Chapter Five
JUSTIN ITCHED TO CHECKin with Antonio, to make sure things were running smoothly. He trusted Antonio to have a handle on it. That was one of the biggest reasons APPropiate Designs ran smoothly. But this retainer was an unknown variable, and Justin didn’t like being without that information.
Appointments took him through lunch. A little after twelve thirty, Rebecca interrupted long enough to set a sandwich on his desk and tell him Antonio ordered out. That made Justin smile.
When his cellphone rang, he frowned at the familiar Italian country code on the screen and Antonio Sr.’s name. He answered. “Buon pomeriggio.” More than a year in the country, and all this time with Antonio afterward, was enough to teach Justin basic words and greetings.
“No need for anything that formal.” Tony chuckled. “I simply called to make sure you were doing all right.”
“Everything’s great, unless you know something I don’t.” He kept light laughter in his voice. It wasn’t unusual for Justin to talk to the older man. Tony was like a mentor to Justin in many ways, and when Justin worked for him, they established a friendly relationship. Something about the tone and out-of-the-blue call still crawled over Justin’s nerves. It might be he was on edge with the retainer in the office, but it felt more specific than that.
“It's late here, and you're busy. I won't take much of your time.” Tony Sr.'s tone was clipped but pleasant. “I tried to get a hold of Antonio, but he's not answering.”
“He's in new employee orientation. What can I do for you?” Justin suspected the answer wasnothing, if this was a family thing.
“Has Antonio given you a firm resignation date, or is that still up in the air?”
Shock bled through Justin. At some point he’d known this day was coming, but over the years he pushed it to the back of his mind, until it held the same weight as an ancient curse no one actually believed but they still shared around the campfire to scare each other.
He grabbed his composure. He wouldn’t commit to anything until he ran it by Antonio and they were on the same page. “We're negotiating. A transition like this takes time.”
“Keep in mind none of us is getting younger. Tell Antonio I called?”
“I will. You have a good evening, sir.”
Justin hung up and sent Antonio an instant message.Can you break away?Now seemed like the perfect time for a debrief.
He watched the telltale “...” of someone typing, as it flashed on screen for several minutes before the response arrived.Sure. Your office?
Yes.
Justin locked down his mind, to keep it from jumping to conclusions. Antonio would clear up the truth of the situation, and there was no point speculating.
Justin considered himself patient, but twenty minutes later, when he was still the only person in his office, his mood had shifted fromon edge but curiousto downrightsour. As Justin picked up the phone, to find out what was going on, Antonio stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
“Sorry about that,” Antonio dropped into a seat.
“Is this a bad time?”
If Antonio had an issue with the sharp tone, it didn’t show. “Now is fine. I had to get the new girl squared away while I was gone.”
Right. The other thing Justin wanted to know about before this new distraction came in. “How’s she working out?”
“She might actually be human.” Antonio cracked a smile. “Talented. Intelligent. If she’s not the best actor in the world, she’s probably not here just to spite us. She could help us make up lost time.”
A pang of something Justin couldn’t identify knocked in his thoughts, and he stowed it. “In other words, she’s doing more than reading developer notes.”
“I’ve been giving her the official orientation. You’re okay with that, aren’t you?”
“Your department—you make the final call. And it’s not why I wanted to talk.”