Big Daddy Sinatra: There Was a Ruthless Man(25)

“I know her.”

“Intimately?”

“I know her,” Charles said, and then leaned forward. “Back to work, gentlemen. I didn’t drive all this way from Maine to talk about some girl. Now either you can convince me why it will be worth my while to be the sole financial investor in this latest venture of yours, or I can leave and you can try to pick up a lady. Pick your choice.”

As Charles suspected, money was the loudest drug. The two businessmen forgot all about Jenay and continued to try and convince him to invest his capital in a start up in Buffalo, New York that promised big returns if they made the absolute right offer. But they were ambition big and money tight. They needed Charles to take the biggest risk.

And also, as Charles suspected, Jenay didn’t serve their table again at all that night. She changed stations with one of her coworkers, and worked on the opposite side of the restaurant, completely out of Charles’s way. But given Abe’s insistence that she would make a good pass-around, Charles was pleased with her decision. He knew she was avoiding him most of all, rather than Abe’s freshness, but she was wasting her time.

He made it clear to her after dinner, when his two partners had left the restaurant, after he agreed to pick up the check. He informed his server to ask Jenay to come see him.

He could tell she was hesitant, as he began placing his thick wallet back into his back pocket. But she came to him.

“Is there something that you need?” she asked him as if he was nothing more than another customer.

“Yeah,” Charles said bluntly. “I need you. What time do you get off?”

Jenay wanted to say how she didn’t think that was a good idea. Another one night stand? But she couldn’t say it. He wasn’t just anybody. He was the man that still haunted her dreams, and she had to figure out why. “Seven,” she said. “My shift ends at seven.”

Charles stood up and looked at his wristwatch. “Where did you park?” he asked her. They were now face to face, within an inch of each other. Jenay wanted to back up, but didn’t.

“I haven’t purchased a car yet,” she said. “I’m still waiting for the check from the insurance company. I took the T.”

“I’ll wait in the parking lot. You remember my car?”

How could she forget! “Yes,” she said.

Charles wanted to kiss her, but he refrained. He wouldn’t do that to her. Not at work. He grabbed his suit coat. “I’ll see you in an hour,” he said.

“You don’t have to wait for me.”

“I’ll see you in an hour,” he said, and left the restaurant.

He made the walk across the parking lot to his car near the busy street. He was tired. It had been an extremely long day. But he had to see her again.

As he sat in his car and leaned back against the headrest, he wondered why was it that he was suddenly so determined to be with her again. That was the million dollar question for him. She was supposed to be a one shot deal. Just another bed warmer to go along with all of the other bed warmers he’d had.

But it didn’t turn out that way. He had been thinking about her. At first it was all sexual. He missed her body mightily. That woman had given him a very nice good night. But his interest in her morphed. It was still a highly physical attraction, but he began to think about, to wonder about, her. Not her body. Not her face. Her. The woman inside. He liked how easily he could talk to her. He liked how sincere and mature she seemed. He liked her strength. But that didn’t mean he wanted to take it in any serious direction. He didn’t. He wasn’t going to marry her. He wasn’t going to commit to her. But why was he going all out to be with her right now, if there wasn’t any real end game?

He fell asleep thinking about games. The games people played. That might have been what he liked about Jenay the most. The fact that she seemed serious and too experienced for any game playing. Her ex had done her a terrible turn, and she was undoubtedly still getting over that nightmare. She knew what it was like, just as Charles knew, to be on the receiving end of somebody else’s deception.

After over an hour of sleeping, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, lightly shaking him, when his eyes slowly opened. When he looked over and saw Jenay standing at his open car window, he smiled.

“This isn’t Jericho, Charles,” she admonished him. “This is Boston. Keep your windows closed. Carjacking actually happens here.”

“I didn’t plan to fall asleep,” he said, as he moved to get out of his car.

“Stay right where you are,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with my two hands.”