinum ring, encrusted with emeralds and diamonds, that the man with whom she had been engaged for less than two hours before their wedding ceremony had picked out for her. When he slipped it onto her finger, he'd said something about the color of her eyes. Seconds later, he'd kissed her.
After a cursory glance around the room to be certain she was actually alone and the bedroom door was shut, she threw the covers off and rushed to the closet, looking for anything to wear. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater and dashed to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She leaned against the closed door for a moment while her heart raced and her mind reeled.
Topaz Heat (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) Page 21