Kelly's Jellyfish Romance (Romantic Short Stories) (3 page)

Screwing up her courage, Ami calls Tony one last time. She asks
if they can come up with an arrangement that won’t leave her completely
destitute and starving. Claiming to be a reasonable man, he invites her to
speak with him at his home in Chicago, to “see what we can come up with”.
Although terrified of what might await her in a stranger’s home, and a
criminal’s home at that, Ami wears her best conservative black dress and drives
to Chicago to see what can be done. The trip is not pleasant as she knows the
Roma crime family has a reputation for being ruthless. She tries her best to
stay courageous and is determined to face up to whatever awaits her.

Now she’s arrived Ami finds her courage suddenly abandons
her. Trembling she sits alone in her car, staring at the house as if it’s the
house of doom.  A sudden rap at her window nearly sends her through the
roof. “Miss O’Reilly?” A heavy set man wearing designer sunglasses wearing an
expensive looking suit stands at her door. He looks like he hasn’t shaved in
three or four days. His breath reeks of garlic. “Follow me, please”. Clearly
not about to take no for an answer, he opens the driver’s door and helps Ami
out of her car. “Excuse me Miss, I need to make sure you aren’t carrying
weapons.” The stranger quickly frisks her. Ami is certain he could feel her
shaking. Seemingly satisfied, he directs her towards the house. “Mr. Roma is
waiting for you.” As she is escorted up the long walkway, she hears a catcall
from across the lawn. “Knock it off Don, and get back to work!” Her escort
chided to a man standing in the driveway. “Ah, come on, Mick, I’m just paying
the lady a compliment,” Ami hears the man complain in a distinct thick New
Jersey accent. She nervously steps inside the front door not knowing what to
expect.

Feeling like she just stepped into a modern version of
The
Godfather
, Ami is shown through the house and left to stand in front of a
beautifully paneled mahogany door. As her escort knocks and goes inside she
gets a small glimpse of the very plush interior. Ami takes a few deep breaths
in an attempt to settle a bad case of nerves. She hears two male voices
conversing quietly just behind the door. The door swings open. Mick, her
escort, indicates she can now enter. Feeling like she is headed to her own
execution, Ami follows Mick into the room.

Ami is in a beautifully appointed study. It is bright and
cheerful, not at all what she expected. The furniture is a warm cherry wood.
Discreet paneled curtains cover the windows. A large flat screen monitor hangs
on one wall, and an original oil painting of a sunny Mediterranean island hangs
on another. The painting is very cheerful, full of orange, yellow, blue, and
green colors. A strong masculine voice interrupts her inspection. “Ms.
O’Reilly, I presume? Thank you Mick, please leave us alone.” As Mick steps out
of her way and leaves the room, she is taken back by her first view of Tony
Roma, the Godfather’s oldest son and heir to the throne.

The man is stunningly handsome in a dark and commanding way.
With black hair, dark eyes, and a powerful physique, Tony commands attention.
There was no doubt he was in charge, and knew it. Definitely he looks like the
kind of man you don’t want to mess with. For a moment he stares at Ami, in a
coldly assessing manner, and then nods to the empty chair in front of his desk.
“Please take a seat, Ms. O’Reilly.” As she sits, Ami watches him pick up a file
folder. He carefully scans the contents. He clears his throat and shoots her an
imperturbable glance. “It seems from your financial situation you will be unlikely
to be able to pay off your father’s debt anytime soon.” Ami confirms his
statement with a nervous mute nod. “You said on the phone, you wanted to find
terms that wouldn’t leave you, how did you put it, destitute and starving?” Ami
makes the mistake of looking into his face, and instantly Tony’s black eyes
held her gaze captive, “I… I was hoping we could come to some sort of an
alternative arrangement” Ami manages to squeak out, her voice barely above a
whisper.

“An alternative arrangement, you say?” Tony stares at her,
drumming his long elegant fingers on the top of the desk. He looked back
through the file and begins asking her an odd series of questions: “Are you
married?” “No” “Do you have any children?” “No” “Do you have a current lover?”
“Well, no, not recently” “Have you ever been diagnosed with a STD?” “What? No!
Sir, I don’t see what this has to do with my father’s debt” Ami sputters
indignantly at the dark eyed man across from her. “I’m sure you will see the
connection in a moment, Ms. O’Reilly.” Tony assures her coolly. “If you wish to
alleviate yourself and your sister from your father’s burden, then I have a
proposal for you.” He chuckled to himself as he continued on, “Quite literally
as a matter of fact. A very simple task really. Are you interested?” Wanting to
get the interview over with Ami says yes, she was. “You will pay off your
father’s debt by marrying me.”

Shocked and incredulous Ami stares at the handsome dark
Italian man.  “I’m sorry I must not have heard you correctly.” She said shaking
her head. Clearly her nerves had finally gotten to her. She must be getting in
bad shape. “I thought you said I could pay off my father’s debt by
marrying
you?  That’s ridiculous, I’m sorry I don’t understand.”

“I assure you, Ms. O’Reilly, you heard correctly. You gain
comfort, security, and the pleasure of my bed. I gain a beautiful spouse
without having to worry about any ulterior motives she may have. The debt is
cleared, and you and your sister no longer have to worry about being out in the
cold or being put away. And I don’t mean for just a little while. When you
accept my proposal everyone is happy.” Seeing the look of disbelief on her
face, Tony continues. “It’s not as unusual an arrangement as you seem to think.
My dear Ami marriages were conducted as business arrangements for many, many
centuries. Arranged marriages offer many benefits, unlike those between two
young people who marry for what they think is love only to be divorced a year
later as reality sets in. In some areas of the world arranged marriages are
still the normal way of finding a suitable lifetime partner. Consider this to
be another such arrangement.” He handed her a second folder from inside his
desk. “These are the terms of my proposal. My expectations for you, and what
you will be entitled to as my wife, everything is laid out in that folder.”

 Ami takes the folder, wondering if she is perhaps the
butt of some awful cruel joke. Determined not to be made a laughingstock by the
man, she looks back into Tony’s eyes. “What if I refuse?” She challenges in a
low voice, almost a whisper. She sees no humor in his eyes when he responds.
“There are other, less pleasant ways to pay off a debt, Ms. O’Reilly. I believe
you will find my offer to be the lesser of many evils. Take your time to review
my terms, they’re quite generous. Mick will see you to your room while you…
make your decision.”

With perfect timing, the door swings open and Mick walks in
to stand next to her chair. As she stands, folder in hand, she turns back to
look at Tony. “Why choose me?” She asks, in a daze and confused. For a moment,
she sees his handsome face soften. Just a tiny bit. She thinks there is
something… familiar about him. Then the look is gone, and with it the feeling
of recognition. “I expect your answer in the next twenty four hours.” He simply
says. Mick steps in and gently but firmly leads Ami out of the study.

Mick leads her through the hallway to a flight of stairs. As
she walks up, the man from the driveway passes her headed down to the office.
He is still leering at her, making her feel quite uncomfortable. His eyes seen
fixed on her boobs. Mick notices the gaze and cautions him to mind his manners.
Mick says to Ami only “he’s an asshole” and shows her up a flight of stairs to
a luxuriously appointed bedroom. “The sooner you give Tony what he wants, Ms.
O’Reilly, the easier it will be for everyone.” Mick tells her, not unkindly, as
he shows her into the room.  Mick only says, “I’ll be back with dinner in
a few hours.” Turning and abruptly leaving he shuts the door behind him. When
she hears a lock slam into place, Ami freaks out. She realizes without a doubt
she is Tony Roma’s prisoner.

Feeling powerless and frightened out of her wits Ami sits
down on the bed. Putting the folder with Tony’s proposal on the night stand,
she sits on the bed and rolls onto the other side. It hardly matters what the
terms of the marriage are. What can she do? The choice is the same regardless.
She can marry the man, clearing her father’s debt and securing a comfortable,
if loveless future. Or she could refuse, facing a lifetime of debt, and the
anger of a crime family. Tony Roma even hinted she and her sister might be
killed.  Not much of a choice. Ami falls into a restless sleep, exhausted
by the interview and her untenable situation.

In her dream, Ami is a teenager again, outside yet another
casino, while her father gambles away what little money they have. She left
little Nicole at their Winnebago home while she tries to find a way to rescue
their father and bring him back home. Unfortunately, being under age, that was
pretty much impossible, since she can’t even go into the casino. Frustrated,
she begins to weep. Then she feels someone gently tap her on the shoulder.
“What’s the matter, beautiful girl?” Standing before her was an angelic looking
young man, so gorgeous he might have just stepped out of an Italian renaissance
painting. When she explains her problem, the young man only smiles, gives her a
knowing wink, and calls a security guard over. The two walk into the casino
together. Like magic, a few minutes later her father appears, his wallet
stuffed fat with cash. She turns to thank the dark haired young man but he is
nowhere in sight. He disappeared without saying a word.

A knock at the door wakes Ami from her marvelous dream. Mick
is there with her dinner. Looking at the file on the nightstand, she grabs it
with a deep sigh. When Mick opens the door, Ami is already standing at the
room’s entrance, waiting for him folder in hand. Handing the folder to Mick,
she tells him to please inform his boss she will accept his proposal. Mick
looks at her, not too surprised she decided so quickly. She didn’t really have
much choice. Taking the folder, and leaving her food, Mick nods and tells her
he’s sure her quick acceptance will make Mr. Roma extremely happy. “At least
someone will be” Ami mutters as Mick closes the door behind him.

As she waits to hear Tony’s reaction to her acceptance, Ami
thinks back to her dream. It actually was less of a dream and more of a recollection,
a long suppressed memory reentering her consciousness.  Fifteen years ago
a handsome dark haired man really had taken her father out of a casino. He was
responsible for the wallet of money as well. She’d gone back to the casino the
following day, and after pleading with the security guard to tell her where he
could be found she tracked him down. He told Ami he had a weak spot for ladies
in distress. “Lance” he told her to call him. The security guard couldn’t stop
laughing. Apparently the nick name, short for Sir Lancelot, was the
appropriate. The two became inseparable and spent the next few months together.
Lance was the first boy to ever kiss her. What a kiss it had been too,
passionate but tender and sweet. Ami was crushed when her father decided to
move them to yet another town. Just before she left, Lance gave her a little
something to remember him by. A beautiful scarlet playing card, the back
imprinted with an ornate shield in gold leaf, on the face side, a King of
hearts.

Even after they parted it seemed like Lance was watching
over her; a personal guardian angel. Whenever the family’s circumstances got
really bad, something would happen to correct the situation. Her father would
mysteriously come into extra money, or a bill or debt would somehow be paid.
Sometimes debtors would back off until her father’s next big win. Every time
their lives got truly terrible, Ami told Nicole “Lance’s going to rescue us
again.” Like magic, something would begin to go right. The phrase became their
mantra, almost a prayer. After all these years as a good luck charm she kept
the card with her. Taking the now battered card from her wallet she rubs the
familiar shield. Looking out the window, she places the card against her heart.
“Lance’s going to rescue us again” she whispers to herself.

“Ami, may I come in?” A commanding voice jars her from her
thoughts. She turns to see Tony standing in the doorway. “You’re certain of
your decision?” he asks as he enters the room. Mutely Ami nods yes. “Did you
review the terms?” He asked her. “No” She replied to him. “There is no need. If
it means I never have to worry about my father’s debts again, and then I’m …
I’m happy to marry you”. Tony’s eyes search her face, as if looking for
something. Then he sees the flash of red she is holding in her hand. “So you
did keep it.” He murmurs, more to himself, then to her.

Confused, Ami clutches the card tighter, holding it firmly
against her breast. “Come with me.” Tony commands her, and spinning on his
heels, walks swiftly down the hallway. Ami follows closely behind. When he
enters another bedroom, Ami hesitates at the door. Seeing she didn’t follow him
in, Tony walks back to her. “What’s the matter, beautiful girl?” He said,
gently taking her hand. “No one’s going to hurt you.” Looking at his face
again, Ami feels a flash of déjà vu. Could it be? “You were
supposed
to
look in the folder” He chides her. “You need to know it’s not what it seems.”

Sitting Ami down in a chair, Tony brings the folder to her
and opens it. The first page is blank, except for a playing card stapled upon
it: a queen of hearts, which matched her king. The next page has a strip of
photos from a photo booth; during their time together she and Lance took them
at the local mall. Glancing up at the man standing next to her, she finally
recognizes the resemblance between the man she once knew as Lance and the man
she now knows as Tony Roma. “Lance?” Ami asks incredulously. “Keep going.
You’ll soon know everything” he urges her.  After those two items she found
old receipts, pictures, paid debts. A letter to Nicole’s university from Mr.
Tony Roma recommending her for the scholarship she received is at the back of
the folder. All of which begins to add up to one thing.