Then figured that might alarm her.
Or –
Even worse –
Maybe it wouldn’t.
So I just gave her a tight smile. “Yes. SOMEBODY is.”
I just prayed to God that the other guys wouldn’t see me carrying all this shit inside, or I’d never hear the fucking end of it.
83
God ignored my prayers.
When I drove the Mercedes into the warehouse, I groaned silently.
All the foot soldiers were standing around waiting to see what happened.
I got out… opened Mei-ling’s door for her… then walked gloomily around to the back of the car.
As soon as I popped the trunk, the laughing and catcalls began.
“What thefuck,Giorgio?!”
“What you got in there,man?!”
“You gonna have your new girlfriend use those on you?”
“You sure you evenwanta girlfriend? Maybe aboyfriend,instead?”
I gritted my teeth and prepared to start unloading –
But Mei-ling stopped me by touching my arm.
Then she snapped her fingers and pointed one by one at the foot soldiers, then at the bags.
The guys immediately shut up, and their faces went ashen.
Mei-ling stared at them, annoyed, then snapped her fingers again and pointed insistently at the trunk.
She was one of the bosses’ wives.
There was no way inhellthey could disobey one of her orders.
One by one, they trudged forward and took a bag.
I just smiled at them as they walked past me. Theyallrefused to make eye contact.
God might not have answered my prayers…
But Mei-ling certainly did.
We got Massimo to retrieve the big wooden sawhorse and carry it to the back of the warehouse.
As she walked beside Massimo, Mei-ling gave him directions in English about what she wanted him to do.
“…you’resure?”he asked in shock.
