by Leah Wilde
“I’m not going to let you just cut and run on me without even telling me why,” Vince said, once again trying to step in front of Fiona when she tried to walk around him. But this time, she evaded him more successfully, walking rapidly across the room towards the door.
“I just need to go. That’s all you have to know, okay?” she said, an edge of urgency in her voice as she unsuccessfully pushed at the doorknob.
Vince walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, mostly to keep her in place but also just to feel her, one last time. “Can I still…see you at other times?” Vince asked, his fingers tingling where they brushed up against Fiona’s shoulder.
There was a long moment of silence. Fiona’s head fell forward between her shoulders, sagging like she had no longer had the energy to hold it up. She slowly lifted her hand to unlatch the lock on the door, and then she whispered softly, “I’m sorry. Really. But no.”
Then she opened the door and marched out, gripping her bag in a tight fist, leaving Vince to stare after her helplessly.
Thirty seconds later, Fiona was no longer visible, the sound of her footsteps fading until Vince could no longer make them out.
Just like that, she was gone. And Vince had no idea why.
Chapter Sixteen
Five minutes before Vince walked into the office, Fiona was sitting at her desk, organizing a stack of papers on the gambling connection in Atlantic City, when the door opened and someone walked in. “Did that go okay?” Fiona asked, assuming she was speaking to Vince without looking up from her desk.
“Oh, it went splendidly,” Mrs. Romano said in an icy tone of voice, making Fiona jump in her seat in surprise. Dammit, Fiona silently cursed, forcing a smile onto her face as she looked up at her boss’s mother. “I just wanted to spend a few moments discussing certain pressing matters with you.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Fiona said, keeping her voice casual and steady, even though her fingers had started trembling. Even after a year working here, Mrs. Romano had never acknowledged her presence directly before, only ever talking to her to demand to meet with her son or husband.
Mrs. Romano looked around the office, possibly searching for a chair to take, but instead, she just raised her upper lip in a half-snarl, signifying her disgust at the clutter that filled the office in the aftermath of her husband’s death. Fiona felt her face and neck heat up in embarrassment. Things had just been so hectic. She hadn’t had time recently to keep things as orderly as she normally would have. It wasn’t like she was expecting a visit from Mama Romano herself.
But then again, Mrs. Romano had other reasons for feeling disgusted at Fiona. None of them were based in reality, of course, but that didn’t seem to matter. For the head of the Romano family, it was clear that Fiona had fucked Paulie before he died, and there was nothing Fiona could say or do to change her mind. She could only straighten her spine, swallow the bile that slid up her throat, and be as strong as she could in the face of adversity, just like always.
“What can I help you with?” Fiona said after an awkward pause in which neither of them spoke, attempting to prompt Mrs. Romano into airing her grievances already so she could go on with the rest of her day.
Mrs. Romano smiled, then, her bright red lips stretching across her face so far that it looked painful. Fiona fought as hard as she could not to shiver at the lean, hungry expression in Mrs. Romano’s eyes. She looked like Guido, the intense, predatory way he looked the night before when he was threatening her. Up to this point, Fiona had promised herself not to think about it, to let it go, to not let Guido know that she was at all frightened. But now, Mrs. Romano turned to her, hands firmly planted on her hips, smirking before she spoke. “Me? Oh, no, ma’am. I don’t need your help. I’m here to offer you mine.”
“Wh-what?” Fiona said, feeling utterly confused and maybe even a little bit helpful. Was she aware that her younger son was attempting to take control of the business despite Paulie’s wishes? Maybe she was finally coming around.
Mrs. Romano turned and walked slowly over to Fiona’s desk, standing over her and looking down to meet her eyes. “I just want you to know what you’re dealing with. That’s all.”
“What am I dealing with?” Fiona asked, feeling another surge of anxiety climb up her spine as she fought to maintain solid eye contact with the woman towering over her.
“More than you know,” Mrs. Romano said, shaking her head a little as she chuckled. “Now my son Vincent has made it plain to me that you are very crucial to certain…functions of this organization. But I know what my family needs. And it isn’t you.”
“Ma’am, I’m not quite sure you know what’s—” Fiona started to say, but Mrs. Romano cut her off with some deep, throaty laughter.
“Oh, my, that’s funny. It’s really amusing, hearing you scramble to defend yourself. I know, I know, poor little mistress, all shit out of luck now that my husband is dead, and he didn’t leave any money to you at all. Oh…poor thing.” Mrs. Romano’s smile slipped off her face, replaced by a hard, mean look that confirmed Fiona’s worst fears. She didn’t come in here to help her. She came in here to intimidate her, and so far, it was working.
“I didn’t have anything with your husband,” Fiona said through gritted teeth, feeling her frustration overcome the fear inside of her. “I’m not a mistress.” Except for in the kinky sex sense, she thought to herself, thinking back on how Vince’s servants referred to her at the penthouse. It was tempting to break the conditions of the contract, if only to explain to Mrs. Romano what was really going on. Maybe the truth would shock Mrs. Romano enough that she’d believe Fiona about her relationship with Paulie. After all, if Fiona was shameless enough to admit being a sexual submissive, there’d be no logical reason for her to lie about having an affair with an older man.
But she couldn’t do that to Vince. Even though they’d only fucked once, she felt like she knew him, maybe even more than she’d known any of her partners in the past. And she knew that it would crush him if she broke his trust. That was what the whole thing was about: the horribly stupid, ridiculously miraculous reality that they trusted each other enough to let each other in, despite all the risks involved. Fiona couldn’t betray that. She couldn’t hurt him, even if protecting his secret meant getting hurt in his place.
Instead, Fiona mustered up all the courage she could summon and stood up, still standing a few inches shorter than the tall, slim Romano matriarch. She didn’t back down, though, keeping eye contact with the older woman through their tense silence. Finally, Fiona’s nerves got the better of her, and she spat out between clenched teeth, “What do you want from me? Spit it out. What’s the big idea, coming in here to taunt me with shit you know nothing about?”
“Just a friendly warning,” Mrs. Romano said in a low whisper, her eyes darting back and forth between each of Fiona’s. “I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I’d rather avoid it if possible. That’s how you can help, I suppose.”
“How?” Fiona asked, the suspense practically killing her at this point.
“By getting out of the way,” Mrs. Romano said with a shrug. “My son and I have business to do here, profits to make, and we’re not going to let you stand in the way. So, I suggest you get out of here before the sun sets or something very bad might happen.”
“What? You’re going to kill me or something?” she asked, trying to scoff as if she wasn’t scared at all, even though her heart started pounding against her throat like it was trying to escape her body entirely.
Mrs. Romano smiled again and gave a half-shrug, like she honestly didn’t know the answer. “Who knows? But someone will get hurt, Fiona. Maybe even someone close to you.”
“You’re threatening an old man with a weak heart,” Fiona said, thinking back on her frail father, how much he’d been struggling to breathe recently. She felt a flare of anger empower her, making her stretch up higher so that her eyes matched Mrs. Romano’s. She wasn’t going to back down. Not that easily.
“Who says I’m just talking about your father?” Mrs. Romano said, lifting her eyebrows so high they almost disappeared into her thick, dark hair. “There are other things you care about, things that have just been brought to my attention today, actually.”
Fiona was utterly confused for several long seconds, searching Mrs. Romano’s face for any clue that would tell her what she meant, but then it hit her. Vince. She’d just spoken with Vince. Somehow, she’d figured out that they were having a relationship on her own, without either of them needing to divulge any information. Maybe Guido had told her, for all Fiona knew. It would make sense, the two of them plotting together to get control of the business.
Fiona felt more emboldened than ever, smiling as meanly as she could and backing away from Mrs. Romano, resuming her organization of the papers on her desk. “You showed your hand there,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “You’d hurt your own son if it meant fulfilling your ambition. Now I know there’s no point in trying to reason with you. You don’t have a heart. Maybe that’s why Paulie was so sad all the time.”
Crack. Fiona barely had time to register the fact that Mrs. Romano reached out and slapped her across the face before the hot pain settled in on her cheeks. Still, Fiona resisted the urge to grab her face or wince in pain. She held strong, staring up at Mrs. Romano with as much disgust as she could muster. “Pathetic,” she muttered, feeling her heart pound with anger rather than fear now.
But Mrs. Romano had no intentions of backing down, either, despite the brief lapse of her temper. “Forgive me,” Mrs. Romano said, smiling tightly. “I’m still mourning, you see, and I’m sensitive about people trying to tear my family apart.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Fiona said firmly, trying to make it clear that there was no way Mrs. Romano could emotionally manipulate her into feeling sorry for her. She wasn’t one of her sons. She couldn’t be fooled into thinking she was a frail old woman, not even for a second. “You threatened Vince. What makes you think I’m going to leave his side now? You just proved to me that you’re willing to hurt him if it means getting what you want.”
“Because if you don’t leave, I’ll make sure he gets hurt,” Mrs. Romano said, and now there was no disguise to her voice, only sheer contempt. Her eyes narrowed as she stared hard at Fiona, her gaze full of venom. “Trust me on that. I know how to get things done in this business. Why do you think we’re the number one family in this part of the country? Luck? Random chance? Or did you think it was Paulie running the show, calling the shots? No, dear. It was me. I made this business, and I can destroy it. Which I’ll gladly do if you don’t step out of the way and let me lead my son to where he needs to go.”
Fiona scoffed and shook her head. “You’re bullshitting. You just hate me and want me out of the picture. Trust me, Vince won’t be happy if he hears about this.”
“But he’s not going to,” Mrs. Romano said confidently. “You’re not going to mention it.”
“Oh, I’m not?” Fiona said mockingly, rolling her eyes at the woman she used to respect.
“No,” Mrs. Romano replied. “Because if you do, I’ll have you both killed. Along with your father. In fact, maybe I’ll keep you alive just so you know what it’s like to have the man you love ripped away from you.”
Fiona fell silent, the fiery defiance she felt before fading away as the reality of the situation descended upon her. “That’s not true,” Fiona said, shaking her head as if she could physically force the threats to fade from her mind. “You’re lying. You just want to control everything.”
“I already do,” Mrs. Romano said, rifling through her purse and pulling out a stack of one hundred dollar bills. She handed it forward for Fiona to take, but Fiona just stared down at it uncomprehendingly, refusing to touch it until she knew what was going on. Mrs. Romano rolled her eyes and placed the stack of bills down on the desk between them. “If you’re smart, and I think you are, you’ll take that money, leave her, and never come back. In return, I promise that Vincent will be safe. Your father will be safe. You will never hear from us again, assuming that we never hear from you.”
Fiona sighed deeply and stared down at the stack of cash before her. “I don’t want your money,” she murmured. A pounding had started in her head, accompanied by image after image after image of her father, waiting for her at home, waiting to be taken care of, while men in black waited outside their apartment, ready to strike at the first signal from the mob matriarch.
“Then don’t take it,” Mrs. Romano said with a shrug. “What’s it to me? All I care about is that you’re gone before tonight.”
“I can’t,” she said, thinking back to the playroom, all the sensations and emotions she felt the night before. For once in her life, she felt strong…because she’d been allowed to be weak. To let go. To lose control. But of course, she would be punished for it. Of course, the fates would make this happen, would send this evil woman to tear her life apart. She was stupid for ever thinking otherwise.
“You will,” Mrs. Romano said, closing her purse back up and heading for the door. “By tonight, Fiona. Or your dad goes first.”
Mrs. Romano disappeared out into the hall but left the door open, her heels clicking loudly, echoing around in Fiona’s head like a bullet ricocheting inside her skull. Jesus Christ, Fiona thought, silently praying as hard as she could, feeling her stomach contract painfully as she reflected on the conversation that had just occurred. Jesus fucking Christ, please help me. What am I supposed to do? What the fuck am I supposed to do?
Another set of footsteps replaced Mrs. Romano’s, harder and heavier. A man. Fiona didn’t look up, staring down at the money on her desk as if it held the answer to her dilemma. She didn’t notice who was standing before her until the new visitor spoke up.
“Given any thought to what we discussed yesterday?” Guido asked.
Fiona didn’t acknowledge him, reaching forward to snatch the cash off the desk before he could take it away from her. She was going to use it to help her dad no matter what she decided to do.
“Come on, don’t be like that,” Guido said, each word sounding sickly sweet, as if he was talking to a toddler. “I know that my mother was just in here. Threatening you, I presume?”
Again, Fiona elected to remain silent rather than dignify any statement or question of Guido’s with a response. He was still the slimiest, most disgusting person on the planet as far as Fiona was concerned, even if she did have bigger problems right now.
“I can help you with that,” Guido said, finally making Fiona glance up at him before looking back down at the contents of the desk in front of her. “Really, I can. I know she wants you to leave, but if I convince her you’re useful, you can stay.”
Fiona rolled her eyes, not buying his bullshit for a single microsecond. “Yeah, and how the hell are you going to do that?”
“I have my ways,” Guido said. “She listens to me. I’m the favorite son, after all.”
“Whatever,” Fiona grunted, about two seconds away from yelling at him to get out so she could think in peace.
“If you fuck me,” Guido said, casually as ever, “I’ll make the problems go away. I’m about to be top guy, anyway.”
“How do you know that?” Fiona asked, suddenly desperate to know what the plan was to overthrow Vince’s control. “What’s going to happen?”
Guido just shrugged, looking like his mother in the process, cold and unfeeling. “Nothing that concerns you. But I’ll tell you what, if you agree to the terms I’ve laid out, I’ll make sure Vincent gets a good deal. Like a junior position, maybe some administrative work. Some stuff that’s more his speed. Otherwise…he might not fit into the organization anymore.”
“What does that mean?” Fiona asked, the sense of urgency clutching her throat seeping into her voice. Guido smiled, his sharp teeth poking out from behind his lips, clearly pleased with the fear that he could detect in Fiona’s voice.
“It means he’s not going to be around much longer,
in one sense or another,” Guido said. “But if you sleep with me, make me a real happy boy…who knows? I could arrange something for him, like I said. Just let me know.”
“Fuck you!” Fiona hissed, keeping her voice low so that others out in the hall wouldn’t hear her. “You can go fuck yourself because you’re never, ever, going to touch me.”
Guido snarled, then, his face curling up in an ugly knot as he stared at Fiona for a few seconds before backing away. “Whatever. Don’t come crying to me when daddy has a little incident with his meds.” He left the room, stomping out angrily. She’d clearly pissed him off. Fiona didn’t know whether to feel proud or terrified because of that achievement.
After another few seconds, she heard the distinctive clicking of Mrs. Romano’s heels, telling Fiona that she was still in the main area of the compound. Fiona’s entire body tensed up, anticipating another encounter with the older woman, but the clicking passed by, fading away as she disappeared from her side of the building.
Fiona barely had a moment to collect her thoughts and calm down when she heard another set of footsteps, followed by the sound of the door shutting behind the person that walked into the room. What now?