“Do you want me to call James Cullen, Ms. French? Do you want me to get him on the phone and talk to you? Frankly, you’re wasting my time. Drink the tea or suffer your orgasms. You’ve been rude to me. You’ve been caustic and appalling. I’m only here to help, but I’m no shill. I work with better-behaved ladies on Fifth and Park—women who appreciate what I’ve done for them—and I’m having none of your attitude. I’m beginning to care less what happens to you. I’m beginning to see why your ex-husbands called you that word. Drink the tea, or I’m gone.”
She looked up at him, startled by his speaking to her like that. Anger filled her eyes, followed by a lingering moment of desire as she was clutched by another orgasm. When she collected herself, she said, “Who do you—?”
“Do you want me to call James? He’s a friend of yours. He sent me here to help you. Do you want what’s happening to you to be leaked? Because James is prepared to leak it to your people if you don’t fall into line. Don’t look surprised. Everyone is sick of your behavior, Ms. French. James told me so. This is an intervention. I can help you, but if you don’t drink this tea now, I’m leaving and I won’t be back. Is that understood?”
“I—”
“Is that understood?”
And Piggy French of the French lineage, who had publicly cut Louis Ryan to the core on several occasions and who had been called a cunt by each of her two ex-husbands, which still stung to this day, leaned forward, reached for the cup with her shaking right hand and drank the tea just as she entered into a final orgasm.
“It’s awful,” she said.
“The orgasm?”
“The tea!”
“Drink all of it. Now.”
She did, and then her eyes widened. “What is that you’re pulling from your pocket? Is that a camera? Are you taking photos of me? Filming me? What is this? Why are you smiling? What is this? Where is Marvin? Who are you? The paparazzi?”
A bit of spittle formed along the curve of her bottom lip.
“The paparazzi, Piggy? Really? You think you’re so important that they’re outside waiting for a glimpse of you? That they have any interest in you?”
She wiped her mouth and looked at the back of her hand, which was trembling and now stained with yellow mucus. Repelled by the sight, she looked up at him and stood.
Tried to stand.
Whether it was from the alcohol or from the tea—or a mix of both—her knees buckled, she fell to the floor, and her face connected hard with it. She rolled over onto her back and Spocatti saw that she was bleeding profusely from her smashed nose. She put her hands on either side of it, touched it gingerly and jolted from the pain.
Her hands slipped across her face, smearing it with blood. Her left leg started to twitch. She turned to him in cold terror. “Who are you?” she managed.
“Death,” Spocatti said.
She started to cough, and the cough was thick and clotted. Foam bubbled up from her throat and spattered onto her black shirt. She tried to breathe, but it was becoming impossible.
“Death by way of Louis Ryan, actually. You remember Ryan, don’t you, Piggy? How you humiliated him over the years. He’s speaking to you right now. Straight from the grave.”
Her hands went to her throat. Her legs kicked out and she started to twist and convulse like a beetle on its back. Did she hear what he said about Ryan? He doubted it. He watched her flail and fight until, little by little, her body gave up hope. She flopped onto her stomach, exhaled a rush of air, and then went still.
“Good night, Piggy,” Spocatti said. He turned off the tiny, handheld video recorder, and left.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
When Leana returned home, she called out Mario’s name and waited for an answer, but none came.
She dropped her bag onto the kitchen island, checked his office, the living room and the rooms on the second floor, but he wasn’t there. Earlier, he had sent a text asking if she wanted to have dinner at their apartment. He’d cook and maybe they’d watch a movie afterward, or just talk about their days.
She knew he went to see his father this morning, but that visit would have been over by now. She was curious to know how it had gone since it had been so long since he’d seen him, and also because she knew that his father hated her.
She went into the living room to wait for Mario, but then remembered what Sean Scott asked of her earlier—she needed a new phone so he could have access to her old one.
There was a Best Buy at Eighty-Sixth and Lex. She could get a new phone there and have them transfer her contacts onto it. She checked her watch, saw that it was just past seven and recalled that that particular store was open late.
She went back to the kitchen to call Mario, reached into her bag for her cell, clicked it on, and saw more messages from Deadman1. She looked at them for a moment and felt a chill. She wanted to open them, but decided it was best if she didn’t.
Who was this person? Pepper? Leana wouldn’t put it past her, but in the wake of Florence Holt and Charles Stout’s murders, she had to agree with Anastassios. Your father has a lot of enemies, Leana. Sean, his team and I talked before coming here. We all agree. Someone wants to finish what Louis Ryan started. First it was Celina. Ryan got her. Now, it’s different. Now, it’s you. Probably even your father.
She was about to call Mario and find out where he was when the phone rang in her hand, startling her. She looked down at the screen and what surprised her more was the name of the person calling.
George Redman.
* * *
“What do you want?”
“To offer you an opportunity.”
“You mean, another opportunity to humiliate me? That’s not going to happen.”
“Leana, lose the chip.”
“Dad, go fuck yourself.”
She hung up the phone and waited. Within seconds, it rang again and his name flashed on the screen. Obviously, he hadn’t taken her advice. “That was quick,” she said. “I hope it was satisfying.”
He ignored her. “It’s a good opportunity, Leana. You’ve always said you wanted to work with me. You’ve always claimed that I cheated you of that.”
“You did.”
“You’re right.”
“Why?”
“I don’t have an answer.”
“Try to be introspective.”
“It wasn’t personal.”
“It certainly felt like it.”
“Celina could juggle multiple projects and she always pulled them off. I didn’t think I needed you at Redman International, so I just let you live your life and let you find yourself.”
“Well, that didn’t go so well, did it?” she said. “When I was fifteen, you shipped me off to private school in Switzerland. That was a happy time in my life. I became an addict there.”
“And I suppose you blame me?”
“Mom didn’t want me to go. She wanted me here, but you bullied forward and sent me away because you didn’t like my attitude around the house. Since we’ve never talked about it, I’ll tell you what I found when I landed in Switzerland—loneliness, anxiety and the need to escape. I knew no one. I didn’t fit in. Drugs helped for a while, until I went overboard with them. It was a great experience, Dad. I take full responsibility for what I did to myself. I was stupid to turn to drugs. But there was a catalyst underscoring all of it, and that catalyst was you.”
“Are we going to get beyond this?”
“After what happened today? You and Pepper setting me up? Are you joking? No. Sorry. It doesn’t look good for us. And by the way? Zack Anderson? He now works for me.”
“So I’ve heard. There are other general managers out there, Leana. Enjoy Zack.”
“I will.”
“Would you do me a favor and listen to me for a moment?”
“What’s the point?”
“The point is that I need your help.”
“Since when? What kind of help could I possibly offer you?”
“I think you’d be a
good fit for one of my projects.”
“Which one?”
“The high-rise I’m building on Columbus Circle.”
“The one you’re touting as the city’s tallest residential building?”
“That’s right. And it’s true. It is.”
“What about it?”
“If Celina were alive, she’d be overseeing its progress.”
“But Pepper is alive and thriving. So, why aren’t you using her?”
“I am using her, but you can imagine the scope of a project that size. She’s doing a fine job, but Phil Jacobs walked off the job today and she can’t do this alone.”
“He walked because of Pepper, didn’t he?”
George hesitated. “There were some personality conflicts, yes.”
“I’ll bet. And yet you say that Pepper is doing a fine job?”
“She has some growing up to do.”
“She needs a complete attitude adjustment.”
He didn’t respond.
“I’m assuming you want me to step in and work with Pepper on this?”
“I do.”
“She’d be in charge?”
“No. The job’s too large. You’d be equals.”
“We’ll never be equals.”
“At the job, Leana.”
“Does Pepper know about this?”
“Pepper would have my head if she knew I was calling you.”
“And why is that? I thought you were in charge of Redman International, not Pepper Redman. Doesn’t she take direction from you?”
“Of course she does.”
“So, what’s the issue? And why are you asking me to be part of this? You’ve always said I have no head for business. Why the sudden change of heart?”
“Because the word’s out. Under your leadership, it’s obvious The Park is going to be a success. I underestimated you. I want to see what you can do. I want to see if you can manage working with someone as difficult as Pepper. Celina could have handled her with ease because, whether you want to admit it or not, Pepper is talented. Her problem is that’s she’s young and arrogant. Celina would have shut her down and trained her to be a better, more effective manager. I’m wondering if you have those skills. If you do, maybe we’ll work on other projects together.”
“So, this is a test?”
“It is.”
“You know Pepper and I can’t stand each other.”
“I can’t stand many of the people I work with, but I manage them and we get the job done. It will speak volumes to me if you can manage her because I know how difficult she is. I know she comes off poorly and that she’s a challenge. The question is whether you’ll take the challenge and rein her in.”
“What’s the timeframe?”
“The project is nearly finished. One month.”
“So, I need to open my hotel and your high-rise around the same time?”
“Is that a problem?”
What he didn’t say is that it wouldn’t be a problem for Celina.
“It isn’t. I’ll get back to you,” Leana said.
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning. After I talk to Mario.”
But when Leana hung up the phone, she already knew what she was going to do. She’d take the job. She’d prove her father wrong. And in the process, she’d take on Pepper Redman, put her in her place and show her how much her beloved degree at Wharton really was worth.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Not long after Leana hung up with her father, Mario came through the door with two bags of groceries in his arms. Leana went over to him, took one of the bags and put it alongside his on the kitchen island.
“I was worried about you,” she said.
He gave her a kiss on the forehead. “It’s been a long day.” He looked tired.
She could only imagine how it went with his father, who in many ways was more difficult than her own.
“We have a lot to talk about,” she said.
“That we do.”
“How did it go with your father?”
“Mixed.”
“Before we share war stories, I have a random request. We need to run to Best Buy before they close.”
“That is a random request. Can it wait until tomorrow? I was going to cook for us, and then talk about the day.”
There was only one way to tell him—straight. She didn’t want him to see her upset. “It can’t wait. Don’t freak out, OK? Today, I started receiving threats on my cell. They came from someone named Deadman1.”
“Deadman1?”
“I know—clever, isn’t it? Apparently, someone wants me dead. I’m not going to tell you how they want to do it, because it doesn’t bear repeating.”
“Leana—”
“For the most part, the situation is under control. Sean Scott, who is the new head of security at The Park thanks to Anastassios, advised me to get a new phone with a new number as soon as possible—as in by the end of today. Then he wants my old phone so he can trace the texts through his contact at the FBI. He’s not sure if they’ll have success, but he’s going to try.”
“I know about the texts,” Mario said.
She couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. “How? They just started happening today.”
“Don’t be angry with me.”
“That means I’m going to be angry with you.”
“Try not to be. At least hear me out. Before you went to bed last night, I checked your phone to see who called you about the tarp. I wanted to see if there was a number associated with the call, but there wasn’t. It was a private number. Before I turned off the phone, I noticed dozens of texts left by someone named Deadman. I banned the person and deleted the messages. Now you’re telling me it’s Deadman1. To get in front of this and keep you safe, I had you followed today while I put other things into motion to find out who this person is.”
She felt a flash of anger. “Why didn’t you tell me this before you left?”
“Because I knew it would worry you and I also knew that with my man at your back, you’d be safe.”
“You don’t know that. Anything could have happened.”
“We’re talking now, aren’t we? You’re safe now, aren’t you?” He pressed forward before she could reply. “I asked my father for his help today. I told him about the situation. To a degree, we smoothed things over between us. He agreed to use his contacts to find out who’s behind this. The Family can find out anything, Leana.”
“Your family—especially your father—hates me.”
“That was in the past. He knows we’re going to be married. Above all, family is the most important thing to him, regardless of the situation. He knows you’ll be giving him grandchildren. That means a great deal to him. More than you know. It’s all about family with my people. He won’t let anything happen to you because of it.”
“Why don’t I believe that?”
“Because you had a rough start with him. I get it. But I need you to trust me. I’m not blind when it comes to my father. I know what he’s like.”
“So do I. Has it ever occurred to you that he might be the one behind the message on that tarp? You know he blames me for Lucia’s death. He thinks it’s because of me that she’s dead and that your children have no mother.”
This hadn’t occurred to him, but there was a reason for that. He knew his father better than she did. “Leana, my father doesn’t play games. Ever. Nobody in the Family does. If he wanted to frighten you, he’d shove a gun in your face. If he wanted you dead, he would have taken you out during our first week in Europe. That’s how my father works. If he wants retribution, he acts immediately because when he feels someone’s wronged him, he doesn’t want them to live a day longer than he feels they should. It’s always been that way. If he wanted to, he would have tracked us down when we landed in Paris and neither of us would be standing here now. I’m certain about that.”
She studied his face and saw by the hardness in his eyes that he meant it. And from
what she knew about Antonio De Cicco, it rang true. He was ruthless. If he wanted her dead, he would have done the job years ago and moved on with a smile.
“Look,” she said, “we have a lot to talk about, but I need to get a new phone so Sean can have mine. Can we just take a cab to the Best Buy on Lex? I’ll get the phone, and then we’ll come back here and sort this out.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I know you didn’t. It’s been a shitty day, Mario. I’m just wound up. I don’t mean to take any of this out on you.”
“Then let’s get your phone so we can move on from this, and have a quick meal, a glass of wine and a long kiss. Then we can talk about what happened.”
“It won’t just be me doing the talking.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty to offer.”
She kissed him full on the mouth when he said that.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“Because I love you. I’m just stressed out. I’m sorry if I’m being more difficult than usual.”
“Is that possible?”
She slapped him on the ass and laughed. Mario took her in his arms and held her while he kissed her neck, and then her lips.
“We’ll get through this,” she said.
“I know we will.”
* * *
They went up Park, turned right onto Eighty-Eighth Street, hooked onto Lexington and drove two blocks south until they were in front of Best Buy, which along with Staples and Petco, took up an entire city block. Since a block of popular retail stores wasn’t complete in Manhattan without a Starbucks attached to it, one was located at the far right end.
It was just past eight. The sun had long since dipped out of sight, but the streets were active with people, many of whom were hurrying into the entrance to the Eighty-Sixth Street Station just to the left of Best Buy’s main entrance. Leana watched lines of men, women and children press through the doorway and rush down the stairs to catch the 4, 5 or 6, all of which headed downtown.
Park Avenue (Book Six in the Fifth Avenue Series) Page 16
