Tommy shook his head. “I had every intention of holding quite the conversation with him,” Tommy said, “but that won’t be happening.”
Grace could tell something else happened. “Why not?”
“He’s gone,” Tommy said.
“Gone?” Grace asked. “He’s dead?”
Tommy nodded. “Yup. He was living in Arizona, working at a hospital there.”
“That’s right,” Grace said, “he was a doctor too.”
“According to the hospital, he died earlier this morning.”
Grace was immediately suspicious. “Of what?” she asked.
“He committed suicide,” Tommy said.
Grace stared at him.
“I know,” Tommy said. “Suspicious as hell.”
“The guy who shot your former friend supposedly committed suicide too,” Grace said. “Right?”
Tommy nodded. “Right,” he said.
“Maybe there’s some connection.”
“There has to be,” Tommy said. “We don’t believe in coincidences, remember? And two people starting shit and then suddenly killing themselves is the very definition of a coincidence not to be believed.”
Grace nodded. “That’s true.”
Tommy began rubbing her small hand more sensually. “But don’t you worry,” he said, “I have my people working overtime on it. Whatever’s going on, we’ll find out. Shelby’s friend, some chick named Annie, was the one who told us about the stalker. We let her go when her info checked out, but now she’s disappeared too. My men are trying to track her down right now.”
“In the meantime?” Grace asked.
“Homeschooling for Destiny,” Tommy said, “and more security for you.”
“More? Tommy, you already have an army of men following me around. You have more men following me around than are on your own security detail.”
“Damn right,” Tommy said. “You come first. You and the children. And you will have beefed up security until I can figure out why my ex-lover’s obsessive boyfriend, and why the brother of your dead ex-husband would suddenly be named as culprits in crimes that on their face have no connection whatsoever.”
“Except their tenuous connection to you and me,” Grace said.
Tommy nodded. “And they both kill themselves?” he asked. “That’s more than tenuous.”
And Grace agreed, as they stared into each other’s eyes.
The world around them didn’t give Grace a lot of credit at all. But he did. He knew what a precious gem he had. When they first met, it was her wonderful heart that caught his attention and elevated her from just another booty call, and it was her heart that kept his attention and elevated her beauty in his eyes. And even as most people would insist that she was a pretty lady, but was not in the same class as those gorgeous bombshells Tommy was known to favor, Tommy had a different view. And it was all because of Grace. It was all because, as Tommy’s love for her grew beyond any love he thought was possible for him to ever experience, he saw the world differently. And those same gorgeous bombshells that he used to crave, suddenly paled in comparison to Grace.
The only woman he was craving these days was his wife.
He looked down. She wore a bikini bathing suit that barely covered her sizeable breasts and that revealed her slender, well-toned body, and suddenly that craving was upon him.
Grace could see the change in his demeanor too, as she looked into his eyes, and when he picked up the baby and took him to his Nanny, who was also poolside, she knew what was about to happen next. And she was pleased it was going to happen. Having sex with Tommy was still like a dream come true. Despite all those aggressive women still doing all they could to claim him as their own, and despite all of the outsized attention pretty boys like Tommy often had to deal with, he seemed to have eyes only for Grace. And she felt he genuinely loved her. And he showed that love each and every time he touched her.
After returning from poolside, he took her hand and stood her up, and began to escort her toward the house.
“Daddy? Mommy?” Destiny yelled. “Where are you going?”
Tommy glanced back. “We’ll be back,” he said. “I need to show Mommy something.”
The nannies glanced at each other and smiled as Tommy took Grace inside the house, up the stairs, and showed her every inch of himself.
They made love in the middle of their bed. Clothes had been discarded and Tommy’s head was between her legs. Her entire body was feeling his work. And he was working it. His licks, his sucks, were slow and methodical, but they felt like pure steam. And when he started eating her, Grace wasn’t sure if she was going to scream for joy or pass out. She did neither. She simply rubbed his hair and bobbed his head as his tongue, as his mouth moved up and down along every sensitive spot.
And when he bit her, she arched in euphoria and began to move around in the bed with that sense of urgency that turned him on. Because Tommy took it slow to get her going. And when Grace got going, there was no better feeling. He kept licking her and sucking her and mouth-fucking her until she was so far gone that she was in danger of cumming without him.
But he couldn’t leave her pussy. He was so turned up that he felt as if he could cum from giving her head alone. And that would have been just fine by him.
But it wasn’t fine by his cock. It was expanding and positioning for action too. So Tommy finally moved up, to Grace’s big breasts, and began sucking her there. But as he sucked one breast and fondled the other one, his penis guided itself into her fold.
“Ooh,” Grace responded as soon as his manhood touched her womanhood. And as it slid deeper in, she began to sigh with affection. She loved Tommy Gabrini, and everything he did to her.
He made love to her for a long time. They held each other and he pumped into her with a searing possessiveness that Grace loved.
And when they came, they came together. Tommy and Grace rising and falling in a unison only time and love could produce. He was deep inside of her, and was pumping his ass off, as they unleashed a torrent of juice and passion. Until all of their strength was gone. Until there was nothing left for them to do but to fall against each other, and ultimately fall asleep.
The next morning, Grace woke up early. Only to find that Tommy, still in bed too, was already awake. She smiled when she opened her eyes and saw him lying there, on his phone, checking stocks the way he does most mornings. Until she noticed he looked concerned.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“Some stock movement,” he said. “Probably nothing.” Then he laid the phone on his night stand, and pulled her into his arms. “Good morning,” he said.
Grace smiled. “That’s what I call a proper greeting.” Then she continued to stare at him. “Sure everything’s okay?”
Tommy kissed her. “I’m sure,” he said. “But I’d better get to the office. Sal’s coming today.”
Grace smiled. “We don’t see him nearly as much as we used to. Gemma either.”
“I know,” Tommy said. “That’s why I’m looking forward to seeing him now. They used to call him my shadow, you know.”
Grace smiled. “Sal Gabrini somebody’s shadow? I’ll have to see that to believe it.”
“There was a time,” Tommy said, remembering how devoted Sal used to be to him. “But you’re right. That time has gone.” Then Tommy slapped Grace’s tight, naked ass and laughingly attempted to get his own naked body out of bed before she could strike him back. But he wasn’t quite fast enough. Grace got in a lick on his ass that caused Tommy to tremble.
“Damn!” he said, holding his ass. “That hurt!”
“And you don’t think yours hurt?” Grace asked. “That was a taste of your own medicine, buddy.”
Tommy smiled. “Yeah, okay. Just wait until tonight. Then will I get my revenge.”
Grace laughed. But then she thought about Tommy and his backdoor ways. She looked at him as he headed for the bathroom. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked him.
&nb
sp; But Tommy glanced at her with smile, and winked. “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.” And then he laughed as he closed the door.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was late evening, after seven, when Sal Gabrini arrived at GCI. He ran the Vegas office, and was delayed getting to Seattle because of issues in that office, but he was glad to come and see what corporate headquarters, his old stomping ground, was up to.
“A new secretary?” he asked as he entered his brother’s office. “What happened to whatsherface?”
Tommy looked up from his stack of files and smiled. “He made it.” Tommy stood up. Sal smiled too as he walked around the desk and gave his brother a big hug.
“Welcome back,” Tommy said as they stopped hugging. “Good to see you again.”
“You too. You have a new secretary.”
“She’s a temp, but she might work out.”
“What happened to your old one? She used to work for me before I moved to Vegas. What happened to her?”
“Fired.”
“No shit? What did she do? Miss too many days? Didn’t sweeten your coffee right? What?”
Tommy sat back down. Sal leaned against the desk, facing Tommy. “She talked too much.”
“What about?”
“She told one of my exes where I could be found.”
“Why would she do a dumb thing like that?”
“Who knows? But she did.” Then Tommy thought of something. “You remember Shelby, don’t you?”
Sal thought about it. “Shelby? Shelby James? Yeah, I remember her.”
“She’s dead.”
Sal was shocked. “Get the fuck outta here. When? What happened?”
“This guy was apparently stalking her, and followed her to Diamante’s after my secretary gave her my location. She told me she needed my help, and the next thing I know she’s dead. Shot.”
“By the guy?”
“Apparently, yeah.”
“What do you mean apparently? Either he did it or he didn’t.”
“We didn’t see who did it, and when we found out he was behind it, it was too late. He committed suicide.”
“Damn. That’s bad luck.”
“Yeah. Even worst luck for Shelby.”
“You think that bullet could have been for you?”
“It crossed my mind.”
Sal hated to hear that. “I’ll look into it,” he said. “Make some phone calls.”
“But get this,” Tommy said, leaning back in his swivel chair. “Grace got into it with some idiot at a banquet.”
“Grace? Our Grace?”
“My Grace, yes.”
Sal laughed. “Okay, brother, I hear you. Your Grace.”
“So the woman she was in this altercation with pressed charges against her.”
“What? Grace was arrested?”
“By Lew Christie of all people. But he let her go quickly enough. But the woman who pressed the charges told me Ed’s brother pushed her up to it.”
“Grace’s ex-husband’s brother? Why would he do a thing like that?”
“I don’t know. And I’ll never know now because he’s dead too. Because he committed suicide too.”
Sal frowned. “That’s some hell of a coincidence. Which means it’s not a coincidence.”
“Right,” Tommy said.
“I’ll check around,” Sal said. “See if anybody knows anything.”
“Thanks. I’m beefing up security around Grace and the kids.”
“And yourself,” Sal said, “until you find out if anything’s going on.”
“You sound like Grace. What about that postcard? Any news on that front?”
“None,” Sal said. “Nobody knows a damn thing. I questioned all my old crew. Including Culligan himself. I personally spoke with Lew Christie. He’s chief of police now and has a stick up his ass. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with some mobster like me. When I told his ass I wasn’t any mobster, he said yeah, right, said he knew nothing about any postcard, and hung up in my face. I almost thought about coming to Seattle and kicking his ass. But he’s a police bigwig now. I decided to leave it alone.”
“Good decision,” Tommy said. “The last thing we need is cop heat.”
“But nobody knows anything,” Sal said, “and my people came up with blanks. I even had the son of the Nigerian couple that took the piss that night checked out. He’s in Memphis, not Nigeria. And he appears to be completely legit. He’s moved on with his life.”
“Was Cully the only one who received a postcard?” Tommy asked.
“Yup.” Then Sal looked at Tommy. “You think that postcard might be connected to all of this other madness, don’t you?”
“Until we get different intel,” Tommy said as his desk intercom buzzed, “we have to work from that assumption.” He pressed the button. “Yes?”
“Mr. Grant is here to see you, sir.”
Sal looked at Tommy. “Pete Grant? From our board of directors? What does he want?”
“Send him in,” Tommy said and released the button. “He asked for a percentage increase,” he said to Sal.
“More shares?” Sal responded. “You gave it to him?”
“Hell no. I offered to give him a raise, but that was all he was getting from me.”
Peter Grant entered the office, closing the door behind him. Sal stood up and turned toward him.
“Hello, Sal,” Peter said with a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“How are you?”
“Good,” Peter responded as he walked up to the desk. Sal remained behind the desk, at Tommy’s side.
“What’s up?” Tommy asked.
“Thought I’d let you know what just happened.”
Tommy and Sal were both interested. “What just happened?” Tommy asked.
“The board has consolidated.”
Tommy frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We consolidated our shares in GCI and sold them to the McClatchey Group.”
Sal was puzzled. “Why would a minority of a minority do something like that? Tommy owns fifty percent of his company. I own forty-five percent. The rest of you lackeys only own five percent all together. Why in the world would any group want five percent? And why would you give up your ownership like that?”
“Speaking for the other board members, or lackeys as you so disrespectfully call us, we didn’t like the direction in which the company was heading. So we sold out.”
“Okay,” Tommy said. “Now give us the real reason.”
Sal smiled. Peter exhaled. He could never get anything past Tommy. “McClatchey paid market share,” Peter said.
“Market share plus what?” Tommy asked.
“Plus eighty percent,” Peter admitted.
Tommy and Sal were both stunned. “Market share plus eighty percent?” Sal asked. “Are you kidding me? What idiot would pay up like that?”
“Thanks for telling me, Pete,” Tommy said.
Peter expected more blowback. But none came. “Sure thing,” he said. “I take it you’re going to call a meeting?”
“No,” Tommy said. “Not yet.”
Peter was surprised by that too. “Okay, well, I’ll talk with you later then. And nice seeing you again, Sal.”
“Not so nice seeing you again,” Sal responded.
Peter, who could never stomach Sal Gabrini anyway, gladly left the office. Tommy stood up.
“That don’t make sense, Tommy,” Sal said. “Why would some group do market share plus eighty on five percent? You and me together own ninety-five percent of GCI. What do they think they’re doing?”
Tommy couldn’t say, so didn’t. He grabbed his suit coat off the back of his chair.
“Where are you going?” Sal asked.
“Where you’re going. To Silverdale. My lady’s waiting.”
There was a time when Sal would have asked which lady. Not anymore.
They headed out of the office.
Lisa McBride was already si
tting at a table inside Silverdale by the time Grace arrived. She had overheard the phone conversation Grace had had with Tommy, and decided on the spot to make this move. It might be her last chance to get in Tommy’s good graces. But she had to do it right. Less than two minutes after Grace had arrived, sat at her table, and ordered a drink, Lisa made her way over.
Grace had ordered drinks for herself, her husband, and her brother-in-law, and was just about to check her text messages when Lisa, with only her cell phone and clutch bag in her hand, walked up.
“I thought that was you,” she said cheerfully. “How nice to see you again!”
Grace was a bit thrown. Her again? “Hey,” Grace responded. “Lisa right?”
“Lisa McBride, yes ma’am. I was sitting alone and saw you come in. May I?”
Grace motioned for Lisa to sit down, and she quickly sat. She thought the other girl at the soiree, the one named Karma, was the brownnoser. This girl was too, but was apparently slicker with her shit. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been good. Great actually. I aced my exams!”
Grace smiled. “Congratulations.”
“Still haven’t found a suitable internship though. But I’m still searching.”
“I’m sure something will turn up.”
“I sure hope so. It’s getting late.”
When Grace didn’t respond, or offer to help, Lisa continued. “I decided to treat myself at this nice restaurant. Why not, right? I aced my exams.”
“Yes, you told me,” Grace responded.
“So, how are things going with you?” Lisa asked. “How’s Trammel these days? Every time I see one of those big, transport trucks I think of you.”
Grace smiled. “Business is going okay,” she said.
“You said your deceased father started the company, right?” Lisa asked.
“He worked for the company. That’s how I started working for the company. Clive and Jillian Birch originally owned the company. Ah,” Grace said as she looked up and saw her husband and Sal enter the restaurant. “There they are.”
“Excuse me?” Lisa asked, confused by what Grace was referencing. Then she looked where Grace was looking. When she saw that gorgeous husband of Grace’s, and another man, her heartbeat quickened. This was her chance to make a great impression. This was it! “Isn’t that your husband?”
Tommy Gabrini: Every Which Way But Loose Page 9
