by Jessie Cooke
“Yeah,” Levi said, “I'll get past it though. Did the papers look okay?”
“Perfect,” he said. He looked at his watch and toward the door. Levi smiled.
“Isabelle wants to be there for this one?”
“Isabelle wants to hand her the papers,” Alex chuckled. “Suddenly what I do makes so much sense to her.”
“She deserves to get to tell Kelly what she thinks of her to her face,” Levi said. “That psycho Daniel could have done anything to her and may have if we hadn't found them so quickly. I still can't figure out how one woman can do that to another.”
“She's a psycho herself,” Alex said. “She called me yesterday,” he said with indignation, “to wish me a happy birthday. She's still acting like nothing happened.”
Levi frowned. “Did you change your birthdate?”
“No.” Alex rolled his eyes and chuckled. “It's still next week on the eighth. She was just looking for an excuse to see if I would still take her calls, I think.”
“I know you're the numbers guy and I'm just the lowly attorney here…but I glanced at those numbers,” Levi indicated the paperwork in the file still sitting in front of Alex. “They're bad.”
“They're perfect,” Alex said with a smile. “They're the reason I was able to do what I'm about to do. Buy low, sell high my friend.”
Levi raised his coffee cup. “You're the genius. Oh, there's Isabelle now.”
24
Alex turned toward the door. Even after knowing her for months and seeing her almost every day for the past four weeks, his breath still caught in his throat when he looked at her. Her cheeks were pinked from the cold and she had her hair over to the side in a messy braid underneath a knit hat that she had made herself. She was gorgeous, inside and out, and he loved her dearly. He hadn't told her that just yet…but soon. She smiled at Levi and when he and Alex started to stand she made a noise with her lips and said, “Sit down, sillies. I'm going to grab a coffee, I'll be right back.”
Levi watched her go and then told Alex, “She's certainly different from the women you and I usually surround ourselves with.”
Alex smiled. “That's the best part,” he said.
Levi nodded. “I know,” he said, drinking what was left in his coffee cup. “It was what was best about Rachel too.” Alex was going to express his sympathy again but before he could, Levi jumped up and said, “I have dinner with the parents tonight, so I have to run.”
“You're driving all the way out to Newark?”
“Yes. It's Mom's retirement dinner. I'd be excommunicated from the family if I didn't show up. Good luck,” he said, and then to Isabelle as she made it back to the table, “Have fun.”
Isabelle smiled brightly. “I plan to. You don't have to leave on my account.”
Levi kissed her cheek and said, “I have dinner plans. I'll check in with you both later to see how it went.” Alex and Isabelle said goodbye and Levi left. When he was gone Isabelle looked at the file and said,
“Are those the papers?”
“They are.”
“Can I take a look?”
Alex handed them to her and watched her face as she skimmed through them. She smiled when she closed the folder and said, “We know she's in the office?”
“Mike just checked in, he says she's there.”
“Is it bad that I'm excited? Isn't revenge supposed to be a sin or something?”
Alex laughed. “Are you Catholic?”
“No.”
“Then it's not a sin,” he said with a wink. “But this isn't really revenge. This is more like karma…just desserts.”
Izzy nodded. “Okay, I'm ready when you are.”
Alex finished what was in his coffee cup and said, “Okay, me too.”
They stood up and locked hands and that was the way they would walk into Kelly's office less than ten minutes later. The look on her face ran the gamut from surprise, annoyance, jealousy and anger within seconds. “What are you doing here?” she asked, focusing on Isabelle when she said it.
“I'm sorry to disturb you, Kelly Valentine,” Isabelle said, “but you've been served.” She held out the document she had taken out of the folder to Kelly. Kelly looked at it like it was a snake and didn't take it, so Isabelle lay it down in front of her on the desk.
“I'm busy,” she said, looking at Alex, “working. What is this nonsense?”
“I suggest you take a look,” Alex told her.
Kelly sighed and rolled her eyes, finally picking up the papers. Isabelle watched her face closely as she scanned the document. Alex watched Isabelle. He knew she was feeling guilty about how much she was enjoying this. He got joy from seeing her enjoy it and he would do whatever he could to make sure she lost that guilty feeling since Kelly had made her own bed and needed to lie in it. “What the hell?” Kelly's voice had raised to an annoying pitch and she jumped to her feet. “Alex? What the hell is this?”
“I bought your company…or technically, my company. The first time I bought it for you, I paid a lot more for it than I did this time. Of course the owners at that time had not run it into the ground as badly as you have in such a short time. Those papers that Isabelle just handed you are the orders to vacate the premises. You have three days to have your staff and anything that belongs to you personally out of here. In the meantime, my people will be here to do inventory and anything that was bought with company funds needs to be left behind or you will be charged full price for it…”
“Alex!” Kelly was screeching now. “This is me, Alex! Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” he asked with his eyebrow raised. “Really, Kelly? Are you that daft, or delusional? You had me followed, you blackmailed Isabelle, you let some creepy sex offender drug and kidnap her, all because you couldn't stand the thought of making your own money. You wanted what was mine. What you thought you were owed!”
“You!” she spat in Isabelle's direction as if she hadn't heard a word Alex said. “This is all about you! Everything was fine, it was all good before you came along and messed it all up! You stupid, pathetic little nobody! You'll never be anybody!” Alex took a step toward Kelly, but Isabelle reached out and put her hand on his arm.
“She's not worth it, Alex. Soon, she's not going to be worth anything at all,” Isabelle said. Then reaching for Alex's hand she said, “Come on babe, let's get out of her way so she can pack.”
Alex took Izzy's hand and as she led him out of the office, Kelly was flinging cuss words like a sailor on leave in Saigon. Alex's entire body was tense. Walking away while she was calling Izzy horrible, disgusting names was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. Thank God for Izzy. She walked out of there with her spine straight and her head held high. Alex finally took a breath once they were outside. He looked at Isabelle and she smiled, sadly.
“Baby, I hope you're not still feeling guilty. Kelly should be in jail. She's lucky that she's just losing her business…and if you got a look at the numbers I looked at when I bought it, you'd know that was going to happen anyway.”
She shook her head as they started walking back toward the diner where their cars were parked. “No, it's not guilt I'm feeling. It's more…It's hard to explain. Since I was a kid I obsessed over thoughts of what I would do to get revenge on my step-bullies for the way they treated me. But I realized something just now. Kelly's mouth was saying ugly things and her face was showing her disappointment, fear, all of that…but, you know what I saw in her eyes?”
“What's that baby?”
“Regret.”
Alex put stock in Isabelle's judgment, but in this case, he was sure she had it wrong. “Baby, I doubt that she regrets anything she did to you, or me…”
“You're right, in a way. She doesn't regret hurting anyone, but she does regret getting caught. Which means that while she lives with the consequences of her actions, she'll have to think about what she did to get to that point. She'll regret it forever, because her life could have been so good if she would have left i
t alone and at least pretended to be kind to people. So, while she doesn't regret hurting anyone but herself…the feeling is still the same. She can't escape what's in her head. It's the same with my step-bullies. As bad as all of that horror that happened when I was seventeen was for me…it was worse for them.”
“Okay, you lost me again, babe. You're the one that found the lady and lost everything. They're still living off the family money, right? Actually, now is as good a time as any to make a confession. I checked into them after you told me their story. I wanted to make sure none of those people from your past could hurt you again…” She cocked an eyebrow at him and he said, “I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be controlling, I was just so angry when you told me how they hurt you. I looked them up, but I didn't follow through with doing anything to them, I promise.”
She smiled and said, “Okay, take a breath, I'm not mad. And yes, they both became very rich as soon as they turned twenty-one and had access to their trust funds. They got to keep the house and all the furnishings. They're living large…from the outside looking in. But, they carry their father's last name, friends and family walked away from them because of it. They carry his DNA and will forever have to worry if there's some kind of sickness that runs through their veins. For them, what happened back then will never go away, and that's a lot of punishment, I know.”
Alex stopped when they got to where her car was parked and pulled her into him. Kissing her lips softly he said, “But you have to live with it to, and you're innocent of it all.”
She smiled and said, “Bad things happen. It's what makes us strong. You can't wrap me up in a plastic bubble and make sure I don't ever get any bumps or bruises. It's going to happen, and as long as I don't die, I'll be okay.” He made a face at her and she said, “Dealing with Kelly today felt mildly good, but from now on I want us to keep our eyes on the future and not the past.”
He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. He held her for a few minutes and then he said, “I love you, Izzy Brazil.”
She let out a soft little moan and for a few seconds he was afraid that he had screwed up by saying the words. But at last she looked up at him with those sexy dark blue eyes and said, “I love you too Alexander Romaletti.” She kissed his lips again and said, “But, I have to get going, lots to do today,”
“Work?” She stepped back and pulled her car keys out of her pocket and said,
“Nope.”
“Oh…what then?”
“Trust me?”
“Yeah…but, you look like you're up to something.”
She grinned and pulled open her car door. “Usually that means I am,” she said before sliding inside.
25
“Damn, you're in a mood…is it because you're getting so close to forty?” Alex glared across the table at Levi.
“I'm thirty-seven asshole, and you're not far behind me. But no, I'm not worried about getting older.”
“Then what? Isabelle not give you a birthday treat this morning?” Alex made a face and Levi said, “That's it, isn't it? You didn't get a birthday blowjob.”
“Oh shut the fuck up. That's not it.”
“So, you did get a birthday blowjob?”
Alex sighed. “I didn't even see her, okay? I woke up and she was gone already. All she left was a note that said, ‘Lots of work to do today. Happy Birthday, I love you. Talk soon.’ That was,” Alex looked at his watch, “over nine hours ago. I texted to see if she wanted to have lunch and her response was, ‘Can't baby. Too busy.’ It's almost dinner time, I still haven't heard a word.”
Levi was trying to keep from smiling, but he wasn't doing a very good job. “So, you're pouting because she's not fawning all over you on your birthday.”
“Yeah!” Alex said, feeling stupid and like an adolescent with a crush. “It's my first birthday with her. I thought…”
“You thought she would make a big deal out of it? You thought she'd make a whole day of it…or a whole weekend since it's Friday?”
“Yeah, I did. You think it's stupid of me?” Levi laughed, and Alex said, “I guess that answers my question.”
“No Bro, I'm sorry. You're just so fucking funny. I sat in on that meeting with you yesterday and you fucking scared me when you got all cutthroat with those people, but this woman…she makes you like…”
Alex rolled his eyes. “I know, a fucking marshmallow.”
“I was going to say a girl, but whatever.”
Alex laughed. “Thanks man, you always know just what to say to make me feel better.”
“I'm a charming son of a bitch,” Levi said. “What can I say?”
Alex felt his phone buzz in his pocket before he came up with a retort. He pulled it out and smiled when he saw the text from Isabelle. The butterflies he got in his stomach made him wonder if Levi was right, maybe he was a big ass girl. He didn't care. He wanted to stand up and dance when he read the text.
“Clothes laid out on the bed. Car picking you up at seven. Dinner at Tony's at 7:30. I'll meet you there.” Well, it was short and cryptic…but, it was something. He didn't know Tony's but if Izzy arranged for a driver, he probably had the directions. Alex did wonder about the clothes part too…he couldn't wait to get home and see what that was about. He looked at Levi and said, “Looks like I have a dinner date. I gotta go.”
Levi chuckled and when Alex tried to take out money to pay for the beer he'd only drank half of Levi said, “Are you kidding me? Happy birthday man…enjoy.”
“Thanks,” Alex told him, feeling the excitement growing inside of him just knowing he was going to see Izzy soon. He walked the three blocks to his apartment complex with a smile on his face, over-tipped the doorman, joked around with the elevator operator and almost hugged Mike when he got off the elevator in the penthouse. Izzy made him happier than he'd ever been in his life and part of why he was so excited about seeing her tonight was that he'd talked to his mother earlier that day, and his parents wanted to meet her. They never really liked Kelly, although they did their best to hide it. Kelly never went out of her way to be warm or friendly toward them. But he was sure that they would love Izzy…and she them. His mother was making a birthday dinner for him on Sunday evening and they wanted him to bring Izzy with him for the celebration.
He went into the master suite and stopped in his tracks when he saw what was on the bed. Alex rarely wore anything but suits and ties. Not only were they necessary for work, but almost every social event he attended required him to dress nicely as well. “Hey Mike!”
Mike appeared almost instantly. It was kind of weird how he did that, but it wasn't something Alex wanted to ponder at the moment. “Tony's, do you know it?”
“Sure, it's a little Italian place in the village. Great pasta and the bread…” He kissed his fingers.
“Not dressy?”
“Nah. It's run by the Giacomazzi's.”
“The Giacomazzi's that may or may not be related to the most recent Don of New York?”
“One in the same,” Mike said. “Nice people.”
Alex laughed. “Alright then, thanks.” Mike left, and Alex showered, shaved, styled his hair, and then went in to take a closer look at what she'd lain out for him to wear. The jeans were new, with the tags still on them, but they were the kind that looked worn, or like they'd been washed a hundred times. Alex had never worn a pair like them before. The t-shirt was solid black and there was a long-sleeved black shirt, simple cotton, that snapped up the front with silver snaps. Alex raised an eyebrow at that in particular. He'd never worn anything that snapped. But Izzy was the fashion expert, so who was he to complain? He lifted the t-shirt and that was when his eyes widened. There were a pair of underwear there…maybe men's underwear? He wasn't sure. He reached down and touched them. They were made out of something like silk, something soft that he'd never worn in underwear before. He picked them up and examined them closer. They had a fly, so definitely men's underwear…but again, nothing he'd ever worn before. Reluctantly, he pulled the underw
ear on, feeling a little silly when he realized how much he liked the feel of the material against his skin. He finished putting on the rest of the clothes, ending with a black leather jacket and a pair of black leather boots. He looked at himself in the mirror and chuckled. He looked like a biker…except for the silk underwear of course. Thank goodness no one could see that.
He started toward the elevator out in the living room when Mike said, “Hey boss, Izzy said to have you take this, but to tell you not to open it yet.” Mike handed him a blue birthday bag. It was small, but heavy and completely taped up so that he couldn't open it without it being obvious to Izzy that he did. He thanked Mike and then went downstairs where the car and driver were already waiting. The drive to the village took a little over half an hour thanks to heavy traffic and it was just about seven-forty when he got there. As soon as he walked in, the hostess, a young Italian girl in a tight black dress greeted him.
“Hello sir, do you have a reservation?”
“I'm meeting someone, Isabelle Brazil.”
She smiled brightly. “Oh yes sir, this way.” She led him through the small restaurant. It was on a much smaller scale than what he was used to, but it was nice. The walls were made of brick and the tables covered in bright red tablecloths. Each one had a green candle burning in the center of it. There were a lot of green plants and the booths and tables were set apart from each other to provide for privacy. Alex didn't want to think about what this particular family needed privacy for.
When they got almost all the way to the back of the restaurant the hostess took a small turn to the right, into a little private alcove, and he saw Izzy. His heart sped up at the sight of her. She was wearing an off the shoulder black dress that was made of some thin, stretchy material and even sitting down, he could tell that it was hugging every curve of her sexy body. He was actually jealous of it. She wore her hair down, curled around her shoulders and she had more make-on than she usually wore. She looked so hot he wanted to fuck her right there in front of everyone. She stood up and thanked the hostess before putting her arms up around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss that might not have been appropriate for public viewing, so it was good that they had their own private little area. She shoved her hot, wet little tongue into his mouth and explored it before pulling back and saying,
