Latte Trouble cm-3

by Клео Коул

  Before I had a chance even to consider the meaning of Violet Eyes’s presence, others instantly appeared on deck. Several of the presenters scrambled topside to watch the conclusion of the heated melodrama they’d seen ignited in their stateroom. To my shock, I spied another familiar face among them—the male model who’d attended Lottie’s party. His platinum blond Billy Idol crewcut was unmistakable, even through my tinted glasses.

  My mind raced. While the presence of Violet Eyes might have been mere happenstance, meeting another person who’d attended that fatal party—and was near the coffee bar at the time of the poisoning—was at least one coincidence too many for me.

  Matt glared at the bodyguard, then tried to step around the man and return to the stateroom. A ham-sized palm slapped the middle of Matt’s chest, stopping him. Matteo glared up at the man. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly calm: “I’m going inside to make my presentation. Look, Eduardo…tell your hired help to get out of my face and out of my way.”

  Lebreaux looked around and spied Madame standing next to me. His lips twisted into a cruel smile and he bowed in her direction. “I see you are not yet untangled from your dowager mother’s skirts, Matteo. Was franchising the Village Blend’s brand name Madame Dubois’s idea? Perhaps an act of financial desperation?”

  At my side, I felt Madame stiffen.

  I saw Tad’s expression, too. There was surprise at hearing that Mrs. Dubois was Matt’s mother.

  Matteo exploded. “You son of a—”

  He launched himself at Eduardo’s throat. The European fearfully stumbled backwards, almost knocking Violet Eyes overboard in his haste to escape. Matt didn’t get far before Thick Neck stopped him cold. There was a flurry of movement, loud grunts, and the sound of fists striking flesh.

  “Wait! Wait!” Tad Benedict cried.

  But events had gone too far. Everyone backed away and watched helplessly as Matt and Thick Neck grappled for a moment, stumbling across the deck. The struggle continued until both men tumbled over the rail, their fiery confrontation finally getting doused in the cold, churning waters of the Hudson River.

  Fifteen

  The Fortune received an official police and fireboat escort all the way back to Pier 18. The Coast Guard even arrived to lend a hand.

  After Matteo and the bodyguard had splashed into the water, the sailors aboard the yacht went into action, fishing the two men out and depositing them back on deck in record time. Unfortunately, one of the guests on board had panicked and dialed 911 on his cell. Just about every agency responsible for river safety—with the possible exception of Homeland Security—responded with an appearance.

  The excitement aboard ship interrupted the flow of presentations. The rest of the seminar was cancelled and the Fortune returned to port. Meanwhile, there were so many blinking red lights on the water that by the time we approached the pier, a crowd had gathered to see what all the fuss was about.

  The Fortune bumped into its berth, and the crew lowered the gangplank. Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, the affluent passengers crowded the exit. Matteo, dripping wet and smelling like stagnant water, accompanied his mother as they joined the exiting throng. I hung back, however, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tad or one of his associates, even Clipboard Lady.

  I slipped into the ballroom, saw the bartender tidying up while a pair of women wearing aprons collected glasses from around the room. I went back outside and circled the deck, to the other side of the ship. My booted toe bumped against a rope stand, and I nearly pitched over. With a moan of frustration, I ripped the tinted glasses off my face and stuffed them into the Gucci purse.

  The view was nice from this portion of the deck. Ships were approaching Manhattan, or moving out to sea. Far in the distance, the Statue of Liberty was lit in a brilliant glow. At the rail, I gazed at the vista for a moment, then heard a door open around a corner from me. A man and woman stepped out of the light, and up to the darkened area near the rail. I recognized the man—Tad Benedict. The woman’s back was turned so I couldn’t see her features. I stepped back, against the bulkhead, not daring to breathe. They were so preoccupied with each other, they failed to notice me in the shadows, listening to their conversation.

  “We didn’t sell enough,” the woman said. Her tone seemed desperate, her voice familiar. I tried to lean my head just a little bit closer.

  Tad snorted. “Sell enough? We didn’t sell a damn thing.”

  After a moment of silence, the woman spoke. “I just want out, Tad.”

  “We’ll get out,” he said with conviction. “We’ll buy our way out if we have to. I know I can raise the money. Enough money to make the payoff, and still have something left for the both of us to make a life for ourselves, free of…you know…”

  His voice trailed off and he rubbed the woman’s shoulder. She turned to caress his hand, but her face remained in shadow.

  “We’re running out of time,” she said.

  “Don’t worry,” came Tad’s reply. “I can fix this.”

  Finally she turned to face him. As their lips met, the woman moved into the light. I recognized her instantly: Rena Garcia, Lottie Harmon’s partner and marketing and publicity manager.

  The kiss broke, and Tad, escorted her back inside. When they were gone, I hurried around to the other side of the boat. At the gangplank I joined the last of the passengers disembarking. Out on the street, I found Madame standing alone on the sidewalk, looking out at the river. Matt was waiting on the taxi line by the curb.

  “I’m sorry, Madame,” I said. “I probably should have told you what Matt had in mind. I know it’s not what you’d do with the business.”

  “Yes,” she replied. “Perhaps you should have told me. But it really doesn’t matter now. It’s water under the bridge—” She gazed at her sopping wet son in the taxi line. “—so to speak.”

  Madame faced me. I was surprised to find her eyes bright, her expression buoyant. “In any case, my dear, how I’ve done things in the past is not the point any longer. The Blend’s future belongs to you…and Matteo. In a way, I’m happy.”

  “Happy?”

  “My son is finally showing genuine interest. In the business. In the future.”

  She touched my arm. “Perhaps he really has changed, Clare.”

  Then she turned and walked to the waiting cab. She and Matteo spoke briefly as he held the door for her, then he closed it and the cab sped off. Matt immediately hailed the next car in line and we climbed inside for the silent trip back to the Blend.

  When we arrived, I pitched in to help Gardner, the evening shift’s barista, while Matteo ran upstairs to shower the river stench away and change into dry clothes.

  Gardner Evans was an easy-going African-American composer, arranger, and jazz musician (sax, piano, guitar, bass—the guy was amazing). He’d moved to New York from the D.C. area a few years before, after finishing college, and had immediately started playing the clubs and hotel lounges with a small ensemble.

  His group, Four on the Floor, had an excellent sound—I’d seen them live a few times and they’d put out two CDs, which we often played in the evenings at the Blend, along with CDs he’d bring in from his own impressive collection. For my money, however, the best thing about Gardner being a musician was his affinity for night hours. He was always alert and alive in the evenings when he arrived for barista work, which was pretty much any night his ensemble didn’t have a gig.

  I hadn’t yet changed out of my Jackie O disguise, and the customers obviously found it amusing. As I served up a doppio espresso and a skinny vanilla lat with wings (i.e., a double espresso and a vanilla latte made with skim milk and extra foam) Gardner shook his head and said, “I swear, C.C., you should wear that get-up for the Village Halloween parade.”

  “Don’t laugh at your boss, Gardner, it’s demoralizing. Besides, don’t you think I’m just a little bit credible as a Jackie O type?”

  He responded by laughing harder.

  I raised an eyebrow. “You k
now, mister, you’re treading a very fine line. Maybe you should start restocking the cupboards—that should dampen your levity.”

  But as he turned for the pantry, his chuckles failed to fade.

  Matteo returned just then, still toweling his hair dry. “My shoes are ruined. Italian leather. I could strangle Lebreaux for that alone.” He dropped into one of the tall swivel chairs at the coffee bar.

  Behind the espresso machine, I dumped the cake of used grounds and rinsed the portafilter, packed more of our freshly ground Mocha Java inside it, tamped it, clamped it, and began to draw two new shots. I poured each into a cream-colored demitasse, added a twist of lemon for my ex-husband, and a bit of sugar for myself.

  After a fortifying hit of caffeine, I finally asked, “Matt, what was that fight all about exactly?”

  “Fight?” Gardner asked, returning to the counter with an armload of cups, lids, and heat sleeves. “Did I hear the word ‘fight’?”

  Matt made a sour face. “It was just a scuffle—”

  “You were trading blows with the guy,” I pointed out. “And in front of your mother, too.”

  Gardner lifted his eyebrows and gave Matt a closer look. “Really?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Really.”

  “Cool,” said Gardner, sounding impressed.

  “No. Not cool,” I said.

  Gardner shrugged and went to work restocking.

  “But, Clare,” said Matt. “Lebreaux insulted my mother—”

  “No,” I pointed out, “he insulted you.”

  “You weren’t even there for most of it.”

  “That’s why I asked you to enlighten me,” I said.

  “Remember when Lebreaux was pushing my mother to franchise the Blend label? Well, after she shut him down and we exposed his little scheme to take over this coffeehouse, Eduardo apparently gave up coffee and went to Asia. He hooked up with a Chinese tea concern. Now he’s importing and marketing specialty teas in partnership with a very wealthy family in Thailand.”

  I took another sip of my espresso. “Nothing wrong with that. Does he want to open tea shops?”

  “More like kiosks within existing businesses—specifically upscale department stores and high-fashion boutiques. Sound familiar?”

  Replace tea with coffee and it was the very concept Matt was proposing. “It’s a wonder you didn’t murder Lebreaux on the spot.”

  “Instead, I was very mature about the whole thing. I mean, Tad could have warned me, but when I thought it over, I realized he’d included two magazines in tonight’s investment presentation like-up and two designer labels. Each had their own business plan and unique approach, and when he first scheduled the seminar, he actually thought Lebreaux and I had distinct enough products—tea versus coffee.”

  “That’s crazy,” I replied. “You’re both going after the same real estate to set up shop.”

  “Yeah, well, we weren’t at first. Lebreaux’s initial prospectus had mentioned nothing about kiosks. He was seeking investments for straightforward importing only—to supply existing tea shops and specialty gourmet food stores with his imported Asian teas. But one week ago, he changed his business plan to include ‘tea kiosks inside high-end department stores and clothing boutiques.’”

  “One week ago!”

  “Clare, obviously, he stole my idea and meant to go head-to-head with me. When he started to make a stink about making his presentation first, he was told we’d go on alphabetically. That’s when he blew his top. Made threats. Accused me of stealing his idea, which I suspect was his plan all along—to discredit me in public. That’s when I had a few words for him—words, I swear, only words—and his hired thug dragged me out onto the deck…”

  I sighed. “I believe you, Matt. Lebreaux is an expensively dressed snake. And his bodyguard was the one who got physical first, so I doubt he’ll try to file any charges.”

  “His man wouldn’t cooperate anyway. The guy was tough, but he couldn’t swim to save his life.” Matt shook his head. “I ended up keeping him afloat until the crew dragged us aboard again.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “He actually thanked me before we got ashore.”

  I smiled. “Well, at least someone in this place avoided prosecution this week.” My remark began as a joke, but it reminded both of us of Tucker’s plight and brought us down again.

  “Doesn’t matter,” he replied. “I saw Mother’s face before I went overboard, so maybe it’s for the best. The Blend still belongs to her.”

  I was about to tell him what Madame had told me—that she was actually pleased her son was finally taking an interest in the future of the business, even taking it to a new level, though it was not where she would have chosen to go with it. But I stopped myself from saying a word. I assumed Madame herself would want to break that news to her son—and that Matt would prefer to hear it directly from his mother instead of through his ex-wife.

  We finished our espressos without saying anything more, just listened to a smooth, almost melancholy number by Four on the Floor, which was currently playing over the Blend’s sound system. Suddenly, a noisy group of late-night revelers came through the front door, chatting and shrieking with laughter as they approached the counter.

  “Oh, god,” I muttered, checking my watch.

  Matteo took one look at my overwrought expression and said, “Let me pitch in, Clare. Go upstairs, change, relax. I’ll close up.”

  With that, Matt rose from his seat, and came around the counter to begin taking drink orders. As I turned to go, I heard him add with an edge to his voice—“It’s about time I did something useful around here.”

  That’s when I hesitated. Should I have told him? Tad’s investment seminar wasn’t all that important in the scheme of things. Matt didn’t know that now, but he would soon realize that Madame was with him instead of against him. Once she discussed her feelings with him, I knew she’d help him secure all the investment money he might need from her late husband’s business contacts.

  I turned back to tell Matt not to worry. To assure him that Madame did understand what he was trying to do—what he needed to do as a man—and she was sure to help him now. But when I stepped back to the coffee bar, the new customers were already swarming the counter and shouting out their drink orders. Resolving to wait up for Matt instead, I turned once more and headed for the back staircase.

  My ex and I had been over a lot of bad road together, but that didn’t mean I didn’t care about him. No one, I thought, especially my own business partner, should have to go to bed thinking himself a failure.

  Sixteen

  “Clare!”

  The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t see the person calling my name. Darkness surrounded me, my legs and arms were buoyed, and the rhythmic sound of waves lapped against my ears. The lights of Manhattan towered above me, and I realized I was floating in the Hudson River.

  “Clare! Help!”

  Nearby, the rank water began splashing back and forth like the agitation cycle in a washing machine. Not more than twenty feet away, Tucker was flailing around in the river He was drowning!

  “Clare, help me!”

  I swam toward him, but a thick fog suddenly descended, obscuring the monumental towers of light. I peered into the dark mist. “Tucker, where are you? I can’t find you!”

  “Clare, hurry! Please!”

  I swam forward again, tried to cut through the fog. Finally, I saw his face ahead in the water. His eyes were fearful, his expression panicked. He was going under! I lurched forward to take hold of him, but suddenly I couldn’t move. My arms felt weighted, my legs paralyzed. Now I was sinking too.

  “Tucker, hold on!” I tried to shout, but my mouth slipped below the surface and the foul smelling river water swallowed my words.

  “Hi, cupcake!”

  My father, the short, wiry Italian with the manic energy of an excited terrier, rowed by on a dinghy, chewing the stub of a cigar. Forward and back, forward and back, he leaned wit
h carefree ease, pulling the oars that glided him along right past me.

  “Just remember what I told you, cupcake. Before they try to scam you—and they always will—stick it to ’em and twice as hard!”

  “Dad!” I cried.

  “Gotta, go, cupcake. Another day, another half dollar.” Then he was gone, rowing right along, disappearing into the fog.

  “Clare!”

  The voice was male but not my father’s or Tucker’s. I looked up from beneath the water. Above the undulating surface of the river, the foggy night had magically turned into blazing day. A large yacht drifted nearly on top of me. Standing on its deck, Matteo wore a white suit and bow tie. His hair was neatly trimmed, his face closely shaved, and his smile nearly blinding. But after he spotted me in the water, his brilliant smile faded.

  “Clare, sweetheart, hold on! I’m coming!” he cried.

  He was about to climb over the rail and jump in with me when Breanne Summour, head-to-toe in a hot pink nightgown, the color of Ricky Flatt’s corpse, strode up and whispered in his ear.

  He nodded, then laughed and swung his leg back, behind the rail. Suddenly, Joy was there on the yacht’s deck, moving up to the rail, squeezing in between them. “Bye, Mom! See ya!” she called, waving happily in her white sundress.

  As I sunk deeper and deeper into the river, I watched all three of them wave, then turn from the rail and disappear, laughing and raising glass latte mugs. I closed my eyes, devastated beyond words…

  I opened my eyes—

  Matteo’s face was next to mine. His jawline was no longer clean-shaven but shadowed with dark stubble. His brown eyes appeared tired.

  “What the…” I murmured.

  “You were having a bad dream,” Matt informed me. “You were moaning.”

  I was also still floating, I realized, but not in water.

  “Where am I?”

  “On your way to bed.”

  I blinked again and saw that Matt was carrying me with ease in his muscular arms. He was cresting the short flight of carpeted stairs and heading into the duplex’s master bedroom—my own. Matt had his own, smaller room at the other end of the short hall, for his infrequent layovers in New York.