And now he was gone.
I sat there for a long time, trying to accept that this had happened, trying to accept that it was over. But somehow, I just couldn’t.
Eventually, I realized what time it was and pushed up off the floor and went to work in a daze. And clearly my emotions were written all over my face, because as soon as Jamie and Dmitri saw me they shepherded me into the office, matching looks of concern on their very different faces.
“What happened, Charlie?” Jamie asked, sitting beside me on the couch that was against one wall of his office.
“Dante broke up with me.” Gradually, the sadness in me was seeping away, replaced with determination to do something about this, instead of just sitting back and taking it. “And that’s not ok with me.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Not yet. I’ve just spent the last hour being stunned and miserable and brokenhearted.”
“Aw Charlie, I’m sorry,” Dmitri said.
“I need to talk to him. I’m not just going to let him decide this arbitrarily. And I know why he’s doing it. He’s afraid of hurting me.”
“He might have a point there,” Jamie murmured, and I frowned at him.
I looked up at Dmitri and said, “I don’t actually know where Dante lives. But you do, don’t you?”
“Sure. He lives on Nob Hill. I used to live down the street from him,” Dmitri said.
“I need to go talk to him,” I said, standing up. “Could you give me his address?”
Dmitri hesitated, then said, “Maybe you want to call, instead of going over there. Dante’s getting ready to go out of the country on some family business, something came up unexpectedly this morning. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I do know he’s really agitated. He might not be very receptive to talking.”
“How do you know that?” I asked him.
“I happened to call him about an hour ago with a question about one of our suppliers. I only got the sketchiest details, but I could tell something big is going down.”
“I have to go see him, especially if he’s about to leave the country.”
“I wouldn’t,” Dmitri said.
“No, but I would. Can I please have his address, Dmitri?”
He sighed and wrote something on a slip of paper, which he handed to me. But then he added, “I’m telling you Charlie, if he’s right in the middle of some sort of family crisis, you probably really shouldn’t go over there.”
“Ok. I’ve been forewarned. Thanks for the address,” I said, and headed for the door. But then I remembered something, and turned back to Jamie. “Sorry about blowing off work today.”
“It’s ok. Cole’s got it covered.”
“I’m still sorry,” I told him.
“It’s fine,” he said. “You’ve been going through a lot lately.”
“Way too fucking much,” I muttered as I left the office.
Chapter Ten
I totally ignored Dmitri’s warning, and drove straight to Dante’s house. I found a parking spot down the block and walked up to what looked like a huge Italian villa, plunked down in the middle of San Francisco. It gave me pause for a moment. I’d known Dante was wealthy, but this home was jaw-dropping. I shook off my astonishment and climbed the wide steps to the front door, right in sync with someone else that had walked up to the house from the opposite direction.
I turned to look at the cute blonde twink climbing the steps with me, and he smiled sweetly and said, “Hiya.”
“Hi.”
He rang the bell when we reached the door, and as we waited, we both appraised one another. He was probably around nineteen and very thin, with big blue eyes and a mop of too-long blonde curls. He wore several silver necklaces, a sheer, skin-tight black t-shirt that ended just above his navel and showcased a pair of silver nipple rings through the thin fabric, and very low-slung jeans with a wide belt. That was a whole lot of look for early afternoon on a weekday, and I wondered if he’d somehow just come from a club.
When the door opened, the twink said cheerfully, “Hiya, Andre.”
The big guy at the door frowned a little and said, “Austin.” Then he looked at me and muttered to himself, “And there’s time for a three-way?” before stepping back and letting us in. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Andre slunk off without further comment.
Austin started to go ahead of me into the massive foyer, and I asked him, “Hey, do you know where I can find Dante Dombruso?”
“New, huh?” the blonde asked me with a smile that looked inexplicably sympathetic. He surprised me by taking my hand, and he said, “I’ll show you where his office is. I’m going there too. I’m Austin, but you probably already caught that.”
“Charlie.”
There was plenty of activity in the big house, lots of people hurrying around. Austin wound his way through the hustle and bustle, taking a few turns and climbing a back staircase. He obviously knew his way around. I was glad that he kept holding my hand, because if I ever lost him in this huge place, I’d probably end of wandering the halls for hours trying to find Dante. “You with one of the agencies, Charlie?” he asked.