Page 17 of Doormat
“Do you miss him?”
“Sometimes.”
She was shocked that he was being this honest with her.
“We’re here.Questions are over,” he said.
Liana looked up to see they were at one of his favorite restaurants.
“You know, I can cook,” she said.
“You’re hungry now.This way, you will get food quicker.”
He pulled up outside of the restaurant and handed the keys to the man waiting at the desk.He would not allow him to open her door.
This was a fancy restaurant, and Liana hadn’t changed out of her jeans.“Don’t you think I’m a little underdressed for this place?”she asked.
“Do I look like I give a fuck?”
There was no point in arguing with him.Diego was a man who got what he wanted.
They walked in and the maître d’ did not even blink an eye at the way she was dressed.The man smiled and looked directly at Diego, welcomed him back, and asked him to follow him.
Liana couldn’t help but look at how beautiful all the other women were dressed.What little makeup she had worn was wiped off at this point.She had gotten up at seven and had her makeup done within ten minutes.She didn’t wear a lot, but she liked applying it and getting ready to face the day.
Each woman seemed to be in a beautiful evening gown, hair stunningly styled.She had pulled her hair into a small clip so that some was off her face, and the other fell around her.Liana didn’t waste a lot of time on hairstyling.She always had long hair, as her mother had loved to brush it.They would spend so much time together at night, her mother talking to her, brushing her hair, or in the morning.This is why she only ever got the ends trimmed.
Taking a seat opposite Diego, she felt like such a slob in her jeans and shirt, which was also creased.She couldn’t believe this was happening, but there was not a lot she could do about it either.
“We could have gone to a drive-thru,” she said.
“I want a good meal, Liana, and stop worrying about what other people think.I don’t give a flying fuck, and neither should you.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him he looked good, but she kept that opinion to herself.He did not need to hear what she thought of him—that Diego always looked so damn good in the suits he wore.
****
Later that night, Diegocouldn’t sleep, so he poured himself a whiskey and made his way toward the piano.Many years ago, he used to play, but he hadn’t sat in front of the keys and just enjoyed the flow of music in such a long time.
Liana was fast asleep, and he didn’t want to wake her.Taking a sip of his drink, he felt the burn as it slid down his throat.
He killed two men today.There had been two men in the trailer, both of them high on drugs.The money they had stolen was thrown in a duffel bag, and he’d seen the product spread out across the table.They truly had thought they would get away with it.
After going to his casino and then to the warehouse, he saw where the money had gone missing—the driver.All it had taken was a few calls to find out the driver was an ex-addict, and before he had even gotten to the trailer, he had put two-and-two together and came up with four.
Once inside the trailer, he saw the two men did have a plan, and it had been their intention to take from every money shipment.He didn’t know how they had found out they were shipping money, either way, their van had been altered, so one of the men could climb into the back, take the money, and get back into the front seat long before they arrived at the warehouse.They hadn’t counted on them checking each delivery.They must have assumed they were sloppy.
Diego had put an end to that, and they had already spent a thousand dollars of the money they had stolen on drugs.
“You’re awake,” Liana said, drawing his attention.
She wore a negligee and was in the process of wrapping a robe around her waist.Her hair was a mess from sleeping, and she looked so young, yet sexy as well.This was his young wife.
“Did I wake you?”he asked.
“No.I wanted a drink.”
He held up his glass of whiskey.She pursed her lips and then came toward him and sat down on the stool in front of the piano.She took the glass from him, and he watched as she took a tentative sip.
