“You can get on the plane by virtue of both your legs or you can be drugged and carried?” he said.
Robynne and Adele looked at each other. Their choice was clear. “We will walk.” They said in unison.
“A wise choice.” Luca said.
Chapter 39
Flanked by guards, Robynne and Adele reluctantly climbed onto the plane. As far as surprises go, they were in for few more. Inside the plane’s belly, seated between two guards sat Felicità, and Ciro and Maurizio Guidice.
“The gangs all here.” Luca said.
“Felicità are you alright?” She could barely keep her head up.
“I’ve given her a rather high dose of poison. It mirrors Alzheimer’s Disease. She doesn’t have it by the way, but I paid the doctor to tell her otherwise.”
“You’re one sick fuck. How could you do that to your own grandmother?” Robynne chimed in.
“Don’t judge me until you’ve walked in my shoes.”
“What reason could justify you drugging your grandmother?” Adele asked.
“Why wouldn’t I, my old hag of a grandmother betrayed me. The first born son should be running the family business,” Luca said.
“You’re twins, you moron.” Robynne said.
“I was born two minutes before my brother. According to ancient law, I should be C.E.O. not Ambrogio.”
Ciro abandoned his seat and walked over to where Luca, Robynne and Adele were standing. “I hate to interrupt this lovely story, but we need to leave. We have to be in the Dominican Republic on time. I have an appointment for a quickie divorce, then I can marry Felicità. ”
He turned his attention to Felicita and pushed a silvery strand out of Felicità’s face. She groaned in response.
“She will never consent to marriage.” Adele said.
A flight attendant handed Maurizio a neon-colored drink. “She would consent to marrying this glass in the state she’s in.”
“I thought Ambrogio took care of you.” Adele said.
“I received a last minute pardon from his brother. Cheers to Luca for returning my family’s fortune and honor. I hope there’s a triple shot of rum in this.” He said as he took a swig.
“How can you speak of honor?” Adele fought the urge to bite the guard who was in the process of forcing her to a seat.
“Don’t play moral police with me. You haven’t had to endure half of the injustices I’ve had to suffer through. Ambrogio always gets the girl, the respect, my job, our parents and Felicità’s love and admiration. What do I get—his left-overs, not anymore.”
“You people are crazy as hell.” Robynne had been escorted to the seat behind Ciro.
“You really have no idea how crazy we are. Just shut up and enjoy the ride.” Luca said.
“Baby, you didn’t say hello. How is that nice?” Heather said, slurring her words.
Robynne sneezed violently as Heather walked by.
“She was one of the people holding me captive. I would remember the funky perfume from anywhere.” Robyne said between sneezes.
“Are you going to do something? She insulted me.” Heather batted her long, fake eyelashes in Luca’s direction.
“She’ll be dead soon. Don’t worry about her. Just go back into the bedroom suite. I will find a way to make my rudeness up to you.” Luca smirked.
“Dead? Luca so far, only one person has died in this crazy plan of yours.” Adele asked.
Ciro bounded out of his seat, scowling. “I am the mastermind of this plan. Do you think all of this started with Luca? It has been in motion for years. Felicità is mine, she has been since we were children.”
“Someone forgot to tell her,” Adele said.
“No one asked you for an opinion,” Ciro said.
“You honestly think you’re gonna get away with this, your grade A whack job.” Robynne kicked a guard.
“What I put with for love?” Ciro said.
“You know nothing about love,” Adele said.
“I know what it’s like to lose the love of my life to not one, but two different men. Wrongs with be righted soon enough, but most importantly, the crown jewel, Felicità, will be mine once and for all,” Ciro said.
“Really?” Robynne shook her head.
Adele began to cry. “You’re going to rot in hell.”
Luca walked down the aisle and stood in front of Adele. He regarded her as though she were a lost puppy, one who had just peed on his expensive rug. He grabbed her face and wiped her tears away with his finger.
“Bella, don’t cry. Save your tears for your own impending death. Funny, I always thought your tears would taste sweeter.”
“Enough of this nonsense, why aren’t we moving.” Ciro said, knocking on the cockpit door.
A frazzled pilot answered. “We can’t leave. Every police car in Italy is on the tarmac.”
Ciro advanced upon Luca. “I knew you couldn’t handle the job. I should have seen to Ambrogio’s death myself.”
The plane doors burst open. Ambrogio walked in carrying a gun.
“You should have.” He shot Maurizio and Ciro where they stood.
A guard dropped his gun on the floor and then kicked it over to wear Ambrogio stood. “I don’t get paid enough for this.” The other guards followed suit.
“Get out,” Ambrogio said.
After watching the guards scramble out of the plane, Luca, infuriated, pulled out a weapon of his own. He grabbed at Adele, using her as a human shield. “I will kill her.”
“Just give up, you’ve lost,” Ambrogio said.
Luca put the gun to Adele’s head and released the safety. His eyes traveled from Ambrogio to Robynne and back again. “If I lose, so do you.”
Adele mouthed the words “I love you” to Ambrogio and closed her eyes. Noticing how still Adele was, Luca lowered the gun. “She is so beautiful when she’s compliant, isn’t she?”
At that moment, Adele jabbed her fist into Luca’s groin and moved out of the way. Ambrogio fired at his brother, forcing him to drop his gun; it fell to the floor with a loud bang.
“You can’t be serious. Remind me to never go on a vacation with you ever again.” Robynne said as she held her bloodied arm.
“Cazzo, you shot me? You’re own brother?”
“You’re not my brother. Sei un disgraziato!” Ambrogio said.
Luca pawed at a seat to maintain his balance. Blood tricked down his chest. “I am a disgrace because I got caught. I’ve been in your shadow for way too long. I would gladly do it all over again.”
They watched as he fell over; his limp body slumped down to the floor.
Adele ran up to Ambrogio and hugged him, loosely at first, then more tightly when he didn’t resist. “How did you figure it out?
“Francesca, Giacoppa Falconi’s daughter, notified me this morning. As you know Luca and her were dating for a short while before she fled to Sardinia, or so he said. He had fallen head-over-heels in love with her, and wanted her to be his accomplice. When she refused, he had her institutionalized in Geneva. After many months, she was able to call me with the aid of a nurse.”
Adele refused to let him go. “I’m sorry about what I did.”
“I must tend to my grandmother.” Ambrogio said, pulling himself free. Ambrogio wouldn’t allow anyone to carry Felicita off the plane.
Luca was taken away by ambulance, while Heather, who was hiding under the bed, was handcuffed and led from the plane.
Fortunately for Robynne, the gunshot only grazed her shoulder, the diagnosis went completely ignored after a handsome paramedic offered to help her off the plane. Suddenly, she couldn’t walk, feigning dizziness from a loss of blood. She all but molested the poor man as he guided her to an awaiting ambulance.
Adele waited on the sidelines until the paramedic’s secured Felicità onto a gurney. “Is there anything I can say to will make you forgive me?”
“Giacoppo flew to Geneva to collect his daughter. When he returns, he’ll expect a statement from y
ou and Robynne. Once you’re done, he is to give you two plane tickets back to New York.”
Obstinate in his callousness, Ambrogio resembled a old building in Florence—immovable and beautiful.
“Goodbye, Ambrogio. Tell Felicità I will miss her,” Adele said.
He secured himself in the ambulance. “I will. Goodbye.”
Their romance ended as it began—with great dramatic flare.
Chapter 40
Four Months Later…
Adele watched with annoyance as Corentini executives scurried into the conference room, followed by Mindy, their queen, who pranced and preened awaiting the start of the shareholder’s meeting.
Adele couldn’t fathom the reason for her being there. Beckoned to attend with a note sent by messenger, Adele balked at the invite. She intended to use the card embossed with the Corentini code of arms to scoop up one of Ivory’s steaming little presents from the floor when Robynne interceded.
All she wanted to do was resume her ice-cream eating fest on the couch. She knew she should be doing something with her life like searching for another job. She had set her life adrift and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go into the ocean after it.
When this farce of a meeting was over, she would have the apartment to herself at least. On vacation, Robynne’s handsome paramedic boyfriend, Bartolomeo, came to New York for a visit after faithfully keeping their love alive with daily emails, phone calls and postcards.
Things weren’t as blissful when it came to Adele’s love life. She thought of Ambrogio daily, but hardly ever spoke of him.
Adele looked out the window of the largest conference room in the building, the one reserved for extremely important meetings, wishing she could fly back to Italy and make Ambrogio see things from her point of view.
“He looks good enough to eat.” Melody from Accounting mumbled under her breath.
Adele looked up to see who she was referring to, nearly biting a hole in her cheek when she saw Ambrogio standing at the podium next to Mindy.
“Thank you all for joining us on this lovely September morning,” Mindy said.
Enzo, one of Corentini’s oldest and most faithful lawyers and a good friend to Apollo, took the microphone from Mindy’s hands.
“Only the C.E.O. has the distinct honor of welcoming Corentini employees to the shareholder’s meeting,” Enzo said.
“Are you on something old man? I am and will always be the C.E.O. of Corentini.”
“Not as of today,” Enzo said.
“Your accent is so damn thick. I can never understand a word you’re saying. Why don’t you sit down before your heart gives out.”
“You’re done young lady. You’re fired.”
When Enzo made his declaration, the tightly packed room let out one enormous gasp.
“This must be a joke. I’ve run Corentini loyally. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Stealing from Corentini is not running it loyally. You’re father, God rest his soul, would roll over in his grave at how badly you’ve been pilfering our profits to fund your illegal drug use and outrageous shopping sprees. You’ve bilked Corentini out of twelve million dollars to date,” Enzo said.
Another wave of gasps started from the back of the room, eventually crested at Mindy’s feet.
“You have no proof.” Mindy folded her arms across her chest in defiance.
Robynne walked in waving a file. “I was waiting for you to lie straight through your veneers. I have the proof right here. You adjusted the numbers to make it look like Corentini was down in sales, when the opposite was true.”
“As penance for your horrible crime and in lieu of jail time, we want you to turn over every piece of real estate, stock option, car, jewelry, and anything else you bought with the stolen money. You will repay every dime to Corentini shareholders and its employees,” Enzo said.
“You can’t leave me with nothing. I’m a Corentini, Apollo’s only surviving heir, his daughter for Christ sakes.” Mindy stomped her feet.
Enzo pulled out an envelope from his coat pocket and gave it to her. “You’re right I can’t, in good conscious, leave you with nothing.”
“What is it?”
It’s a Metro-card, good for two subway rides. You’ll be taking the subway now.”
“I’m begging, please don’t do this to me. I will give the money back.” Mindy said.
“Someone call security. Mindy must be escorted off the premises.” Enzo said.
Ambrogio moved to the podium after Mindy’s removal. “That is where I come in.
Enzo, also a good family friend of the Argentero’s, advised me on the state of this company. Your former C.E.O. has left Corentini in shambles.”
“I’ve heard of you. Are you going to buy Corentini, cut it up into pieces and sell it to the highest bidder? What about our jobs?” Stephen, an exceptionally tall man from IT, yelled.
“You have nothing to worry about. My job is to help restructure Corentini. I am not buying or selling anything. No one will lose their jobs, except Mindy, of course. Now, if you will let me announce Corentini’s new C.E.O.—Congratulations, Adele Jaspers.” Ambrogio said.
Now it was Adele’s turn to gasp. A thunderous roar enveloped the conference room, but it was as if Adele had gone deaf. She couldn’t have just heard herself being referred to as Corentini’s new C.E.O. When Robynne motioned for her to come to the podium, she bolted instead.
Adele couldn’t believe it. Last night, she was a jobless, couch-potato. Today, she was a C.E.O., if she took the job. On Corentini’s sixth floor staircase, she wondered if taking the job was the right thing to do. After fifteen minutes, a need to breathe some fresh air took her outside.
Chapter 41
The street was awake and already dressed-up for the day, the cars and people running here and there were its accessories. She needed to go home and think in her pajamas, so for the first time since the pee incident, she ventured into the subway.
There were a staggering amount of police officers loitering around the station. Adele wondered what was going on. It didn’t take long for her to find out. A hysterical Mindy, wet from head to toe, appeared from the depths of the subway. Behind her, the Homeless Guy from Adele’s nightmares appeared in handcuffs, gloved police officers his guides.
“That flower needs more water than I could supply. I think it’s weeds are rotten,” he said, pointing at Mindy.
An officer ushered him towards the exit, however, not touching him proved rather ineffective when Homeless Guy stood his ground.
“My doctor said it was socially unacceptable to use my water-hose in public. So, I did the next best thing; I filled up water bottles, so I could keep watering the flowers. Speaking of flowers, you’ve blossomed rather nicely.”
“Come on, we’re going to put you away for a while this time, Mac.” The officer said, finally showing the man with his gloved hand.
Adele considered telling Mindy the C.E.O. position was hers now, but she decided against it. She didn’t delight in kicking someone when they were down, even if that someone was Mindy.
“Cara, I didn’t think I would find you.” Ambrogio walked up to Adele.
“What do you want?” She tried not to stare at him, but he looked even better up close.
She could tell he had lost some weight and a certain luster was missing from his eyes.
“I want you. I was a fool, a very stubborn fool. Felicità wouldn’t stop harassing me until I finally realized how much I cared for you. She’s fine by the way. All traces of the poison are gone from her system. She said to tell you ciao.”
“Excuse me, I have a train to catch.” Adele stepped around him.
“Per favore, hear me out.”
“You’ve got two minutes,” Adele said.
“All I need is one. I was scared of the emotions you brought out in me. I’ve never felt so out of control in my entire life. It scared me, so I pushed you away. These last four months have been the loneliest, most miserable of my life,�
�� Ambrogio said.
“Why didn’t you call?”
“I didn’t think you would answer my calls.”
“I probably wouldn’t have,” Adele said.
“You were right to defy me. It showed your character. You fight for what you believe in, no matter the consequences. It is one of your traits I love the most. Will you forgive me?”
Adele bit her lip as she cried. “Of course, I forgive you.”
Ambrogio seized her in his arms, planting a kiss on her lips before taking her hand. “Come lets ride the train together.”
“Really?” Adele looked at him strangely.
“I’ve always wanted to.”
A train had just pulled into the station, Ambrogio with his boyish grim gleaming, made Adele run to the end of the platform where they finally boarded the last car.
Felicità, Robynne, Celeste, Yanice and Marissa waited on the subway car.
“What the hell? How did all of you get down here before me?”
“It’s called taking an elevator and running in heels. You better name your first born child after me, and I don’t care if it’s a boy,” Robynne said.
“We found the right time to visit New York,” Yanice said, holding onto Marissa.
“Welcome to the family,” Felicità said when Ambrogio dropped down to one knee with violinists (disguised as commuters) accompanying his dissent.
He opened a black box containing an antique diamond ring. “Adele Jaspers, will you grow old with me?”
She looked at the man she loved. He wasn’t perfect, but he came pretty damn close.
“You’re signing up for a lifetime of me not listening to you.”
“I would not have it any other way,” Ambrogio said.
“Then yes, I will marry you.”
He lifted her up into his arms and kissed her.
“Not in front of your grandmother,” Adele said.
Ambrogio kissed her even harder.
Dirty Secrets Page 19
