“And what might that message be?” She raises her chin importantly.
Placing my fingers on the envelope again, I slide it back across the table to her. “Tell the Madam that before I leave this city, either she and I will be”—I gesture my hand gently with the twirl of my wrist—“new business associates, or I will help put her out of business by giving my money to Madam Carlotta over in Milan instead. I hear Madam Carlotta has tripled her revenue in the past year.” I smirk. But just a little bit.
Miz Ghita, with her sourpuss mouth, contemplates my offer, and my threats for a moment. Then she stands—I stand with her as any gentleman would for a woman—and she takes the envelope from the table and tucks it down into her big black purse.
“I will be in touch, Mr. Augustin.”
I nod. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
Niklas
On the drive back to the hotel, Izabel and Nora want so badly to be able to speak freely. And after I tip the driver, when we head back to our room, all the way there Izabel is practically bursting at the seams. But she does well to stay in character, at least until we enter the room, shut the door behind us and do another sweep.
“How’d you know?” Izabel asks, setting her little black purse down on a table and stepping out of her heels. “And who was she exactly?”
“She’s Francesca’s mother,” I answer, loosening my tie.
I explain to Izabel and Nora how I came to the conclusion.
“I’m impressed,” Nora speaks up. “Honestly I had my doubts that you could play such a role.”
“Why’s that?” I toss my tie on the end of the king-size bed and start to break apart the buttons of my dress shirt.
“I just took you as more the stubborn? complicated type, I guess.”
I look away from her and strip off my shirt.
“Well, we haven’t gotten in yet,” I point out.
“Do you think she bought it?” Izabel asks.
“Yes, she bought it,” I say simply.
“Although,” Nora speaks up, “the route you took might backfire. Threats don’t always yield results.”
“No, they don’t,” I agree, “but this one will.” I step out of my dress pants and walk toward the spacious bathroom in my boxers—Izabel makes it a point to look at anything but me, which I find amusing. “A woman like Francesca isn’t stupid; she isn’t delusional in thinking nothing can take her down—she’ll take any threat to her business seriously, especially a rival.”
“Well it worked,” Izabel says. “I thought she was going to walk out and that be the end of it.”
“Once we’re in, the gears will shift,” I say. “After I figure out which of the decoys is Francesca Moretti, I’ll meet with her, feed her some bullshit about my business if I have to, but then shift to the real reason I came here: to purchase a new girl. I’ll show her that I’m not trying to be a threat to her operation—unless she wants me to be, and that’s not likely, so it’s more likely she’ll just drop it.”
“You’re making this sound too easy, Niklas,” Nora speaks up from the sofa in the center of the spacious room.
I glance between them and say, “If I was doing this by myself, it would be a lot easier—it’s not me that I’m worried about.” My eyes fall on Izabel last, but before she has a chance to argue, I shut myself off inside the bathroom and hop in the shower.
My cell phone rings—Izabel’s and Nora’s heads turn simultaneously to look at me when they hear it, because it could only be someone from the Moretti mansion calling this particular number.
I answer on the third ring.
“Yes, this is Niklas Augustin,” I say into the phone to Ghita Moretti. “It’s good to hear from you so soon. Yes”—I nod here and there, listening to Miz Ghita’s pitch, telling me the rules and being her typical authoritarian self so she feels like the one in control. “Yes—No the time is perfect. I will be there. Yes, my girls will be joining me”—(does this bitch ever shut up?)—“I will see you then—of course I’ll be bringing cash. Good day, Miz Ghita.” I run my thumb over the phone screen to end the call.
Nora and Izabel look surprised—I admit, even I’m a little surprised.
“I didn’t expect to hear from her this soon,” I say, setting the phone on the coffee table in front of me. “They want to meet with us tonight at ten—money talks.”
“And so do threats,” Nora chimes in.
“But that’s in three hours,” Izabel says, looking slightly concerned.
“What’s the matter? Starting to feel like you should?” I taunt, grinning at her.
She shakes her head, sighing, annoyed with me. “Will you ever grow up, Niklas? You’re impossibly…you’re a jack-ass.”
I get up from the sofa so I can get ready.