pressed to De Luca's ear. To his credit, he listened intently to the hysterics without an eye roll or sign of impatience. At the first pause, he spoke.
"Claudia. Listen to me. You need to trust that we know what we are doing and we will handle it. I will have him covered by the private investigator. He won't sneak anything by us on my watch, I promise you."
More hysterical shouting, then something that sounded like pleading.
"Those assets are safe. We already have a court motion in place that has frozen those. Please relax Claudia. Why don't you let me send Alfonzo over? He can massage those worries right out of you."
I tuned his conversation out when Mimmo brought our food out. My steak was enormous, and smelled incredible. I had my knife and fork ready and dove in the moment that the plate hit the table. De Luca shot me a bemused look. I ignored him, chewing furiously. The steak had just enough fat to add flavor, and was tender and perfectly cooked. I like my steak bloody, and this fit the bill. I paused in my intake to sip some wine. The glass was full. I paused and looked at it. Did I finish the first glass? Or did he refill this early? I shook my head and pushed it to the side, reaching for the water glass instead. I had broken enough cardinal rules today. I didn't want to add "Drunk at Work" to the tally.
I was 80% through my steak and had demolished the baked potato when De Luca finally ended the call. He glanced at his watch again and wrote 12:42pm on the piece of scrap paper. I glanced at it and rolled my eyes.
"Your going to bill her for 9 minutes?!"
"It was 9 minutes I could have spent talking to you. And yes, at $850 an hour, I damn sure am going to bill for 9 minutes."
"Not 10?"
His mouth twitched. "Not 10. For the same reason."
Well, it looks like the man has some shred of moral fiber. Shocker.
"I've got to get back to the office." He mumbled the words through a hefty bite of steak.
"Do we have time to run an errand?"
"Depends on what it is. Rick in IT is not expecting you to return with a… cable port thingy? I think that's how you referred to it."
"I need to go by CVS."
"For what?"
"If you must know, a pregnancy test." I kept a straight face, and he blinked, taken aback. He squinted at me, trying to figure out if I was serious, and I kept my iron facade. For about four seconds. Then I burst out giggling.
"God - you are easy! I need headache medicine! But you, of all people, with your wanton women, should know to never ask a women what she needs at the drug store!"
He grinned. Reaching for his phone, he unlocked it and then pressed a number into the phone. "Jeff. We will be ready for pickup in about five minutes. Check the car for some Advil or Tylenol. If there's not any, go grab some. We'll see you in the valet area in a bit." He hung up the phone and returned to his steak.
"I could have picked up my own medicine."
"We are already short on time. They'll wonder what's been keeping you."
"Scared of Sheila?"
He grinned again, looking up from his steak. "Terrified. That woman is worst than my mother."
His steak was already half gone, and the remaining bit didn't have a chance. The man didn't believe in wasting time. Mimmo appeared at my side.
"Ms. Campbell. I've taken the liberty of wrapping a few of our house truffles, for your enjoyment later."
I nodded my thanks, and placed the small, exquisitely wrapped package into my purse. How does this man know my name?
"May I clear that for you?" He gestured to the plate with my remaining bit of steak on it.
"Yes, please."
He left, taking a few of our other plates with him. De Luca stood, shoveling a few more pieces of meat into his mouth, and
"Claudia. Listen to me. You need to trust that we know what we are doing and we will handle it. I will have him covered by the private investigator. He won't sneak anything by us on my watch, I promise you."
More hysterical shouting, then something that sounded like pleading.
"Those assets are safe. We already have a court motion in place that has frozen those. Please relax Claudia. Why don't you let me send Alfonzo over? He can massage those worries right out of you."
I tuned his conversation out when Mimmo brought our food out. My steak was enormous, and smelled incredible. I had my knife and fork ready and dove in the moment that the plate hit the table. De Luca shot me a bemused look. I ignored him, chewing furiously. The steak had just enough fat to add flavor, and was tender and perfectly cooked. I like my steak bloody, and this fit the bill. I paused in my intake to sip some wine. The glass was full. I paused and looked at it. Did I finish the first glass? Or did he refill this early? I shook my head and pushed it to the side, reaching for the water glass instead. I had broken enough cardinal rules today. I didn't want to add "Drunk at Work" to the tally.
I was 80% through my steak and had demolished the baked potato when De Luca finally ended the call. He glanced at his watch again and wrote 12:42pm on the piece of scrap paper. I glanced at it and rolled my eyes.
"Your going to bill her for 9 minutes?!"
"It was 9 minutes I could have spent talking to you. And yes, at $850 an hour, I damn sure am going to bill for 9 minutes."
"Not 10?"
His mouth twitched. "Not 10. For the same reason."
Well, it looks like the man has some shred of moral fiber. Shocker.
"I've got to get back to the office." He mumbled the words through a hefty bite of steak.
"Do we have time to run an errand?"
"Depends on what it is. Rick in IT is not expecting you to return with a… cable port thingy? I think that's how you referred to it."
"I need to go by CVS."
"For what?"
"If you must know, a pregnancy test." I kept a straight face, and he blinked, taken aback. He squinted at me, trying to figure out if I was serious, and I kept my iron facade. For about four seconds. Then I burst out giggling.
"God - you are easy! I need headache medicine! But you, of all people, with your wanton women, should know to never ask a women what she needs at the drug store!"
He grinned. Reaching for his phone, he unlocked it and then pressed a number into the phone. "Jeff. We will be ready for pickup in about five minutes. Check the car for some Advil or Tylenol. If there's not any, go grab some. We'll see you in the valet area in a bit." He hung up the phone and returned to his steak.
"I could have picked up my own medicine."
"We are already short on time. They'll wonder what's been keeping you."
"Scared of Sheila?"
He grinned again, looking up from his steak. "Terrified. That woman is worst than my mother."
His steak was already half gone, and the remaining bit didn't have a chance. The man didn't believe in wasting time. Mimmo appeared at my side.
"Ms. Campbell. I've taken the liberty of wrapping a few of our house truffles, for your enjoyment later."
I nodded my thanks, and placed the small, exquisitely wrapped package into my purse. How does this man know my name?
"May I clear that for you?" He gestured to the plate with my remaining bit of steak on it.
"Yes, please."
He left, taking a few of our other plates with him. De Luca stood, shoveling a few more pieces of meat into his mouth, and
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