“And you never give me a straight answer.”
“I like it here. How’s that?”
Reno looked back at him. “That’s good actually,” he said with a grin as he made his way to Trina.
“Hey, babe,” he said, and they kissed on the lips. “How was your day?”
“Same. How was yours?”
“Same. Where’s Dommi?”
“He fell asleep.”
Jimmy smiled. “He can’t hang, Dad. No matter how badly he wants to, that kid cannot stay up pass eight o’ clock for nothing in this world.”
Reno smiled, and then moved over to the pots on the stove. He lifted the lids, looked at what was cooking. Trina had hoped he would immediately mention his lunch date, but he didn’t.
“Smells good,” he said instead.
“I told her,” Jimmy said. “Ma can cook and is beautiful too. She’s the total package, Dad.”
“Total package,” Reno said as he walked back over to the center island and grabbed a handful of grapes from the fruit bowl. “Whatta you know about total packages?” He tossed a grape in his mouth. “Where’s your total package?”
Jimmy smiled. “Waiting to be discovered maybe?”
“Ah. So that date of yours didn’t go well last night?”
Jimmy exhaled. “It did not.”
“Okay, give. What was wrong with this one this time?”
“A gold digger. Among other things.”
“Son, how many times do I have to tell you this? All females are gold diggers to a certain extent.”
“Ma wasn’t a gold digger.”
“Don’t you believe it! She wanted my money from the moment she laid eyes on me.”
Jimmy was floored.
Trina smiled. “Stop playing with that boy like that, Reno,” she said, and Reno, to Jimmy’s surprise, laughed.
“You’re kidding, Dad?”
“Of course I’m kidding! What, do I look like an idiot to you? What am I going to marry a gold digger for?”
“So you don’t think I should settle either?”
“Not for a woman who only wants what you have, you’d better not. Play the field and wait it out. Like I did.”
“But the run of luck I’ve had,” Jimmy said, shaking his head. “I don’t know, Pop. It’s been tough. Maybe I should give up girls altogether and give a dude a chance.”
Trina had to hold back the laughter. She knew Jimmy was kidding. She knew Jimmy was just getting his father back.
But Reno didn’t know it. He was about to toss another grape into his mouth, but stopped it at his lip. He knew his son had said something strange. When he realized what it was, he frowned. “A dude?” he asked his son, and then tossed the grape on in.
“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “Why not? At least they’ll want me more for my tight ass than for my money.”
Reno nearly choked on the grape he was chewing. Trina covered her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter.
But Reno was dead serious. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked his son. “Why the fuck you saying stuff like that for?”
“But it’s true!” Jimmy said with a straight face. “Think about it, Pop. My shit is tight. My crack has never been penetrated. They like it like that.”
Reno slammed his hand on the granite countertop. “Shut the fuck up and shut the fuck up now!” he blared. “Talking like that in front of your mother. What’s wrong with you?” Then he pointed at Jimmy. “You cut that shit out. You hear me? Gonna go and get you a dude. Yeah, I got your dude right here, Jimmy. I got your dude right here!”
Trina and Jimmy could hold back no longer. They burst into laughter. Reno was stunned that he had been fooled that easily. But that didn’t mean he laughed with them. “Very funny,” he said.
“Reno, you have to admit he got you good,” Trina said.
Reno didn’t want to concede the point. But he did. He eventually smiled.
“Anywho,” Jimmy said, “I’ve come to a decision, Dad.”
“Another one?”
“A real decision. I’ve decided to get my own place.”
Unlike Trina, Reno seemed to know exactly what Jimmy was implying right away. “It’s about time,” he said.
Jimmy and Trina both smiled. “What do you mean?” Jimmy asked.
“What do you think I mean? You’re a grown man. You should have wanted your own place when you turned eighteen.”
Trina laughed. “Eighteen, Reno?”
“Eighteen! I was on my own when I was eighteen. You were on your own when you were eighteen. What’s his problem? I couldn’t get from under my old man fast enough.”
“The difference,” Jimmy said, “is that I don’t want to get from under you. Not now. Not ever.”
Reno and Trina both smiled. “Ah,” Trina said.
“That’s very sweet of you, Jimmy,” Reno said, heartfelt. “That means a lot to me. You’ll never know how much that means to your old man.” Then he cut the sentimentality. “Now that you’ve buttered me up,” he said, and Jimmy laughed. “What kind of place do you have in mind, and how much is it going to set me back?”
“It won’t set you back a dime,” Jimmy said. “I’ve been saving my money. I’m going to try to get qualified for a mortgage and pay for it myself.”
Now this really impressed Reno. “Cool,” he said. “So what are you shooting for? Apartment, condo, what?”
“A house,” Jimmy said.
Reno frowned. “A house? You want a house?”
“Yeah.”
“But . . . why so soon?”
Trina shook her head. “First he took too long, now he’s moving too fast. Make up your mind, Reno.”
“But what I’m saying is . . . why a house?”
It was an easy answer to Jimmy. “I heard from Fred Ridgeway the other day,” he said.
“Fred Ridgeway?” Trina asked. “The man your mother was once married to? The man that helped raise you?”
“Yep. I try to call him every once in a while.”
“That’s good, Jimmy,” Trina said.
“And I started thinking when I was talking to him, you know? I was raised in a house. I like the idea of having a piece of property of my own. Nothing fancy, but that’s what I want.”
Reno nodded. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“And he wants us to go house hunting with him,” Trina said.
Reno frowned. “House hunting with him? Why would we want,” he started, but Trina gave him a little shoe-to-shoe bump. Reno understood. “Oh, okay. We’ll go searching with you. All of us will help you find that right house,” he said.
“Once I find a realtor and get prequalified,” Jimmy said, “I’ll let you know when I plan to get started.”
“I have a realtor,” Reno interrupted. “Why can’t you use my realtor?”
“Because she’s your realtor,” Trina said. “He wants his own.” Then Trina looked at him. “Makes sense, right?”
Reno exhaled. Agreed begrudgingly. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“But I’ll let you know where and when, Dad, okay?”
“Okay. But I’m telling you now,” Reno said, pointing his finger, “it better be up to the Gabrini standard. None of that my adorable shack shit. That’s non-debatable.”
Jimmy was relieved. “Yes, sir,” he said. Then he smiled. “Now that that’s out of the way. So, Pop, how was your day today?”
“It was fine. How was yours?”
“Pete was late again, which meant I had to work past my shift again. But other than that it was good.”
“Pete was late again? Why haven’t Joe fired his ass yet?”
“Because he’s a great worker when he does show up. But we’re getting more help. We’ve got a new assistant floor manager coming on board in a couple of days. I’ll train him, get him ready to go. That’ll give me some relief when Pete’s late. Oh, yeah, that’s right. I heard you hired a new assistant too.”
Trina looked at Reno.
“Didn’t
you, Dad? Didn’t you hire a new assistant today?”
“Yeah, so?”
“So I hear she’s one fine looking woman. Is she married?”
Reno frowned. “What’s it to you? I thought you were going out shopping for dudes now.”
“Come on, Pop, you know I was joking! Is she married?”
“No, she’s not married, Jimmy Mack. But you stay away from her.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so. Stay away from her.”
Jimmy looked at Trina. “What did I do?” he asked, as if she could give him some hint. But she was looking at Reno. He seemed awfully protective of this new hire.
Then Jimmy looked at Reno. “What did I do?” he asked him.
“You didn’t do anything,” Reno responded, “and you aren’t going to do anything either. That’s my point. I don’t want any of that drama in my office. I don’t want you ever dating any of my staff, including that new girl, you hear me?”
“Who is she?” Trina decided to ask. “You never mentioned anything about hiring anybody new.”
“There was nothing to mention, what are you talking? She’s just an aide. I hire aides all the time.”
“Is she the same woman you had lunch with today?”
Jimmy looked at Trina. He knew his stepmother. He knew she never asked a question unless she had carefully thought it through.
Reno looked at Trina too. “What do you know about who I had lunch with today?”
“I was there.”
“You was where?”
“At the restaurant. I saw you with her.”
“You saw me?”
“I saw you.”
This concerned Reno. “You saw me but you didn’t come over and say hello? Or were you too busy creating all kinds of scenarios in your head?”
“Who is she?”
Reno hesitated. “A friend of mine,” he said. “Nobody.”
“Do you have a habit of kissing nobody?”
Jimmy was shocked. He looked at his father.
“Kissing,” Reno said. “What kissing? I said hello to her.”
“You said goodbye to her too. With a kiss.”
“Yeah, and so? What are you making a big deal out of nothing for?”
“Nothing?” Trina asked. “I was having lunch with two old friends of mine and they say, ‘isn’t that your husband?’ And I look and see you kissing on some woman I’ve never seen before.”
“So?”
“So? You have a reputation already, Reno.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? What reputation?”
Trina looked at him as if he had to be joking. “Really? You really want to play dumb now?”
Now Reno’s anger was beginning to flare. He hated when Trina of all people questioned his faithfulness. “I had lunch with an old friend, all right? That’s it. That’s all. End of discussion.”
“End of discussion?” Trina asked as if she couldn’t believe he’d said that. “Are you kidding me? If I had lunch with some man you didn’t know, and I let that man kiss on me, you’ll kick my ass, Reno, and you know you will! But you do that very same thing and I can’t even ask you about it?”
“There’s nothing to ask about!” Reno blared. “And there’s no comparison between some man kissing on you and me greeting an old friend. Men are the aggressors. And since I’m not aggressing on anybody but your ass, it’s a non-issue, it’s a non-story, this is a non-discussion!”
Trina stared at him with that worried, serious look on her pretty face. Jimmy could feel her pain. And Reno softened too. “There’s nothing to worry about, babe, all right? Nothing. So drop it.”
“What’s her name?” Trina asked, refusing to let it go.
“Will you stop!”
“No, I will not stop! I will not stop! I’m not being unreasonable here. I see my husband kissing a woman I don’t know, I have a right to ask about it. You still haven’t told me anything about her.”
“There’s nothing to tell! How many times do I have to tell you there’s nothing to tell?”
“Then just give me her name, Reno, what’s the big damn deal?”
“Your questioning my fidelity is the big damn deal! I expect it from those fools in the streets, but I never dreamed I would have to get it from you too! And you ask how do I think you feel? How the fuck do you think I feel? Being treated like I’m some cheater when I know I’m not! And then you start in on it too. You! You wanna know what’s the big damn deal? That’s the big damn deal!” Then he shook his head. He was red with anger. And instead of arguing with her any longer, instead of trying to prove the negative all over again, he decided to walk out of the kitchen. Then the next thing Trina knew, he walked out of the house altogether, slamming the door behind him as he did.
Trina took her dishcloth and threw it into the sink. She hated when they argued, she hated when they parted in anger, but what did he expect from her? She wasn’t being unreasonable. He kissed that woman! Nobody was going to convince her that questioning her husband about some woman he was kissing was an unreasonable thing to do.
CHAPTER SIX
Later that night, after she and Jimmy had a quiet dinner alone, and after Jimmy said his goodbyes and made his way downstairs to his own apartment, Trina undressed and sat in the tub for nearly an hour. She had already bathe vigorously, but now was sipping wine and relaxing and trying to suppress all of the drama of another long day. And to top it off by arguing with her husband wasn’t exactly how she had hoped to end her day. But Reno could be so bull-headed sometimes. And so hypocritical! Every time she had lunch with a male friend, Reno would not only question her about it, but he’d show up at the restaurant, cuss the man out and all but drag her out of there. Yet she asks a few questions and he gets upset about it? This had to stop. Reno had to stop having certain rules for her, and no rules for himself!
But she knew he wasn’t going to change, she thought, as she finally began to get out of the tub. He was the head of this family and he was no figurehead either. He expected them to know that he had their backs no matter what, and he was looking out for their best interests even when they thought they could look out for themselves. That was the toughest part for Trina. She’d been an independent woman all of her adult life, and then Reno came along and, as Jimmy said, put her on a short leash. She had freedom, and plenty of it, but only on his terms. And despite what Jimmy believed about her power over Reno, she knew better. Reno was the power in their family, and his power was absolute. But that was also why she sometimes felt she had to fight the power, and fight it with everything within her.
That was why she refused to give in when he wanted her to move Champagne’s. That was why she refused to let his security people know every time she left the PaLargio. And that was why she was going to continue to question him about his female friends even when he didn’t see where it was necessary. She had unquestioned loyalty to him and trust in him. But she also had good sense. And her sense was telling her that there were too many women out there pulling all kinds of stunts to win the affection of her man. And her man needed to stop being so damn accommodating with that affection, no matter how innocent it was.
She grabbed the towel and began drying off. When she had finished, she wrapped the towel around herself and headed for the adjacent bedroom. But when she exited the bathroom and looked up, the fireplace was well lit and had the room warm and toasty, and that tiresome man of hers was lying naked across the bed, on his back, his feet on the floor. She looked at his limp dick, which was still big even in its limp state, and she looked up his muscular, tight frame, to his face. He had his hands on the top of his head, and his eyes seemed to be half-asleep, and half-looking at her.
“Get rid of that towel,” he said calmly, “and come here.”
Trina’s stomach tightened when he made such a direct command. A command, despite her concerns, she was happy to obey. She removed the towel and placed it across her dressing table chair, and then made her way to the bed. When
she got there, Reno took her by the hand and hoisted her up, laying her naked body on top of his. He wrapped his arms around her and looked at her with a hooded look, with his naturally long eyelashes almost hiding the blue of his eyes.
Trina felt warm and protected just being in his arms. His light-brown hair had flapped across his forehead, making him look so young, and she realized in that moment just how fortunate she was. He could possibly have any woman on the planet, but he decided to have her. It made her feel petty to question him about anything, knowing him and the kind of man he was. But she couldn’t suppress how she felt. Especially since she still didn’t think she was being unreasonable!
“Her name is Bridgette Baranski,” he finally said. Trina was already staring at him, but the intensity of that look piqued. “She used to be on my board of directors years ago, before she left to run her own consulting firm. She was one of my chief negotiators on that French Riviera project. She worked with Montavons.”
“But I thought that project fell through,” Trina said.
“It did. But not for any lack of trying on her part. She worked her ass off for that project.”
“But that was months ago.”
“I know. She was passing through Vegas and gave me a phone call, and I agreed to meet her for lunch. We’re old friends, we go back a long way, so we talked about old times. I thanked her for the work she did on my behalf, and we ate lunch. Then she left in her car and I left in mine. That was it, Tree. I don’t want the woman. I never wanted the woman. I felt I owed it to her to meet with her, and I met with her. That was it. That was all.”
Trina was running her fingers through the few hairs on his chest, and then she looked into his eyes. “But do you understand why I felt a need to ask about her?”
Reno shook his head. “No,” he admitted. “I don’t.”
“You kissed her goodbye, Reno. You kissed her on her lips. I was with my old friends too, and they looked at that and assumed there was something going on between you and that woman.”
Reno frowned. “So what? Since when have you cared what other people assumed?”
“Since it’s been getting too regular. You don’t think I hear the talk? My friends think I’m some Tammy Wynette, standing by my man kind of woman, when I’m not that girl and I don’t wanna be.”
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