Chapter 16: Chapter 16

PRESLEY

Presley waved at Tally as she came through the door of the restaurant like a whirlwind, grabbing her friend in a tight hug.

“I’m so glad we found the time to have lunch together, Tal.”

“Me too! Things have been nonstop since Mexico,” Tally said as she took a seat. “How are you and Sonny?”

“Things started off a bit bumpy, but they have smoothed out and are going great.” Presley smiled.

She and Santino had been working on their communication a lot recently. He made sure to check in with her regularly just to hear the sound of her voice.

“Those Italians.” Tally shook her head. “So hot-blooded. I could use one of those in my life. Does he have any friends?” Tally asked, and the two started laughing.

“He has guys with him all the time. I’ll ask if any have some hot Italian blood in them.” Presley grinned at her friend.

Tally grabbed her menu. “I’m starving. Let’s order and then we can gossip.”

Presley watched pedestrians scurrying past the large windows as Tally ordered, and the two settled in for a long chat.

“Did the husbands and Flo like their gifts?” Tally asked.

“Loved them,” Presley said. “The husbands left me a casserole for the day I got home. It was so good. Sonny ate half of it.”

“I’m so jealous,” Tally grumbled. “I want to come home to casseroles and hot Italian men. I’d love to officially meet Sonny. Maybe the three of us could have dinner soon?”

“I think that would be great. Let’s see what our schedules look like. Are you still coming to the club opening?”

Presley had asked her to help get some influencers and friends together to help promote Santino’s newest hot spot.

“You know it! I already have that day blocked off on my calendar. A couple of big names have fully committed to come.”

Presley did a little fist pump and grabbed Tally’s hand. “I knew I could count on you! I’m so excited.”

“Me too! We should go shopping! Find something totally hot to wear.”

“As long as I don’t have to wear a cupcake skirt,” Presley chuckled, thinking back to what Tally wore to the club for her birthday.

“I promise,” Tally said, rolling her eyes. “No cupcake skirts. Can I put in a request now for champagne?”

Presley shook her head as Tally grinned at her. “I promise there will be plenty of bubbly on hand.”

“How is work besides that?” Tally asked. “I know you’re doing a lot for the club, but have you done anything for the resort yet?”

“Work is good,” Presley answered. “The club has had a lot of my attention, but the influencers I have are working their magic with building hype about opening night. I sent off a social media plan to Mister Espinoza but haven’t heard back from him yet. I’ll follow up in a couple more days.”

A deep voice caught Presley’s attention. A group of men, all dressed in suits, had walked into the restaurant. She did a double take. One of them looked familiar.

“Hey,” she whispered to Tally. “See that guy by the door? Is that Paul? One of the investors from Mexico?”

Tally turned around to look. “Where?”

“By the door, near the hostess desk.” Presley didn’t want to point.

“I don’t see him.”

Tally continued to glance that direction, but Presley was distracted by another man approaching their table. He wove around tables and servers, making a beeline for them.

“Umm, who is this guy?”

Tally turned back and watched as the older man made his way over. “No clue,” she whispered.

“He’s coming to our table,” Presley whispered under her breath while smiling politely as he stopped beside them.

“Presley!” His deep voice boomed out.

Several people turned around to look at them. She tried to remember if she knew this man or if she was supposed to know him. Was he a client she had forgotten? Giving him a brief nod, she glanced at Tally.

“Ummm, hello… What can I do for you?”

“Imagine my good fortune of running into you,” he said with a slick smile. “It must be my lucky day.”

She looked at Tally again, wondering if she might know him. Her friend gave a brief shake of her head. Neither of them knew who this man was.

The alarm bells in Presley’s mind started ringing.

“Um, forgive me. Are you a client of mine? Or one of my followers?” She was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

“No, but I’ve heard a lot about you.”

His intense focus made her want to squirm in her seat. This guy was giving her the creeps.

“Okay, well if you don’t mind, I’m having a private lunch with a friend,” she said in her best professional tone.

“Of course! I’m interrupting. I just wanted to introduce myself to the ~famous~ Presley.”

“Famous?” Presley asked, glancing at Tally.

The man leaned closer, placing a hand on the table and looming over her. She didn’t return his smile.

“Oh yes, I’ve heard ~all~ about you… We all have,” he said, his voice low as he nodded toward the men in suits.

She felt Tally nudge her under the table.

“In our line of work, it pays to know who the boss’s girl is. It becomes everyone’s business when someone like him gets involved with a woman.”

“Line of work?” Presley asked, completely lost as to what was going on. “Who’s your boss?”

The stranger’s booming laugh sounded again.

“Oh, he’s not my boss,” he said softly, his tone menacing though his smile was bright. “Santino is my nephew. And his line of work… Well, let’s just say he’s a very important member of the family business.”

Presley tried to figure out what he was talking about. Was this really Santino’s uncle? What line of work? Santino was a developer, right?

“Are you in development too?” she asked.

The server came to the table with their food, and he stepped back. Presley was glad for the interruption.

“Development. That’s a good one,” he said, rapping his knuckles on the tabletop. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Presley. Tell my nephew I stopped by. Enjoy your meal, ladies.”

He joined the group of men that were waiting for him by the door, and they left, scanning the streets like Santino’s guys did. She tried to absorb what had just happened as Tally stared out the window in silence.

“That was weird,” Tally mumbled, watching the group of guys get in several cars and take off. She turned back to Presley. “Press, you okay? Do all those guys work for Sonny?”

“I’m not sure…”

Her face warmed as heads around the restaurant turned their direction. She realized suddenly that she didn’t really know what Santino did. He’d said developer but hadn’t given much more information.

Whatever had just happened had felt like a threat, and she needed to talk to Santino as soon as lunch was over. Focusing back on Tally, they chatted while she picked at her lunch, unable to shake the uncomfortable feeling she had over the encounter.

She dialed Santino before she put her seat belt on, waving at Tally as she pulled out of the parking lot. Her nerves were swirling inside as the phone rang.

“Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a nice lunch with Tally?” Santino’s deep voice sounded over the speaker in her car, sounding a lot like his uncle’s.

“We need to have a talk,” she said abruptly.

She couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice. Her eyes flicked to the rearview mirror as she drove. The whole encounter had her anxious. Silence filled the car till Santino cleared his throat.

“You’re worrying me, Press. Let me get somewhere a little quieter.”

She could hear his footsteps followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

“Okay, let’s talk.”

“What do you ~really~ do?” she questioned, her stomach fluttering with nerves.

“I’m a developer.”

His three-word answer raised more questions.

“Something isn’t adding up, Sonny. Developers don’t have multiple bodyguards driving them around in dark, blacked-out cars. Developers aren’t pulled away at two in the morning.” Her hands were gripping the steering wheel as she pulled into her garage. “I’ve never been to one of your sites.”

She rushed through the door, locking it and setting the alarm behind her. Dropping her things on the couch, she put the call on speakerphone so she could walk around the house and get her nervous energy out.

“I’m not dumb, Sonny. It’s a little insulting that you thought I wouldn’t catch on. You said we needed to communicate and be honest, but I’m completely in the dark about what it is you ~really~ do.”

His heavy sigh echoed through the speaker. “I don’t think you’re dumb, Press.”

“How am I supposed to trust you if you can’t be honest with me about even the basics of your life?” Presley questioned.

“What? I’ve told you about my life. You know my father passed away a couple of weeks ago. You can trust me, I promise!”

“You’ve not been fully honest with me, Sonny,” Presley growled. “I don’t want to find things out from your uncle.”

Presley was growing frustrated with their call. Things were not adding up, and Santino was avoiding telling her the full story.

“My uncle?”

She could hear the confusion in his voice.

“Yes, your uncle.”

“Where the hell did you see my Uncle Abramo?” Santino said, voice sharp. “What happened at lunch today?”

“He was at the restaurant and came to introduce himself. He said when someone like ~you~ gets involved with a woman, it becomes everyone’s business.”

Several quiet seconds passed before Santino spoke again.

“I wasn’t prepared to have this conversation with you like this,” he muttered. “Can I come over?”

She heard the urgency in his voice. This was a conversation she definitely wanted to have in person.

“I think that’s a good idea.”