by AA Lee
Angelo took the number from Rafa and pulled out his phone. He found it odd that the number had an Orlando area code. That implied that the agent did not work for a local realty company. He expected it to be local or at least closer to Key Biscayne.
“Hello,” said the voice on the other end. It belonged to a woman—a young woman. She did not sound like anyone he had ever dealt with. Her sweet voice belonged to someone much too young to sell real estate. He actually found it soothing.
“Ella Collins?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Angelo Tomassi. I am calling about a piece of property that consists of a beachside hotel. Is it still available?”
At this, there was a pause before she answered. “Yes…did you have any questions about the listing?”
“No questions. I have seen the pictures and stopped by the building earlier. Since I am in Key Biscayne today, I would like to look inside. I won’t have any other day available until next week.”
“Of course, I’m available until one this afternoon. There is a restaurant called Santiago’s. I could meet you there. In fact, I’m at the establishment right now. Are you familiar with the area?”
“Santiago’s? I’m familiar. I can meet you at the restaurant in…” Angelo looked at Rafa. “Thirty-five minutes.” Angelo smirked down at his phone.
“Great, I will wait for you on the patio until you arrive.”
“Perfect, I’ll be there.” Angelo clicked off the phone as Lila set down their plates.
Rafa waited until Lila left to speak “What was that about?” he asked.
“Well, the agent has requested that we meet her here. As a matter of fact, she is here now and will wait for us to arrive in thirty-five minutes.”
Rafa gave him a look. “What are you up to?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Angelo said and took another drink. He thought about the patrons he passed in the restaurant. That blond woman was the only person dressed in anything remotely business related. She must be the agent.
As if reading his thoughts, the blond came back out and sat at a different table this time. She was closer to the restaurant’s wall and faced the door. She opened a tablet and scrolled through her screen as she sipped something out of a cup. Angelo figured that she was preparing for her potential clients and admired her organization. Soon, though, she gazed around the beach.
“She is a very young agent, Angelo.” Rafa pointed out. “One minute she looks focused; the next, she looks lost. How do we know we can trust her? The listing never stated what real estate company she worked for.”
“Child or not, we already agreed to see the property. This is the only property close to what I have been looking for.”
“I say we get back inside the Escalade and drive back to Miami. Who recommended this place to you anyway? Look at her; she is playing with the hem of her blouse. She’s nervous.”
“Then we will use those nerves to our advantage,” Angelo said, unaffected by Rafa’s sarcasm.
“If I was the realty company, I would have never placed such an expensive piece of property in her hands. It would serve them right if she sold it for any less than eight million. What kind of realty company is this?”
“She seems motivated. Notice how she is waiting for us to arrive even though I told her it would be over half an hour until we did.”
“Yes, I can see her too, but I think it’s because nobody else has looked at the place. She is probably eager to get rid of it and collect her commission.”
“Rafa, I want this property—got it?”
“Perfectly,” Rafa emptied the last drink of his coffee and stood. “Well, let’s get this over with so we can go home and start looking for another one. I recently saw a listing for something near Orlando.”
“Too far north,” Angelo replied as he scooted out his chair with Brett following suit without saying a word as usual; then all three walked toward the table where Ella sat.
***
Ella glanced up at the figures coming her way. Confused with what they wanted, she closed her tablet to give them her attention. Had Lila said something to them after all? The man’s outstretched hand did not register with her for a second as her mind tried to guess why they had come to her table.
“Ella Collins?” the man asked.
“Yes,” she answered a little dazed. The three men looked much more fearsome while standing than when they sat.
“Angelo Tomassi,” he replied. “I called about the property on the beach.”
Did they know who she was all along? Had they been sizing her up and wanting the upper hand when it came to negotiations. How unfair. They had resorted to intimidation. Raising her chin, she realized that she should have shaken his hand right away. She was probably not making a very good first impression.
“How did you know I would be here?” Ella asked holding out her hand to meet the man she assumed was the leader.
Angelo received the hand she held out to him. How petite her fingers felt in his grip. How fragile she felt as she returned his gaze.
“We didn’t,” Angelo stated. “We happened to stop in and called you from here. Your style of dress gave away the rest.”
“Ah,” she replied. That could be since very few restaurants in the area opened before noon. “Mr. Tomassi,” Ella finally came to her senses and stood.
Letting go of her hand, Angelo pointed at the two men beside him. “This is Rafael Paolini. You can call him Rafa.” Rafa slid his hands in his pockets and merely nodded at Ella. “And the man next to him is Brett.” Angelo pointed to the blond. Brett smiled but did not try to shake her hand. “Now that we have met each other, we would like to see the inside of the hotel before we make any further decisions.”
“Of course, please follow me.” Ella nodded and put away her tablet. She could not believe they wanted to get right down to business. Most of her clients had at least a page worth of notes.
When they reached the parking area, Angelo shook his head and stopped Ella before she could lead them to her car. “I will need to go in my vehicle.” He started walking in the opposite direction, making Ella follow him instead.
“Mr. Tomassi, what is wrong with my car?” Ella hurried to keep up with him. “It is my responsibility to drive my clients.”
“Yes, I know.” Angelo stopped and regarded Ella. “What do you drive?”
“A beautiful dark gray Civic,” she answered. “It barely has six thousand miles on it.”
“Not safe enough.” Angelo resumed walking towards Rafa and Brett, who were standing next to an Escalade. “We are taking mine just as a precaution.”
What did he mean that her car was not safe enough? Was he expecting her to have a collision? Why was he making this a difficult task for a place eight minutes away?
As Brett unlocked the Escalade, Angelo opened the passenger door and waited for Ella to enter. Ella froze. How did she know she could trust these men? They were virtual strangers in suits who were supposedly interested in a property she was leasing. Should she take them at their word?
“Would you prefer to go in separate vehicles?” Angelo asked. “I could have Brett follow behind you, but it would make it difficult if we have questions along the way.”
“No,” she lied and slipped inside the backseat of the vehicle with Angelo beside her. Since the hotel was not that far away, she had to take that risk. They were the first people who asked about the hotel. If she did not go, she would lose Santiago’s to some other buyer.
They rode in silence for several blocks. Ella stared straight out the window while Angelo stared at Ella.
“Comfortable?” Angelo asked.
Ella finally looked over and sighed, speaking freely. “Should I not be, Mr. Tomassi?” she asked. It was obvious that these men made her uneasy.
“Maybe,” he joked. His word came out casual and relaxed as he crossed his leg, making her more stressed than before. Angelo knew he intimidated her.
“Well, if you don’t want to see
the property, just…let me out here. I can walk back to Santiago’s,” she declared. Yet even as she spoke the words, Ella was uncertain about what she said. She did not really want them to drop her off in the middle of the island and blow her one chance to lease the hotel. Why had she not held her tongue?
Angelo leaned toward her and lifted her chin. His fingers were gentle; however, his expression grew stern. “Do you speak to all of your clients with that sort of tone? You told me that you would show me the inside of the hotel, and I will get what I came for. I’m not here to waste your time, and you certainly won’t waste mine. Is that clear, Ms. Collins?”
His voice seemed calm, but Ella sensed the quiet warning behind his words. Angelo was close—excessively too close for her to answer. His fingers were touching her chin. She could actually feel his breath against her face. It made her flush as a slight chill ran down her neck. Was it fear that she felt or an attraction to the man? She could not tell the difference. Both would put her on edge.
***
Ella’s blue eyes reflected fear. They stared at him, reflecting his own ability to make every person he encountered cower. Angelo closed his eyes; his lips pressed together in a tight line, being dissatisfied that he scared her. Why did he care? He had never given it a second’s thought before. For some reason, this woman caused him guilt. Perhaps it was her perfect aura of innocence coercing him to feel an interest when he should not encourage his own thoughts. Even if she was a feasible interest, she was out of place with his company. She would never be able to handle mafia life.
“Just show us the land, Ms. Collins. You aren’t the sort of person who has anything to worry about with us anyway.” He gently lowered his hand and returned to the spot by the window for the rest of the few minutes’ ride.
CHAPTER 3
The Escalade finally came to a stop and Angelo looked at the magnificent beach property. The waves roared with the stiff breeze, enhancing the smell of saltiness in the air. The tide glistened underneath the morning sun, pushing the water closer to the large, rundown hotel. The peeling white paint made the hotel look much older than it probably was. Sand mounded across the street on one side with newer hotels and restaurants down the beach on the other. The gorgeous piece of land was located in a prime spot near the main road. It even had an enormous parking area behind.
The three exited the vehicle. Ella walked ahead and up the steps, past an outside lounge area to the entrance. She could see Angelo and Rafa inspecting the stairs as she unlocked the door and walked inside. Ella flipped on the lights, looking hesitant as if they might not turn on and relieved when they did. The light revealed what used to be the lobby, now covered in a layer of silt.
“Please take your time while you look around. I will be right outside,” she said.
Angelo walked around. He knocked on one wall; then he lightly kicked the trim against the base of the floor. The ceilings looked sturdy. There were no cracks, and the light fixtures were intact and not broken.
“What do you think?” Angelo asked Rafa. “This will be perfect for a nightclub. The foundation is solid.”
Rafa nodded. “It looks worse than it is. It will not take that much to renovate. The building is five stories high, so we can knock out the second and fourth floor. Then you will have high ceilings for the main lounge and the VIP room, plus a third floor for personal use.”
“Yes, renovation shouldn’t take long at all, and that porch outside can seat overflow. Let’s see what the asking price is on this place.”
“You don’t want to check out the top floors?” asked Rafa with surprise.
“No.” Angelo shook his head. “It’s the property I want.”
When the men exited the building, Ella was standing against one of the pillars underneath the covered entrance. She looked at peace in her solitude, completely satisfied with watching seagulls circle above the shore. Angelo wondered if she had been sheltered as a child. She watched everything at the restaurant and now here with sheer fascination. It made his assessment seem true.
“So,” he said and locked the door behind him. “How much is this property going for? If we can come to an agreement, I would like to sign the paperwork next week. I would discuss it more today, but I have matters to take care of as soon as I leave Key Biscayne.”
“Seven hundred thousand,” Ella replied and took out her key to lock the deadbolt.
“What?” Angelo whipped his eyes from the building to her. “Is that some sort of joke?”
“What do you mean by a joke? That is the standard price for this property in relation to the properties around it.”
“Ms. Collins, I know you must be new to this line of work, but even a new agent would know how much a piece of land like this is worth. I would never expect to spend lower than seven million, and that is with a trade. Give me a fair market price and we’ll talk about my company buying the property.”
“Oh.” Ella frowned, a look of awareness spreading on her face. “I’m sorry; seven hundred thousand covers the lease.”
“Lease?” Rafa spoke from behind Angelo as all three started down the steps.
“My company has placed this property on the market as a lease, not a purchase.”
“What?” Angelo paused to breathe. “The listing stated nothing about a lease. That is ridiculous. This property needs obvious renovation. Who’s going to spend that kind of money to renovate when the property isn’t theirs? I won’t.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Ella stepped off the last step and walked back to the Escalade. Inside, she pulled out a stack of paperwork with company letterhead and handed it to Angelo.
He looked through the sheets and then again. “What the hell do you mean it isn’t for sale?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and practically threw the papers at Rafa. Ella flinched at his reaction and stared ahead, avoiding eye contact with either of the two men. Her arms protectively moved around her chest. It made Angelo inhale a deep, calming breath, filling his lungs full of ocean air. He turned his attention back to her and wrapped his hand around her upper arm.
“Come.” He led her to the back seat of the Escalade and opened the door, lifting to help her inside. “I know you had nothing to do with this mishap. Stay here with Brett while I call your company and straighten this out.”
The closed doors on the vehicle did little to shield Ella from Angelo’s growling voice as he shouted at the person on the other end of the phone. He paced one way and then the other. His hand flew up in the air and took the phone away from his ear as if he would throw it to the middle of the sea. Then he talked some more, finally saying little and letting the other end speak.
When he was through, Angelo clicked off his phone and dropped it to the inside pocket of his coat. His arms crossed as his temper calmed. Rafa did not say a word to him and waited. It took minutes. They finally exchanged some words and Angelo pointed at the Escalade, walking back to the opposite door of Ella. His glaring eyes earned no words from her. She had already given up on leasing out the property.
“It appears that the company you work for switched the details of this property with another a mile down. Tell me…how can I trust your company when they clearly pay no attention to their own property’s details? That is just not good business.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Mr. Tomassi. This has never happened before.” Ella started smoothing her hair that the wind had blown out of place; rather, she looked for something to divert her attention from him.
“Why aren’t you looking at me when I speak? I am the client. Do you not want to talk about the property?”
“What? You are still interested?” Ella was shocked. After all of that anger, she figured he would take her back to Santiago’s and be done.
“Your company lists the property for sale at nine million. Granted, I am going to need a week to think about it first and crunch some numbers together, but we may be able to come to a negotiation.”
“For sale,” she mumbled. Now she would not
have the twenty percent down payment for the restaurant. “The property was not for lease—now what?” she uttered aloud.
“Do you have a problem with the property being for sale instead of lease?” Angelo slid to the seat and shut the door as she looked away.
“No, there is no problem.” She tried to make light of the subject but her voice sounded sad.
“Do you get a cut in the sale?” he asked. Ella shook her head and laid her hands in her lap. “Why not?” he questioned further.
“Because, I am the leasing agent. Somebody else handles the homes that are for sale,” she answered.
“That makes sense,” Rafa added as he slipped into the front seat.
“Rafa.” Angelo pointed at him. “Don’t,” he warned and then looked at Ella again. “So now you are upset because you won’t see a dime for the time you have used today?”
“Well, yes. I would have been promoting the other property instead of this one. It’s not only my time today that I wasted. I guess mistakes happen, though.” Ella felt out of sorts as she buckled her seatbelt. “You will be negotiating the price with someone else, Mr. Tomassi.”
“You seem pretty upset about this. What were you going to use your commission for? Vacations? Cars? Jewelry?”
Ella shook her head as her eyes lit up. “No, nothing like that. I would have used the money to put a down payment on Santiago’s, but I need twenty percent of the sale price and I don’t have enough saved up right now. You know that restaurant where you ate? Well, the old owner is selling it, and I have been going there since I was very young. The buyers who are looking at it will turn it into a gift shop.”
Angelo gave her a peculiar look. He never expected her to want to invest the money. “Santiago’s,” he repeated.
“Yes,” she smiled, remembering the brick building and bronze wooden interior. “I have always wanted it. It has a perfect view of the water. I have ideas for the menu and the interior, and the wine cellar is gorgeous—the attraction of the place. They actually take their customers inside and let them choose their own wine if they would like. When I found out that Mr. Santiago was retiring, I was devastated. I could only hope that someone else wouldn’t buy it before I leased the hotel.”
