Romancing Tommy Gabrini (11 page)

“I’ll
tell you what,” Jamie said, sitting his glass on a nearby table, “I’m going to
find out for myself.”

“Find
out?” Nayla asked, alarmed that he would even dream of injecting himself into
Grace’s conversation.
 
“Jamie!”

But
Jamie was undeterred.
 
“I’m going to find
out who he is,” he said as his slender body began to make its way toward the
twosome.

“Jamie,
wait!” Nayla said, but he was already on his way.
 
She felt she had no choice, at that point,
but to sit her wine glass down, too, and follow him.

Grace
saw Jamie coming and smiled.
 
“Here comes
one of my partners in crime now,” she said to Tommy.

Tommy
looked where she was looking and saw a young black male, seemingly in his
mid-to-late twenties, coming their way.
 
Tommy wondered if he would be his competition.

“Let
me guess,” Grace said with a smile as Jamie approached.
 
“You’re curious?”

“As a
mother fuck,” Jamie said and he, Grace, and Tommy laughed.
 

He
extended his hand.
 
“I’m Jamie Rogers,”
he said.
 
“And I’m dying to know who you
are.”

“Hello,
Jamie,” Tommy said, shaking his hand.

“I
may as well wait for Nay,” Grace said, “and let one introduction do for all.”

“I
told him not to bother you,” Nayla said as she approached.
 
“But you know how Jamie is.”

Jamie
looked sidelong at her.
 
“And how
is
Jamie?”

“Nosy,”
Nayla said with a smile.
 
She, too,
extended her hand.
 
“I’m Nayla Santiago,
by the way.”
 

“Ladies,
hide your men,” Jamie said under his breath.
 
Nayla could deny being a man stealer all she wanted, but Jamie knew
better.

“This
is Tommy Gabrini,” Grace said as Nayla extended her hand.
 
She was gorgeous and she knew it, Tommy
thought, as he shook her hand.
 
“He’s a
friend of mine,” Grace added.

“Since
when?” Jamie asked in his usual deadpan way, and Nayla elbowed him.

“Since
last night,” Grace freely responded.
 

“Oh,”
Nayla said.
 
“At Jillian’s party?”

“That’s
right.
 
We met there.
 
Although I’ve known him for quite some time.”

Tommy
looked at her.
 
He wasn’t sure if she was
kidding.

“You
may not know it,” Grace said, “but I’ve seen you coming and going over at
Trammel for years.
 
You’re what we call a
‘Jillian territory’ client.”

Tommy
smiled.
 
“A what?”

“Jillian
territory.
 
She said guys like you are
offended if people of a lower rank than hers have any dealings with you.
 
So she does all the wheeling and dealing with
you and a handful of other clients.
  
But
I’ve seen you around for years.”

Tommy
was a little taken aback.
 
He never
recalled seeing her, not ever.
 
But if
Jillian was safeguarding him as Grace suggested, he would understand why.

“But
these two guys here,” Grace moved on, “are my two closest friends.”

“I’m
her best friend,” Nayla said, “and he’s the wannabe.”

“Forget
you,” Jamie said.
 
Then he moved closer
to Tommy.
  
“So what are your intentions,”
he asked, “regarding our Grace?”

Nayla
looked alarmed.
 
Grace laughed.

“Yeah,”
Grace said in a playful spirit, “what
are
your intentions?”

Tommy
held up his hands.
 
“I come in peace,” he
said.

“Yeah,
right,” Jamie said half-jokingly.
 
“That’s what those bank robbers said who robbed that bank the other
day.
 
They said they came in peace, too,
and then robbed those poor people blind.
 
So can you honestly tell us that you don’t have a robbery on your mind?”

“Oh,
I’ve got it on my mind,” Tommy said to great laughter from Jamie and
Grace.
 

Then
Tommy looked at Grace.
 
“But only if
she’s willing to be taken.”

Jamie
smiled.
 
He liked that response.
 
He liked it a lot.
 
“You’re all right,” he said with a nod of his
head.

Nayla,
however, wasn’t sold.
 
She looked at
Grace, but then stared at Tommy.

An
hour later and Tommy and Nayla found themselves the only two still seated at
the long center table.
 
Grace was dancing
with Jamie, and their other friends were on the dance floor, too.
 
Nayla took her drink and moved to the seat
next to Tommy.

Tommy
smiled.
 
“So you’re the best friend?”

“That’s
right,” Nayla said proudly.
 
“Since we
were kids in middle school.”

“You’re
still kids,” Tommy said.

Nayla
laughed hysterically.
 
It was so
exaggerated, in fact, that Tommy just stared at her.

“But
for real,” Nayla said when she settled back down, “I’m actually older than
Grace.”

Tommy
looked at her.
 
What did that have to do
with anything?
 
“Are you?”

“Actually
I am.
 
I’m four years older than she
is.
 
Most people think she’s older, can
you believe it?
 
They’re always telling
me how I look younger and prettier and some guys even have the nerve to say how
Grace doesn’t even compare to me.”

Tommy
continued to look at her.
 
He knew a
come-on when he saw one.
 

“You
should hear them,” Nayla went on.
 
“Just
because I have hazel eyes and she doesn’t, and I like a good time when Grace
wouldn’t know one if it bit her in the butt.”
 
She laughed at this.
 
“But I don’t
know.
 
What do you think?
 
Would you prefer a good time girl, or a
prude?”

Tommy
gently stirred the liquid in his glass so that the Angostura bitters of his gin
and tonic would blend.
 
Then he took a
sip sat his glass back on the table.
 
“I
prefer Grace,” he said and then looked Nayla dead in the eye so that they could
fully understand each other.
 
Because he
wanted to be clear: he wasn’t going to be fucking around with her.

Nayla
felt a twinge of embarrassment when he looked at her that way, as if she was
begging his ass, but she managed to smile and lift her glass just the
same.
 
She knew when to hold’em.
 

“Here’s
to Grace,” she said, and he did lift his glass in acknowledgement of her
toast.
 
But he quickly turned his
attention away from Nayla, and back to Grace.
 
Which was fine by Nayla because she wasn’t impressed.
 
Not with his good looks, not with his
beautiful hair, not with his fancy clothes and jewelry.
 
There was something hard-edged about Tommy
Gabrini.
 
Something ruthless.
 
And it wasn’t just because he had poured
shade on her flirtation, either.

But
for some reason she knew that name.
 
She
didn’t know why, or in what context, but she’d heard his name before.
 
It could have been at Trammel through the
years, where she worked as a supervisor in Logistics, but somewhere along the
line she’d heard of him before.
 
And she
had a serious sense that whatever she’d heard about him wasn’t good.

Nayla’s
big hazel eyes continued to stare at Tommy as Tommy stared at Grace.
 
He was leaned back in his chair, his legs
crossed, his hands rested in a fold across his lap.
 
She noticed the diamond ring on his finger,
and the Rolex watch, and the intrinsically woven silk ascot around his
neck.
 
He seemed so country-club
sophisticated, as if going to some regular club like Moors was something he
didn’t ordinarily do.
 
And although he
was ignoring the hell out of Nayla, she couldn’t deny the truth: he seemed
fascinated with Grace.

He
assessed every inch of Grace, from her long, shapely legs, and her firm, round
backside, to her large breasts, but he mainly focused on her face.
 

Nayla
felt a twinge of jealousy as she watched him.
 
Not because Grace had apparently found her a serious catch, but because
she had been so unlucky in love herself.
 
And even when she occasionally found somebody, they were never of the
caliber of a man like this.
 
Mainly
because it had been her experience that the brothers who were that rare
trifecta of super-hot, super-nice, and super-rich, were already
super-taken.
 
Or, like Jamie, gay as
hell.
 

When
the song ended, Jamie and Grace made their way back to the table.
 
She was happy and exhausted both at the same
time.
 
Nayla was surprised at the
familiar way Grace slumped her body in her chair and leaned against Tommy.
 
As if they were old time friends.
 
And Tommy seemed pleased by the contact,
which surprised Nayla.
 
For some reason
she had pegged him as a married man.
 
Something about his manner made her think so.
 
But not now.
 
Because the mere fact that he was comfortable in public with Grace
usually meant that he probably wasn’t married.
 
Married men who cheated were always uptight in public and often
demonstrated distance with their lovers.
 
It was as if they were terrified that they would run into somebody who
knew their wives.
 
But there was nothing
uptight or distant at all about Tommy Gabrini.
 
From what Nayla could tell he seemed to have no problem whatsoever
acknowledging Grace.
 

“You’re
having a ball, aren’t you?” Tommy said to Grace when she slumped against him.

Grace
nodded and drained more wine.
 
“A blast,”
she said.
 
“I hate surprises, but this
one was cool.
 
It’s all right.”

“I
wonder why,” Jamie said sarcastically.

Grace
grinned.
 
“And I wonder why you’re so
happy,” she said.

“Because
you’re happy,” Jamie said without hesitation.
 
He lifted his glass of wine.
 
“That’s good enough for me, my friend.”

“How
sweet,” Grace said, lifting her glass too.
 
They clang and drank.
 

But
by night’s end, when Tommy and Grace were about to leave, it was Nayla who
asked if she could see her friend before she left.

Tommy
was a little perturbed by this, and wondered if Nayla was the type who would
try to pretend that he had hit on her.
 
But even if she were, he had confidence in Grace.
 
There was nothing about her character that
he’d seen so far to make him believe she’d be that easily led.

Grace
wondered what it could be about, also, but she didn’t hesitate.
 
“Sure,” she said, and followed Nayla into a
side room.

As
soon as the door closed, Nayla didn’t mix words.
 
“How well do you know that guy, Grace?” she
asked her.

Grace
stared at her old friend.
 
She hadn’t
expected Tommy to be the reason she wanted to talk to her.
 
But she also knew she had to tread
lightly.
 
Nayla had a lot of good
qualities, and really was Grace’s best friend, but she wasn’t a perfect friend
by any means.
 
Ever since their childhood
she had that jealousy thing big-time.
 
She never liked for Grace, or anybody else, to outdo her.
 

“Why
would it matter?” Grace asked her.

“Just
answer the question.”

“I
won’t just answer the question.
 
Why does
it matter?”

“Because.”

“Because
why?”

“I
know somebody who used to date him.”

Grace’s
heart began to pound.
 
“So?”

“After
you introduced us and said his name, I knew I’d heard it before.
 
But I couldn’t place it.
 
Then I remembered.
 
And called Rhonda to be certain.”