by ANDREA SMITH
Dominic left and as I watched the shiny black sedan head down the street with his “driver” whom I now suspected doubled as a bodyguard, I truly wondered if the promises Dominic had made to me were ever intended to be kept. For the first time ever, I was filled with doubt.
chapter 24
It was the first week of September, and Dominic had been gone for almost two weeks. I’d heard nothing.
So far, Vinnie hadn’t been overly up my ass, but I could certainly see the wisdom in having Sherry managing the boutique. She was clearly cut out for it, the sales had been skyrocketing, plus it kept Vinnie sniffing around her on the other side of town.
Abigail Andreoff had placed an order for two dozen power suits and another dozen boyfriend jackets due to ship at the end of September.
I was checking the latest creations off the machines for our winter line when Sherry pulled up to the door of the sewing shop. She was all smiles as she got out of her car and headed over to me with an envelope in her hands.
“Guess what came in the mail today?” she asked.
“The electric bill?” I deadpanned.
“Noooo, your big break!”
“Huh?”
“Look,” she said, handing me the envelope.
I pulled out a carbonless, double copy form and studied it. It was a Request for Quote on every released design I had cataloged to date. Power suits, evening dresses, jackets, leggings, over-sized shirts both for winter and spring.
And the quantities requested were in the hundreds. Several material swatches were attached from my sample catalog that I had sent out in July to no more than a dozen entrepreneurs. I had never expected a quote request to materialize for these types of quantities.
I looked at the header of the RFQ form: Corallo Couture located in Naples, Italy. The contact person was listed as Colette Corallo, Executive Manager.
“I don’t understand,” I said, feeling totally out of the loop. “How would this place even know about my little design shop? They weren’t on my mailing list of potential clients.”
“Who knows? Maybe one of the others on your mailing list passed it on. Do you realize how much money this order could bring in?”
“It’s only a request for a quote, Sherry,” I reminded her. “We don’t have an order yet. By the way, who’s minding the shop?”
She flushed a pale pink. “Oh, I was so excited when the mail came, I asked Vinnie to keep an eye on things while I ran this over to you.”
Doesn’t he have a day job criminalizing somewhere?
“You know that’s the other thing. Wonder why it was delivered to the boutique and not here at the business office?”
“I dunno,” she shrugged. “Hey, maybe one of those high-end ladies from Manhattan passed the info along. You gave out some catalogs at the opening, along with your card, remember?”
I nodded. It was possible. I just didn’t want to get my hopes up that this quote request would lead into a solid order. I had never priced wholesale items in bulk before.
“Well, I guess that I’ll be tied up figuring this quote for the next week.” I sighed as if it were drudgery instead of a great opportunity. It didn’t feel right. None of this felt right anymore.
“Good luck,” she said, taking off. “Hey, Vinnie said if you need help with getting the quote out, he can send someone from his office to mind the boutique, so I’m here if you need me. Just let me know.”
“Okay,” I called out after her, thoroughly distracted.
As much as I hated to do it, I had to take Vinnie up on his offer. Sherry started working with me the next day to get pricing for the large quantities of materials that would be required to fill that potential order. Vinnie had sent one of his ‘company’s admins.
Two days later, I faxed the quote to Corallo Couture.
“I guess we just wait and see,” I said to Sherry. “I hope our figures were right.” I felt myself biting my lower lip for the umpteenth time.
“Oh come on, Karlie,” she said, “We both went over them a half-dozen times. They’re fine. Hey, if you get this order, that’s a $20,000 profit to the bottom line. Think about that, eh?”
I nodded, but somehow I just couldn’t share her enthusiasm. I had other things on my mind at the moment.
Like my appointment with the doctor tomorrow. My initial appointment with the gyno who would confirm what the double pink-lined piss stick already had diagnosed. I would probably even get a due date established.
Here’s the thing: it wasn’t like I had medical insurance coverage, or would be asking Dominic about getting some anytime soon. Since I’d been in New Jersey, the only doctor I had visited was a dentist for a cleaning and check-up. I had simply paid cash.
So, I would simply pay cash for this visit as well. Hell, I had enough money stashed away to pay the bill in full right now if the doctor required it. I just wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to stick around.
Luckily, I had scheduled the very first appointment of the day. I told Lilly and Rita that I wouldn’t be in until around ten because of a dentist appointment. They required very little over-sight so it was all-good.
The following morning I gathered a bundle of cash from my dresser drawer, shoving it into my purse, and headed out for my appointment with Dr. Campbell in nearby Moorestown.
Had I not been so distracted with following the written directions and trying my best to skirt around rush hour traffic, I might’ve noticed that a dark sedan with heavily tinted windows had been following me since I left my condo.
chapter 25
September 15, 1986
East Harlem, NYC
Dominic
I was fucking tired of going over the same shit day after day with these union jackals. They gave new meaning to the phrase: same shit, different day.
Unfortunately, I had figuratively grasped the short straw when my father had gathered us all together with two other east coast families to form this ‘transportation cartel’ as he termed it. After all, he pointed out I was the one holding the law degree from Harvard. Therefore, I had been temporarily appointed consigliere and assigned to work alongside the underbosses, capos and consiglieres of the other two families.
Everyone in the cartel held a stake in seeing that the waterfront interests remained stable throughout the upcoming International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) union elections. There were those in political power that didn’t appreciate LCN’s strong presence and guidance with respect to ensuring that those currently empowered as executives within ILA remained in power in an effort to make sure the appropriate lower-level union officials stayed in power.
My brother Sal, being the oldest, was the underboss for our family interests. He sat right beside me, and he genuinely enjoyed the sparring and veiled threats that were tossed back and forth between the interested parties; I had places I’d rather be.
I spotted Marco Trevani across the room, sitting at a table plotting strategy with the other Giometti associates. I knew what he had up his sleeve.
“Sal,” I said, nudging him away from his off-topic conversation with a Solese capo. “You’re clear on our family’s position when the voting starts, capisce?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he snapped. “I got the old man’s blessing to cast his proxy vote and my vote for Marco. Still don’t get why you wanna back Trevani for Secretary-Treasurer. I thought you didn’t trust the son-of-a-bitch after that China White deal?”
“I trust him to be consistent,” I remarked. “We know where his skeletons are buried…literally. Besides, he holds the same reverence as we do for free enterprise. Our interests will have less risk with him in that position.”
“Are you sure we’ll have the same cash flow?” he asked, tossing a frown at me.
“Look,” I explained, “When you think about it, reducing our portion of the skim will help get all of the locals to ratify their contracts without threat of a strike. They’ll like having reduced union dues, and they’ll trust that the executive board
is doing what they should be doing in their best interests.”
“Fuck, Nick,” he said, smiling, “You make it sound almost benevolent. Maybe it was worth the fucking pitch I had to give Pop last night. I still don’t see how this is gonna help our current problems with the Feds.”
“Feds can be bought,” I stated simply. “You’ve done it, I’ve done it. Trevani will make sure it gets done for all of us. A concerted effort if you will.”
“Yeah, well it ain’t as easy as it used to be. You have been outta the loop for a while. Is that why you’re in such a hurry to wrap this up?”
“You’re not?”
He shrugged, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Makes no difference to me, but then, it seems that I don’t have the same distractions as you.”
I cocked a brow, waiting for him to continue.
“It wasn’t a good idea, Nick. Pop is onto you. What the fuck were you thinking?”
I felt myself stiffen in anger. I didn’t like the fact that my personal life had been invaded. I didn’t feel the need to explain my actions to anyone.
“My personal life is just that…personal. I don’t have to explain it, justify it, or have anyone else approve what I do. Do you understand, Sal?”
“Hey,” he growled, “When it interferes with family business, or puts us at risk, then it goddamn well is our business.”
“Let’s table this for now,” I said, “This is not the place or the time.”
“Yeah, later. For sure later, little brother.”
Two days later, I was on the family jet, headed back to Camden. The elections had been completed amongst the ‘Transportation Cartel’ and Marco Trevani would be filling the open slot of the LCN-backed Secretary-Treasurer position with the ILA executive board effective January 1st.
My father and I had spoken and argued at length, neither of us coming to terms with one another’s expectations going forward.
For all of my life, I had done whatever possible to stay on my father’s good side, not necessarily to please him, but to walk that fine line of tolerance and adherence because it was in the family’s best interest to do so.
That’s not to say that I always agreed with his actions or approved of his methods for getting things done, but I always understood that my place was to respect and honor him as head of the family. Dissension had no place in our home or in the family business.
Until now.
“You’re putting your brothers at risk, Dominic,” my father had told me. “You’re putting the whole family at risk by keeping her. She knows, doesn’t she?”
“Knows what?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“That you’re the one that went in and saved her that night.”
I wasn’t sure how he knew that unless he had guessed it, the same way that my mother had. I looked into his eyes, knowing somehow that he already suspected what my answer would be.
“Yes.”
“You’re a fool!” he shouted, turning from me as if I had disgraced him. “And for what? Some twisted sense of reparation for a deed you didn’t even commit?”
“It’s complicated,” I admitted, not backing down the way that Sal and Vinnie always did.
“Complicated?” he asked, incredulously. “What’s complicated my son is that you’ve neglected priorities, and it’s become obvious even to our associates. And the fact that you’ve admitted to being a witness to her parents’ elimination could put us in jeopardy.”
“There’s no jeopardy,” I said, my voice getting louder. “She knows better than that. Besides, we’re in love and we’re together and that is my private business and no one else’s.”
“Bah,” he spat derisively. “I’ve raised a fool for a son! It’s one thing that Anna Maria has brought humiliation to your marriage, but at least she hasn’t gone public with her affinity for her own gender. Whereas you? You are flaunting your mistress about, setting her up in a business and a home, and putting the rest of us at risk. You can get all the pussy you want Dominic without falling in love with it.”
“Stop!” I shouted; my fists clenched at my side. “I won’t discuss this with you or anyone else. I’ll leave the family first.”
And with that, I knew that I’d crossed the line with my father.
“That’s not a choice that you have,” he ground out, his dark eyes getting even darker. “We’ll table this discussion for now. We need a cooling off period—the both of us. For now, I need for you to continue on temporarily as counselor for the family, just until Franco is back with us. He’s doing a little time in Joliet.”
“How much time?”
“Six months”
Damn.
“If I agree, will you drop the matter of Karlie?”
“For now,” he replied quietly. “For now.”
“Agreed.”
“I’ll need you in Chicago in two weeks for some union negotiations.”
“I’ll be there.”
The rest of the trip was spent in silence, which was fine with me. I knew my father was not pleased, but for now, he would at least tolerate the situation in silence.
He had no issues with Sal or Vinnie’s indiscretions, but I knew damn well there was a difference. Still, I knew my Karlie; whatever she initially had planned to avenge the loss of her parents, had fallen by the wayside long ago. I not only loved Karlie, but I trusted her, and that was a rare thing for me.
For the next two weeks, she was mine. And we would damn sure be making up for lost time.
chapter 26
Dominic had been home for over a week now, and seemed a bit more relaxed than he was before he left. Things seemed almost normal again, but not quite.
Though he was back, he spent an inordinate amount of time on the phone, and he still had that friggin’ driver taking him everywhere. When I noticed one evening that his driver was parked out in front of my condo, I finally broached the subject.
“Dominic,” I said, turning from the window, “Why is your driver still parked out front?”
He looked up from where he sat at my dining room table, going over the latest figures of DBK Enterprises. “Because I asked him to,” he replied.
“Is he more than a driver?” I asked.
“Sit down, Karlie,” he instructed. “We need to talk.”
Uh oh.
I took a seat at the table, and he took my hands into his, rubbing my fingers with his gently.
“Do you trust me?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Then you need to know that sometimes I’m not at liberty to provide answers to your questions. This is one of those times, I’m afraid. What I can tell you is that you have no need to worry for your safety. I would never bring risk to you in any way. If I ever suspect that you might be at risk, I would remedy that situation immediately.”
“But what about your safety?” I asked. “You think I don’t worry about that?”
He raised my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles softly, his dark brown eyes never leaving mine. “I don’t want you to worry about anything, angel. Listen, I’m going to be in and out of town for the next five, six months max. And then things will settle down a bit, okay?”
Six friggin’ months?
I nodded, but there was no way I was convinced of that.
“Good,” he replied, smiling. “By the way, the business is looking fantastic. Your revenues are over budget. Have you been taking your salary in cash withdrawals like we discussed?”
I was distracted, still trying to absorb the previous topic. “What? No. I haven’t taken anything out yet,” I admitted.
“Well, we’ll remedy that tomorrow. You need to draw a salary sweetheart, so that you have taxable income. I see you have a large order on the books. I take it things panned out with Abigail?”
“Actually, that order came in on its own after we received a quote request,” I replied. “I had to hire some additional temp help in order to get it out by mid-October. It’s going to Italy.”
He looked over at me.
“Do you have the purchase contract?” he asked.
“Well of course, Dominic. I wouldn’t start a job like this without a purchase contract. It’s in the office. Vinnie looked it over before we acknowledged.”
Now he was starting to piss me off. I wasn’t totally clueless when it came to matters such as this.
“I’m not trying to insult you, angel. I’ll take a look at it when I’m at the office with you tomorrow. I just want to make sure the terms and conditions are acceptable since this is an international order, that’s all.”
He smiled, scooting his chair back and standing up. “Come baby, let’s go to bed.”
That night Dominic made love to me as if it might be the last time. I wasn’t grasping the magnitude of all of this. There was so much I didn’t know—didn’t want to know, but wasn’t allowed to know regardless.
The following day Dominic spent most of it in the office with me at West End/DBK. He studied the purchase contract with Corallo, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“These shipping terms,” he replied, looking over at me, “They aren’t our standard terms.”
“Well it’s a huge order, Dominic. There will be a couple of large wooden crates going. It has to ship by ocean freight; air freight would’ve been too expensive and cut into our profits.”
“No, sweetheart, that’s not what I’m concerned with; freight pre-paid & add is not the payment term we use in our contract; neither is FOB: Destination.”
I didn’t know why he was making an issue. Vinnie had approved those terms when he reviewed the purchase contract. “Dominic,” I sighed, “I pointed that out to Vinnie, but he said it was fine. He’s arranged for the carrier and he said we’d simply add the freight charges to the final invoice. It’s not really costing DBK anything.”
His brow furrowed a bit in response to my explanation, but he didn’t make any further issue of it simply saying he’d talk to Vinnie about it later.