Page 3 of Heart of Stone

“Speaking of which, can you put my cap in a to-go cup? I have a date with a book in Central Park,” I added with a grin.

“Bravo, bravo! It makes me happy to hear that you are going out to enjoy this wonderful sunshine. You need to relax and enjoy life more often,bella. If I were a few years younger, I would show you how the Italians enjoy living,” he said with a devilish wink and handed me my drink.

As if on cue, Maria came out of the backroom.

“Ah, stop it you old fool! Leave the poor girl alone. She doesn’t want to be bothered with you!” Angelo’s wife quipped. Maria’s eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled at me. I walked over to the register and waited as she cashed me out.

“How are you, honey? You look thin. You are working all the time,” she scolded. “You need something to eat, yes?”

“I’m fine, Maria. No thank you,” I graciously declined.

I sighed as she packaged up pastries for me anyways.

I mentally calculated the calories going into the bag. My hips didn’t like the resulting sum. I was left with little choice but to pay for the cappuccinoandthe pastries that I didn’t need. As sweet as Maria was, she never understood the word ‘no’.

I said my goodbyes to Maria and Angelo and left the café. My conversation with the shop owners reminded me that I had to call Allyson, my roommate. I missed her. Our schedules had been so opposite lately and I hadn’t talked to my friend in days. It was a short walk to Central Park and I decided to give her a call along the way.

I reached into my purse for my cell phone, but had trouble locating it. After fishing around for a few minutes, I knew it wasn’t there.

Damn!

In my mad dash to avoid Jim, I must have left it in my locker at Wally’s. Frustrated over the time I would be wasting, I turned around and headed back.

When I finally reached the front doors of Wally’s, I hesitated before going in. I really didn’t want to risk another run-in with Jim. On impulse, I yanked the ponytail out of my hair and shook out my curly mop.

Head down and face hidden. Maybe he won’t see me.

I knew it was a long shot, so I superstitiously crossed my fingers before hurrying inside.

By some small miracle I managed to get to my locker, retrieve my phone, and leave the break room without being seen. As I was walking down aisle nine, I mentally congratulated myself for a successful stealth mission, even though I was still mildly aggravated that my plans had been delayed.

Hopefully, it’s not too late for the park.

I glanced down at my phone to check the time and saw that I had a missed call from Allyson. Trying to remember what my friend had planned for that night, I began typing her a quick text to ask her –

WHAM!

Pain pierced through my skull in a ferocious blast and stars dotted my vision. I grabbed my head with two hands in an attempt to stop the clanging sound of metal reverberating through my eardrums. After a moment or two, I managed to regain some sense of focus and found myself staring directly at the metal racking of an end cap – the same end cap that I had so carefully built that morning.

“Damn planogram!” I cursed.

My right eye was killing me and I could already feel it beginning to swell. I looked down at my shirt. Not only did I smack my head, but also my cappuccino had dumped all over the front of me. As my gaze traveled downward towards the floor, I saw that my cell phone laid face down in a puddle of milk and espresso. I groaned.

Please don’t let the screen be cracked!

I repeated the silent plea over and over again as I bent over to pick it up. But sure enough, the screen was shattered.

“Son of a bitch!” I swore out loud, looking at the spider web cracks on the glass.

Feeling more than just a little bit foolish, I looked around to make sure that no one had seen my klutzy mishap.

Heat began to spread up my neck to my face in embarrassment when I saw Mr. Roberts, Jim McNamara, and a man in suit standing about half way down the aisle. They were all staring at me in shock over what had transpired.

Fantastic – I have an audience.

Then I did a double take.

The third man was not just another ordinary guy in a suit. This man was attractive – very attractive. He was young too, probably not a day over thirty. He had an arresting face, perfectly chiseled with a square jaw line. He was taller than the other two men, standing over six feet. He looked absolutely magnificent in his dark gray sport coat, white shirt and solid black tie. His hair was wavy and almost black in color. It was cut longer, but not too long, with the dark ends just touching his collar.

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