33 #4
"Gia and Jerome," Dani answered, then took another sip of her coffee.
"I see, that's um, very generous of them." He just managed to disguise his scepticism in his tone.
"Yes. It's because I work extra hours and help out with the decorations, and I'm teaching Gia a few things on the computer.
" Dani rambled on nervously as Adam continued to furrow his brow.
"And it's just temporary. Until I get my own place," she added, but as she explained the terms and reasons for the Ferretti's generosity to him, it still sounded too good to be true.
"Well. You can always come back here if you find that it's too much.
Working and living so close together you may get a little…
er…" he tilted his head trying to find the right word.
"Consuming. You're a good person Dani and sometimes people take advantage.
I don't want you feeling indebted to them. "
"Gia's not like that."
"No, maybe Gia isn't," he paused before adding, "Just be careful." He smiled softly at her, then took a gulp from his coffee cup.
"Talking of Gia, did you know your dad took her out on Friday night?"
Adam choked on his coffee and Dani giggled, then reached over to pat him hard on the back.
"My dad?'" he spluttered. "Took out 'the hottie'?" Adam coughed some more, then swallowed hard.
Dani nodded. "Yep. Dinner and a jazz club, no less. Don't you dare tell him I told you!"
Adam shook his head, then pretended to zip his lips, which made Dani laugh.
"Well, well, well. I didn't think he had it in him. There's life in the old dog yet." He grinned widely. "Way to go Raymoundo!"
"SO THAT’S ABOUT THE long and short of it Paul." Scott shuffled in his car seat uncomfortably. He wasn't happy about having to explain himself to Paul, but he knew he'd been given no choice.
He'd arranged to meet Paul while he was on surveillance outside Jerome's house.
It was lunchtime and Jerome hadn't left the house apart from going out to the newsagents to get some cigarettes and then to a Jewish bakery for some bagels, early that morning.
Liz had stayed home with him, playing her rehearsed role of wife and mother.
Scott knew the minute Jerome left in the evening she'd be calling Jonathan.
Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew things must be bad between Jerome and Liz from the rumours he'd heard from the staff at Level One.
He tended not to partake in gossip, especially when it concerned his boss.
But Jonathan's sudden exit from the gym had caused enough of a stir amongst the staff that the ripples had comes to his ears.
It also didn't make sense that Liz had also stopped working there.
Over the years that he'd worked with Jerome he'd never questioned his actions.
He was there solely to make sure that there was never any danger or trouble relating to the businesses and the staff, what else went on was none of his business.
When you ran security, discretion was imperative. No questions asked.
"Jesus, Scott, this puts me in a worse position.
" It started to make a bit more sense now.
Paul remembered Jerome asking for a private investigator for a client, of course he couldn't ask him to do the work.
He was too close, and Jerome definitely didn't want his team knowing about Liz's affair or that he was checking up on her.
"I know, but you gave me no choice. I couldn't compromise Seni. You needed to know the facts before you decided to go to Jerome."
"Jerome has no idea. He's just set up a fashion show for her at Sky. He'll be mortified."
"I know."
"So what's the plan? Once you've got all the evidence you're going to give it to Jerome? Like, 'Hey look, we've been spying on your wife and she's still fucking the trainer'?"
"Not exactly. I'm not entirely sure how Seni's going to tell him. All I know is that he wants every bit of proof he can get, and we've got it. Phone records, photos, even a video."
"A video?"
"Yeah." Scott shuddered.
"Jesus, Seni went all out. What a fucking mess." They sat for a moment in silence. "Look, I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to handle this."
"Your guy, when does he pass by here?"
"Between eleven thirty and midnight, then every hour after that until six in the morning."
"Well that explains why he never saw me until last night. I'm usually gone by eleven. Her car has a tracker, so I know if she leaves in the middle of the night, but she's usually asleep by eleven. I'll make sure I'm not here from now on so your guy won't report my car parked up."
Paul nodded.
"If anything changes, I'll give you a heads up."
Paul took a deep breath, "I'm going to have to speak to Seni."
"Why? I've told you what's going on. If you tell him we've spoken, then I'm royally fucked for divulging the information. He'll go ape shit and I'll lose him as a client."
"I'm being disloyal to Jerome. I need to be able to cover myself too. This puts us both in a difficult dilemma. Why don't you tell him you saw one of my guys driving past Jerome's house and he recognised you. He might come and tell me himself, then."
"He's a lawyer Paul. He's not going to spill anything he doesn't have to," sighed Scott.
Paul looked out of his window trying hard to work out how he could cover himself without blowing Scott's cover.
"How long do you think you'll be on the job for?"
"Until Christmas, maybe until just after."
"Okay, I'll say nothing but try and mention about my man to Seni.
I'm bound to see him at Sky. He may just say something to me.
" Paul shook his head. "This is going to come and bite us in the ass.
The Ferrettis are good people. I've known them for nearly fifteen years and worked for them for four, but their family comes first and they value loyalty above all else.
That bitch is going to mess them all up and us too.
Jerome will lose a shit-tonne if he divorces her. "
Scott grunted his agreement. From what he'd seen of Liz over the last few weeks, he could see she was just using Jerome.
"He's got a lot on his plate at the moment and I think he dropped the ball where she's concerned," added Paul.
He thought back to the drug runners they were trying to keep at bay and the extra hours Jerome was putting in at Level One. Then there was La Casa, and Christmas was the busiest time of the year for both the restaurant and the club. He was spreading himself too thinly and Liz was taking advantage.
"Do you mind keeping me in the loop? You never know I might be able to help out."
Scott shrugged. He knew the worst of it now, he didn't see the harm and an extra pair of eyes and experience may spot something he and Seni had missed.
"Sure. I can send you the photos and phone records along with the reports to your email, but believe me you don't want to see the video."
"No, I don't. Good. I'll expect your call then?"
"Yeah."
"Well, take it easy, then." Paul jerked his head towards the Ferretti house.
"Thanks, you too," smirked Scott.