Page 12 of Tommy Gabrini: All Fall Down
“Reno also said Tommy don’t like Orrie Neal. Reno thinks he may even be jealous of him.”
“Jealous?” Grace was dismissive of such a thing. “Tommy isn’t jealous of anybody. He knows he doesn’t have to be. I’m not like that.”
“You don’t have to be like that,” said Trina. “But one thing I know for sure: That Orrie? That’s a good-looking brother. He can’t give Tommy a run for his money, I’ll give you that, but it’s a close contest. And another thing I know for sure: Good-looking guys always see something in you, Grace. Those seem to be the guys that want you the most. They’ll run over me to get to you.”
Grace laughed, knowing Trina had to be kidding. “But they call me Plain Jane, remember?”
Trina looked at Grace. “It’s not what they call you. It’s what you answer to. And you ain’t never answered to no Plain Jane.”
“And I never will. Even if it’s true.”
Trina considered Grace. “You think it’s true?”
Grace hesitated. “I’ve never been interested in being anybody’s beauty queen. If that’s what they want, don’t look at me. But I’m good,” she said with a grin that caused Trina to give her a high-five and laugh too.
But although they both were laughing, Trina was concerned about Orrie Neal. She could see already that he was the kind of brother that could turn sweetness sour. “Do you trust him?” Trina asked her.
“Who, Tommy?”
“Orrie.”
Grace thought about it. “Depends on the context. Do I trust him with the operations of Trammel? Yes. Would I trust him with the operations of my heart? Never.”
Trina smiled. “Girl, you’re good. You know what you’re doing. You’re always underestimated.”
Even by you, Grace wanted to respond. But the waiter arrived to take their food orders. And that was the perfect out for Grace.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Do we need to go over this again, Tommy?”
Tommy looked at his cousin Reno. “You’re upset because I’m asking questions?”
“I’m upset because I don’t make up the rules. We have to get that signature or we can kiss it all goodbye. I wanna make sure you understand that.”
“You don’t have to make sure I understand anything, Reno. If she wants to sign, she’ll sign. If she doesn’t, she won’t.”
“Here we go!”
“Yes, here we go,” Tommy said. Their plane had just touched down in Alberta, British Columbia, and they were in the backseat of the limousine on their way to Ingrid Hawken’s vacation home. Reno had met with her twice before. This would be Tommy’s first time. And he didn’t like the terms. “Where do you get these people from anyway? I’ve owned my own corporation for decades and I never had to pull this shit.”
“It’s just this one time, Tommy, geez! Why are you making a federal case out of this?”
“Because this is insane. Why do I have to seduce this woman just to get her to agree to a contract that’ll benefit her as much as it benefits us?”
“Because she’s not there yet. How many times I got to tell you that? If we get her onboard then we’re home free, Tommy. But she needs something extra to get her over the top. You can be that extra.”
“An extra? How the hell am I supposed to pull that off, Reno?”
“I told you how. She has a weakness that we’ve got to exploit. I told you this a thousand times. She has a thing for great-looking guys. She sees a great-looking man and she’s putty in your hand. That’s the joke about her. Only it ain’t no joke. She’s one of the richest and most ruthless women in Europe. But that weakness does her in every time. Now to be honest, she’s like you when it comes to her preferences. Black men are usually her taste.”
Tommy frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean she’s like me? Black men are not my taste!”
“You know what I mean. Black women are your taste. I’ve never seen you date anything but a black woman your whole life even with all those gorgeous Italian girls running around. She’s like you, only in the other direction. That’s what I mean.”
“Then how does it make sense for me, a white man, to be asked to do this?”
“You have unusually great looks, that’s why. You’ll do.”
