Jo Leigh - Tempted In The City

“Gee thanks,” Tony said, slowly making his way past the reception area. “But I’m pretty sure we’ll find a way to blame you, anyway.”

Gina laughed. It made her look younger, prettier, although that might have been the result of her new hairstyle. It used to be dark and big, and now it was lighter and smaller. He liked it.

“Do me a favor? Call Leo. Make sure he’s got his truck taken care of and see if Dom can get over to the Walker’s place?”

She nodded, already dialing her cell phone.

Once in his office, Tony sat down in his father’s black leather chair behind the massive oak desk and looked around the room. Everything about it reminded him that he had large shoes to fill. Joe had run Paladino & Sons Construction and Renovation for so many years the office still held a hint of the Aqua Net hair spray he swore he didn’t use.

As the eldest son, Tony had been with the company since he’d graduated from NYU back in 2004. Unofficially, he’d been with the company since the minute he could walk. It wasn’t the work that felt daunting. What scared him was being in charge of the Paladino legacy. Their name meant something. You wanted a job done right, on time and on budget, you called the Paladinos. They kept their word. They also kept the heart of New York’s Little Italy intact in more ways than anyone who wasn’t immediate family knew.

They’d looked out for the people in the nine blocks on the Lower East Side. Had done so since 1912, when the first Paladino had come over from Sicily.

At least—thank God—his father was still with them after last week’s scare. Joe’s second heart attack had been a near miss. But even with strict orders from his doctor to retire, Joe would probably sneak into the office from time to time. Not that Tony would blame him. Construction ran in the Paladinos’ blood.

He called Sal, an old friend and one of their best project managers. He’d handled a lot of difficult clients in the past, so what was making him nuts about the Fox project?

“About time you called,” Sal said after one ring. “Your client is insane.”

“Why?”

“Okay, so she says we’re supposed to avoid damaging anything that might be original to the house. Art deco, she says, that was the agreement. She wants it all restored, from tile work to crown moldings. First of all, there’s nothing like that in the contract. Second, how are we supposed to know what the hell is original in this place? It was built in 1902. Look, Tony, I’m sorry to put this on you on your first day as boss, man, but you know the schedule we’re running here, and there’s a list of jobs a mile long waiting for me. So what do you want me to do?”

Tony opened his eyes. He hadn’t even realized he’d been cringing. The Fox contract had been one of the last his father had done. He’d started making mistakes a couple months before that, and while Tony had caught most of them, he hadn’t paid much attention to the Fox job because he trusted Sal. But this was a big project, a complete remodel from foundation to roof, and not something he could fix over the phone.

“Look, just keep working in the areas that aren’t in question. I’ll contact Catherine Fox and find out what she’s talking about and get back to you, okay?”

“Okay. But, Tony, this needs to be settled by tomorrow. I have another job right in back of this one, and we’re supposed to be taking down walls as soon as we get the nod from the inspectors.”

“I know. I’ll handle it.”

“Yeah. And, Tony. I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Thanks, Sal. He’ll be okay.” When Tony hung up, Gina stood at the edge of his door. “What about the whiteboard?”

The huge board was in the main office. It listed every job, its current stage and who was in charge of the operation. Joe hadn’t been big on tech. He’d done things the way his father and grandfather had. Those methods had taken them through a lot of rocky financial years, kept them, their relatives, employees and all the regular subcontractors working when a lot of other companies had gone belly-up. Tony wasn’t going to make too many changes at once.

“Why don’t we leave it for now.”

“So your dad will feel better when he sneaks back to visit?” Gina said, her fondness not hidden by the teasing words.

“Actually, yeah.”

“Good thinking,” she said.

“Hey, were my brothers here?”

Gina nodded.

“See if you can reschedule our meeting for tomorrow.”

“Already done. Luca will be here for sure. Dom hasn’t texted me back, but he’ll make time. They were disappointed you weren’t here, so they couldn’t make a fuss out of you moving over to your dad’s office. Dom brought doughnuts.”

“Don’t tell me he actually paid for them.”

Gina laughed. “He got them from that silly Carveccio girl.”

“Of course he did,” Tony said, more to himself than Gina. He looked down at the other pink slips on the desk. The top message was from Angie, his ex-wife. He could put that off, but not for long. Better to get the last of the financial settlement over with, even if things would be tight until they got more caught up with their receivables. The Paladinos had always adjusted the family salaries to make their payments, and never thought of touching the money in the trust. Tony wasn’t going to change that now.

The remaining five messages, everything from job snafus to a request for a radio interview, didn’t need his attention today. He still had to call Alex, but first he had to get in touch with Catherine Fox and make sure they met ASAP. He had one chance to see Rita tonight, and he wasn’t going to miss it.

* * *

“LITTLE ITALY, PLEASE, Grand and Lafayette.” Catherine settled in the backseat of the yellow cab, reminding herself she had no control over the heavy New York traffic. To go from the United Nations building to her new home was exactly 5.3 miles, but it took at least twenty-five minutes to get there. If she was lucky.

She wasn’t lucky today.

The whole construction debacle had come as a shock. Not just that the project manager had acted as if he knew nothing about her revised restoration plans, but that she’d accepted a verbal agreement in the first place.

It had been completely out of character, but there’d been something about Joseph Paladino that she’d trusted immediately. At the same time, she wasn’t naive enough to think she didn’t need the amendment in writing. This home meant everything to her. What had she been thinking?

God, she could just scream.

Now, instead of hashing things out with Joseph, she had to deal with his son. Everything about it smelled rotten. This major snafu had caused her to be late returning from lunch, which meant she’d need to go back to work later. Worse than that, it felt like a bait and switch, which she was going to nip right in the bud. Despite all the recommendations and exceptional reviews of Paladino & Sons, they were not going to play her for a fool.

There were other contractors, though she really hoped this was a mix-up and she hadn’t been taken in by the very sincere-seeming Paladino, Sr. She of all people should be able to spot a con artist. Her job was dependent on her ability to read nuance and body language. But just in case, she’d already started to compile a list of alternatives.

They turned on Grand and she spotted Tony Paladino right away. Tall, dark haired and trim, he carried a black satchel and wore dark jeans and a white oxford shirt with no tie.

After paying the cabbie, she straightened her skirt as she approached where Tony stood facing her front door. The outside of the three-story town house was redbrick and beautiful, although there was definitely work to be done on her front stoop. Whether it would be done by this guy’s company remained to be seen.