Seduced in the City

by Jo Leigh

  Tony elbowed Luca. “See right there. That’s part of why they’re interested in him. You’ve got a way with words, Dom. You always have.”

  Shaking his head, Dom snorted a laugh. Well, at least his brother hadn’t said anything about his looks letting him skip a few rungs up the ladder. “I’m not even sure I want the job. I told her I’d get back to her.”

  “Who’s her?” Luca said, although he was chewing his tuna melt, so it was hard to understand.

  “The senior editor.”

  Tony frowned. “I’m not sure where the sudden cold feet are coming from, but if nothing else, you’ll get to meet a hell of a lot of important people. Right?”

  Dom nodded. “It’s not really cold feet.” He couldn’t deny that Tony was right. Making connections was number one on his pro list. But the con list was pretty long.

  “Well, what is it? What am I missing here? You’ve always welcomed a challenge.”

  “True. Still do.”

  “What I don’t get is why you don’t see this as an amazing opportunity.” Luca’s brows had gone down, and he’d pushed aside his plate, even though he hadn’t finished his fries. “They clearly saw what we’ve known since you were a kid. You’ve been a charmer since birth, and I hate to admit it, but a lot of women think you’re good-looking.”

  Dom made sure no one else saw him give Luca the finger.

  “What?” Luca laughed. “I’m not saying it like it’s a bad thing.”

  “Wait.” Tony leaned in and lowered his voice. “Does it have anything to do with you and Sara? First you guys disappear from the feast last week. Then I heard you two were seeing each other.”

  Dom sighed. Not that he’d tell them, but the thought had crossed his mind. “No. It’s got nothing to do with her.”

  “Kind of funny, though, huh? You dating Sara Moretti. I thought you’d sworn off local girls when you were eighteen.”

  “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

  Tony frowned and checked the time again, then gave Dom a dirty look. “Just because you’re going to be the face of New York... We know where the bodies are buried, you little bastard.”

  Just hearing Tony mention that made Dom shut down inside. Talk about number one on the con side.

  “Jesus,” Tony said with a baffled look. “What just happened here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You should’ve seen your face.”

  Dom stuffed a fry in his mouth and just shook his head.

  Luca joined in so now they were both staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Come on, bro. You know we’re just yanking your chain.”

  “Yeah, well, everybody seems to think it’s always a walk in the park for me. That I don’t have to work at anything. Like I’m God’s gift. Those people from New York Adventures don’t know anything more about me than what they read on my résumé or observed in the span of a couple hours and they want to put me up front and center? And heading a creative team? What do they think? I’m gonna snap my fingers and come up with something no one’s ever thought of before?”

  Luca put down his sandwich. “I see your point,” he said. “But we know you. And we know you can handle it. No denying it would be a hell of a challenge. But we also know how hard you’ve always worked. That you go at everything one hundred percent.”

  “Tell me this,” Tony said. “Can you name one thing you’ve gone after that you’d really wanted and didn’t get?”

  “I don’t think he’s talking about girls,” Luca added.

  Dom laughed a little at that, then sighed and sank back against the booth. “I’m sure there are a number of things. I just can’t come up with anything at the moment.”

  “I’m serious.” Tony’s brow furrowed, and his eyes were intense and probing. “No, I’m not talking about girls or free drinks or any of the shit you get because you’re a good-looking guy. I mean the kind of thing that you’ve gone after, even though you had to work your ass off to get it.”

  Dom let his gaze wander out the window. “I know. You’re right.”

  “Don’t just give me lip service. You know how much that pisses me off,” Tony said, sounding like such a grumpy old man that Dom had to smile. “Look, if you were good-looking and stupid? Man, that would be hard to take. But you’re smart, Luca and I know it, the whole family knows. You’re smart enough to go after what you want with everything you’ve got. Capisci?”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said, thinking how he should probably have eaten more than half his lunch. But his appetite had disappeared along with their teasing. Which wasn’t like him. His brothers had always dished it out, and he gave it right back. “I still have interviews lined up with two other companies that sound interesting, and I’ve got some time on this. So anyway, Tony, you’re really getting a bespoke suit from the in-laws? Whasamatta? Rentin’ from Tuxes ‘R’ Us too good for yous?”

  The tension left his chest as soon as the two of them laughed. He’d think about what his brothers had said. One thing he was clear on—he’d be foolish not to at least see what more New York Adventures had to offer. He’d call Winona Donovan tomorrow to ask about the next step.

  17

  DOM’S OLD MAN was waiting for him at the corner of Grand, right at the edge of the park that ran in a great broad swath across the Lower East Side. Kids were running all over the green grass, headed to and from the two big playgrounds.

  Despite last year’s scare, he looked nice and healthy. A little slimmer than a couple months ago, and he had color in his face. Retiring had been a good move, even if it had taken the whole family and both his doctors threatening him.

  He noticed Dom approaching and smiled. “I used to come here to watch all three of you boys when you played ball here,” Joe said when Dom reached him.

  “I remember. This was a great place to hang out.”

  Joe looked up at Dom, who was several inches taller. “I liked what you said in your email about Collect Pond Park. Good, solid suggestions. We’ll have to start with the attorney, see what’s feasible.”

  Dom nodded. “You read that fast.”

  “I’m retired. What else do I have to do all day?” Joe put his hand in his pocket and rattled some coins. Just as he’d done as far back as Dom could remember. “And don’t tell your mother what I just said. She’ll make me paint the bedroom walls or something.” He bent down to pick up a ball that had gotten away from some kids and tossed it to the boy running toward them. “Tony tells me you want to put some money into the church.”

  “I do.”

  “Even though the congregation gets smaller every year?”

  “People still need that church, Pop. And a place for their kids to go that’s safe. At dinner you mentioned a day care center. It’s a good idea. After we build it, we could subsidize it so the people who can’t afford to live in the city, but work here every day, have a place they can afford.”

  Joseph smiled. “You’re a good boy, Dominic. Smart, too,” he said, tapping his temple. “Always thinking ahead. You were right about making the trust more relevant. I was busy with the business and didn’t give it serious thought. But now...” He turned back to watch the kids playing ball on the grass and shrugged. “Now your mother is driving me crazy. I can’t say anything about the trust or pick up a hammer without her accusing me of ignoring the doctor’s orders.”

  “She means well, Pop. Anyway, she knows we’re working together on the changes. She hasn’t told me to keep you out of it.”

  “I know. She still drives me crazy. Wait till you’re married forty years, you’ll understand.” Joe smiled and clapped for a kid who’d just hit a ball over to the next borough. “I have to ask you something. About the trust. Tony’s got his hands full with the wedding and the business. Luca’s crazy in love with his girl and his carpentry. What abou
t you talking to the lawyer and the accountants? Figure out what we should do next?”

  Surprised, Dom studied his father. “Why don’t you do it? I doubt Mom would mind. It wouldn’t be stressful.”

  “What’s the matter? You don’t have time?”

  “It’s not that... Have you mentioned this to Tony?”

  “Why? You know what you’re doing. I have complete faith you’ll handle it well. And before you say that you might get a job that will keep you too busy, I know that. And if it happens, we’ll work it out. But for now, I would appreciate it if you could make a few calls. Find out what we can do, what the limitations are with the public property and with the church, and the school, too. Call Father Michael and Archbishop Thomas. And also, talk to the mayor and the county commissioner. See if we can’t fix some of the roads out here. Huh? What do you say?”

  Dom had expected the conversation to be about his new ideas for the money held in trust, but what his father was asking was a lot more than that. Even though he was moving forward with NYA, he hadn’t been offered the job, nor did he know if he’d accept it. And he hadn’t been so interested in anyone in a long time, but now, at the worst time possible, he wanted to see a lot more of Sara.

  But this was his family legacy, and they weren’t talking about just a few million dollars. The trust was well padded. It could make profound changes in the community. And his father wouldn’t ask if he didn’t think Dom could do the job. “Sure, Pop. I’ll start making calls tomorrow.”

  “Some miracle, huh?” Joe said, continuing to watch the kids. “All these years, five generations of Paladinos and no one outside the family ever knew about the trust. No questions. No suspicion.”

  “Everyone was afraid to ask questions. They were worried their rents would be raised.”

  Joe laughed. “True.”

  “You deserve a lot of credit, Pop. The funds tripled while you were in charge of the trust. After we get squared away in this new direction, we won’t have to keep everything a big secret and I—”

  “Wait, wait.” Alarm darkened his dad’s face. “No one can know the Paladinos have been subsidizing rents all these years.”

  “No, of course not. I meant whatever we do in the future, in the parks, for instance... I don’t see why we can’t have a small plaque on a bench or on a fountain with your name on it. Let people know you’re helping the community.”

  Joe smiled. “You boys, your mother and I are so proud of the three of you. Worth so much money you don’t have to work a minute in your life and yet you all work harder than anyone I know. No one has taken money from the trust for themselves—that’s why it’s well funded. If we have any plaques they’re going to say the Paladino Family.”

  Dom nodded, letting a breath out around the lump in his throat. He knew better than to argue about something like this. Joe Paladino would never take credit for anything. Dom owed his great work ethic to his old man. Both his parents. He doubted it had ever occurred to Tony or Luca, just as it hadn’t crossed Dom’s mind to touch the trust for personal gain. They were all grateful to have been given the privilege of choosing their own home in the community.

  They walked in relative silence the short block from Forsyth Street to Chrystie, where Joe was going to meet some friends for coffee. He held out his hand, and after Dom shook it, he pulled his dad in for a big hug.

  “You’ll do us proud, son. And don’t tell your mother I was behind this.”

  Dom smiled. Damn, it wasn’t going to be easy to leave the family business.

  * * *

  AFTER DOM LEFT his dad, he headed toward Mulberry, trying to figure out how he was going to work, go on interviews, cover for Tony until after his honeymoon and take on more of the trust. When he reached his folks’ house, instead of hitting his mom up for a lunch of leftovers he knew he’d find, Dom walked three more blocks.

  He couldn’t see Sara inside Moretti’s, but she was probably in the back. He knew she was working today, and while he hadn’t planned on stopping by, he really wanted to see her.

  Jeanette was behind the counter, and Djamila, one of Ellie’s friends who’d been working there for a while, was serving a large pizza to a group of middle-aged men. The lunch rush was over so the place wasn’t very crowded.

  He walked up to the counter just as Ellie came out from the back.

  Her step faltered when she saw him, but she regained her poise quickly, offering him a smile that looked genuine as she went past him to serve a couple of slices to a kid sitting near the window.

  “Hey, Dom,” Jeanette said. “I’m just about to take my break, but if you want me to get your order in real quick, I can.”

  “That’s okay. I’m in no rush.”

  Ellie replaced her at the counter, her long hair done up in an elaborate twist with tufts of hair sticking out in a couple places. “What can I get for you?”

  Knowing what he did now, he easily noticed the flirty way she tilted her head. “How about a couple of combo slices?”

  “Sure,” she said, quickly slipping his ticket on the order wheel. “If you wanted to see Sara, she had to go to the market. Genius didn’t order enough mushrooms.”

  There it was. The snark he’d expected. Worse, actually. That tone of Ellie’s reminded him too much of the mean girls he’d known at that age.

  Instead of coming back to the counter, she stopped at the soda fountain and poured a soda he figured was for him. It was.

  “What? No one ever makes mistakes here?” He said it teasingly, but he saw that Ellie got the message.

  Her cheeks splotched a little pink. “Yeah, well, Queen Sara never gets anything wrong, don’t you know that? She knows more than anyone about running the restaurant. Guess she majored in journalism and pizza at college.”

  Another girl, her name escaping Dom at the moment, came out from the back, tying her apron on. She smiled at him in a way that didn’t fit well any longer, but he was much more concerned with the obvious grief Ellie was handing out not just to Sara, but about Sara.

  He put on a nice smile and kept his expression friendly. “Ellie, would you mind if I talked to you for a minute? By the magazine kiosk?”

  She shrugged as if it was no big deal, although she stood up a lot straighter, then turned to the new girl. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “Table three is waiting on a pepperoni.”

  Dom knew what he was doing was risky. He needed to be careful not to make things worse between the sisters, but he couldn’t just let this shit pass.

  “What’s up?” she said, standing with her back to the corner and facing him.

  “I couldn’t help noticing the friction between you and Sara lately.”

  “Why? What did she tell you?”

  “Not much. That’s why I’m asking you.” He didn’t seem to be making headway. The defiance in her eyes showed him another side to Ellie—it reminded him that, in many ways, she really was still a child. “Normally I wouldn’t stick my nose in this, but I can’t help thinking this is somehow my fault.”

  Ellie looked more wary now. “Well, it’s not,” she mumbled, the words barely audible.

  “It seems the problem started the night she was almost assaulted and ended up patching me up, so what am I supposed to think?”

  “It’s her,” she said, looking away. “Not you.”

  “Okay, look.” Dom took a breath. “You know we went to Loyola together. She was a year behind me, but I knew who she was. But not for the same reason I’m sure all the guys know who you are. Sara wasn’t pretty back then. She was skinny and wore glasses, had braces. She hid behind her long hair and sometimes wore this really awful hat. Guys used to make fun of her. Behind her back mostly, but I’m pretty sure she knew.”

  “Sara? Ugly? I doubt it.”

  “Go check out her yearbooks if you don’t believe m
e.”

  “Okay.” Ellie’s whole body was on the defensive. She folded her arms across her chest and was looking at him as if she’d already made up her mind not to believe a word he said. “Fine. Sara used to be ugly. Boo hoo. Well, she isn’t anymore, as you’ve noticed. And she thinks she can do anything she wants.”

  The last couple of words wavered, and for a minute, Dom thought Ellie was about to cry, but he had that all wrong.

  “Has she mentioned Robert?” Her voice had risen. “The guy she lived with at college?”

  Robert? He sure as hell would have remembered. But then, that was before. She had no obligation to tell him a thing about what she did at GWU, just as he wasn’t about to tell her about his private life. “No, she hasn’t.”

  “Then I guess she forgot to mention she’s supposed to meet him in Rome when she’s done with her thesis.” Her defiance had turned to a look of victory. “That should tell you a lot. And in case she conveniently forgets, what with her being the queen of Little Italy now, you should know they’re engaged to be engaged.”

  Her words felt like a blow to the gut.

  He tried to keep his expression neutral, careful not let himself get caught up in the drama. Ellie was seventeen, a horrible age for hormones, and he supposed she felt embarrassed that she’d had a crush on him when he was so obviously into her sister. She could be making this all up.

  It didn’t matter. He wasn’t about to let this normally sweet girl twist things around in an attempt to make him change his mind. Ellie needed some facts. “Let’s just get back to what I was saying, all right? And please, try to listen with an open mind. As a favor to me?”

  The anger seemed to go down a few notches, at least what he could see on the outside, and he jumped right in.

  “When Sara was thirteen and I was fourteen, I did something pretty damn unforgivable to her. Something I’ll always regret. My mom tried to make me ask her to the spring dance. I was talking to some of my buddies about how I would never go with her, no matter what my mother said. Because—” Dom was sure repeating the words out loud would kill him. He’d drop right on the spot. Reminding himself he’d been a kid and kids often said thoughtless, cruel things did nothing to ease his self-disgust. “Because she was ugly. And flat-chested. And weird. And I’m pretty sure I called her a nerd.” He inhaled another breath while he still could. “Remember, I was a popular guy. Had my pick of the juniors and seniors. The point is, Sara was around the corner and heard me. Every horrible word.”