The Things We Crave

Chapter Fourteen

It’s been three months since Vincent sent out a private investigator on Catherine. He finally got the report. He is sitting at his desk at his office in the new club in LA. His eyes dart left to right as he goes through the report. His forehead creases and he pinches the bridge of his nose as he releases a heavy sigh. This wasn’t good.

It wasn’t so much as her job as an escort for the biggest and most lucrative escort agency in LA. Her profile made it pretty clear she wasn’t interested in providing s****l services. He was surprised at how highly she was recommended with four stars when he read that she was not recommended for fancy ball parties and banquets, which is the number one reason an escort id hired. The agency recommends outdoor events, sporting events, clubs, or recreational activities like skiing, hiking, white river rafting, or even hunting.

There were even a few reviews by clients who hired her. A few athletes, Robert Clint stuck out in his mind. He was the son of a client who rented out his banquet halls regularly for charity balls. A man with too much money and spoils his son, who enjoys extreme sports like parasailing, zip lining, extreme mountain biking, started to wall climb which escalates into rock climbing.

Apparently, Catherine has picked up a few extreme hobbies the past few months. According to Robert’s review, he wrote:

“I’m glad I have someone to go wall climbing and parasailing with. The next time, I think we’ll go white river rafting. I definitely recommend!”

No, what bothered him was that she’s been hanging out with Ace Spade. Anger filled him and he slams his fist on the desk. They have been here, and he didn’t even realize it. The last thing she needs it to be tangled up with a mob boss son or get involved in “deals” he has to offer her to trap her in some contract. The worthless piece of crap would use her quicker than you can wink. He could bet all his money Ace is sleeping with her, which only fires Vincent up even more.

Catherine is too good for him! She doesn’t want me, fine! But that scum bucket, hell! Not on my watch! Catherine’s mother would drop dead if she ever found out, and Tammy would be on the next flight to LA with a fury I never wanted to see. Vincent thought.

He gathers the papers leaving out a picture of Catherine with Ace and shoves the into a drawer. He walks casually down the hall down the hallway to Julius’s office. He didn’t like getting involved with Julius’s mob business, but this has now become personal. He knocks, he enters after he hears the buzzer go off. He shuts the door behind him to find Julius by the window alone.

Good he’s alone. Vincent thought with a smile.

“Spade, are you busy at the moment? I need to ask you something” Vincent asks.

Spade turns and his face lights up. He moves quickly to Vincent to pat his back. He then guides him to the chair in front of his desk as he says, “Sure my boy! It’s always a pleasure when you come in here.” They sit down, Spade steeples his fingers in front of him and asks, “What can I do for you?”

Vincent rubs the back of his neck; he was a little nervous. He has never approached the mob with a problem he had over something personal. “I’ve got a problem. We have a common acquaintance. This girl, “ Vincent hands the picture to Spade. He looks it over, his brows rise. “She’s been seen with Ace. I feel this would be a conflict of interest for our arrangements. Do you know her?”

Spade presses his lips thin and furrows his brow. Deep lines in his forehead form as he processes what Vincent said. He drops the photo on his desk and leans back. With a heavy sigh he opens a drawer and narrows his eyes as he flips through the files. When he finds the one he’s looking for he pulls it out and closes the drawer.

In his hand is a manila folder with the name Wildcat on the tab. He taps it gently as he speaks, “Yeah, I know her who she is, but how do you know her? Is there a personal interest in this girl or is there some other reason this is a conflict of interest?” His tone even and calm, but all business.

“The girl in this picture is Tammy’s sister.” Vincent simply says, putting his foot on his knee.

“Brad’s Tammy? Catherine? You’re kidding.” He opens the folder and nods his head in understanding.

He was looking at the contract she had signed, sure enough it was signed in her legal name, not the name she was known for.

“If a deal goes sour or Catherine gets hurt, hell if Tammy finds out her boyfriend is in the mob there are going to be problems between us. Brad would do anything for Tammy, you understand me, right?” Vincent said smoothly. “Has she signed anything? Borrowed money?”

“I do understand. Let me tell you what I know. In the past three months since Ace has found her at the open racetrack on the edge of the city, he has been distracted from his work here. All he wants to do is be with her. He managed to get her to sign on as one of our sponsored racer in the street races Ace manages. She’s a damn good racer, has won every race so far. With every race she attended he has went out of his way to impress her and get close to her.

For the first month, she kept him at arm’s length and left as soon as the race was over. He invited her multiple times to after parties and dates. She didn’t seem interested. In the middle of the second month, she accepted an invite but only as friends. Ace told me on one occasion, that she made it clear she wasn’t interested in a relationship, she had too much going on in her life right now. He agreed to be just friends. She has come around a lot more after that.

I’ve never seen my son act this way before. She calls and he drops what he’s doing. They get together at this place on the other side of the city. He has been teaching her to rock climb there, it’s indoor. Last week he took her to his personal tattoo artist for a tattoo, which he paid for. Now the past few weeks I have seen them getting closer, kissing and disappearing to empty rooms. I can only guess what they do, however, Ace complains that she won’t let him in. My guess is they are doing the friends with benefits crap. She refuses to be with him, says she likes her freedom and knows he would make her quit her job and move into the city. She likes the way their relationship is, but of course he wants her for himself.

So, Ace is not her boyfriend, unfortunately for him, but it’s a good thing for her. As far as her contract with him, it’s not a bad gig. She races for us, keeps 90% of the winnings. We pay the entry fee, find her the races, pay to keep up and maintain her bike and gas. That’s not bad.”

Vincent listened intensely as Spade spoke. It made him feel better that she didn’t get with Ace. Turns out Tammy was right about Catherine; she didn’t want a relationship with anyone. He smiled when Spade mentioned Aces frustration of being stuck in the friend zone. However, he was disappointed to hear he did mange to sleep with her. She won’t give up her heart so maybe he still had a chance to win it. But how could he get Catherine away from Ace?

“What’s the catch, Spade?” Vincent knew it was never that simply working for the mob.

Spade scratches under his chin, a tell Vincent had learned as his tell when he’s about to say something undesirable. “Catherine has to race, whenever we, Ace or myself, want. Not when it’s convenient for her. Yesterday, I overheard the two arguing. Apparently, one of her clients took her here to the club. Ace was working security and saw them. He became jealous, made the guy feel uncomfortable and left. She lit into him went up one side him and down the other. I heard her say something about the client wanting to take her out that weekend on his yacht and he’d pay her three times as much as she would get to go to her ‘other’ job.

That’s when Ace explained to her about the contract that she signed. She started to talk in a low angry tone so I couldn’t hear what she said, then she stormed out of the office. I never thought I’d see Ace chase after a woman like he did her. He was apologizing and tried to stop her, but she wasn’t having it. She squealed the tires on her bike as she peeled out of here.”

Vincent was trying to remember where he was yesterday. He wasn’t here, he was at his apartment. He had just got back from Denver, going over all the paperwork with Brad that had piled on his desk for this club. Hearing the fool had put his foot in his mouth with Catherine made him chuckle. He didn’t have to do a thing to split them up. He just had to sit back and wait for Ace to screw up, then he can swoop in and pick up the pieces. Genius.

“Do you think she’ll show?” Vincent asks picking at a loose string on his pants.

“She had better. So, have I cleared things up, is there still a problem?” Spade asks with a smile.

“As long as she doesn’t get with Ace and you keep her safe. Also, if something does go sour with the deal, keep me in the loop. I’ll do what I can to make sure things are kosher between us.” Vincent smiles and stands.

Spade does the same and walks around the desk. As he walks Vincent to the door he asks, “Are you sure you’re not interested in this girl? She very beautiful, but just as her handle suggests, she’s a wildcat. Hard to catch, hard to tame, hard to get close to. Ace is losing his patients and may do something drastic. I’d much rather see a girl like her be with a stable, levelheaded, and intelligent guy like yourself. Don’t get me wrong, I love my son, but a girl that doesn’t belong in the mob. I think, you are what she needs. I didn’t become boss of the mob because of my looks. I can read you like a book. I’ll do what I can on this end to keep her safe. In the meantime, keep vigilant and be ready.”

Spade pats Vincent’s back as he leaves. Vincent smiles back then turns to walk down the hall. Ace is coming up the hallway heading to his father’s office. He looks miserable. Vincent puts his hands deep in his pockets and throws out his chest. He whistles a tune, Ace glares at him when they pass in the hall. Vincent returns to his desk and flops in his chair. Putting his feet on the top of his desk and lacing his fingers behind his head.

All he had to do is lay and wait. Soon the trap will be set, and that pretty kitty will be in his cage.