Page 105 of Roberto

I thrust my arm through the division in the seats so he could see the text on my cell phone screen.

He read the message and glanced back at me warily. Then he took the phone, dictated something, and handed it back.

Sorry, but I don’t want to get involved.

I had a backup plan for that, too.

I dictated into the phone, “I’ll pay you 500 Hong Kong dollars every ten minutes we have to wait. That’s 3000 Hong Kong dollars an hour, in cash. Would that change your mind?”

3000 Hong Kong dollars was nearly $400 US.

Not bad for an hour’s work.

If we had to sit and wait for three or four hours, he could make a considerable sum.

Once the driver read the message, his eyebrows shot up.

“Okay,” he said in a thick accent.

After that, we were off to the races.

He drove me to the Summit, Mei-ling’s apartment building.

We arrived around 11 AM and parked on the street in front of the high-rise.

I anticipated Mei-ling would head towards the city, so I had the driver point his car in that direction.

I put on my sunglasses and pulled the hood of my sweatshirt over my head, just in case she saw me when she drove by.

“We’re looking for a silver convertible Bentley,” I dictated into the phone, then showed it to the driver.

His eyes widened and he dictated something into my cell.

You’ve got a rich girlfriend. No wonder you want to keep her.

I chuckled and wondered what his reaction would be if he saw my family’s house in Tuscany.

“When we follow her, I want you to stay back at least a hundred feet,” I dictated. “Don’t get too close.”

My driver read the message, nodded, and replied.

Just like a police TV show,the translation read.

“Exactly,” I said with a smile.

We sat and waited for two hours.

As promised, I handed him a Hong Kong 500-dollar bill every ten minutes.

He seemed quite pleased with the arrangement.

Finally, just after 2 PM, the silver Bentley pulled out of the Summit’s underground parking and turned towards Hong Kong.

My heart leaped in my throat when I saw her.

The convertible’s top was down, and she wore sunglasses and a scarf wrapped around her hair to keep it in place.

She was absolutely beautiful –