And now here he was in her kitchen, giving her the thousand yard stare that seemed to go through her like laser beams.
“Alright you two; break it up already,” Elijah said coming into the kitchen behind Tony.
“Break what up? We’re across the room from each other,” Sophie grumbled prompting Tony to take the two steps that would bring them up next to each other. He reached out a hand and she took it, smiling into his eyes. He smiled briefly at her and then his eyes flicked to her grandfather and he let go of her hand.
“I hope this wine is okay for dinner,” he said as he put it down on the counter top. Sophie laughed as Elijah came to pick up the bottle and examine it.
“Jambalaya goes with everything,” she assured him.
“Yeah, but this is good anyway,” Elijah commented absently as he opened it to breathe.
“By the way Elijah, can I borrow your grand-daughter for the night?” Tony asked.
“Last I checked she wasn’t a commodity I could lend,” Elijah replied squinting at him.
“That’s the spirit grandpa. Women’s lib all the way,” Sophie interjected causing Tony to glare at her.
“What I mean is…you gotta ask her,” Elijah continued.
“I did. She told me to ask you,” Tony replied, making Sophie glare at him.
“Awww, baby girl, you’re not a baby anymore. If you want to go spend the night at your boyfriend’s house, then you should go,” Elijah said.
Sophie cleared her throat uncomfortably. Talking about sex to her grandfather was something new to them. She stirred her pot industriously waiting for the awkward moment to pass. Tony was smirking as he leaned against the counter top and her grandfather had settled in the rocking chair at the corner.
“Twenty minutes and dinner will be ready.” She announced.
“Can I do anything?” Tony asked straightening up.
“You can lay the table,” she offered and Tony hastened to do so.
They sat down to dinner and Elijah said a prayer. Tony was unfamiliar with the form, but he followed Sophie’s lead and put his head down and closed his eyes.
“Some have meat that cannot eat, and some could eat that want it. We have meat and we can eat and so may God be thanked. Amen,” Elijah intoned solemnly.
“Amen,” Sophie and Tony echoed and then they dug into the jambalaya. They ate in silence for a while, as Whitney Houston played in the background.
“This is really delicious. I’ve never tasted anything like it,” Tony complimented after a while.
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Sophie said as she spooned some chicken into her mouth.
“I’m enjoying this. Sitting around a table, listening to music, eating great food. It’s wonderful. Thank you for including me in your family dinner,” Tony said with a smile on his face.
Elijah looked him over for a moment and then said, “Thank you for giving us a reason to sit around the table and enjoy our meal.”
“Okay, enough with the niceties. How about those Broncos huh?” Sophie said.
“What Broncos?” Elijah asked.
“Oh you know…the ones who do the thing with the ball,” Sophie said. Elijah and Tony both burst out laughing at that.
“She’s funny. I like that about her,” Tony said to Elijah.
“Yeah she funny,” Elijah agreed, “Only I don’t think she mean to be.”
After dinner they had coffee in the living room and then Elijah bid them goodnight and went off to bed.
“So? Are you coming with me?” Tony asked.
“Sure. Let me just get some things together,” Sophie said and went off to her room. She was a little nervous about going to his house, it all felt so serious now. Everything seemed to be happening at the speed of light.
“Ready?” he asked from her doorway startling her badly.
“Yeah, lets go,” she said, hoisting her rucksack onto her shoulder. Tony reached out his hand and snagged it off her shoulder, hoisting it on his own.
“Oh, thank you.”
Tony lived in an apartment block in the middle of the city. It was an exclusive neighborhood, but his apartment was sparsely furnished and looked barely lived-in. The furnishings were strictly functional and there were barely any personal touches about the place.
“Did you just move in?”
“No, I’ve lived here for six years,” Tony replied taking her coat.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Erm, no reason,” Sophie said, sitting down on the sofa. It was made of soft black leather and was very comfortable to lounge upon. It didn’t feel like anyone was accustomed to lounging upon it though.
“Are you not here much?” she asked him crossing her legs.
“Well, actually no, I can’t say that I am. My businesses are all over so I travel a bit.”
“Sounds lonely,” Sophie said, patting the seat next to her.
Tony came and sat down next to her, “Well yeah. I never thought of it like that before, but I guess it’s true.”
“Is that why you latched onto me so fast?” Sophie asked, looking Tony dead in the eye.
Tony stared at her in shock, “Latched onto you? I wanted you the moment I saw your ass on the sidewalk.”
“What?” Sophie choked out.
“That first day we met; do you remember? I saw you on the sidewalk outside your building. You tripped and almost fell and then you got up and walked away into your building. I followed you without even thinking about it. It was pure instinct. I just knew.”
“What did you know?” Sophie asked curiously.
Tony hesitated, glancing at her as if assessing her ability to absorb information, “I just knew that I had found the one.”
Sophie threw her head back and laughed until tears were rolling down her cheeks. Tony watched her laugh an ironic smile on his face.
“What? You don’t believe me?” he asked through her laughter.
“Oh, I believe you. I just can’t get over how corny you are. I would never have imagined it of you the first time I saw those ice blue eyes of yours.”
“What did you think when you saw them? Were you attracted to me too?”
“Hardly.”
“Not even a little bit?”
“I wasn’t thinking about you like that. You were just a potential client.”
“Ouch.”
“Hey don’t go catching hurt feelings now. My ass will be grass if you fire us because we don’t work out.”
“We can’t have that happening to your ass now can we?” Tony said with an appreciative look at the part in question. Sophie hit the back of his head, but it just made him laugh. He stood up dragging her with him.
“Come on, I have some interesting things I mean to do with that ass, and they have nothing to do with grass,” he winked as he led her to his room.
*****
Sophie woke up first in the morning from the deepest sleep she’d had since Katrina. She looked around her, disoriented for a minute and then to the side, where Tony’s tousled sleeping head lay on the same pillow she’d slept on. His sleeping form woke her body in the same way that his caressing hands had done the night before and she knew where she was again. She looked for her phone on the side table to check the time. 5am. She crept out of bed and went into the shower luxuriating in the thick, warm burst of water pressure that poured over her.
“So this is how the other half lives,” she murmured to herself as she poured shower gel onto a loofah and applied it with industry to her aching drippy nether parts. ‘We never did get around to getting protection,' she thought with trepidation, ‘bollocks.’
Tony had all the latest gadgetry in his pristine kitchen including a cappuccino maker, which didn’t look too complicated. Trying to dry off in Tony’s terrycloth bathrobe after her shower gave her time to figure out how to use the machine. She was rooting around in a cupboard looking for coffee beans when a pair of hands closed around her waist.
She b
it back a scream and turned around ready to punch Tony in the gut but he covered her lips with his and held her tight and so she was distracted. Her hands snaked around his neck and she pulled him closer, kissing him for all she was worth.
“Are you attracted to me now?” Tony asked her, lifting his head away from hers.
“Slightly,” she smirked as he covered her lips with his again.
Tony was just showing her how the cappuccino machine worked when the doorbell rang. Sophie glanced at the clock on the wall and then lifted her brow at Tony.
“Wow, who are you expecting at 6:30 in the morning? Your wife?”
Tony laughed distractedly, but didn’t stop pouring beans into the machine, “Could you go answer that for me please?”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be sure?”
“Just don’t want you to think I’m trying to invade your personal space or nothing.”
“You’re not. Now go answer the damn doorbell.”
“Yes boss,” Sophie joked as she went to do that. She was almost at the door when she realized she was still in his monogrammed bathrobe but then shrugged. Whoever was on the other side would just have to get over it.
“Who is it?” she asked through the intercom.
“Roman Petrov,” a deep, gravelly voice said. That sounded suitably Russian which probably meant one of Tony’s relatives so she hit the button that would open the door and then waited the few minutes that would bring this Roman to the door. The apartment was on the second floor so it didn’t take long. Tony said he liked to take the stairs, but he wasn’t suicidal hence the choice of this floor. A knock sounded on the door and Sophie opened it, a huge smile on her face. The smile slipped a bit when she beheld the cold, steely gaze of a tall gray haired, gray eyed man with a scar zigzagging down his face. She hitched it back on and nodded at him.
“Hello,” she said, her voice shaking only slightly.
The man stared her up and down and then up again.
“Who are you?” he asked in a Russian accent.
“My name is Sophie. And you are?” Sophie asked, stretching out her hand to be shaken.
“Roman,” he replied, ignoring her hand and then walking past her into the house, “Where is my son?”
“Your s...,” Sophie began and then choked it off, looking down at her bathrobe in horror. Had she just met her possibly future father-in-law wearing his son’s bathrobe? How outré.
Roman was walking toward the kitchen with no hesitation so Sophie closed the door and followed him. Halfway to the kitchen, she changed her mind, deciding to go put on some clothes first. It was almost time for her to leave for work anyway. There was no need to get any more black marks on her name.
She changed into black pants and a black blazer with a white blouse and to add some color, a purple, orange and blue flowered scarf around her neck. She combed her short hair into a neat afro and put in her gold studs. She fished the shoes Tony had bought her out of her bag and put them on. She loved them because they were flesh colored so they went with everything. She could hear raised male voices emanating from the kitchen. It sounded like an argument was going on. The language did not sound familiar, so Sophie guessed it must be Russian they were speaking. She tip toed into the kitchen, wondering if she should just leave. She had just made up her mind to do that when Tony caught sight of her.
“Sophie. Come. Meet your future father in law,” he said. Sophie winced, shrugged inwardly and went.
“Hallo sir,” she said, still in that slightly shaky voice.
Roman Petrov gave her a cold gray stare, but said nothing. Tony growled something in Russian and Roman transferred the glare to him.
“Um Tony? I have to get to work,” Sophie stated.
“Yes. My driver will take you,” Tony offered placing a proprietary hand on her waist, “Will you have lunch with me?”
Roman said something sharp at this in Russian that made Tony glance at him, but then he turned back to Sophie, brow lifted, “Well?”
“Sure we can grab a quick lunch. I’ll leave you two to talk,” she said, heading to the rack for her coat as she picked her bag off the sofa.
Tony followed her to the door and they stopped for a minute to contemplate each other, “You didn’t even get to have a cappuccino,” he said regretfully.
“Fuggedaboudit. Another day.” She smiled at him and touched his cheek gently.
“I’m sorry about my father. He can be a douche bag,” he whispered.
“Yeah? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Samuel is waiting for you at the front door.”
“Samuel?”
“My driver.”
“I can walk you know? The office isn’t that far. It might be faster-“
“Don’t be silly. You want to walk in heels? Since when?”
“You think you know me so well.”
Tony leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips and then patted her derriere gently as he opened the door for her.
“Good luck with your dad,” she whispered as she headed out.
Tony shook himself before heading back to the kitchen and his waiting father. He couldn’t believe the bastard had just shown up like this. At the crack of dawn to boot. Who the hell did he think he was?
‘Your father, that’s who,’ a voice answered in his head. Tony grimaced and went to finish the ugly conversation they’d been having. His father had already accused him of having jungle fever. Monkeys had been mentioned. One more Sophie-related insult and he just might throw the man out of the window.
“What do you mean by this investigation you are doing on Crowley?” his father demanded as soon as he came into view again.
“What? Crowley? Who said I’m doing...” Tony began stupefied.
“Did you not hire an accountant to check his books?” Roman demanded.
Tony opened his mouth staring at his father in shock and then closed it again. What did this mean?
“What do you care about Crowley?” he asked suspiciously.
“I recommended him to you. Doubting him is doubting me.”
“So you take the redeye from Moscow to tear me a new one?”
“I come to find out what you are up to.”
“It’s my business father, not yours.”
“After what you have done to my family, you can say that to me?” Roman demanded.
Tony stared at him, feeling punched in the gut, just like his father meant him to. Would he never stop throwing the accident in his face? He turned away, heading to his room.
“Where are you going?”
“To work. Make yourself at home,” Tony said, slamming his bedroom door in his father’s face.
He stood leaning on the door, breathing deeply in and out, trying to get the anger out. All it did was concentrate it in his stomach like churning acid. Something was definitely off with his father and Crowley. A man didn’t come all this way because his honor might be impugned. Especially if that man was his father. But why would his father steal from him? All he had to do was ask if he needed anything. Not that his father ever asked for anything. If he wanted it, he took it. Entitled son of a bitch.
Tony dismissed this train of thought as unproductive and went to select one of his Savile Row suits. It was just that kind of day. He decided to think less about his father and more about Sophie. No need to bring his mood down over things he couldn’t change.
Chapter 7
Samuel walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for Sophie. She stepped out with smiling thanks. He smiled back, tipped his hat to her and wished her a good day. She returned the sentiment and then sauntered to her office building, early for once. She fished in her bag for the office key scared for a moment that she’d left it at home or at Tony’s but it was just buried at the bottom of her bag, under her iPhone. She scooped it up together with the phone and hit speed dial to call her grandfather. He picked up on the second ring.
“I’m fine darlin’. Still aliv
e,” he said.
“Me too,” she told him smiling.
“How was your sleep over?”
“Pretty sure I’m not going to tell you that. Like, ever.”
Elijah’s laugh came down the line filling her with warmth and love.
“Have a good day darlin’. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” she replied and hung up just as she reached her office door.
Her phone rang just as she reached her desk and put down her bag.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“How are you?”
“You mean since I left your house no more than…oh, say, fifteen minutes ago?”
“Yes.”
“I am very good. You?”
“I’m very good too. Well I was until about 6:30 this morning.”
“How’s daddy dearest?”
“About the same as he ever was.”
“Wonderful. Is he coming to our wedding? Asking for a friend.”
Tony laughed and then said, “Wait. Did you just say yes?”
“I think we all know that a yes was happening.”
Tony whooped so loudly that Sophie had to move the phone away from her ear to avoid having her ear drums explode.
“Can we do it today?” he asked excitedly.
“Down boy. Give me a minute to buy a dress. Maybe tell my grandfather? Invite a few friends?”
“Tomorrow then.”
Sophie laughed and said her goodbyes since the office was starting to fill up. It was only after she hung up that she realized he hadn’t said whether his father would attend. It had been many years since she had had a father, but she didn’t think that Roman Petrov wanted that role in her life. He had given off a distinctly hostile vibe. She said a prayer of thanks for her own extremely friendly grandfather and got to work.
*****
Curtis got into work and dug back into the records. He had followed the money that Crowley the accountant had transacted in the last month or so. He had started from the point of sale, comparing incoming and outgoing monies. He was pretty sure that there was some skimming going on. He needed to find the final destination for the cash though before he could go to Tony with anything but he was in no doubt that stealing was happening.
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