[Made Men 6] The Root of All Evil

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  Chapter 4

  Giada was in her office working out the details for the contracts for Alajandro and Toro. Her bosses, both Davis and Monterro, said they’d received calls from Alajandro and Toro about her professionalism and business sense and they felt confident in working with Saks & Cain for their banking needs. She just needed to meet them today at their office to be interviewed by their security person, and afterward, they wanted to take her to dinner.

  She wanted to decline, but she knew she couldn’t and needed to play nice, despite not wanting them to think there could be more between them. As much as she enjoyed spending time with them, Dominick’s reaction stood out in her mind, and a guilty feeling consumed her. She wouldn’t go out with Dominick, Giuseppe, and Andreas and allow her lust and desires make her make a huge mistake. But her mind kept going back to the look in Dominick’s eyes, the feel of his hands on her body, his hand squeezing her ass, and his lips against her neck. She felt heated, aroused, and needy like nothing before.

  That upset her even more so because she was trying to keep them away. She didn’t want to date anyone, to be intimate with anyone. Not after Jimmy. She just wasn’t over her soldier and losing him. Then last night, while she lay in bed thinking about Dominick, Giuseppe, and Andreas, she felt as though they made her feel things even Jimmy hadn’t, and that was wrong. It wasn’t right or respectful to Jimmy and what they’d shared. Those thoughts had her swearing to herself to not let her guard down or open her heart up to the dangers of made men.

  She was preparing to leave for that appointment soon when her cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw it was Bella.

  “Hello?” she asked smiling, always loving to hear from Bella.

  “Hot damn, woman. You’re like famous.”

  “What?” she asked, not knowing what she was talking about.

  “Didn’t you hear from Fina or Donata?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  “Um, your video is all over YouTube. It has like fifty thousand hits and counting.”

  “What video? What are you talking about?”

  “Oh my God, you mean you didn’t realize you were being recorded? Last night at Club Magique, multiple people recorded you, but one guy had the perfect angle, and holy shit, you looked amazing, Giada—like sexy hot, even I was blushing and fanning myself. Then when those two good-looking gods started dancing with you, sandwiching you, holy shit. Who are they? More important, what the hell happened between you and Dominick? I heard he was fuming mad and still is.”

  “Oh God, how do you know all this? What the heck?” Giada felt her cheeks warm as she looked through the window in her office and out toward Julia. If her bosses saw that video, they might not be too pleased with her. She thought about how she’d danced with Alajandro and Toro. It wasn’t too sexy and did go along with the Latin music. “Shit. How much of the video shows me and the two guys?”

  “Not much. Most of the copies are of your solo in the middle of the dance floor. You should be on stage with moves like that. Your hips were in perfect sync to the beat of music.”

  “Yikes.”

  “So who are the guys?”

  “Businessmen I was having dinner with.”

  “Business? Honey, they were so into you, and I noticed that they didn’t take advantage of the situation and touch your ass. They kept their hands on your hips or in the air.”

  “How the hell could you see all that?”

  “I watched the video like a dozen-plus times. So did Mateus and Major. Now they want me to dance for them like that. I’ll need pointers from you.”

  “Oh God.” Giada lowered her head to her desk. Her heart was racing, and she felt so nervous. She hoped Alajandro and Toro hadn’t heard about the video. Shit.

  “Start talking,” Bella said.

  Giada looked at the time. “I’ll have to talk on the way out of my office. I have a business meeting then dinner.”

  “With the two hotties?”

  “Yes.” She chuckled.

  “Damn, woman. You are playing with fire. I mean you like these men? Like more than Dominick, Andreas, and Giuseppe?”

  “Bella.” Then she asked her to hold on while she said goodbye to Julia and handed her some documents to copy and save.

  She got into the elevator and started telling Bella about what had happened.

  “Oh man, I couldn’t even imagine Dominick that pissed. He had you pressed up against the wall like that, and you didn’t lose your mind and kiss him?”

  “Bella, we’ve been over this before. You know I don’t want this. I can’t handle it. The worrying, the violence, and then the fears. They’re made men, Andreas is retired military and a made man. It’s too much.”

  “Honey, we can’t help who we fall in love with.”

  “In love?” She shook her head, and immediately Giada’s belly and heart ached. She wanted to cry. She needed to be strong. “No, Bella. It would be lust and nothing more. I would regret it. I haven’t been with anyone since Jimmy.”

  “Well, there you go. It’s time to move on. Perhaps if you did, then it would be easier to not make so many excuses as to why you can’t date anyone.”

  “I’m not ready.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do.”

  “It’s okay to be afraid to take a chance. I know Jimmy was the only man you were ever with, and you dated for years and talked about getting married and all. It has to be so hard to get past it all, but Jimmy would want you to be happy and not alone.”

  “I’m not alone.”

  “When you aren’t with the girls, with all of us, you are alone.”

  “I choose to be. Plus, work is so crazy, especially right now. I’m up for this new position. I’m going to be the liaison between the company and potential high-end clients. It means schmoozing them, dinners, lunches, conversation.”

  “Sexy dancing?” Bella asked and chuckled.

  “That just kind of happened. It also helped that both men are of Latin descent.”

  “Oh hot tamales. I thought you preferred Italian?” Bella teased.

  “Very funny,” Giada said.

  Bella snickered. “Are you going to meet up with us at Club X after the boxing match Friday night as we all planned?”

  “Um…”

  “Oh come on. You aren’t seriously going to avoid their club, are you?”

  “Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea, and especially if Dominick was so angry. I don’t want it to look like I’m playing some sort of game here. I really need to keep my distance. I’m assuming that they’ll be at the boxing match.”

  “Of course they will be, and we have great seats, too. Listen, you can hang with the guys and me.”

  “I’ll let you know. I have a busy week and this deal to seal, plus another client to meet Thursday.”

  “Okay, but I am going to be seriously pissed if you duck out on us. Caprice needs us there for moral support. She hates when Angelo gets in the ring to fight, especially after he beat the crap out of the Irishman. Now this guy, Finarro Lupez, is some crazy Cuban dude. He’s got some major backing from big-shot money guys Mateus and Major know. Anyway, we’ll hold a seat as long as we can. So let me know by Thursday.”

  “Okay, will do.”

  Giada got into the cab and headed to Alajandro and Toro’s business a few blocks away. She smoothed her hands down her thighs. The pencil-tight dress hugged her figure and landed right above her knees. It was classy, professional, and a little sexy, especially with the high heels. She wasn’t sure what to expect with this investigation by their security personnel. Her boss had said running her through the system, fingerprinting, background checks, and personal questions. She swallowed hard. If she were a criminal or had done anything in her life that she felt embarrassed about, she would be in for one hell of an afternoon.

  * * * *

  “They own cigar stores and importing and exporting companies throughout the United States and particularly here in New
York,” Brew said to Dominick, Giuseppe, and Andreas.

  Andreas was looking at the YouTube video for the hundredth time, getting angrier and angrier.

  “Legit or not?” Giuseppe asked, leaning back in the seat, looking calm and unaffected, but Andreas knew he wasn’t.

  Dominick was being a prick, Giuseppe was snappy, and well, he felt like hunting down these fuckers and taking them out. It was insane how jealous he felt.

  “From what we gathered they look like they’re legit, but we didn’t dig too deep. Didn’t want to send up any red flags,” Brew said.

  “We did find out that these guys, Alajandro and Toro, are transferring accounts from some banks in Florida to Saks and Cain, which indicates those accounts to be in the hundreds of thousands or more. Saks and Cain usually only deal in high-end business securities,” Train said.

  “Yes, and it appears that Giada’s position puts her into the spot as negotiator for these accounts, along with her boss, a Monterro Spain,” Royce said.

  “What do you have on him?” Dominick asked.

  “We didn’t investigate him,” Train said to Dominick.

  “Do you think that’s necessary?” Giuseppe asked.

  “It wouldn’t hurt, but for now let’s not. The information we wanted was about these two guys who were with her last night. There was something about them, about the one guy who looked at me when I had her in the hallway. The way he placed his hand on her hip in a possessive manner, he knew I was carrying, saw my piece, had to figure out I was the real deal, and he didn’t bat an eye, was confident, not just being chivalrous. My gut says there’s more,” Dominick said.

  “Maybe he liked her so much he just reacted and didn’t think. It isn’t like you came out and showed him the piece and threatened him,” Train said to him.

  “No, it was more,” Dominick added.

  “She did look incredible last night, and that video, it’s all over the place,” Brew added.

  Andreas clenched his teeth. “We need to see her, to talk to her. If these two guys are trouble or up to no good, then I’m not going to stand by and watch her get hurt just because she’s fighting us.”

  “I agree. If what she told you was true, Dominick, and she doesn’t think she can handle the violence and the dangers our lives and professions entail, then she sure as shit wouldn’t want to be getting involved with these two Cuban assholes if they’re up to no good,” Giuseppe said.

  “That would be fucked up. Running from you three only to wind up involved with men who could hurt her or be involved with criminal activities. Might I suggest we dig a little further? Perhaps put someone on their business or them to see who they interact with?” Royce added.

  “I’m hesitant to do that just yet,” Dominick stated.

  “That’s because she made her fears known to you, and by having these men followed and investigated, it proves her fears are legit. That you guys are involved in things and capable of things she doesn’t think she can handle. It’s understandable, boss, but it’s better to be smart and figure out who these men are quickly,” Royce added.

  “We’ll think about it.” Giuseppe exchanged looks with Dominick and Andreas.

  “When can we see her?” Andreas asked in a hard tone.

  Giuseppe and Dominick looked at him and didn’t answer.

  Royce cleared his throat. “I spoke with Antonio this morning. He said that Bella was on the phone with Giada and trying to get her to go to the fight Friday night, then to Club X afterward. She was saving her a seat and would know by Thursday if she would attend.”

  “Well then, I guess it will be Friday night. We’ll see if we can persuade her to sit down and talk,” Giuseppe said.

  “You can talk. I’m too fucking pissed to be calm about this shit. Now, let’s move on to business. The first transactions took place last night, and everything went smoothly. If the importing and deliveries go this smooth, we’re going to make a nice side profit along with the Costanzas, the Fiorres, and Dmitri. Our only issue was a few people gave a little bit of a hard time. They were loyal to Calvarro and thought he had priority over the product. They were dealt with accordingly to send a clear message, correct, Royce?” Dominick said.

  “Yes. We’re ready for any further bumps or interference,” Royce said

  “Good.”

  Chapter 5

  “Who the fuck do they think they are? First, they’ll start with little dips into our money pot, and then they’ll take over. This is bullshit and has the potential for disaster. We could lose our gold mine. Ours,” Calvarro Torres said to the group of men sitting in the meeting room.

  “What do we do? Those are three major organized-crime families with pull and power we don’t have here in the States,” Loppo said to him.

  “We have pull and power. We have resources that have allowed us to get away with bringing in the illegal goods without problem or detection. Dmitri Sanclare, the Costanzas, the Fiorres and the Coglonies don’t have what we have. The smartest move was investing in the small cigar businesses with my cousin’s kid Alajandro and his friend Toro. With more than fifty storefronts and other strip malls, we have our cover and locations to hide our goods. These men don’t have that,” Calvarro told them all.

  “How are they coming along with getting those bank accounts set up? We need places to hide the money that the feds and cops won’t get wind of,” Louis Bronnos, owner of the club Cha Cha Cabana, asked. He, too, had an investment in this operation and didn’t want to lose money to these other families.

  “They are scheduled to meet the representative here today in about thirty minutes,” Loppo said to them.

  “A woman?” Calvarro asked.

  Loppo smiled. “A very attractive woman with hidden talents.” He smirked.

  Two of the other security guys smiled.

  “What do you mean?” Calvarro asked. Then he listened to them explain about the business meeting at Club Magique, owned by the Fiorre family; how it was Latin dance night; and how the woman was amazing.

  “There’s a video on YouTube,” one of the others told him.

  “I hope they’re thinking with the right heads. We need to be careful,” Calvarro stated.

  “Take a look at the video or, better yet, stick around and meet her. She’s due here momentarily, and Alajandro and Toro can’t wait,” one of the security guys, Apponte, said to him.

  “Okay, let’s handle the other aspects of business, including the deliveries set for tonight. I need a few of you working on making sure Costanza, Fiorre, and Sanclare do not get a hold of our other distributors. Be ready to negotiate terms and make it so that they don’t stray. We start losing our connections, and we’ll be shoved out, and these fuckers will take over what belongs to us. I mean what the fuck?” Calvarro stated in annoyance.

  “We could ask for a sit-down to discuss this business. Come up with some sort of agreement with them,” Louis Bronnos suggested.

  “Seriously, Louis, you think that sit-down would end up in our favor and not theirs? They’ll put the pressure on, make their threats, and we will end up with a twenty percent cut of what we’ve been making a seventy-five percent profit on. No fucking way am I meeting with them. No fucking way,” Calvarro stated firmly.

  The others nodded, and everyone started to leave the room.

  A few minutes later, as Calvarro headed out of the meeting room with Loppo and Apponte, his two main security guys, his eyes landed on the backside of one very sexy woman with long, wavy black hair that reached her mid-back. She wore a tight dress that accentuated her toned thighs, and, holy shit, when she turned around with Alajandro and he locked his gaze on a gorgeous face, ocean-blue eyes, full lips, and a sweet, sensual smile, his heart began to race. No wonder his cousin and his friend were enthralled with this woman. She was perfection.

  “Calvarro, great timing. We would like you to meet Giada Slane. She’s the representative from Saks and Cain.”

  Calvarro immediately reached out his hand and gave the woman
a smile and wink. “Gorgeous young woman, and obviously very intelligent, as well, to be working at Saks and Cain,” he said, and she blushed. She was precious indeed.

  She pulled her hand back, and he realized he was staring at her and had held her hand a little too long.

  “So what are we up to today?” he asked.

  “Loppo is going to do the final security clearance with Giada, and then we’re off to dinner. Would you like to join us?” Toro asked, obviously noticing Calvarro’s interest.

  “I have other plans but would love to get to know Giada since she’ll be privy to personal information about the businesses. How about Friday night, you bring her to the event? I’ll have Loppo get another three seats first row.”

  “Great. We’ll tell her all about it over dinner.”

  He shook her hand good-bye, and he and Loppo walked away a moment. “Get everything you can on her.”

  Loppo smiled. “Your cousin and his buddy are very into her.”

  “I’m sure they are, but this is business. She’ll be privy to money transactions and could be nosey and ask questions. We’ll need to ensure she knows who is in charge.”

  “Got it.”

  “Good, and make sure they get her to come to the fight.”

  “Will do.” Loppo headed back to interview Giada.

  * * * *

  Giada was tired after all the questions from Loppo, a very hard, intimidating man who headed security for corporate headquarters. She didn’t like the personal questions he asked, but it did give her the opportunity to let him, Alajandro, and Toro know that she didn’t date and why. She felt a bit uncomfortable, to say the least, but when they were finally finished, even Loppo smiled at her.

  “I know it probably seemed overkill, but you must understand that men in our positions and with the money we make have to be cautious. There always seems to be people trying to swindle us or steal,” Alajandro stated.