Gleaming like a Drop of Blood

“I make the decisions for the business,” Nathaniel Benedict growled. “Remember that.”

No expression on that poker face, of course. Nate didn’t give Tom any time to reply, but stormed out of Maggie’s kitchen and through the garden that surrounded the House of the Setting Sun under another blue sky over San Francisco.

Driving north and inland since then had cooled his blood, though he preferred to sit in the back and let Tom drive as that is what a wealthy man would do.

Nathan liked the look of Sonoma and besides, their argument derailed breakfast, so lunch was definitely uppermost on his agenda. Spotting an eatery, he pulled into the lot and chose a space some distance from an old banger. No point in risking a scratch from some idiot’s door, though he wanted much better wheels himself. He frowned as the engine shuddered to a halt.

After cranking the window up, Nathan emerged into the sunshine, locking the car door and pocketing his keys. He noticed the old banger had a smashed wing mirror on the driver’s side and was parked facing the exit.

As he entered the diner, his eyes were drawn immediately to the woman who sat alone at the counter. A typical teenager, brown hair falling loose around her shoulders, a red and gold scarf peeping out of her denim jacket, blue jeans frayed at the bottoms with a hole at the side of the knee. A backpack sat on the stool next to hers.

Maybe too young for what Nate already had in mind, but worth the risk. Sometimes he wished that every woman had their birthyear tattooed on their wrist. If he ruled the world, things would be different.

In a far corner booth, two men in their early twenties lounged, casting interested looks toward the lone woman. Their presence which she had probably noticed would play to his advantage.

Where did his luck lie today? As Nathan walked toward her, he chose London as that accent seemed to do the trick over here. Though French and a matching accent in English came easily to him, he tended to get bored with that role and didn’t intend to only meet this teenager once.

Nathan liberated a menu from behind the salt and pepper shakers on the counter and claimed the round seat next to her, asking, “Have you ordered yet?”

Her large brown eyes, red rimmed from crying, studied him then glanced at the ice that filled her otherwise empty glass. “No,” she said, her soft voice making him anticipate her saying yes to everything he wanted in a more private space.

After scanning the menu, Nathan beckoned the waitress, interrupting her conversation with the cook through the serving hatch. He decided to ordered the breakfast that Tom had not provided then said, “And my friend can have whatever she wants.”

The girl attempted a smile as he handed her the menu. He ignored the hard stare from the waitress. His money, so he could spend it however he liked. He remembered that Maggie currently had a spare room and hoped to be installing this girl there if he played his cards right. Possibly provide her with a new job eventually if she proved to be suitable for the business.

She ordered a stack of pancakes with scrambled egg and another 7up. The waitress brought the drink and his own coffee before telling the cook what they wanted.

Raucous laughter from the pair in the corner annoyed him. Nathan got up and stalked over, noticing their almost empty plates. He let his stare speak for him in the resulting silence before saying, “Get lost and I’ll pay for your breakfast.”

The glance they exchanged told him they had planned to make a run for it, but his offer confused them. His continued glare discouraged them from being more stupid than they already were.

The smaller one grabbed a forgotten sausage, then they both erupted from the booth and hightailed it for the door. The waitress shouted, but Nathan told her, “I’ll pay for what they had.” He passed her some cash and told her to keep the change.

Disgruntled to find the teenage girl and her backpack had disappeared, he returned to his seat at the counter. He reviewed their encounter for any possible slipups, then smiled to himself when he spotted her coming through the pink door which had the silhouette of a glamourous woman outlined on it. Still not wearing any makeup, the teenager definitely had youth on her side.

As she approached, he noticed the silver ring she wore on her left hand, the curving paisley shape surrounding a pair of glittering diamonds which framed a ruby gleaming like a drop of blood.

He looked away and reached for his coffee, hoping she had not seen him recognise the ring. As planned, though his plan was knocked entirely out of kilter now, he began to tell her about himself, his favourite topic. London born and emigrated to San Francisco not that long ago, making his way in the world with his usual flair.

Much of what he said had little truth in it, but was so well rehearsed that even he almost believed it. Her frequent glances made him feel she was impressed. Meanwhile, the back of his mind busied itself with concocting a completely different scheme that if he pulled it off would benefit him much more, though he hated relinquishing her as a possible conquest.

The waitress carried their plates from the serving hatch and set them down.

The girl folded her hands together and bowed her head briefly.

Religion sometimes could be an obstacle, but he liked a challenge. Easy wins bored him.

“Thank you, Nate, for getting rid of those awful boys.”

“No trouble at all,” Nathan replied, deliberately evaluating her as she poured maple syrup over the stacked pancakes. No longer as a potential lover but as if she was a younger sister or, no, much more to the point, a princess in the process of being rescued. Softly, softly catch the monkey.

He weighed up several options before asking neutrally, “What about you? Do you hail from these parts?” Using American expressions would put her more at ease.

She gave him a little smile and said, “Oh, not Sonoma. I grew up near the coast.”

Nate could see in his mind the house sparkling high on the hill overlooking San Francisco. Against Tom’s advice, he once ventured close enough in the dead of night to set all three of the guard dogs barking. He withdrew before the security guard emerged to see what was upsetting the rottweilers. As Nathan made his way back to the House of the Setting Sun, he promised himself that one day he would be an invited and welcome guest at Kruger’s house.

“Finished high school?” he guessed.

Her face twisted in an odd smile. “Finished ahead of my friends,” she admitted. “I was too clever so I skipped grades twice.”

“I bet you were,” he replied. The noise of athletic men working out in the gym echoed in his memory, the smell of sweat, the burnished gleam of equipment. He and Tom had been encouraged by two overly muscled but polite men to accompany them in their sleek black car to the boxing gym that was one of her father’s more legal enterprises.

When Nathan first shook hands with Kruger, he noticed the striking tattoo along his arm of a curving paisley shape containing two blue stars that framed a red heart. Tom informed him later that the blue stars represented Kruger’s two sons, the red heart his daughter.

Being tolerated by the crime boss due to being a foreigner like Kruger was had irked Nate, though Tom pointed out at the time that this was better than having the business obliterated or absorbed by the older man. And now he had the ideal bargaining chip and felt that luck was definitely in his house. That paisley ring with the two diamonds and ruby had saved him from making a disastrous mistake.

“What do your friends call you?” Nathan asked, remembering that when he introduced himself, she had neglected to share her name. Probably not accustomed to telling lies, either. What a contrast her childhood was to his own.

“Desi,” the girl replied.

He remembered the name Desdemona then, though the names of her brothers eluded him. “Nice to meet you, Desi,” he said, giving her an avuncular handshake and a smile. “My wheels are yours for the day. Where would you like to go?”

“Really?” The lilt in her voice along with the excitement in her brown eyes made him sure she was only sixteen or so. He comforted her as she told him about all the cash in her wallet being stolen yesterday and how this had frustrated her from travelling further inland or even having something to eat.

Nathan would give her a free ride today since doing this would allow more time to elapse for her father to worry. Harmless fun at such a distance from San Francisco that none of her father’s enforcers would come across them. Then, when sunset came, he would drive to the underground parking lot and escort this runaway teenager to Kruger’s gym to claim his reward.

He could see it all so clearly. With time, Kruger and he would become essential to one another and reap the rich benefits of their association like all true business men should do. And Tom, at this moment, was totally oblivious of this significant improvement in their prospects. Perhaps Nathan would become a blood brother to Kruger, a status that was bestowed on only his most trusted associates.