Page 4 of Tommy Gabrini: All Fall Down
“Marge no!” a horrified Tommy screamed as the driver slammed on brakes. They both could hear the sound of cars swerving to avoid her and crashing into each other as they did.
Tommy jumped out and ran to the back of the limousine. And that was when he saw the wreckage of cars and SUVs attempting to avoid hitting Marjorie, but ended up hitting not only Marjorie’s body, but each other’s vehicles too.
But where was Marge?
Tommy saw men hop out and run to the side of the road, so he ran over there too. And that was when he saw her. It was obvious even from where he stood that she had been hit several times. That there was no way she survived.
When he got to her side, he could hear different drivers saying how they tried to avoid her, and how it couldn’t be helped, and why would she have done such a thing? But none of that mattered to Tommy. They were just trying to make themselves feel better. But Tommy didn’t have that luxury. Because the woman he’d known and dated off and on for several years, but had decided to cut it all off just last night, was dead.
He knew it wasn’t his fault. He knew he told her going in that their relationship was nothing more than a series of hookups, and that their union would never amount to anything. It wasn’t his fault that she made more out of it than it ever was, and decided to end her life because of that fantasy of her own creation. It wasn’t his fault at all.
But it sure as hell felt like it was.
CHAPTER ONE
PRESENT DAY
It was the dawn of a new day as his private jet touched down through the foggy mist at Sea-Tac International Airport and cruised to a stop at the end of the runway. As soon as the doors opened and the steps dropped, Tommy didn’t waste a second. He hurried down the airstairs, glad to be back on home soil again, and made his way to his waiting limousine as his assistant, hurrying off the plane behind him, took his luggage to the trunk.
“Welcome back, sir,” his driver said cheerfully as he opened the back passenger door.
“How are you?” Tommy replied as he got inside.
His driver, Jeremy Wendle, smiled an appreciative smile. “I’m good, sir. Thanks for asking.”
Once inside, Tommy plopped down on the seat, leaned his head back momentarily, and then heard yet another text message notification ding. He checked the latest message. It was another one from Tiffany. He ignored that one too.
When his assistant got in on the front driver seat, and the driver got in behind the wheel, they left the airport.
Jeremy, who was nothing like Tommy’s other employees who knew how to keep their mouths shut, was a talker. Which Tommy didn’t mind as long as he stayed in his lane. But to the assistant on the front passenger seat, and to all the different employees who had the privilege to travel with the boss, Jeremy was an irritant.
But Jeremy didn’t care what they thought. He wasn’t going to be that close to that kind of power and not take advantage of it. He looked his smallish, dark-blue eyes at the boss through the rearview mirror. “How was your trip, sir?”
“Tiresome.But productive.”
“Well at least it was productive. That’s the important thing.”
Tommy didn’t respond to that.
“Nothing new happened while you were gone,” Jeremy then said. “I washed the limo so much I probably washed the paint off of it. But you know me, sir.” He looked through the rearview again. “I like things spic and span. I feel that’s the least I can do for my employer. But other than that nothing much happened. Oh and I got to meet the new guy over at Trammel while you were gone too.”
Tommy looked at him. “The new guy?”
“Yes sir. Mrs. Gabrini’s new chief of operations.”
Tommy knew Jeremy was attempting to curry favor with him by mentioning that guy, but he was too curious to hear what he had to say. “In what capacity would you have met her COO?”
“There was a big charity function in town and I picked him up.”
That surprised Tommy. “From work?”
“No sir. From his home.” Then Jeremy added: “I picked up him and Mrs. Gabrini from his home.”
When Jeremy said that, even the assistant looked at him. Tommy didn’t expect to hear such a thing either. “My wife was at his house?”
“Yes sir.”
“For what reason?”
