Tommy Gabrini 3: Grace Under Fire (The Gabrini Men Series) (15 page)

She
moved to get out of his embrace, but Tommy kept her in his grip.
 
“Remember
 
when I told you about some people interested in backing me for mayor?”

“He
was one of those people?”

“Yeah.
 
I met him and some DC operative, Amy
Richards, at some motel outside of town.
 
Peter set the whole thing up.”

“You
think that woman was involved too, and this politics thing was just a ruse?”

“No.
 
I don’t think she was involved in that.
 
I think Peter has his backers, and they was
going to capitalize on whatever opportunity came their way.”

“But
who are his backers?” Grace asked.
 
“Who
would go through such links?
 
And why?”

“And
how could it happen?”
 
Sal asked, never a
man to beat around the bush.
 
“How could
you end up in bed kissing on his ass?”

“After
Amy left, Peter was trying to convince me to run.
 
I had already told them no, but he said if he
could make me laugh, I had to agree to at least think about it.
 
He was a prankster from way back, and he
certainly was good for laughs, so I said okay.
 
He started horse playing around, trying to tickle me, and then he was
straddling me and tried to kiss me.
 
It
happened just that fast.”

 
“There was no try in it, Tommy,” Sal said.
 
“According to that photo, that man was
kissing you.”

“And
I beat his ass for doing so.
 
I left him
in that motel room.”

Sal
stared at his brother.
 
“Why didn’t you
tell me any of this?”

“There
was nothing to tell.”

“People
want you to run for mayor of Seattle, and you don’t think that’s something to
tell?”

“It’s
nothing to tell because I wasn’t about to do it.”

“Then
why did you meet that man in the motel, if you had no intentions of running?”

“Amy
Richards came all the way from DC to speak with me, and Peter had set it up, so
the least I could do was hear her out.”

“But
why a motel room?” Grace asked.

“Amy
Richards is well known in political circles.
 
She didn’t want to be seen meeting with me to avoid any premature
announcements or press speculation.
 
At
least that was the line Peter laid on me.
 
And I believed him.
 
Dammit!”
 

Grace
placed her hand on the side of Tommy’s face.
 
“There’s no way you could have saw this coming, Tommy.
 
There’s no way.
 
So don’t blame yourself.
 
Isn’t that right, Sal?”

But
Sal wasn’t interested in coddling his brother.
 
He was interested in revenge.
 
He
looked at Tommy.
 
“Who’s he working for,
you figure?”

“Maybe
one of your girlfriends,” Grace suggested.

“No,”
Sal said.

“Peter
wouldn’t play that kind of game,” Tommy said.
 
“The stakes would have to be higher.
 
Much higher than that.”

Sal
looked at his brother.
 
“Are you thinking
what I’m thinking?”

Tommy
nodded.
 
“Univec?”

Grace
was surprised.
 
“The other company that
want a merger with Beltco?”

“That’s
the one,” Tommy said.
 
“They probably
hired him.
 
To get the upper hand.”

The
desk intercom buzzed.
 
Tommy leaned back
and pressed the button.
 
“Yeah, Viv?”

“The
Chairman of the Beltco Corporation is on line seven, sir.”

Grace
and Sal both looked at Tommy.
 
She fully
expected him to release her as he took this all-important call.
 
But he didn’t.
 
He took the call, but he, in fact, held her
tighter.

“Hello
William,” Tommy said into the phone.
 
And
then he listened.
 
And listened.
 
“Okay,” he finally said.
 
“Right.”
 
And then he hung up.

“What
did he say?” Sal asked.

“The
merger is off,” Tommy said.
 
“They’re
going with Univec.”

“
Damn
,” Sal said, so disappointed.
 
“Fuck’em,” he then said, his anger
rising.
 
“Who the fuck needs them
anyway?
 
Damn
,” he said again, his disappointment winning out.

Grace
continued to stare at her husband.
 
She
knew how badly he wanted that merger.
 
She rubbed his powerful biceps.
 
“It was for the best, Tommy,” was all she could think to say.

“What
reason did they give?” Sal wanted to know.
 
“We were the number one company they wanted to merge with and those
fuckers knew it!
 
They knew we could take
them higher than they could ever dream.
 
But suddenly we aren’t good enough?
 
Suddenly they figure you’re some flaming homosexual and they don’t want
to associate with us?”

“Not
quite the way he put it,” Tommy said.
 
“He started off saying he didn’t believe such nonsense.”

“Then
why would he make the deal with Univec?” Sal wanted to know.

“Because
he didn’t want controversy, or so he claims.”

“Yeah,
well, he can kiss my ass!
 
Who wants to
deal with people like that anyway?
 
A
bunch of fair-weathered friends.
 
Instead
of defending you, like me and Grace have to do all the time, they dump
you.
 
Fuck’em!”

But
Tommy stared at Sal.

“What?”
Sal asked, wondering why was he staring, and staring so hard.

But
Grace knew.
 
“It’s what you said,” she
said.
 
“You said you and I always have to
defend him.”

“Well
we do.
 
That’s not news.”

“No,”
Tommy said, releasing her and standing up.
 
“It’s not.”
 
He walked behind his
desk.

“What
did I say wrong?” Sal wanted to know.
 
“You’re a major businessman with business enemies, and you’re a major
lover with lovesick enemies.
 
You’re just
fucked up, Tommy, what can I say?”

Tommy
looked at his brother, to make sure those weren’t fighting words, and then Sal
smiled.

“What
can I say?” he said again.
 
“I love you,
but you’re fucked up. You are!”

And
Tommy released the tension, and smiled too.
 
And then he laughed.
 
It took
Grace longer to accept such bluntness, but then she laughed too.
 
Because in a lot of ways it was true about
all three of them.
 
It wasn’t exactly
funny, they had lost a major merger, but they decided they might as well get a
good laugh out of it.
 
It certainly beat
a good cry.

But
despite their good outlook, Tommy and Sal still took care of business and
ordered their men to track down Peter Harpton.
 
It was over, the damage was done, but that didn’t mean the Gabrinis were
going to let him get away scot-free.
 
They found him, holed up at a motel near Newcastle, and Tommy and Sal
paid him a visit.
 

They
didn’t bother to knock, they bust the door in.
 
When Peter, who was fucking a woman in the bed, realized what was
happening, it was too late.
 
Tommy
grabbed him out of bed, his small dick still stiff and wet, and slung him against
the wall.
 
It sagged almost
immediately.
 
Sal silenced the naked
woman with a gun to her head, warning her that if she ever mentioned seeing a
damn thing, she could forget seeing another day.
 

And
Tommy beat his former friend’s ass again.
 
Why did Peter do it?
 
He did it
for the money, Tommy got him to admit.
 
He had a hooker problem, and a gambling problem, and he needed the
dough.
 
When Tommy finished with him, he
needed a hospital.
 
But the woman wasn’t
calling one.
 
As soon as the Gabrinis
left, she put on her clothes and fled too.

TWELVE

After
the merger didn’t materialize, Tommy and Grace moved on with their still-new
marriage.
 
But she continued to sense her
husband’s disappointment.
 
All his life,
from a mother who left him, to a father who abused him, to a former fiancée who
never really committed her all to him, he’d been let down.
 
The failure of the Beltco merger was just
another nail in that coffin.
 
Grace knew
he would get over it.
 
He always
did.
 
But as the week ended and another
week began, and he still seemed in a funk, she decided, early that morning, to
help him along the way.

She
notified her office that she would not be in this week and went, instead, to
her husband’s office.
 
He was in a major
meeting, so she waited in the secretary’s suite.
 
There was no rush.
 
Besides, the more business he could conclude,
the better.
 

But
it would be another hour, and Vivian’s constant requests to at least let him
know she was out here, were declined.
 
But Vivian remained concerned, she knew how protective Mr. Gabrini could
be when it came to his wife, and her fears were heightened when the meeting
finally wrapped up, and Tommy emerged.

When
he saw his wife sitting out there, as if she was just anybody, he was, as
Vivian had feared, upset.
 
But before he
could take it out on Viv, Grace stood.
 
“She wanted to let you know I was out here,” she quickly said, “but I
insisted she didn’t.”

“And
why is that?” he asked her.

“I
knew you were in an important meeting.”

Tommy
smiled.
 
“That never stopped you before,”
he said truthfully, prompting Grace to make a face at him.

“All
right, Tommy,” the gentleman he had been meeting with said, “I’ll have my
people send over the paperwork for you to review.”

“And
then we’ll see,” was all Tommy was willing to promise, and the two men shook
hands.
 
The gentleman looked at
Grace.
 
“My wife,” Tommy said, by way of
introduction.
 
“Grace Gabrini.”

“So
nice to meet you, ma’am,” the man said, shaking her hand. “I heard Tommy had
married well.
 
Now I see just how well.”

Grace
continued to smile, what a load of bonkers, she thought, and he left.
 

“Come
on in,” Tommy said, but Grace shook her head.

“Can’t,”
she said.
 
“The plane is waiting.”

He
didn’t understand.
 
“What plane?”

“Our
plane.
 
The one that’s going to take us
up out of here.”

Tommy
still didn’t understand.
 
And neither did
his secretarial staff, as they were all ears too.
 
“Darling, what are you talking about?”

“I
have canceled all of your appointments for the week.”

Tommy
looked at his wife as if he was looking at a stranger.
 
“You did
what
?”

“She
canceled all of your appointments for the week,” Sal’s voice said, and Tommy
turned to the sound.
 
Sal was entering
the suite as he spoke.

“And
why did she do that?”

“What
are you asking me for?” Sal asked.
 
“Ask
her.”

 
Grace laughed and put her arm in Tommy’s
arm.
 
“Come on,” she said.
 
“I’ll explain on the way.”

Tommy
was amazed by this, and not at all amused, but he studied Grace.
 
He stood there, his suit coat opened, his
hands on his hips, and studied his wife.
 
She was not a frivolous woman, neither was she someone who didn’t think
things through very careful.
 
She had
thought this through and had decided, unilaterally for the first time in their
marriage, that this was what they should be doing.
 
And because it was Grace, and because she was
always of sound judgment, he decided to see.
 
For once in his life, he decided to relinquish control and let her take
the wheel.

And
he and Grace, arm in arm, left the Gabrini Corporation.
 
Sal was involved.
 
That gave Tommy added assurance because he
knew Sal was more than capable of handling any emergency.
 
He could also handle Tommy’s staff.

And
sure enough, as soon as Tommy and Grace were gone, Sal looked at that staff and
read them the riot act.

“To
all you slackers who think the boss’s absence gives you a license to hang
around and do no work, think again.
 
Nothing could be further from the truth.
 
I’m still here, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m going to ride your asses
like a witch on a broom.
 
You don’t wanna
fuck with me.
 
I’m gonna work your asses
like a hoe in a garden.
 
You’ll wish you
were dead when I get through with you.”

He
stared at their faces.
 
They all looked
so terrified!
 
And then he smiled.
 
“I’m just fucking with y’all,” he said with a
jerk of his shoulders, and he said it so breezily that they realized instantly
he was, indeed, joking.
 
They
laughed.
 
He got them good.

“While
the boss is gone,” Sal said seriously, “do your work.
 
You cash our paychecks every week, you gotta
do your work.
 
But other than that, do
whatever the fuck y’all wanna do.
 
Just
do it discreetly, and don’t let me hear about it. I hear about it, I gotta do
something about it, and you won’t like what I do.
 
Understood?”

They
all gladly voiced their understanding.
 
They were overjoyed with understanding.
 
Because they knew not to push it.
 
They all knew Sal all too well.
 
He was a fair man, nobody would disagree with that, but he could be the
asshole of assholes if they went too far.
 
So they were happy, and relieved to have a break from Tommy’s hectic
schedules, but they were cautious too.

The
plane lifted off and it was only then, in flight, that Grace let the cat out of
the bag.
 
Tommy was seated beside her as
he watched Seattle fade into the clouds.

“We’re
going to Paris,” she said to him.

It
was odd to Tommy, since he’d been in Paris just a couple months ago, but he saw
how Grace lit up just telling him the news.
 
He wasn’t about to burst her bubble, not by the way she always stood by
him, and believed in him despite the madness around them.
 
He took her hand.
 
“I certainly didn’t expect,” he said, “that
my wife would be taking me to Paris when she got out of my arms this morning.”

“But?”
 
Grace looked at him, gauging his response.

Tommy
smiled.
 
“Why not?” he said joyously, and
Grace smiled too.
 
“And why?
 
What made you want to do this?”

“I
was concerned about you.
 
We’ve had a
very bumpy start to our marriage, to say the least, and our courtship wasn’t
smooth sailing either.
 
And then that
merger deal fell through and I just thought you needed a break.”

“
We
needed a break,” Tommy corrected her.

“Right,”
Grace agreed.
 
“So I contacted Sal, told
him what I was thinking about doing, and he was all for it.
 
He loves you so much, Tommy.”

Tommy
nodded.
 
“Yeah, he does.
 
Used to be a time when I was his protector,
not the other way around.”

“You
are still his protector.
 
And mine.
 
We’re grateful to have you.
  
You’re our leader and we need our leader
well rested and vibrant again.”

Tommy
smiled, with those lines of age beginning to appear.
 
He squeezed Grace’s hand.
 
“As far as trips go, yes, you picked well, my
love.
 
This should do the trick.”

“That’s
the spirit,” Grace proclaimed as they both smiled and looked back out of the
window, their heads in the clouds.

They
arrived, at the Hotel Fouquet’s Barriere in Paris, that next morning.
 
Tommy was determined to make the most of this
unexpected vacation, and Grace was more excited the happier Tommy became.
 
She never, in her wildest dreams, thought she
could do anything for a man like him, a man, in her estimation, who had
everything.
 
But by the time they arrived
at the hotel, and showered and dressed like two teenagers on their senior trip,
she knew she had found his weak spot.
 
He
came alive in Paris, even before they began any touring.
 
Even after the disaster of their very first
stop, he still seemed vivacious.

Their
first stop was at an outdoor café.
 
Tommy
had hired a private driver, and he waited in the car while they sat at the small,
round table and sipped their wine.
 
Grace
was mapping out what they were to see today.
 
They both wore shades and were casually dressed in jeans, tennis shoes,
and tucked-in shirts.
 
Tommy was leaned
back on two legs of the chair, had his own legs crossed, and was staring at his
wife.
 
When she looked up, and saw him
looking at her, she smiled.
 
“Yes?”

“You
look pretty.”

Grace
took a look at her handsome husband.
 
“So
do you.”

“I’m
happy.
 
Every time I come to Paris, I
come to work.
 
This is my first time here
where I’m not including work.
 
I like
it.”

“Good.”

Tommy’s
expression turned serious.
 
“You’re the
only person who has ever done something like this for me, Grace.
 
Thank-you.”

Grace
reached over the table and squeezed his hand.
 
He reached over and kissed her on the lips.
 
When they leaned away, Alexandria Dawse was
standing there as if she had been invited over.

Grace
looked at her.
 
But she was staring at
Tommy.
 
Grace could tell he wasn’t
pleased to see her in any way.

“Hello
Alex,” he said.
 
She was obviously of
mixed race descent, African and maybe French, because she had a decidedly
French accent.
 
But what struck Grace
most was how young she appeared.
 
Twenty-five if she was a day.
 
Surprisingly young, she thought, considering Tommy’s usual taste.

“I
thought you had left,” Alex said with a smile.
 
“You’re back already?”

“It
would appear.”

“You
came to see me, yes?”

“Of
course not!”

“Then
why are you back?”

“That’s
none of your business, Alex.
 
What do you
want?”

But
Alex didn’t respond.
 
She, instead,
looked at Grace.
 
Her look was now
decidedly dry and humorless.
 
“Why is she
here?”
 
She spoke in a tone that
surprised Grace. She wasn’t even trying to feign civility anymore.

Tommy
frowned.
 
“You don’t know who she is.”

“I
know who that . . . person is,” Alex said, revealing her poutiness.

“No,
you don’t,” Tommy replied.
 
“You cannot
possibly know who she is.
 
Because this
is my wife, and nobody speaks to my wife that way.”

“Friend
of yours, honey?” Grace decided to ask him.

As
she suspected, Alex didn’t like it.
 
She
looked at Grace as if she was looking at a pest.
 
“Friend?
 
No, I am not his friend!
 
I’m his
lover, for your information, and will always be.”

Tommy’s
anger rose.
 
“You are not my lover, and
you will be wise to refrain from telling that lie to my wife!”

Alex
was astounded.
 
“Oh, so what are you
saying, Tommy?
 
Are you trying to say
that you never slept with me before?”

“That’s
exactly what he’s saying,” Grace said.
 
“My husband would never sleep with somebody like you.
 
He gets lonely on these business trips, and
maybe even desperate, but he’ll never get that desperate!”