Chapter Eleven
Jake
After I finished goingthrough three different stacks of financial reports, I decided to heed Gabe’s advice and introduced myself to the members of the team I hadn’t met this morning.
Personal relationships were my least favorite part of the job. Numbers were easy to interpret; they were there in black-and-white and told a consistent story. People were fickle. They could say one thing but do another altogether. It was exhausting to tell the truth from the lies.
An hour later, I was beat as I went back into the office, closing the door. I didn't want any interruptions. But as I sat behind the desk and opened my laptop, I didn't pull up the cash-flow reports. Instead, I googled Gelateria Di Venezzia. The picture came up. I googled it again, certain there must be more than one in the city. This couldn't be the place she meant. It was a dump. But nothing else came up.
On a whim, I took a picture of the picture and sent it to Natalie.
Jake: You can't possibly mean this place, do you?
To my intense pleasure, she answered almost immediately.
Natalie:Careful, Jake, you don't want to mess with my favorite ice cream shop. I am still throwing your grandmother's party. Who knows what could happen to you?
I laughed; I couldn't help it.
Natalie: I'm on my way. I'm going to probably be there in half an hour.
I looked between the screen of the phone and my laptop. My phone beeped again.
Natalie: What do you think about this?
She sent me a picture of a huge garden that seemed to have old trees and a bunch of umbrellas. It looked like any other garden to me. Natalie was in the picture too. She was wearing a long white dress with thin straps and gesturing with her arms wide. Her hair was wild around her head. A few strands brushed her breasts, others floating around in the air, just as they had on the airport runway. Clearly someone had taken the picture for her when she wasn't looking. I liked that it was candid, and she was natural in it, not posing.
I made a split-second decision. Instead of tackling the cash-flow reports today, I closed my laptop. Standing up, I took it with me, calling my driver.
"Cal, I need you to come here."
"Where are we going, sir?"
“Gelateria Di Venezzia."
“I'll be at the front of the building in two minutes."
"Perfect."
After hanging up, I replied to Natalie.
Jake: You look fantastic in that white dress. You’re gorgeous.
Natalie: I asked the staff to take a picture of the whole place. I did not realize I was in it too.