FIVE
1705 Words
Alessandro Ricco
"Sir. I just dropped the lady off at her place as you asked, "Do you still want me to pick you up?" My driver asks over the phone, and I shake my head, forgetting he can’t see me.
"Sorry, no. Just go home and rest; we have a busy day tomorrow, and I need your eyes on the road. You know this is a long drive, and I need you to be sober. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Sir. "What time should I pick you up for work tomorrow?"
"You don’t have to; I will be taking my car." Just go home and get some sleep; I will see you tomorrow," I say and hang up.
I am a busy man, and right now, I have to close up a deal before going home. My mind is still stuck on the twenty-minute pleasure from the Riley girl from the club. I know I have f****d a ton of girls, but she is different. She is so tranquil and confident, and her sense of humor is top-notch. We vibed from the moment I spoke to her at the bar to the last moment we had s*x. The conversation was flowing, it didn’t feel forced, and the s*x was better than what I have had my whole life.
I don’t believe in making love because all the whores that sleep with me only do so because of money, and that is why I just f**k them, no strings attached, but Riley; ooh, she made me want to buy the whole world for her. Everything was smooth, from the kisses, the caresses, the touches, and the skin-to-skin. I wish I could make her mine and make love to her for the rest of my life.
But how can I do that? I don’t want to get her mixed up in my complicated life. She seemed like a young, mature, and motivated young lady who deserved to live a different kind of life—a pretty life, just like her pretty face.
I can’t let her get used to my kind of life; this will kill her, snatch away her innocence, and make her so evil.
But what was she hiding behind the fake smile on her lips? I couldn’t fail to notice how forced the smile was and how ingenuous her laughs were.
She was just trying to co-exist, but there was so much going on in her life that she was willing to open up.
I want to see her; I want to touch her; I want to kiss her small pouty lips; I just want to watch her talk and watch her lips move in sync. Hell! I want her for myself!
"What are you thinking about?" You have been silent for some time now, and you also disappeared from us for an hour." My friend, who is also my financial advisor and someone who handles all my money, shoots me off on my small trip to heaven. I know the kind of world I am involved in, so I don’t keep friends, just casual people I deal with when it comes to business. Omar is a great man, yes, but it can’t be beyond the fact that he handles my money and I pay him a lot of money for services rendered.
There is no friendship when it comes to business, and when you mix business with pleasure, you will reap what you sow.
"It is nothing; I just wanted to catch some fresh air before I join you guys." Can’t a man have fun without you boys lurching and lingering around like jobless dimwits?
"Hey man, you don’t have to call us names. I am your friend, and I am just concerned about you. You haven’t been yourself lately, and I am worried that is affecting your business and companies. You pay me a lot of money to take care of your financial needs. I make sure your money is cleaned and everything is sorted out, but I am afraid if you don’t put your head in the game, we will lose much more."
"Okay, I heard you the first time, and why don’t you just do the work I hired you to do? I can deal with everything else. Can you do that for me, or do you want me to look for another finance advisor?" I threaten him, and he shakes his head severally.
"No, I wouldn’t want it to reach that far. I was just concerned about you, but I will not overstep my boundaries again."
"Good, now focus on making sure all the money from the last sale is cleaned and put to use." I declare, and he nods, then goes back to typing on his laptop.
I am not too harsh on him, or am I? I have never trusted anyone after my brother’s betrayal. If my blood could betray me, what about the ordinary people we call friends? Money is good, yes, but too much obsession with it can make someone shift from being an angel to the real devil incarnate, and that is what happened with my brother until his death.
"Sir, we are here, but it looks like they beat us to it." My driver says, "I look through the mirror, and sure enough, the guy I am supposed to strike a deal with is standing in front of his car." I don’t trust anyone, and that is why I called in my security guys to be there in time before we arrived.
"There is nothing to worry about; just stay in the car and be ready to leave. Keep the engine going." I say, and he nods. Then I turn to Omar, who is silent, and say, "Omar, you are with me." I announce, and he nods. One of my guys is quick to open the door for me, and I get out, straighten my suit, and walk towards them. My gun is intact, so I have nothing to worry about.
"Took you long enough? "I was starting to think you panicked and were not going to show up. He states this as he extends his arm to greet me, and I return the favor.
"Oh, you know how busy I can be, but I wasn’t going to back out on this. I called in, and I didn’t fail to deliver. "I have the goods with me, and I think we should go straight to business since we don’t have a lot of time. It is late, as you can see."
"Yeah, okay, bring the goods. My guys will inspect it, and you will get your cash just as discussed." He adds, and I signal my guy to bring the goods from the boot. I know this is illegal, but this is just business, and money will never be enough. I sell weapons to my enemies, and as they say, an enemy of my enemy is a friend. I knew this action would kick my enemy and competitor, Luiz; that is why I accepted the deal in the first place.
After he inspects the guns and makes sure everything is okay, he smiles and signals one of his guys to come forth with the money.
"I hope they are untraceable, just like we spoke about."
"Yes, you know I am a man of my word. Nothing or no one will link anything to you, just like promised and the money, is it all clean?"
"Yes, I make sure I clean my money to avoid any altercations when it comes to business. You will find everything there, just as promised." He assures me, and I signal Omar to make sure everything is intact before we leave.
"I think I am satisfied. Thank you for trusting in me, and I look forward to doing more business with you." I say as I extend my hand to shake his, and he smiles.
"Nice doing business with you, Alessandro Ricco; I hope I don’t see you again."
"The feeling is mutual," I add and turn around, ready to leave. As soon as I get to the car, my driver starts the car, and we are off. As I sleep through that night, I can’t help but smile at how far I have brought Ricco’s empire ever since my late father handed it to me.
I might not have been the best candidate for inheriting my father’s empire, but I have worked hard enough to deserve the position, and that is why I am not letting anyone jeopardize my plans.
My father left this empire on the verge of collapse, and it took me years to rebuild everything. It took time to earn the trust of different business associates, so I hold it dear to my heart.
***
A few weeks later, we are driving from a striking business deal gone wrong, and my usual chauffeur is at the wheel, driving at a moderate speed. I am not in the mood, so I just want to go home and sleep.
"Boss, I think there is some woman on the other side of the road. She looks like she needs help."
"You know we don’t do that; why would you want to stop?" It might be a trap or something." I urge him, and he stops suddenly.
"I am sorry, boss, but I think this woman needs our help. She looks like she has been mugged." He says this and immediately gets out of the car. I wait for about two minutes, and when I don’t see any of them coming back, I decide to go check out. When my eyes land on her, I am surprised to see her. Riley Anderson!
"Leave her alone; I know her," I shout as I rush to her aid. "My God, what happened to her? "Help me carry her to the car and call my doctor!" I instructed, and my bodyguard carried her like a baby to the car. My heart is racing so hard against my chest, but the thought of someone harming her makes my blood boil in anger. As the car speeds to my place, I only have one prayer in my head: God, please heal her for me.
- Writer
