It was on a Thursday morning and she had just walked into the G-Spot. There was supposed to be a birthday party there later that evening. She was not very sure whose birthday it was. All she knew was that someone was splashing eighty grand on a high profile party and that the flower budget was seventy five hundred. And at that moment, that was the only thing she wanted to focus on. Lucky for her, Simon and Mona were both back so she didn’t have to bend over backwards.
“Hey Mona,” she said in a soft voice as she walked in.
“Hey, boss. Don’t worry we are still in very good time.” Mona turned around and looked at Corrine. “Are you all right? You look… sick.”
Corrine forced a smile and nodded.
“I just need to have some water and maybe some fresh air,” she said as she looked around and then shrugged. “Who orders flowers for a birthday party anyway?”
“I know, right?” Mona said smiling. “But hey, their extravagance is my paycheck so, who I’m I to complain?”
Corrine nodded.
“Yeah, I guess.” She looked around again and sighed. “Has anyone heard from Dante yet?”
Mona looked at her boss and raised an eyebrow over the other.
“You have been awfully curious about Mr. Giovanni lately. Anything I should know about?”
Corrine shook her head.
“Nothing serious. Just business.” She dug through her bag and pulled out her phone. “When you are done here, would you check on the high rise complex downtown? The security guy told me that the building manager needs to make a change of flower arrangements…” her voice trailed off when her phone buzzed in her hand. She looked at her screen and felt her heart skipping a beat. It was a text from Dante.
Hey. We need to talk. Come over to my place? I really need to talk to you.
She was suddenly breathing hard and heavy.
“Corrine? Are you okay?” Mona asked and Corrine looked up.
“I’m fine. Take care of this and the high rise complex and have Simon handle the other restaurants.”
“He already is,” Mona said in a soft voice. “Are you okay?”
Corrine’s hand squeezed around her phone.
“I’m fine. I need to leave… I need to go.”
She turned around and began walking towards the door.
“Go where?” Mona called after her but Corrine was either too engrossed to hear her or simply chose to ignore her. “Corrine!” Mona called out but she didn’t care to answer her. She could not get to her car fast enough. All she wanted to do was to see Dante. To look into his eyes so that she could get the answers she so much needed.
The drive to his place seemed longer than she had anticipated. It seemed like forever before she finally got there. She had never really been there but she had always figured it was a few minutes away from his restaurants but as it turned out, it was a whole forty minutes away because he loved being away from the city center. He was literally living on the outskirts of town… the leafy suburban area of Northern Michigan. When she pulled up in front of his huge mansion, she could not help but wonder why a man who lived on his own needed so much room. She took a long, deep breath as she parked her Prius in his driveway. She had been planning her words all the way to his place but now that she was there, she could not help but wonder what she was supposed to say. Her heart skipped a beat when she got to his door and before she even rang the bell, the door was opened and there was Dante, standing at the door looking as dashing as ever even in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. She looked into his eyes and shook her head, confused, angry and disappointed.
“Hey,” he said in a soft voice and she parted her lips to answer him but she couldn’t. Her throat was dry and there were tears in her eyes. She wanted to hug him and at the same time, she wanted to slap him. “I know you are a little pissed off right now…”
“A little pissed off? Are you kidding me?” she asked when she suddenly found her voice.
“Why don’t you come on in?” he asked but she was still rooted to the spot. He was not taking no for an answer. He reached for her hand and pulled her into the house. She yanked her hand away and he led her to the living room. “Can I get you something to eat?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Well, you know about the explosion in Richmond, right?” he asked and she rolled her eyes.
“Precisely why I have been blowing up your phone. You could have at least text me a ‘K’ or something so I wouldn’t go out of my freaking mind!” she was now thumping her fists on his shoulder.