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Be okay?! What kind of shit answer is that?
“I’m perfectly fine,” Layla looked down at her water glass and sensed that Gabbriello can see the lie written on her face.
“If you say so,” he said.
Layla took a sip of the wine as a distraction. “Wow, this is delicious,” she said as she took another sip.
A smirk appeared on his face. “I’m glad you like it.”
Their food arrived and they began to eat. Gabbriello ordered his usual: a center-cut filet mignon medium rare with a side of mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Layla requested the salmon with their famous lemon butter. The soft piece of fish melted in her mouth. It was cooked at just the right temperature and the lemon butter made for the perfect dressing.
“By the expression on your face, I would say it meets your approval?” Gabbriello asked, before he began to eat his filet.
“It’s amazing!” Layla hummed, trying not to talk with a mouth full of food.
Gabbriello gave her a half smile. “Good, I’m glad. So, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m an ag-” Layla stopped herself and rephrased her answer. “I’m a teacher for school-aged children.”
She’s beautiful and a liar. Before he busted the bartender’s hand, he told him that she said she was a reporter investigating Samantha’s murder, then showed a fake badge and said she was an FBI agent.
“That’s cool. Where do you teach?” he asked as he took another bite of his mashed potatoes.
“In Montgomery County. I’m here visiting my parents. They live here in Philly. I was visiting when I heard the news about Samantha.”
“How did you know her?” Gabbriello asked.
It took Layla a few seconds to reply. She knew he was fishing for answers, but he should be the one being interrogated. “She is my cousin…, was my cousin.”
The words cut through Layla like she just received open-heart surgery. It hurt to know that she would never refer to her cousin in the present tense anymore, always in the past. She was here one moment and gone the next. Samantha was always a free spirit.
He gazed into her eyes. He knew there was something familiar about her, and now he could see it. They had the same hazel-colored eyes, soft brown skin. His anger rose as he thought about the beautiful woman in the dumpster. His jaw tightened. “I’m so sorry.” Gabbriello looked into her eyes and she saw his sincerity.
“Thank you,” Layla whispered. “So, did you know Samantha?”
He nodded. “Yes, I know all of my employees. Every single one of them. I know their names, their jobs, and what their lives are like.” The resemblance between the two women was now unnerving. Layla's hazel eyes were the same eyes that stared back at him from the dumpster.
“Why?” the question comes out harsher than she intended. “Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?”
“One could say that. In my line of work, you have to know everything. I’m a wealthy man and my family has a lot of assets. There are people out there who want what we have. I need to know who’s working for me because if I feel threatened by them, I need to take care of the situation. The same thing goes for my employees. If someone is threatening them or hurting them, I make sure they have protection.”
Layla felt the hurt and anger rising in her chest. “What about Samantha? Why didn’t someone protect her?”
Her words punch him in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. “I didn’t know she was in danger. If I had known, believe me, I would have made sure she had all the protection she needed. My employees know they can always come to me if they have an issue, but I don’t make it a habit to intrude on their private lives. I’m sorry, Layla, but I promise I will find out who did this, and I will make sure they are taken care of.”
“Taken care of? What do you mean?” She asked as she looked into his eyes.
Gabbriello held his fork to his mouth, ready to eat the tender piece of meat on the end of his utensil. He stopped before it reached his mouth and looked at Layla with an intensity she hadn’t seen before. “Turn them into the police, of course. What did you think I meant?”
“Nothing,” she responded as she looked down at her plate.
CHAPTER 13
Layla knew he was trying to read her as much as she was trying to read him, but after the initial awkwardness disappeared, Layla was surprised at how comfortable she had been in his presence. They had not realized they had been talking for about three hours. Gabbriello shared about how he was born in New York, but his family moved to Philly when he was a young man, and he has always wanted to live in the country. He confessed his job could get stressful and sometimes he just needed a break. Gabbriello explained he would go to one of his vacation homes. One was near Saratoga Springs in northern New York.
Although she didn’t trust a millionaire with ties to organized crime, she had a strange feeling that he was being genuine. Unlike him, she kept up the lie. Layla shared her fake backstories of her teaching in Montgomery County and how she was only in town for a little while to see her parents, but after the news of Samantha’s passing, she might have to stay longer than expected. Layla continued to fabricate her past by telling him about a rough history with a man named Marcus that she grew up with.
She lied about them being high school sweethearts with plans to get married after college, but he did not want any kids. Apparently, Marcus was so wrapped up in his corporate job that he barely took an interest in Layla anymore, and he was only focused on making money. Layla wanted more, so she broke up with him and had not dated anyone since then. As the night went on, she found herself consumed by her lies. How long could she keep it up before Gabbriello would find out?
