“I wouldn’t have figured Stephen for the criminal kind,” Sophie said but not as if she doubted Tony’s words.
“Yeah well…high school was a long time ago.” Tony stated.
“Hey! You calling me old?” Sophie teased.
Tony turned to her with a smile on his face. “You’re perfect”, he said.
Sophie lay back on the seat and smiled.
*****
“Now what?” Lucas asked Peanuts as they watched the Romanovs leave the restaurant.
“Well…the soft sell didn’t work. I guess we better try the hard one.” Peanuts said.
*****
They drew up at the house and Tony led her in after giving the driver specific instructions. He took her hand and led her to their room. It was a spacious one surrounded on three sides by floor to ceiling windows. Sophie jumped onto the bed and lounged on it. She wanted to make love but she also wanted to talk about what had just happened. Tony was fiddling with something across the room so Sophie lay back and waited for him to finish. Her head came up when she heard a strange sound and she saw a television emerging from the wall.
“I thought we’d do some Netflix. I don’t think we’ve had time to watch movies since our honeymoon,” Tony said making Sophie smile.
“Oh yeah. Your movie education is nowhere near done.” Sophie said getting up to go in search of popcorn. She was grinning from ear to ear. This was the perfect compromise. They could eat popcorn, watch movies and talk, but also make out. The perfect afternoon in other words. Tony came over to the bed and jumped on it with the remotes. He lay back and waited for Sophie to come back so she could choose a movie. The buttery smell of popcorn popping permeated the room and Tony smiled. It was going to be a good day.
He glanced at his phone though; there was something niggling at the back of his mind. The meeting they’d just had with Miss Piggy, Kermit and the backup band made him really uneasy. He picked it up and called his manager at Creature Comforts, his New York establishment.
“Mr. Romanov, how nice to hear from you. How can I help you today?” he answered in that breezy tone he always had.
“Hallo Jeffrey. How is business?” Tony asked.
“Well in this economy, I guess we should thank our lucky stars that we’re still at full capacity right now. It’s not exactly high season. We’re benefiting from the long term residents. There is that writer who always takes the attic room and Mrs. Beckett who isn’t speaking to her children at the moment so she’s hiding out here. Then there’s-“ Jeffrey was saying before Tony cut him off.
“That’s great. I wanted to ask you what you know about a café called Pirates and its owners.” He said.
“Pirates?” Jeffery said sounding mystified.
“Yeah, it’s in Brooklyn,” Tony elaborated.
“I don’t know much about it, but I’ll ask around and get back to you,” Jeffrey said.
“Good thank you. We’re in New York for the weekend by the way.” He told the man.
“Oh, will you be coming by then?” Jeffrey asked perking up.
“No. this is pleasure, not business. But get back to me with that info as soon as you can okay Jeff?”
“Of course sir. As soon as possible.”
Tony hung up and sighed. Jeffrey was a young Englishman come to America to escape from the oppressive expectations of his family who were gentry in England. However he hadn’t left everything about his old country behind such as insisting on calling Tony ‘sir’ even though he was more comfortable having his employees call him by his first name. However he ran a tight ship and was efficient, organized and innovative so Tony was more than prepared to tolerate his…proclivities. Besides, he reminded Tony of his younger self, filled with enthusiasm and energy and the thirst to prove himself worthy.
Sophie came in carrying a tray laden with popcorn and a large bottle of coke.
She placed it on the side table and jumped on the bed next to Tony picking up the remote as she did so. She’d changed out of her dress into small nike shorts and a spaghetti top with no bra. It did nothing at all to conceal her breasts and Tony was immediately distracted from his thoughts.
“Let’s see if I can find the Godfather. Have you seen that one?” she asked as she flicked through the offerings.
“Huh?” Tony asked eyes on her breasts.
“Have you seen the Godfather?” Sophie asked again eyes on the screen.
“Uh, n- ye- uh, no I haven’t,” Tony stammered.
“Great. I mean, not great obviously. It’s a classic and you should be ashamed but I’m glad I get to watch you watch it for the first time.”
“What’s it about?” Tony asked pulling his mind away from jugs.
“Really? Wow. Okay it’s about the Mafia. Have you heard of those?” Sophie said, her tone rather mocking. Tony shrugged in self-deprecation.
“Hey. I did tell you we didn’t do recreation in my house right?”
“You did. And I believed you. But…this is still ridiculous. This is education. Now shush and watch,” Sophie said as she found the movie and started it. Tony lay back on the pillows. He picked up the bowl of popcorn and put it between his legs so he could reach it easily. Sophie snuggled against him and they watched the movie.
*****
“Good morning little man, and how did you sleep?” Solomon whispered to Benjy as he picked him up off the cot to change his diaper. Benjy’s whimpering petered off to a slight complaining which Solomon silenced by waving a set of shiny silver keys in front of his face. Benjy was immediately diverted and even more so when Solomon began to hum an old lullaby he remembered from when he was a baby. He wasn’t sure who had sung it to him though.
“Oh, you got it?” a voice interrupted his musings from the doorway and he turned around to see Katarina silhouetted there.
“Morning,” he said straightening up. Benjy took his toes in his hands and began an absorbed contemplation of them.
“Good morning,” Katarina said moving away from the door toward the changing table. She was still in her dressing gown and her white silk negligee peeked through the belted garment. Solomon watched her approach, his eyes not leaving hers for even a second. She came to a stop next to him and looked down at the baby.
“Hello Benjy. Ready for some milk? Maybe some nice porridge to start your day?” she asked picking him up.
“I was going to do that,” Solomon said faintly. Katarina looked up at him and smiled, angling her mouth upward to be kissed. Solomon quickly obliged, leaning down to place his lips over hers. When her lips softened, Solomon pressed his advantage enveloping both her and Benjy in his arms as he really went to town on her mouth.
“Oh God, I’ve missed this,” he murmured against her lips.
“Really? It hasn’t gone anywhere,” Katarina said her tongue reaching out to trace the outline of his lips. Solomon shivered.
“Let’s get this kid some food and then we’ll see about you, huh?” she asked in a throaty whisper. Solomon nodded his acquiescence and followed her to the kitchen like a dog in heat. Try as she might, Katarina couldn’t quite hide the slight smile on her face as she walked.
*****
Tony’s phone rang as they were in post-movie discussion, with Tony lamenting that it was a perfect waste of good horse to cut his head off like that and Sophie laughing at the fact that that was his main complaint.
“Yes hello,” he said into the phone.
“Sir, er since you’re around I thought I should let you know. There’s been a slight mishap with one of our supply trucks. It seems they were in an accident as they were delivering groceries for the morrow. The driver is severely injured, possibly near death and the supplier claims they can’t send out another batch. I’ve tried calling around to other places to see if we can get at least breakfast deliveries done by midnight but I’m not really getting anywhere.”
“Oh really? Do we not have any supplies in storage?” Tony asked.
“We did, but something happened with th
e freezers; these supplies we were getting were meant to cater for food that went bad overnight. We had to have a major cleanout. I don’t know what to tell you. It’s like the bad karma train has pulled up outside Creature Comforts. We’re trying to manage this crisis of course and whatever happens we will make sure that some sort of breakfast is available in the morning. I just thought you should know.” Jeffrey said.
“Right,” Tony said thoughtfully. “Well we’ll pass by there on our way to the theater to see how things are.”
“Very good sir,” Jeffrey said making Tony grimace. He hung up and then stared into space, with Sophie waiting to hear what the problem could possibly be.
“This can’t be coincidence,” Tony said as if to himself.
“What can’t be coincidence?” Sophie asked.
“The fact that a whole store of supplies went bad overnight and the replacement truck had an accident. Someone almost got killed.”
“Oh no!”
“Yeah”
“What’s our move? That is if you’re not letting the Godfather play with your mind.”
Tony smiled grimly, “Trust me, I know the difference between real life and fantasy.”
Sophie opened her mouth and then closed it again. Tony was right – he’d seen too much of the uglier side of life to be mistaken about this. If he said that someone was perpetrating deliberate sabotage upon them, it was probably true.
“So now what?” she asked.
“Now…we get dressed. Don’t want to be late for Michael Jackson do you? Besides we have to detour to the inn before we go to the show if you don’t mind.” He said getting up and crossing to the closet.
“I don’t mind,” Sophie said quietly getting up as well and pulling up her shorts. Tony had dislodged them at some point between the end of the movie and the phone call. She crossed over to the dressing table to pick up her toiletries and then headed for the shower.
*****
Jeffrey Morgan was waiting for them in the lobby area when they walked in two hours later. He was pacing up and down, keeping watch over the reception and receiving reports from various sections of the establishment. When he caught sight of Tony and Sophie he stopped pacing and went up to them.
“Mr. Romanov sir, I’m glad that you made it.”
“Jeffrey,” Tony said with a nod. “You remember my wife Sophie.”
“Ah yes,” Jeffrey said taking Sophie’s hand and kissing it. “The ravishing Sophie Devereux. I remember you well. Congratulations on the birth of your child.”
“Thank you Jeffrey. How are you all holdin up?” Sophie asked.
Jeffrey sighed deeply. “We have received an offer from a new supplier, but they’re asking for an extortionate price. They know what dire straits we’re in.” he said.
“Who is this supplier?” Tony asked eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“I haven’t dealt with him before. They’re based out of Brooklyn and they said they heard about our misfortune and are ready to replenish our stocks but there is a mark up because of the short notice. I don’t know if we should take it at this point. Like I said the price is extortionate.”
“Did these suppliers give you a name?” Tony asked.
“Well, they left me a number to call them on. Contact person’s name is Stephen Jensen.” Jeffrey said.
Tony and Sophie exchanged glances.
“Give me that number. I’ll speak to him.” Tony said.
“Right away sir,” Jeffrey said going to the front desk and speaking to the gentleman manning it. The guy gave him a card which Jeffrey brought to Tony.
“There it is. You can use my office if you’d like,” he said.
“Thank you Jeffrey, I’ll take you up on that.” Tony said. Sophie followed him as he went around the front desk and then up a short flight of stairs to the manager’s office. He called the number that Stephen had left. It had barely rung twice before it was answered.
“Hallo?” Stephen’s voice came down the line.
“Mr. Jensen this is Tony Romanov. May I speak to your boss please?”
There was a hesitant silence on the line which Tony had put on speaker so Sophie could hear, and then a woman’s voice came on the line.
“Tony Romanov, fancy hearing from you so soon. Did you change your mind?” Peanuts said.
“No I didn’t. But I suspect that you’re trying to make me do so.” Tony said in a hard tone.
“Mr. Romanov! I hardly know what to make of these accusations. We heard of your troubles today and offered to help. I guess what they say is true. No good deed goes unpunished.”
“Indeed,” Tony agreed.
There was silence on the line.
“So.” Peanuts said, “Tony. Talk to me. How can we be of service to each other?”
“We really can’t. And I would strongly advise you to go look for patsies elsewhere. We are really not in the mood.”
“Ooh, them’s fighting words Mr. Romanov. Can you back them up?” Peanuts taunted.
“You know I can. Or if you don’t, you should.” Tony bit out.
Sophie looked at him, brows raised almost to her hairline.
“Look sir, all I want is a bit of quid pro quo. I’m not asking for anything you don’t already do. Come on, can’t we talk?” Peanuts cajoled.
“Is this your idea of buttering me up,” Tony laughed.
“This is me giving you a chance to play nice Tony.” Peanuts said, her voice suddenly cold.
“No thanks,” Tony said and hung up. He and Sophie stared at each other in silence for a long while.
“Now what?” Sophie asked.
“Now…” Tony sighed, “We might need some help.”
Tony stared at her, trepidation in his eyes, from the way that he looked, she understood just what kind of help he meant.
“Can’t we just call the police?” Sophie asked in a small voice.
“And tell them what?” Tony asked. Sophie pursed her lips. She didn’t like it one bit.
“We can’t afford for them to decide to actually kill someone next time. Or God forbid, try to hurt someone in the family. We have to deal with this now. Decisively. Get them off our back.” Tony said.
Sophie sighed, “I know.”
Chapter 6
“Anton,” his father answered on the first ring.
“Da,” Tony answered, “how are you and Uncle Mikail?”
“Something is wrong,” Roman said.
“Oh? What now?” Tony asked wondering how many things were going to pot at the same time.
“With you. Something is up with you,” his father clarified.
“Oh. No, we’re fine. This is business. I need information on a certain group of people,” he said.
“What group is this?” Roman asked.
“I don’t know yet. They tried to shake me down this weekend while I was in New York with my wife. When I turned them down they resorted to sabotaging the business. I need to know who they are and what exactly we’re dealing with.”
“Do you have names?” Roman asked.
“A woman named Peanuts, a Stephen Jensen who grew up in New Orleans and a man named Lucas but I don’t have a last name,” Tony said.
“Hmm, anything else?” Roman asked.
“They operate out of a café called Pirates in Brooklyn. They are surrounded by goons most of whom are of African American origin. And they ran some sort of racketeering business, possibly murder as well. They also own the restaurant.” Tony continued.
“Hmm,” Roman said and there was silence on the line for a while. Then he said, “I’ll get back to you,” and hung up. Tony leaned back with a sigh and settled his head on Sophie’s shoulder.
“Here we go again,” she said.
“I bet you wish you’d said no when Curtis set us up huh?” Tony said with a quiet laugh.
“Are you kidding me? Life is great,” Sophie replied making Tony laugh more genuinely. “Seriously though, sick and sin, better or worse; this is what it’s all about right?”<
br />
“I guess. Fat or thin right?” Tony replied smiling.
“Damned right,” Sophie agreed.
“Come on let’s go see Benjy before we have to head out. It’s time to make my CFO official.”
“Really? Now?” Sophie asked getting up anyway.
“Exactly now. This is probably the most peaceful we can hope to be. And there is a lot of stuff to get through.”
“Right. Okay.” Sophie said. “Lemme wear my pin stripe real quick I’ll meet you in the library.”
“Find me in the nursery. I need to go kiss my son.”
“Will do.”
Tony went off to bond with Benjy while Sophie changed her clothes. He went to his room but the cot was empty. Looking out the window, he saw Solomon, Benjy and Sam in the garden sitting on the grass and seemingly deep in conversation.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Tony asked even though Solomon could clearly not hear him from this distance. He turned away from the window and headed down the stairs, taking them two at a time and burst out of the house at a fast clip. He walked up to Solomon and them sitting on the grass and flopped down to sit with his legs crossed, holding out his hands for Benjy. Solomon passed him over and he sat back, bouncing the baby on his knee. Benjy would only tolerate it for a while before he wanted to slink off Tony’s lap to explore his surroundings. Or rather to put grass in his mouth.
“This one’s insatiable for anything inedible,” Solomon said with easy affection plucking Benjy off the grass and onto the blanket that was spread out nearby. Benjy looked nonplussed at being foiled in his plans but then his face took on an expression of extreme concentration like he was plotting a way out of this conundrum he found himself in. Tony laughed to himself watching him and then he lay back on his hands letting the sun fall on his face.
“You’re really good with kids,” he commented casually to Solomon.
“Probably cause I’m still mostly one myself,” Solomon said self-deprecatingly.
“No you’re not,” Tony disagreed seriously. “You’re a young man; a very mature one at that.”
Solomon stared at him in surprise. Tony didn’t usually get so…”If I was that mature why can’t I make whatever this thing is I have with Katarina work?” he blurted before he knew he was going to say anything. Tony looked toward Sam who was drawing nearby with absolute concentration then lifted his brow at Solomon as if to say ‘not in front of the boy’. Solomon huffed and fell backwards staring resignedly at the sky. Tony smiled at him, patted him on the shoulder then kissed Benjy who had not yet figured a way out. He stood up as he saw Sophie waiting for him at the kitchen door.
Be Mine Forever (Brothers From Money #2) Page 19
