Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta

by Neneh J. Gordon

  She wished she had some smart quip ready to feed him. Flirting was one of those things she’d never quite mastered. “I should go home.”

  “Says who?”

  It was too hard not to smile. Men never came on to her. Well, not men like this anyway.

  “You didn’t tell me your name.”

  “Loretta.”

  “Loretta. Hmm.” He pulled his stool a little closer to hers. “So. What’s your answer?”

  “Sorry, I can’t.”

  “Am I coming on too strong?”

  Yes. She shook her head and took another sip of her drink.

  “What can I say to tempt you?”

  She looked him right in the eye. He’d already tempted her. He was a very tempting man. But she shouldn’t. Nice girls didn’t go for lunch with strange men they’d bumped into in the street.

  “What’s on the menu?”

  “What do you fancy?” That twinkle was still firmly in his eye. He was a bad boy. She could tell.

  “What’s good after being held up at gunpoint?”

  He laughed. “I think that calls for steak and oysters.”

  She drained the last of her drink and plonked it down on the bar rather harder than she’d meant to. “I know a place that does great steak.”

  What had being a nice girl ever done for her?

  ***

  Picking up the sexy bank manager had been easier than he’d expected. She must have been buzzing from the robbery too.

  Life and death situations are always the best aphrodisiac. She’d never been in any real danger, but she didn’t know that and now she wanted to seize her destiny with both hands. He’d seen it happen before.

  The important thing was to keep the situation moving and avoid giving her the time to stop and think about what she was doing. There was enough of the sensible businesswoman about her to throw things off track if she got the chance to be rational about this.

  But Jordan knew what he was doing. With the right amount of flattery and alcohol she’d be begging him to take her back to his place. There was plenty of time to seal the deal before he had to worry about Gina or her father. The cash was safely hidden away and Ursino wasn’t expecting him till seven.

  Actually, Loretta’s place might be better – no chance of Gina turning up there unannounced.

  “It’s not far from here.”

  “Hmm?”

  “The restaurant. It’s not far.” She gave him an uncertain smile.

  “Good. I’m starving. You?”

  “I... I suppose I am too.” All the certainty she’d had when they left the bar was gone.

  “Are you okay?”

  She shrugged.

  “I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for you – having a gun pointed at you.”

  She didn’t say anything, didn’t look at him. All she did was put one foot in front of the other.

  “Look, you don’t have to come for lunch if you don’t want to. I just thought you might appreciate the distraction.” It was a risky strategy, but she was on the verge of leaving anyway.

  “No. No, you’re right.”

  “I don’t like to see a stunning, intelligent woman upset.”

  The smile she gave him wasn’t very broad, but it was better than her previous attempt.

  “I mean it.”

  “You’re terrible, do you know that?” But she was warming to him, it was there in the way she walked a little closer.

  “I’m not going to apologise for finding you attractive.”

  She put a nervous hand up to smooth her hair.

  Jordan had a sudden flash of inspiration and stopped walking. “I know what’ll cheer you up.”

  “What?”

  “Lunch first.”

  She half squinted at him. He got ready for the questions, but she didn’t ask any.

  Wow. Gina would have nagged him until all the joy drained out of the surprise and they were both in a bad mood.

  “Here we are.”

  Oh crap. It was that fancy French restaurant he’d heard about. Just as well he’d robbed a bank that afternoon. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any of the money on him. “You been here before?” he asked as he followed her inside.

  “No. I heard it was expensive.”

  Yeah, me too. And now he couldn’t ask to split the bill without sounding cheap. Oh well, it would have to go on the credit card. A few more jobs and he wouldn’t need to worry about cash for a while. “My treat, of course.”

  “Why, thank you.” There was more than a hint of mischief in her smile. She’d brought him to the priciest restaurant in town on purpose. He had no one to blame but himself.

  CHAPTER 3

  If he wanted to take her to lunch, it was only fair that he foot the bill. She didn’t even want to be there in the first place.

  Actually, that wasn’t strictly true. She wasn’t sure she should be there. Wanting was a whole different question.

  The waiter who showed them to a quiet table for two had a real French accent. A warm, golden light cast a subtle glow over the room and the furniture was quaintly mismatched. Jordan jumped in front of the waiter to pull out Loretta’s chair.

  She sat down, enjoying the attention. It seemed like Sean was the only man who’d noticed her existence in the past year and that was hardly anything to get excited about. Nothing was going to happen with Jordan, so it was safe to sit back and bask in his attempts to win her over.

  Plus she was about to get a pretty good meal out of it.

  After presenting them the menus, the waiter asked if they’d like a jug of water and disappeared to fetch it.

  “So, Loretta from the bank. What do you actually do there? When you’re not being robbed.”

  “I’m the assistant manager.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Impressive.”

  “And what do you do?”

  “I’m self-employed. A little of this, a little of that. Whatever comes up.”

  “That sounds dubious.” It just slipped out. She must have been tipsy.

  Fortunately, he took it in good spirits and laughed. “Not really. Imports and exports mainly. I suppose I act as a fixer for people – getting rid of what they don’t want and getting them stuff they do.”

  “Very mysterious.” The more he said, the more suspicious she got. Men with so much charm were rarely on the level.

  He picked up his menu and she looked at hers.

  “Shall we split a bottle of wine?”

  “Probably not a good idea.” She glanced at the clock. Not even two. And she was already feeling the effects of the rum and coke.

  “I thought you said you’ve got the rest of the day off.” He leaned in over the table and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  But she wanted to spend a couple of hours on Edna when she got home. She’d barely be able to hold a screwdriver after half a bottle of wine. Something told her he wouldn’t want to stop there either. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

  “Like what?”

  She decided on the rib-eye with Béarnaise sauce, put down her menu and folded her arms. He was rather too confrontational for her liking. “What about you? Where were you going when you knocked me over?”

  “Just running some errands.”

  More evasion. The waiter returned to take their order. Jordan asked for a bottle of Chateau de Somewhere-she’d-never-heard-of and two glasses, making her bristle. “I think I’ve made a mistake.” She pushed her chair back, ready to stand. “I should leave.”

  “Wait. What did I do?”

  She got to her feet, but paused, watching him. He seemed genuinely confused.

  “You’re used to getting away with this shit, aren’t you?”

  “What shit?”

  “The charming, alpha male bowling them off their feet.”

  At least he had the decency to look cowed.

  “You’re not interested in me. You just want your ego stroked.” She’d been stupid to
ignore her instincts. Snatching up her bag, she stepped away from the table.

  He jumped up to stand in her path.

  “You’re wrong.” He looked down at her, his bright, blue eyes stopping her cold. Something passed between them – nothing more than the ghost of a feeling, but it was enough to set her wondering.

  “Let’s start again. Have a leisurely lunch together with a real conversation.” His earlier bluster faded into the background. What was he really like under all that machismo?

  She wavered. It wasn’t every day that she got the chance to eat in Viande. Especially not with such a handsome companion.

  But handsome wasn’t everything.

  They both sat back down. The waiter brought the wine. Jordan tasted it and proclaimed it fit to drink.

  “None for me, thanks.” She covered her glass with her hand and the waiter placed the bottle in the middle of the table.

  Jordan surprised her by changing the subject. “Actually, I was on my way back from doing some business when I ran into you.”

  “What sort of business?” If he dodged this question, she definitely would get up and go home.

  “Arranging a deal with a wholesaler. He’s interested in taking one of my new lines of stock.”

  “What do you sell?”

  “All sorts of stuff – whatever I can make a profit with.”

  The bread and olives arrived and Loretta picked at a roll while trying not to look too suspicious. He still didn’t want to tell her what he did. So what exactly did he have to hide? She decided to give him one last chance. “And what were you selling to the wholesaler?”

  “Baby monitors.”

  “Baby monitors?”

  “Uh-huh. Teddy bear ones.”

  She failed to hold back a snort of laughter.

  “What?” He smiled at her and popped an olive into his mouth.

  “That’s the big secret you’ve been dancing around?”

  “It’s not a secret. The mark-up’s amazing on those things. Even at wholesale prices.”

  “Okay.” Baby monitors. She’d been imagining fake Rolexes or dodgy DVDs. It was still possible he wasn’t telling the truth. She watched him butter a slice of French stick. No. If he was lying, he would have gone for something more glamorous.

  The conversation flowed more smoothly after that. By the time their steaks were in front of them, she’d found out he was an only child who’d moved there nearly three years ago with his ex-girlfriend.

  Loretta told him how the bank had sponsored her through her degree and that she was working towards being promoted to manager. Somehow, they got onto the subject of Edna and she found herself pouring out all the details of how her dad had helped her buy the old girl and got her started with the restoration.

  “She’s the same model as the first car he bought when he moved over here from Jamaica.”

  “He must have had a damn good job.”

  “No. He just worked hard.” He’d soon had to sell the car once he got married and had Loretta. “I’m trying to get hold of a front grille at the moment.”

  “No luck?”

  “Not so far.” It was probably just as well. She was spending way too much money on parts.

  “I might know someone who could help with that.”

  “Really?”

  “I’ll make some calls.”

  She was about to show him a picture of the work in progress when someone shouted out his name.

  A tall, statuesque blonde stomped her way through the restaurant and came to stand beside the table.

  “Gina, what are you doing?”

  Loretta sank down in her chair, wishing she could teleport.

  “Bill told me you were out with some tramp, but I didn’t believe him.” She glared at Loretta, put her hands on her hips and fixed Jordan with a look that came within inches of searing the flesh off his bones. “More fool me.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Bill Marcolini sat in the waiting room outside Ursino’s office and picked at the dirt under his fingernails. He didn’t want to be there. No one in his right mind would, under the circumstances.

  He rubbed at his aching jaw and concentrated on his breathing.

  That bastard Jordan Bernardino. Who the hell did he think he was?

  Ursino’s secretary looked over and he shot her a smile. She pushed her glasses up her nose and turned her gaze back to her computer screen. Anyone would think she didn’t know what her boss did for a living.

  The buzzer on her desk sounded and Vittorio Ursino’s voice came through low and tinny. “Send him in.”

  Bill got up. The secretary opened the door for him and closed it once he was on the other side.

  The office was pretty much the way you’d imagine it – lots of wood panels, a massive bastard of a desk and a high-spec computer.

  “Bill. Take a seat.” The man himself was wearing one of his trademark deep indigo suits. They sounded vulgar until you actually saw him in one – the colour was just a shade away from blue, but the effect was subtly disconcerting.

  Bill sat in one of the two chairs opposite Ursino’s seat. There was more white in the boss’s beard since the last time they’d met. No one would make the mistake of calling him old though.

  Everyone had heard the story about the guy who’d made a joke about Ursino’s cane. The poor fool had thought he was among friends, cracking wise in a bar downtown.

  Ursino didn’t have that cane any more. As sturdy as it had been, he managed to break it teaching that guy a lesson.

  No one mentioned the new cane.

  “What did you want to tell me?”

  He licked his lips and called up the words he’d rehearsed. “Mr Ursino, I’ve come to warn you about Jordan Bernardino.”

  ***

  Jordan stood up. “Gina, calm down.” This was perfect. Right when he’d got Loretta relaxed enough to open up to him.

  She picked up a glass of wine and threw it in his face. People pretended not to stare. He mopped up what he could with a napkin and reached for her elbow.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  He grabbed her anyway and steered her away from the table before she decided to throw anything else. Outside would be best.

  “Are you cheating on me now?”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “It looked plenty like that to me. First you ignore my text, then you go to lunch with Miss Snooty.” She flicked a hand in the direction of the restaurant.

  If he didn’t calm her down soon, he was in danger of getting a kick to the crotch. And her shoes were pointy. “She’s the bank manager. From the job this morning. I ran out of time to get the safety deposit boxes open, so I came up with a plan B.” Come to think of it, that wasn’t a bad idea.

  She paused.

  He jumped into the silence before she had the chance to work up another head of steam. “Baby, I wouldn’t do that to you.” Not when your father could make it so there’s no evidence I ever existed.

  Gina Ursino pouted and looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Why should I believe you?”

  A sudden image of Loretta watching them through the window made him very self-conscious, but this was the part of the conversation where he was supposed to sweep her into his arms.

  He did what was expected of him and laid a making-up kiss on her.

  Of course, that was the exact moment Loretta decided to walk out.

  He sensed her go past and watched her over the top of Gina’s hair.

  There was nothing he could do about it. Keeping Gina sweet was the best way of keeping his head attached to his body.

  “That’s a pretty good reason.” She pulled him in for another kiss. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t get the chance. It was a spur of the moment thing.”

  He still wanted Loretta. And Jordan was used to getting what he wanted. He’d just have to think his way around the problem.

  Especially now the idea of getting back into that safety deposit room was lodg
ed in his skull.

  The kiss came to an end and he lifted Gina off her feet, spinning her round in a circle. As long as she thought he was only going after Loretta to get back into the bank, it would buy him some wiggle room.

  He’d have to figure the rest out later.

  Jordan set her down and she pulled out her phone.

  “Give me one minute. I told Daddy I’d call.”

  “Gina. Don’t get mad, but I should go after her.”

  She gave him a sharp look, but it soon softened. “Okay. But don’t take things too far.” She lifted her eyebrows in warning.

  He started off up the street. “I won’t. I promise.” And if she believed that, she really didn’t know him very well at all.

  ***

  Ursino studied Bill intently, taking the measure of what he’d said. Jordan wasn’t just working for Ursino, he was close to his daughter. That’s why he would at least listen.

  “I heard you got cut out of the job this morning.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

  “We had a disagreement. He got squeamish about the guns.”

  “Squeamish?”

  “Said we weren’t to fire them under any circumstances.”

  The older man raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

  “I thought you should know exactly what happened.”

  “I’ll bear that in mind.”

  Bill cleared his throat and was about to continue when Ursino put up his hand to stop him.

  He reached in his pocket and brought out a phone which he put to his ear. “Carissima.”

  Which meant it was either his wife, his daughter or his mistress.

  “Slow down, slow down.”

  Bill looked off to the left, doing his best to appear disinterested.

  “And you believe him?”

  Was that Gina? Surely she wasn’t buying whatever yarn Bernardino had spun?

  “Okay. Leave it with me.” He put the phone down in front of him and stared at it for a moment, his lips pressed together in a thin line. Then he looked up as if he’d only just remembered Bill was there.

  “Continue.”

  He explained everything from the fight at the garage to the woman he’d watched Jordan pick up in the street. He was sure she worked at the bank. But when he mentioned her to Ursino, he described the uniform and left the rest to his powers of deduction.