VICIOUS CIRCLE – CHAPTER FOUR

The lines of resistance were thick in the air as Dominic walked toward them. A magnetic force buffeted him; two polar opposites being pressed together.

Dominic walked up and said, “You’re new.”

Joey answered, “This is Paul Romano. Paulie.”

Dominic glanced at Joey. “Nice tux, Joey. You going to perform magic tricks later?”

“Har har,” Joey said. “You’re always good for a laugh, Carelli.”

“When’s your father coming?” Dominic let his voice grow bored and dismissive. Maintaining a conversation with Joey was tedious work. Besides, he was more interested in watching Paul’s reaction.

The guy put up a calm front, but Dominic could see the turmoil beneath the surface. A flicker of his eyes, a slight twitch of his mouth. The man was keeping something locked up, and he knew Joey was too dim to pick up on it.

Joey said, “He should be here any time. He’s bringing his new girl. Wants to make an entrance and show her off.”

“I heard she’s younger than you, Joey. Does that bother you?” He smirked.

There were few things that gave Dominic satisfaction these days. Pissing off Joey was one of them.

“Why should it bother me? If my old man wants to parade around with some young broad, it’s his business.”

Dominic turned abruptly to Paul. “So what do you do?”

“Paulie’s in accounting,” Joey said.

Dominic kept his eyes on Paul. “What, the man can’t talk for himself?” He saw a faint flash of red in his cheeks.

“I work with numbers.” Paul said, “Do the books, creative tax breaks. That sort of thing.”

“Sounds exciting. Listen, why don’t you have a look around, maybe get yourself a drink. I need to talk to your boss.”

He watched Paul look at Joey for approval. Joey nodded, and Paul headed for the bar. Dominic rolled his eyes. He knew Joey was eating up the way Paul deferred to him. Except Dominic also caught the quick look of relief that shot across Paul’s face as he left. Dominic realized he made Paul nervous, and that made Dominic even more curious.

“What’s his story?”

Joey had such a pleased and satisfied smile Dominic had to intertwine his fingers to keep from slapping him.

“Paulie used to work for the feds.”

“You’re kidding,” he said, but he could tell by Joey’s stupid grin that he wasn’t. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“You worry too much, Carelli. We checked the guy out. He passed all the tests.”

“Joey, you can’t be that dumb.” He didn’t bother to hide his look of disgust. “You think it’s just some coincidence that he’s working for us now? Where’s your brain?”

Joey flushed red with anger. “Look, he’s on my team. I vouch for him, and that’s good enough. And since when do you question my decisions, Carelli? Last time I checked, I outrank you.”

“Says who?” Dominic almost laughed in his face. “Joey, I’m already tiring of this conversation. Almost as tired as I am of you. Just keep one thing in mind. If that blond-haired farmboy who’s trying so hard to look like a mobster screws up and brings trouble down on the family, first I’ll remove him.” Dominic leaned close to Joey’s ear. “Then I’ll make sure everyone knows who let him in. Understand what I’m saying?”

Joey sputtered and said, “He’s not gonna screw up. I told you, I checked him out. Besides, I’m a good judge of—”

Dominic walked away.

Little John was back at the table when Dominic got there. A Seven and Seven was waiting for him as well. He sat down and took a long pull on it.

“Trouble, Mr. Carelli?” Little John asked.

“What did Joe Jr. do now?” Manny added.

“Made another bad decision, I think.” Dominic waved it off. “John, how’d you like to come work for me?”

Little John had a puzzled expression, one borne of shock and surprise. “What, me? You mean with you? For you? Like an assistant? Yeah, yeah, but what about Vic? I’ve been working with him almost a year.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Dominic said. “You’ll go wherever Joe Tagliani wants you to. As soon as he gets here, I’ll talk you up to him, recommend you for a new position that’s about to open up. Understand?”

“Yeah.” The kid’s face lit up with exuberance.

“The thing is, no matter what the job is, what they have you do, I want you to report everything to me. Without anyone else knowing about it. Got it?”

“Sure, Mr. Carelli.” The kid didn’t even blink. “You want to be kept informed. I get it.”

“Right.”

 “Okay, Mr. Carelli. You’ll square things with Mr. Tagliani?”

Dominic nodded. “Consider it done.”

The room came alive with unexpected tension and the hush of an approaching storm. Dominic pictured the guys outside falling over themselves in greeting their boss, opening doors, asking to take his coat, and making sure his every whim was tended to. Joseph Tagliani had arrived.

As soon as he entered the restaurant, a throng of people enveloped him. Dominic caught just a glimpse of his silver hair before the crowd swallowed him.

Then Dominic saw her.

Her eyes were the color of polished, backlit emeralds. Her hair, liquid midnight, hung past her shoulders and flowed as she walked. She smiled at the men falling over themselves to greet her. Dominic watched her move in Technicolor as the tips of her hair flowed across her shoulder and arm and caressed the top of her breast.

His mouth went dry. She was petite, yet full-bodied; busty with curvaceous hips. Not overweight or ultrathin, but pleasingly in-between. She looked soft as Dominic thought a woman should, but also physically fit. Sensual, too, the way she glided about the room and brightened it with her smile. He was hypnotized by her lips most of all. They were full and redder than blood, and plump like ripened cherries. He thought about what it would be like to lick them.

Just as quickly, he shut it down. Wherever the part of the brain that generates lust and desire was, Dominic found it and switched it off. He knew these types of feelings would just lead to trouble, and no woman was worth risking his life and livelihood for.

With the lust turned off, he could examine her objectively. Beneath the black Versace gown, charm school manners, and specially applied makeup intended to make her look older, Dominic saw a woman unsure of herself. She was trying hard to appear more mature, but he guessed her age as being in the mid-twenties. Her face was too delicate and smooth to be what she was trying to appear to be, which was a high-priced whore.

She could pull it off for moments at a time, but then a ripple would run across her face, and he caught a glimpse of a sweet, innocent girl-next-door. It was the combination of the two personas that Dominic thought made her dangerous.

***

Paul felt it the moment she entered the room. The girl was trouble. His heart thrashed against his rib cage, and he felt his face flush with heat. He didn’t know if he was in love or having a coronary.

He figured the fossil in a suit with her was Joe Tagliani Sr., and he knew deep down he should be devoting his attention to him, but everything—the job, his assignment, Matrix—went out the window when he saw her.

She had that look about her that Paul had always liked. The 1940s-era woman he watched late at night in old movies, where the woman works in a nightclub singing torch songs, smoking cigarettes, and nursing scotch in between sets, secretly wishing the right man would come in and take her away from all of that. The woman from the wrong side of the tracks, the bad side of town, the hooker with the heart of gold, waiting and hoping the gallant knight would rush in and carry her off to a vine-covered cottage with a picket fence, two-car garage, and two-point-three kids.

Paul needed another drink. He turned toward the bar, and Joey’s hand came down on his shoulder.

“Paulie, come on. I want you to meet my dad.”

He let Joey guide him, not trusting his legs to work of their own accord. They were rubbery and moved out of mechanical volition rather than conscious thought. Paul was sure to keep his eyes locked on the old man, though he felt her eyes on him, appraising him in a way that made him blush. His heart jack-rabbited and lodged in his throat.

Joey said, “Dad, this is Paulie Romano. I told you about him. Been with us almost a year.”

Joe Tagliani was short, thin, and frail looking. His head appeared a bit too large for his body, and his pinstripe suit seemed to weigh heavily on him. A strong gust of wind would carry him off under the right weather conditions, Paul thought.

Joe’s hair was white and unnaturally thick, combed back from his face in waves of cotton tufts. Paul shook his hand and found the grip limp, his skin dry and scaly. Everything about him looked weak, except for his eyes. His eyes were cold steel.

Paul swallowed the lump in his throat and ignored the woman as best as he could. He said: “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“Paulie, I’ve heard a lot about you. My son says you’re doing fine work for us.” Joe’s voice was raspy but soft, a contrast to his son’s loud and abrasive tone.

“That’s very kind of him to say,” was all Paul could think to respond.

“This is my companion, Audrey,” Joe said. “Audrey, meet Paul Romano and my son, Joey.”

Then Paul was forced to look at her. When he met her eyes, a jolt hit him at the base of his spine.

“Nice to meet you,” she said. Her voice was light, feminine, and with a touch of breathlessness that made Paul think of a whisper in a darkened room—perhaps late at night, under the covers, and her mouth next to his ear whispering endearments. He swallowed.

“Hey,” Joey said. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Paul watched her look at Joey with wariness, then back to Paul with a hint of warmth and humor. She liked him, Paul could feel it, and she didn’t like Joey.

Joe said, “Paulie, keep Audrey company for a moment while I talk to my son. She bores easily.” He patted Paul on the arm and gave him a fatherly wink.

Paul looked at Audrey, who had a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her luscious lips.

“So. What do you think of the restaurant?” he asked.

Her eyes moved briefly around the room and settled back on him. She shrugged slightly, barely moving her shoulders, tilted her head right, then left. It was a move that combined cuteness, femininity, and ambivalence all rolled into one.

“It’s nice, I suppose. How are the drinks?”

“Strong.” He looked at his rum and Coke. “I’m not much of a drinker though.”

A sly smile on her lips. “I was trying to drop a hint.”

Paul was lost for a moment, then realized what she meant and blushed again.

“Sorry. What would you like?”

Her smile deepened and her eyes twinkled at him.

“To drink,” Paul added, a bit too quickly. Was he imagining it, or was she flirting with him?

“White wine,” she said. Of course.

When he returned from the bar, she was waiting in the same spot, looking down at the black beaded purse in her hands. There was a melancholy look to her features that faded the instant she glanced up and saw him.

Audrey smiled, murmured a “thanks,” and sipped the wine. On her wrist flashed a diamond bracelet, very elegant and very expensive.

“That’s a beautiful bracelet.” He sipped his drink to try and keep his mouth busy.

She looked at it curiously. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? Joe bought it for me because he’s impotent. He buys me presents because he can’t fuck me.”

Paul choked on his drink and went into a coughing fit that lasted several seconds but felt like an eternity. Rum burned his nose, and his eyes stung with tears.

When his vision cleared, he saw Audrey holding out a napkin for him and looking more amused than ever. He dabbed at his chin and a big splotch on his shirt.

“Are you always so easily embarrassed?”

Paul didn’t know how to answer that, so he decided not to try. Luckily, Joe and Joey came back as if on cue.

“Jeez, Paulie,” Joey said. “What’d you do to your shirt? I wanted you to make a good impression tonight.”

Joe said, “Everyone’s entitled to be a little clumsy, Joey. Accidents happen. It’s okay.”

He patted Paul’s arm again. A blue vein on Joe’s temple stuck out from the skin in a thick, ropy tendril that zigzagged up into his hairline. Paul wondered how much blood it carried and if it was always so prominent. He wondered if he grabbed it and squeezed, if the flow of blood to Joe’s brain would cease and cause him to pass out. He wondered if he held the vein long enough, if Joe would eventually die.

“Thanks, Mr. Tagliani.” His voice was dry and thick.

“Call me Joe.” To Joey, he said: “I’m going to introduce Audrey to a few people. You and Paulie get something to eat. We’ll talk in a little bit.”

They walked away, and Paul watched Audrey’s hips move her tight gown in interesting ways. Joey leaned close to Paul, his eyes fixed on Audrey as well.

“How would you like to ride that bull? Maybe when my dad gets tired of her, he’ll pass her on to me. I’ll let you know if she tastes as good as she looks.”

Paul was on him immediately, his hands around Joey’s throat, squeezing. Joey’s face went white, his eyes bulged, and his tongue flopped out. He flailed at Paul’s hands, but he was in the grip of a madman and Paul had the element of surprise.

Paul squeezed until he saw Joey’s lips turn blue and his eyes roll back. He let go and Joey slumped to the floor. Then he blinked and came back to reality.

Joey was still watching Audrey with a leer on his pockmarked face.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Paul said. “This alcohol’s beginning to affect me.”

It isn’t the alcohol, Paul thought. It’s the woman.

***

He watched her the rest of the night despite his best intentions not to. Paul knew he should be mingling, picking up information to pass on to Matrix, the usual undercover stuff. But he couldn’t help himself.

Audrey would be standing next to Joe while he told ancient jokes to his flock of peons, and her expression would be distant, as if she were a million miles away. She would have that sad look she had earlier when he brought her the wine. He would look at her until she noticed him, and then she would smile. Sometimes she would smile and look away shyly. Other times, she would smile and hold his gaze until he looked away, her mouth opening as if she were about to say something to him.

He knew he was blowing it. Matrix would raise hell with him if he didn’t come out of this gala with juicy nuggets of information. He was wasting a golden opportunity, but he didn’t care. All he cared about were those brief moments when he made Audrey smile.

There was a tingling sensation at the base of his skull just before Dominic’s arm came around his shoulder.

“You having a good time, chief?”

Paul had flinched at Dominic’s sudden appearance, but he regained his composure and said, “Yeah, so far.”

“Good, good.” The hand squeezed his shoulder. “I see you have an eye for beauty.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been watching the boss’s squeeze all night.”

“Well…I was just being friendly. I didn’t mean any offense by it.” He was starting to sweat, and Dominic’s proximity drew all the oxygen from this lungs.

“I don’t know who you are or what you’re up to…yet, but I’m watching you.” He patted Paul’s cheek.

Paul pulled away. Dominic scared the hell out of him, but he couldn’t act too placid. He had to show some backbone.

“Hey, I work for Joey. If you have a problem with me, then take it up with him.”

“Shithead, I already did.” Dominic raised an eyebrow. He didn’t smile, but he looked amused. His eyes were challenging Paul, goading him. He wanted Paul to react.

And Paul knew he couldn’t. If he did something stupid, caused a scene in front of Joe and Joey, it could jeopardize the whole operation. Besides, he had no doubt Dominic would mop the floor with him. He wondered how impressed Audrey would be with him after witnessing that spectacle.

Joey saved Paul from his predicament.

“What’re you doing, Dom? Giving Paulie some fashion tips?”

“You’re the expert on that, Joey.” Dominic kept his eyes on Paul. There was still a sense of anticipation in his expression, still waiting for Paul to make a move against him, and beneath that, sureness that he wouldn’t.

“This guy,” Joe cocked a thumb towards Dominic,” has fifty suits like this. All black and all sharkskin. What do you make of that Paulie?”

Paul didn’t know what to make of it. He hadn’t noticed Joe and Audrey’s approach either.

“Joey, knock it off,” Joe said. “It’s not good to show discord in front of the new guys.”

“Ah, I was just kidding.” He gulped his drink and rocked back on his heels. Joey had been drinking heavily since he arrived, and it showed in his ruddy complexion and glassy-eyed stare.

“Dominic, do me a favor and take Audrey home,” Joe said. “Wait for me there, too. I want to discuss some business. I shouldn’t be more than an hour or so.”

Looking shy and demure, Audrey was sneaking glances at Paul. He did his best not to stare. To look away would have been even more suspicious. Plus, he was trying to memorize her face. He wanted to be able to recall everything about her later, and he didn’t know if he’d ever see her again.

He wanted to see her away from this setting, maybe over a candlelit dinner, just the two of them, light jazz playing in the background, taking their time over the food as sort of a pre-sexual foreplay. The candles would make her eyes sparkle and her lips glisten as she gently laughed at his humorous anecdotes and wry social observations.

Or her hair pulled back in a ponytail, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, singing along with him at a rock concert. Or wearing a bikini and a terry cloth robe, standing on the beach, Paul behind her with his arms around her and his chin on her shoulder, drinking in her scent, watching the remnants of the setting sun sink into the ocean out beyond the horizon. Or snuggled together on Paul’s couch, her head on his shoulder and arms across his chest, a blanket around them, watching “It Happened One Night” on Paul’s big screen television.

Audrey said, “It was nice meeting you, Paul.” She extended her hand.

Paul took it. “It was nice meeting you.”

She turned to Joey. “And you, Joey.”

“A pleasure, my dear.” He gave a mock bow, and a small piece of ice he’d been sucking on fell from his mouth.

Joe gave him a stern look. Dominic grunted a laugh and led Audrey to the back of the restaurant.

Joe began talking to Paul about a potential job assignment that Joey recommended him for. He talked of the many flattering compliments Joey had paid to him, how impressed they were with his performance, how they wanted to better use his computer expertise. Joe talked of this new and exciting job prospect that could lead to bigger and better things.

Paul didn’t care about any of those things. What he cared about was that the Prince of Darkness was leaving with the girl of his dreams.

Author’s Commentary:

Characters are in play and are bouncing off each other.

We’re in Dominic’s head, but we also get into Paul’s for a bit, too. If I did my job correctly, the reader sees that Paul is a little…unstable? Maybe “not as well put together as we originally thought” is a better description.

Nah. I think unstable is right. An unstable person is a dangerous person, and Paul definitely has the potential to be dangerous. Both a danger to himself and to others.

Joey is dangerous, too. He’s an idiot, but a dangerous idiot nonetheless.

The most dangerous person of all is introduced in this chapter: Audrey.

Audrey is dangerous because she’s a catalyst. We’ll get into the whys and wherefores in the next chapter, but basically in this chapter, we see Audrey has an effect on both Dominic and Paul. Dominic is strong enough to overcome it. But Paul…? Remember what I said about unstable?

There are four main characters in this story and every character has an agenda. Keep that in mind when you consider Audrey. She’s not the damsel in distress and she’s not the femme fatale. She’s both.

Am I giving too much away?

There’s foreshadowing in this chapter. Some bits of dialogue I like. As much of an idiot Joey is, he’s still fun to write. The part where the piece of ice falls out of his mouth still makes me smile.

I’m also fond of the last line because it mirrors the last line of the previous chapter. I don’t know if all writers get a sense of satisfaction when they’re able to circle back on something like that, either through happenstance or on purpose, but I certainly dig it. It’s like the chorus to a song…

Maybe I’ll expand on this thought later, but one of the things you should know about me is that writing, to me, is like music. Literally. I hear music in words. A rhythm. I hear it when I read, both my own writing and others, and I hear it in movies and TV shows.

No, smartass, I’m not talking about the background music in movies and TV shows. I’m talking about the music I hear in the dialogue between the characters. It sounds to me like musical notes, and the way the scenes are cut are like pieces of a song building to a climax.

I think it’s one of the reason I enjoy stories from the 1940’s and 50’s so much. The writing from that era sounds like jazz to me. So does the work of Harlan Ellison and Elmore Leonard. And who doesn’t like jazz?

I see a hand up. Really? You don’t like jazz? Okay, whatever, dude…

Just as certain writing can sound like a bouncy jazz tune or a catchy rock song to me, other writing can have the opposite effect. As much as people loved the TV show “The West Wing,” I could never stand to watch it. To me, Aaron Sorkin’s writing was one-note. All of his characters’ dialogue sounded the same, and watching it was like listening to the same couple of musical notes played over and over and over and over…

You get the idea.

My own writing, and this is strictly what I hear in my head, usually sounds like a stripped down bluesy rock song. When things start popping: characters are talking back and forth or it’s an action scene, then it takes on the sound of an upbeat rock song with a little bit of funk mixed in.

You can’t ever go wrong with a little bit of funk.