Renaldo (109 page)

She knew that there were serious matters to discuss with this naked adonis

strikingly framed in the window, but the essence of his virility made it hard for

her to burst the sensual bubble the two of them had been floating in. Now the

time had finally come to pay heed to Astor Gordero’s bidding.

“Take a look in the closet here, my darling. I’m sure you will find

everything has been delivered in tact. I even took the liberty of unpacking for

you.” She smiled coyly at her surprised lover.

“How on earth did you manage a trick like that?”

“Oh, a small word and a large tip from Astor Gordero can accomplish just

about anything in this city. Surely you have come to realize that by now.”

Renaldo opened one of the large French doors to the closet. Just as

described, his wardrobe was perfectly displayed for inspection.

“I feel like the two of you conspired to seduce me last night. What if I

had fallen for one of those ‘hostesses’ down in the ballroom and gone to my

assigned room to sow my wild oats?” The smile on his face belied his mock

serious tone.

“Then you would have been a horse’s ass, my young stallion!” They both

laughed as Simone threw a pillow at his pleasure parts. Her expression turned

pensive all of a sudden as she addressed her amour in a more serious voice.

“Renaldo, I am aware of the reason that you are meeting with Astor today.

He has watched us fall in love, and he didn’t want me to get hurt by any

decisions that were out of my control.”

She paused while motioning for him to come to her on the bed. Once they

were entwined in each other’s arms, she continued.

JAMES McCREATH

“I know that there are people in Buenos Aires from England. People who

want you and Ramon Vida to go back with them to London to play for their

football team . . . for a considerable amount of money as I understand it!”

Renaldo was quick to interject, “Simone, my darling, I don’t need the

money, and one word from you will keep me in Argentina by your side forever!

It would be impossible for me to leave you now!” She pressed a finger gently

to his lips.

“Listen to me, my love. We do not control our own destinies anymore, you

and I. We are both assets of an adoring public, and our careers are controlled

by the same ambitious man. I know that you have signed a personal services

contract with Astor, as have I. He is, therefore, in a position to do whatever he

wants with us if we defy his wishes.”

As she breathed the last word, Symca could feel the tension and anger

build in his body.

“Nobody owns me, Simone, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone run your

life either. You are a star, the most famous woman in all of Argentina and . . .”

Again she set her finger to his lips to calm him.

“Shhhhhh, just listen to what I have to say. Astor is not the enemy. We

are both where we are today because of the faith he showed in us. He has big

plans for both of us, plans that will allow us to be together more often than if

you stayed right here in the capital itself. Because of your victory yesterday, and

my close association with the successful tournament, Astor claims that I am

now a very hot property on the international market. He wants to milk my new

global status for all it is worth. That means an extended world tour, and he has

already finalized many of the arrangements. I have very little choice other than

to go along with his wishes, for Astor Gordero always gets what Astor Gordero

wants, one way or another.”

She paused to let the last phrase have the desired effect.

The chanteuse gave her lover a squeeze, then nibbled his muscular biceps

ever so tenderly before reciting the obvious.

“That means that we will only be separated for six months at the most, as

opposed to possibly two years if you remain in Argentina.”

“I don’t want to be away from you for six minutes let alone six months.

It would seem like an eternity! Surely there is ample work for you here in

Argentina!” His pained countenance only strengthened her resolve.

“My love, you know so little about the woman inside this body. I came from

humble roots, starting with only the clothes on my back before Astor Gordero

showed me the way. I swore that I would never be homeless or penniless again.

I am an ambitious woman, a woman that wants to grab the golden ring while it

is there for the taking. Maybe it is because you have never experienced poverty

the way I have, maybe that is the reason you have trouble understanding why

I am so driven.”

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RENALDO

He had no rebuttal to her last point, and she could see his pain and

frustration mounting. Simone tried again to make him see the way their worlds

were about to unfold. “Renaldo, you have reached the pinnacle of your chosen

profession. I want to be the best that I can possibly be in my profession as well.

If you really love me, allow me to be the best that I can possibly be. That is

what true love is all about!”

She had taken considerable poetic license in relating her tale to the young

athlete, but it was true that she was an ambitious woman, a woman who would

not let her heart stand in the way of what she believed continued hard work

could achieve.

“There is another reason I wish to leave Argentina, a reason that could have

a terrible effect on us both. You know that Astor is very well connected with

the ruling junta. Well, it is his opinion that the mood of euphoria that your

victory has brought to this country will be short-lived. Argentina’s problems

have not gone away. They have only been obscured by this football mania. Each

dollar that I earn here at home is eaten up by our astronomical inflation rate. It

will be the same for you.”

Her gaze was steadily searching for acknowledgement of these facts in

his pale blue eyes. Simone could see that she was finally making headway.

Renaldo’s nod confirmed that he was aware that she spoke only the truth.

“The tournament did not help the starving and unemployed in the long

run. When today’s luster fades, the people will be left with a giant economic

hangover. And who will be the voice of the people to express their pain and

suffering? The same bloodthirsty terrorists that claimed to act on their behalf

before they agreed to an armistice during the tournament! Renaldo, don’t

you see? The junta will react even more ruthlessly to keep their image from

being tarnished now. The world has been watching us the past month, and

we have passed the test with flying colors. What you and your teammates

accomplished on the football field has glossed over our nation’s violent fight for

civil liberties and freedom of speech. But it is only temporary. People will start

to disappear in the middle of the night again, and there will be more bombings

and kidnappings and bloodshed.”

As much as Renaldo did not want to hear such blasphemy against his

beloved homeland, the land for whose very honor he had toiled so ardently for

the past several months, he knew that her prophecy had far too great a chance

of coming true.

“It will be dangerous to be a prominent figure in Argentina, according to

Astor. It won’t matter anymore if you are a government official, a general, a rock

star, or a football player. If you are perceived as having wealth and stature by

those who wish to make an example of you, then it won’t matter who or what

you are. I am scared to death about Argentina’s future and my own personal

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JAMES McCREATH

safety, Renaldo, and I am going to leave as soon as I possibly can! Please, my

love, take this opportunity to get away from here. Go to a place that is safe,

where we can be together to watch what happens in Argentina from a distance.

Astor knows what he is talking about, and he has convinced me that this

country is not the place to be in the foreseeable future!”

There was real passion and fear in her voice now, not contrived play acting.

She held him tightly in her arms while he tried to grasp the urgency of her

current affairs lecture. Finally, he kissed her gently, then rose from the bed.

“Do you promise to come to London if I go? You won’t disappoint me,

will you?” He sounded like a lost little boy now, not the insatiable stickman

that had driven her over the brink.

“Of course I do, my darling. Do you think that I would deny myself this

for a second longer than I possibly had to?”

She was up off the bed and at his side now, grasping his sleeping giant

in her tiny hand. Their lips met lustily, as if to confirm their devotion to one

another even if they were thousands of miles apart. Simone grudgingly broke

the embrace, her agent’s instructions resurfacing in her passion-clouded mind.

“Go, go and take your shower. I will order some coffee and croissants from

room service. Think about what I have just told you, Renaldo. We can have the

best of all possible worlds, wrapped in each other’s arms, far from the gathering

storm.”

Simone was pleased with her performance, convinced that her lover was

still putty in her hands. It had not been a hard role to play, for she did believe

much of the rhetoric that Gordero had given her as a script. What was more, she

really didn’t want to leave her eager stallion for any longer than she absolutely

had to.

The streets of Buenos Aires resembled a giant wastepaper basket. Ticker-

tape, confetti, and various other forms of paper jubilation were strewn from

lamposts, trolley cables, trees, and buildings. It seemed that no one was working

in the capital this glowing Monday, for the populous was either too hungover,

or still too high on the adrenaline of victory to concentrate on their menial

day-to-day tasks. Wandering bands of merrymakers jammed the sidewalks and

often took over whole streets, blocking traffic to start an impulsive festival of

football euphoria.

The general manager of the Hotel Presidente had been informed by

Wolfgang Stoltz to contact both Renaldo De Seta and Ramon Vida no later

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RENALDO

than eleven o’clock that Monday morning. He was to personally relay the

following message:

“Due to the congestion along Avenida Nueve de Julio, Astor Gordero’s

limousine will be at the rear service entrance of the hotel at twelve noon. Both

the National Team players will be escorted by hotel security to the waiting

vehicle using nonpublic areas of the hotel. They are expected to be on their way

to the Jockey Club no later than twelve-fifteen.”

Renaldo had phoned down to his friend immediately upon finishing his

shower to make sure that Vida had his priorities straight.

“Ramon, it’s Renaldo. Did you get the message that there has been a

slight change of plans?”

“Ya, man, some little shit in a tuxedo kept pounding on my door at a very

bad time. I was just saying good-bye to one of my new friends. The asshole

wouldn’t go away. Estes finally had to get rid of him! Say, that old coach of

yours is alright with the sweet young things. We kind of pooled our talents and

bunked in together last night. As a matter of fact, he’s still here going strong.

The guy thinks he’s twenty years old, for Christ’s sake. Where did you go last