Page 70 of Tony

Tony sat quietly for a moment, staring at the file in front of him. Rubbing his chin in thought, he finally looked up at Vinny and said succinctly, “Not saying.”

Vinny’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “Not…saying? Sir?”

Tony looked deeply at Vinny before continuing. “Vincent, you’re one of my best. Ever since the first time I laid eyes on you and your twin, I couldn’t have asked for better. One thing about you was that when you were on a mission, you gave me one-hundred percent. Off mission, if you thought with your dick it didn’t matter. You still work just as hard for me as when we were in the Special Forces, but I need your head on this mission and not thinking with your dick.”

Vinny started to protest, but Tony put up his hand. “I want you in this mission, regardless of who it is.”

Vinny, understanding what was at stake, agreed. Male, female, old, young—it did not matter to the mission. Standing, he nodded to the leader he trusted with his life. “When do I leave?”

“I’ll have the details by the end of the week and you need to be ready to fly to California in a couple of weeks.”

His cocky grin back in place, he nodded as he said, “You got it, Sir.”

Tony looked back to the file in front of him, a slow smile beginning to spread across his face.This mission will be good for Vinny. Good for theagency, but good for Vinny.

* * *

Sherrie ended her meeting with her bosses and organized her files on her desk. Looking at them, she realized that Mr. Marks’ needs for her had decreased while Simon’s had increased. As she continued to ponder the workload, she realized that Mr. Marks was definitely taking on less and less.I’ve been so busy with my CASA case, I hadn’t even noticed. Is he ill?The more she thought about it, the more concerned she became.

She checked the time and hurried down the hall to his office, wanting to catch him before he left. His door was opened, but she knocked on the door frame anyway. He looked up, smiling, and invited her in.

“Did we forget something at our meeting?” he asked.

“No, sir. I just…um.” Now that she was there, she was not sure what to say.

Laughing, he pointed to the old, comfortable leather chair in front of his desk. “My dear, just come right out with it. I think we’ve grown familiar enough with each other that you can just ask me what is on your mind.”

She settled in the seat, resisting the urge to lean back in the soft leather, instead perching at the edge. “Sir, I’ve noticed that you’re not giving me as many assignments as before and I was, well…are you still satisfied with my work?”

“Sherrie, of course I’m satisfied. You are one of the best paralegals I have ever worked with in mylongcareer.”

Noticing he emphasized the word ‘long’, she was unable to ascertain what he meant by that. She watched as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, then brought out a cloth from his jacket pocket to clean his spectacles off before replacing them. Sighing, he said, “I’ve been thinking of something for a while now, but until I talked to Simon to get things settled, I hadn’t wanted to say anything.”

“Are you well?” she could not help but burst out.

His eyes widened in surprise and he quickly said, “Oh, yes. I’m fine. I’m so sorry that you worried. I never thought that you would think of illness.” He looked over at her with a gentle, fatherly look on his face and said simply, “I’m retiring, my dear. It’s been a long career in law that I have loved. But now, I’m feeling my age. My wife’s mother needs more care. My wife and I would like to travel more and see the grandkids. The time is right.”

Sherrie did not know what to say. The idea of him leaving the office filled her with sadness, but the idea that he could be free to do what he needed or wanted certainly was deserved. “I…I’ll miss you so much,” she admitted, “But I can see why you want to retire.”

“Thank you, Sherrie. I’ve been slowing down, turning more over to Simon but I realize that I’ll need to have someone replace me. Simon and I have talked. He’ll buy out my share of the business and then will hire another lawyer since it will be important for him to have a say in who he works with. As far as you and the receptionist, of course your jobs are safe.”

She was grateful, especially since she had not even considered that her job might be in jeopardy. “Do you know when you’ll retire?”

“I was thinking in about another two months. That will give the office a chance to make more changes and time for us to make all of the arrangements. My wife and I will sell our home here and be moving to North Carolina to be nearer her mother and our daughter. And it will satisfy my need to get out on the water and do some fishing,” he added, a smile on his face.

“Um…what about your cabin?” she asked hesitantly, wondering if they would keep it so that she and Tony could return sometime.

“I’ve got a buyer for it and will have it off my hands soon. My wife and I are trying to simplify everything.”

Nodding, she tried to keep the disappointed look off of her face. Lifting her gaze back to his, she said honestly, “I’ll miss you, Mr. Marks. You gave me a chance when no one else would.”

He rose from his seat and walked over to her, taking her hand and pulling her from her chair. Holding both of her hands, he said warmly, “You have been like another daughter to me these past two years. I appreciate everything you do and wish you nothing but the best.” With that, he lifted her right hand to his lips, giving a soft kiss.

* * *

Sitting in her car, Sherrie watched Betina as she left school and hopped on a Richmond Transport bus. She followed her, noting that she did not get off at the grocery or the laundry. In fact, she followed her all the way to the large, downtown bus station. Parking, she quickly found Betina standing near the edge of the building talking to two young women, their luggage at their feet.

What the hell is she doing?Sherrie moved closer so that she could hear, but not be readily seen. A group of tall lockers stood between her and Betina and she prayed that they stayed on the other side.

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