Page 53 of Home Again

15

“I’ve got your phone tracked, so keep it with you no matter what. Got it?”

“Jada, you’re such a worry-wart,” Gianna said as she walked toward the bar’s entrance.

“I mean it. I don’t like this. I couldn’t find nearly as much as I would have liked on this guy, and it makes me nervous. How much battery do you have left on your phone?”

Gianna looked down at her phone and grimaced.

“Nine percent. But, but, but…I’ll say it again. He backed off when I asked him to. It’s going to be fine,” Gianna assured her friend.

“I’m going to fucking beat your ass! Your phone is your lifeline.”

“Look, I’ve got to go.”

She tucked her phone into her purse, then walked into the bar. Even at twelve forty-five in the afternoon, it was hopping. When she got to the front of the bar, she was greeted by the same jerky bartender. He smiled at her. “I heard you made it for another round. You must have done something special up there.”

“Actually, Mr. Fontenot is having me apply for a job other than as a waitress.”

He sneered at her, “I bet he is. Come on, let me take you on up.” Once again she pushed her way to the end of the bar and then followed him to the end of the hall so he could open the door that led her to Bradley Fontenot’s office. This time Gianna did not engage with any more small talk.

When she knocked, Fontenot again called for her to come in, but she only opened the door, she did not walk in, afraid she would be once again met with him crowding her. Gianna was pleasantly surprised to see he was behind his desk. He was on his phone, waving her over to sit on one of the chairs in front of his desk. She sat down.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you are not listening to me. I told you to get it fucking done now. You fuck this up, and I will personally see to you losing your license, your business, and everything you hold dear. You got it?” He paused. “I asked you if you fucking heard me, you piece of shit.” He paused again. “Good. Now I’m sending Kevin over to make sure you deliver, expect him in an hour.” He slammed down the phone.

Gianna did her best to not be upset by what she’d heard. Fontenot gave her a sly glance. “So, you think you can handle working for me, baby?”

She cleared her throat. “I don’t actually know. What would I be doing?”

“That’s what we’re going to discuss.” He picked up his pack of cigarettes and rounded his desk. “Let’s go,” he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her chair. She tried to shrug him off, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

“Mr. Fontenot, please let go of me.”

“One thing you’re going to have to get used to is that I’m a hands-on guy. It doesn’t mean anything. I open doors for women, and shit like that. Now let’s get going.” He opened the office door and pulled her down the stairs. If Gianna wasn’t so intent on getting information about Armand out of the jerk, she wouldn’t have put up with this, but she was sure she was on the right track. She could feel it in her bones.

When they got back into the bar area, people automatically parted to let him pass. Then they were outside and he threw on his sunglasses. “This way.”

“My car’s this way,” Gianna pointed. “I’m going to follow you.”

“I told you yesterday, you’re driving with me. Trust me, you’ll like it. I have a sweet ride. An Escalade. We need to go over a few things. My businesses are complicated, and I need to make sure you can handle them before I decide you’re the right girl for the job.” He tugged at her upper arm. “Come with me.”

Gianna followed him, trying to keep her feet under her on the gravel parking lot in her heels.

When they got to the Escalade he opened the door for her. “See, like I told you, I open doors.” When he got in and started the car he also pulled out a cigarette and started smoking. Gianna rolled down her window. “Jesus, how uptight are you?”

“Didn’t you want to tell me about the job?”

“Right.” He blew out smoke. “What do you want to know?”

“You said you had more than one business, what are they?”

He gave her a sideways glance. “I guess there’s no harm in telling you now,” he licked his lips and smiled. “I’ve done real well for myself. Real well. Started out with a pissant of a partner who fronted me some cash and connections. We went to school together, but he was dumb. He couldn’t hold onto shit. He gambled on everything, cards, horses, ballgames, and investments. The dumbfuck lost every goddamn time. Meanwhile, I was smart. I made sure only to bet on a sure thing.”

“Okay,” Gianna said, stretching out the word. “It sounds like you really knew what you were doing.”

“Damn fucking right I knew what I was doing. He didn’t even know how to use the connections he had, dumb bastard. And with the father he had, you would have thought it would’ve been second nature. All you have to do is make sure that people like our old governor got a cut, and then you were set up.”

Gianna shivered; he was talking about Armand. Why was he telling her this? This was bad. She looked over at him and saw he was concentrating on the road, so she slowly reached into her purse with one hand and grabbed her phone. She pulled it out just far enough so she could see it. He was making a left-hand turn so she pressed in her password, called up her recent call lists, and called Jada. She turned down her volume to zero and made sure to mute her phone. Just as Fontenot was turning his head she shoved her phone back in her purse, all the time praying that Jada had actually answered the phone and it hadn’t gone to her voicemail.