"Oh my fucking god," Leah hissed at Robert, regarding him with a veiled glare as she uttered the expletive, an extremely rare instance for her, and which underscored how dire she considered this occasion. "You bring me to a nice place like the Alizarin Lounge and I think it's because you wanted to do something nice for me, and just-"
Barely able to restrain herself, Leah buried her face in her hands before taking a deep breath, her elbows resting on the edge of the table. "For fuck's sake." Robert winced at this second utterance of the f-word, and it was clear from the look on his face that he knew he'd made a major mistake.
The heavyset man sitting across from husband and wife said nothing, lifting his fork to take one of the last bite of his tiramisu before he lightly dabbed the corner of his lips with a napkin. He was impeccably dressed in a dark suit with a silver-patterned tie, and his neatly-combed sideburns framed a solemn-looking face. If not for his Midwestern accent, he might have passed for a member of the cast of the Godfather films. Or any other mob film really, but his name and accent had no connotations of a Mediterranean heritage, or any of the other ethnic groups often associated with the Mob. That certainly didn't stop many of the rumors she had heard, though...
"Leah..." She heard Robert's whisper as she felt his hand on her arm, and she angrily jerked away. She rose to her feet, staring down at their host, and as she had just learned, creditor. She'd started dinner alone with Robert, but their host had joined them for dessert, which had seemed a bit odd, but now it all made sense.
"If you don't mind, sir, I need several minutes with my husband. This is absolutely the first time I have heard of any of this. And the proposition..."
Mr. Blackfeld stared up at her with a faint smirk.
"I can be a very harsh man, but I am not without magnanimity. Given these circumstances, why don't we go upstairs, and you can have all the time and room you need to clarify matters with your husband." His considerable bulk rose from the seat, giving him an undeniable presence even with his shorter than average height.
The almost kitschy décor of the popular restaurant gave way to a foyer in considerably more modern, and posh tastes, once they'd gone up several floors in a well-kept elevator. They were led to a room overlooking the lake, a large, comfortable room that was obviously designed to accommodate parties of modest size.
"My office is next door. Just knock when the two of you have come to an accord." His gaze was steady as he studied Leah and her husband, and with a slight incline of his head, he was gone, the door closing quietly behind him.
Leah took a moment to look around. Obviously, this was a place to receive more elite guests, or conduct business to impress one's clients. A big-screen television sat in the corner within an ornate cabinet. The small bar on the other side of the room shared the same lavish accents, reminding her of Rococo or Victorian-style furniture. Several pieces of furniture were arranged around the room, and a large potted plant added a natural beauty that helped to balance the more ostentatious details of the room.
"Well, it's pretty clear how Mr. Blackfeld was able to throw money away on you," Leah said with a grumble.
"Why do you think I asked him? You told me no!"
"For reasons that should have been obvious when I fucking explained them to you!" Leah exclaimed as she spun to face him. "It was a shitty scheme to begin with, and I knew you guys would lose anything you invested! What is Elena supposed to do?" Her sister-in-law was married to Robert's older brother, and had three children, the youngest one just out of infancy.
"Mr. Blackfeld-"
"Oh, fuck Mr. Blackfeld!" she threw her hands up in the air, almost exhilarated at her recent spate of swearing, but then, this situation more than warranted it, and she was certain Jesus would forgive a few choice words whipped at her husband.
"That's what he wants," Robert reminded her meekly. She felt the heat pulse in her temples, and resisted the urge to punch her husband.
Last year, Robert and his brothers, Nathan and Jonathan, had wanted to go in an investment with a family friend of theirs, the same man that had approached them with the scheme in the first place. She'd listened to her husband try to explain what Joey had told them, and had done her own research, quickly figuring out that the real estate they wanted to flip was in all likelihood a money pit.
With a firm no, she refused to commit anything to what she was certain would be a failure, and had forbidden her husband from investing their joint savings. She'd even gone so far as to withdraw most of it and put it into another account, because Robert had proven himself to not be the best when it came to money.
'Not being the best' had proven to be an understatement. There had been less than ten thousand dollars in the savings. Now Robert and his brothers owed Mr. Blackfeld over five hundred thousand.
Problem was, Mr. Blackfeld was not a respectable banking firm that followed certain rules and laws when it came to loans and debt collection.
And this meant that they were royally fucked. Or she was about to be, if she agreed to bend over and take it from a man whose sinister reputation was not without basis. Half a year had passed since that money had been loaned, and lost. And Robert had not breathed one goddamn word to her. Since she'd had no involvement in this whatsoever, things had gone to hell behind her back. The brothers scrambled around, trying to fix the problem and save their investment, only making it worse. Not just that, but they had also actually thought they could try to lie to Mr. Blackfeld to ease them out of their troubles. The results were just about as predictable as the outcome of provoking an aggressive dog.
"You're the one who got the family into this situation! You can be the one to bend over and let Mr. Blackfeld fucking have at it!"
"Leah, I'm sorry. You were absolutely right and I should have listened to you. I swear to God, I'm so sorry. I only did this because I wanted to take care of us, and the family. I thought we'd get a good return and everyone would be happy. I did it for us!" The last sentence was said in an increasingly screechy tone as he fell to his knees.
"You can call me a dumb-ass and all the other words you want. But please, please. Or he's going to break our legs!"
"Then you won't be out and about, walking around and causing trouble," Leah snapped back spitefully.
"Please, please. If all three of us are hurt, then who will help with Mom? Or Elena?"
Your mom can go fuck herself, Leah thought, but Elena certainly didn't need to be dealing with this. She sighed and stared at her husband with an open, baleful glare. He had the good grace to look down shamefacedly.
She'd been so foolish and naive then. She'd come from a lower-middle class community, made of mostly blue-collar workers, and came from an average family, being the middle child of five of a postman and a housewife. In high school she'd dated Robert, who seemed like quite the catch back then, as a relatively good student as well as being on the football team, and blessed with what many would term 'All-American good looks'
After graduating from high school, they'd moved to the city in hopes of getting away from a community that had been in decline since losing one of its major factories and source of jobs. Robert worked in a warehouse, and she worked part-time as a cashier at a department store.
Robert was something of a mama's boy, but Leah had hoped the move, and marriage, would help him to mature into a better husband. But even at twenty-two, Robert was still a child in many ways, despite her efforts to break him of certain bad habits.
Especially when he spent time around his brothers or old high-school friends. The 'boys will be boys' attitude was one they'd been raised with, and Leah's nagging, scolding, arguing, and outright bans little effect. Sure, Robert would apologize, but then he'd lapse back into old ways.
But this was the first time he'd actually gotten onto his knees and apologized. Perhaps she should have threatened to break his legs a long time ago...
That's a terrible thought, she chided herself. But after nearly two years of marriage, this was a pretty good breaking point.
"And what will you do for me?" she coolly demanded as she looked down at him. He did look nice in his suit, the dark gray setting off the highlights in his hair and eyes. His eyes widened in a way that had made many girls in school swoon, and even now, were not without effect. Not for the first time, she compared him to a puppy, adorable but infuriating and difficult to train.
"I.. du... don't. What? Oh! I won't do anything like this anymore, I promise! You make all the money decisions from now on. Sounds fair, right?"
"Nope."
He let out a small whimper. "Leah, oh god, please..."
"I want more than just that." Quickly, her hand slid over to her pocket before pulling out her smartphone.
"I should take a picture of you right now, like this," Leah commented, making no effort to hide her displeasure in his actions.
"Kick a guy while he's down, huh?" Robert sounded defeated.
"I might be persuaded to not share a picture like that, if you promise that I am in charge... for everything. Not just the finances," she said firmly as she tapped the screen several times. "You don't need to get another ticket or fine because you and your 'homeboys' decided to get a bit wild on boys' night."
"What?" His voice was small. "They're my brothers! And you can't just ban a guy from hanging out with friends he's known since like... forever!"
"Hanging out with them is going to be tough if your legs are broken," came the sharp retort. He groaned softly and let his head drop back down.
"When I was little, I told myself I was never going to be one of these wives who nagged and scolded their husbands constantly. But now I see why some wives become like that. And believe me, I hate being a nag. I never want to have to yell at you, but all the stupid shit you've done. God damn it, you're not in high school anymore! You're an adult, and you need to take responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences!" Her tone became increasingly sharper as she glared down at him, wanting to yank up his head by the hair so he'd have to look her in the eye.
"So if you want to keep the men in this family walking, you will obey me in everything. If I say no, it fucking means no, and I don't say no to spoil people's fun, I say no to keep you out of trouble. I said no on this, and look at what happened when you chose to not listen!"
"So I'm... grounded?"
"Exactly. Act like a kid, and I ground you like one."
He seemed about to protest, but she cut him off. "You also agreed to let Mr. Blackfeld fuck me. You're my fucking husband, nor my pimp! When someone asks to fuck your wife, the proper thing to do is defend her!"
