Posts Tagged ‘hitman’

When Your Protective Instincts Backfire Spectacularly

Posted: July 18, 2025 in Experiences, Thoughts
Tags: , , , , , ,
6

You know that feeling when you realize someone you care about is in danger, but the person trying to protect them is actually making things worse? Well, welcome to my Tuesday afternoon.

I was supposed to meet Uncle Joey at his office for a meeting, but when I got there, Ramos intercepted me in the parking garage. “Change of plans. Manetto wants to meet at Tony’s Deli instead. Something about needing to get out of the office. I figured you’d want a ride over there, so I told him I’d bring you on my bike. Sound good?”

I smiled. Ramos always knew how to make my day. “You know it.”

After strapping on my helmet, I climbed on the back of his motorcycle and held on tight. I was pretty sure I knew where the deli was, but Ramos didn’t go in the right direction. Pretty soon, we were going further and further away, and I couldn’t figure out why. Had I misheard him?

Naturally, I listened in to his thoughts, hoping to find an explanation since we couldn’t exactly talk to each other. I drew a blank and knew he was blocking me out. Why would he do that?

Suddenly nervous, I lifted my visor, and shouted toward his ear. “What’s going on? The deli is the other way.”

He nodded and I picked up don’t worry, there’s something I have to do first.

I nodded and flipped my visor back down before settling in behind him. I didn’t pick up anything else – like an explanation – which he could have offered, so I tried to be patient. Soon enough, Ramos turned down another street that took us in the right direction and I relaxed.

After another ten minutes, we pulled into the parking lot of Tony’s Deli. I dismounted and pulled off my helmet. “What was that all about?”

“Nothing. Just thought you’d want a longer ride.”

I shook my head. “Ramos. You may be able to fool a lot of people, but you can’t fool me. What’s going on?”

He glanced around the parking lot before motioning toward the door. “Let’s talk inside.”

After stepping inside, I hoped to spot Uncle Joey, but he wasn’t there. Ramos led me to a corner table and we sat down. “Where’s Uncle Joey? Is he in some kind of trouble?”

Ramos closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yes and no. If I tell you what’s going on, you can’t tell him.” He was thinking that he could handle the problem, and he didn’t want Uncle Joey to know.

“That sounds bad. Are you sure you don’t want his help?”

“Shelby…” he growled. “I’m sure. I was hoping you wouldn’t pick up on it either, but I should have known I couldn’t keep a secret from you.”

I sat back in the booth. That stung. Did he resent me? He seemed more upset than I’d seen him in a while. “Fine.  What’s going on? Maybe I can help.”

He shook his head. “I’m taking care of it, in fact, by this time tomorrow, everything should be back to normal.”

My brows drew together and suddenly, things clicked into place. “Does this have something to do with Uncle Joey’s schedule changes? I swear things have been off lately. He’s never where he’s supposed to be. Is that because of you?”

Ramos let out a breath. “Yes. I’ve had to change things up because of a problem from my past. I ended this guy’s lucrative career, and now he wants to end mine by taking out Manetto. He left me a note telling me all about it. How stupid is that? But it made me realize that Manetto has a schedule that he sticks to, which makes him an easy target. For the last few days, I’ve been changing things up until I could figure out a plan to take Martinez down.”

“But why not tell Uncle Joey?”

“Because it’s my problem, not his. Maybe I would have, but Maggie and Syd are coming in tonight to visit. He doesn’t have time for this, and I can take care of it on my own. I’ve got it covered.”

I wanted to argue with him by pointing out that all of these mysterious changes were making Uncle Joey second-guess himself, and making him feel older and more vulnerable than he actually was.

But I also understood Ramos’s position. He was trying to eliminate a threat without dragging Uncle Joey into a conflict that was ultimately about Ramos’s past. In his mind, he was being noble and taking responsibility. Still, now that I knew, how could I stand by and do nothing?

“So what’s the plan? Maybe I can help?”

“No. I can take care of it.”

“I’m sure you can, but now that I know, I’d like to help out. Besides, if you won’t let me tell Uncle Joey, then at least let me help you.”

His brows drew down. Had I just issued him a challenge? Would I tell Manetto if he didn’t let me help him?

I rolled my eyes. “It depends on the plan. Come on Ramos… you know I can help you. If something goes wrong, wouldn’t you like someone there to watch your back?”

His shoulders slumped. “Fine… but what about Maggie and Syd? Aren’t you supposed to go over there tonight?”

“No. The family dinner is tomorrow night. See? I’m available.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Fine.”

Ramos told me all about his plan to take out Martinez in the parking lot of The Comet Club. “Martinez thinks Manetto will be there tonight. He’s usually there on Tuesdays, but I told Manetto not to come since Maggie and Syd are here. See? It’s perfect.”

“Okay, but where is he right now?”

“Oh. He’s at Lugano’s waiting for us.”

“But why did you come here?”

“To see if someone was following me.”

I shook my head. It would have been nice to know all that in the first place. “Okay. We’d better go.”

“Sure. Just make sure you keep this to yourself.” He was thinking that sometimes I had a problem not blurting out the things I heard.

“I will.”

The rest of the day passed by pretty quick, and soon I was with Ramos in the parking lot of The Comet Club, waiting for Martinez to show up. I tried to calm my nerves by focusing on the familiar sounds of the city, but my mind kept drifting to Uncle Joey, who was hopefully having a nice, quiet dinner with Jackie, Maggie and Syd, completely unaware that we were about to confront a man who wanted him dead.

Martinez showed up around nine-thirty, just like Ramos had hoped, which meant at least part of the plan was going right. Average height, stocky build, the kind of guy who looked like he’d been in too many fights and won most of them. But as I focused on his thoughts, I knew we were in trouble.

He wasn’t alone.

As I reached over to grab Ramos’s arm, he jumped out of the shadows to confront Martinez. At that moment, a car came roaring across the parking lot.

“Ramos! Move!”

Ramos dove to the left, and the car missed him by inches. While he rolled away from the speeding vehicle, Martinez changed tactics and started walking toward me.

“You must be Manetto’s niece. If I can’t have him, you’ll do just as well.”

I whipped out my stun flashlight, and held it toward Martinez in a threatening stance. “Stay back!” I knew I was in a vulnerable spot, but Ramos was fighting the driver of the car, and couldn’t get to me before Martinez did.

Martinez burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

A voice cut through the chaos like a blade. “Try laughing at this.” Uncle Joey stepped out from behind a parked car, and Martinez went down like a sack of potatoes.

As Ramos finished dealing with the driver (who was now sorry he’d ever agreed to help Martinez), Uncle Joey walked over to us with the kind of calm that only comes from decades of experience.

“You know,” he began, “when someone specifically tells me not to go to my own club, it’s usually because something interesting is about to happen there.”

My eyes widened. “You figured it out.”

“Shelby, I’ve been in this business longer than you’ve been alive. When my schedule starts changing for mysterious reasons, and my second in command suddenly doesn’t want me anywhere near my own establishment, I tend to notice.” He glanced at Ramos. “Especially when my sister’s in town and I’m supposedly too distracted to handle a problem.”

Ramos cringed. “It’s my fault. Martinez was threatening me, and I wanted to take care of it myself.”

Uncle Joey shook his head. “I may be getting older, but I’m not dead yet.”

“I didn’t mean–”

“I know, I know.” Uncle Joey was a little offended, but deep down, he was trying not to laugh. “But I didn’t survive this long by not being observant.”

“We thought you’d be busy with Maggie and Syd tonight,” I said.

“And you thought I couldn’t deal with one threat while entertaining family?” Uncle Joey shook his head. “I appreciate the concern, I really do, but next time, maybe consider that the person you’re trying to protect might be better equipped to handle the situation than you think.”

As we stood there in the parking lot, with Martinez unconscious and his friend zip-tied in the back of a police car (don’t ask me how Uncle Joey made that call so fast), I realized something important.

Trying to shield Uncle Joey from a threat that he probably could have handled in two minutes was a mistake, and, in the end, he’d been the one to save the day. Of course, keeping this from him was Ramos’s idea, not mine, so I couldn’t feel too bad.

Uncle Joey wasn’t angry, exactly. Exasperated, maybe. A little insulted that we’d kept this from him. But mostly, he was amused by the whole situation.

“You know what the funny part is?” He asked, as we walked back toward the club. “Maggie’s been asking me all night if my life is really as exciting as she imagines. I was running out of interesting stories to tell her.”

“Well,” I said. “Now you have a new one.”

“Oh, I’m definitely telling her about this.” He chuckled. “I think she’ll get a kick out of it.”

He stopped and placed a hand on Ramos’s shoulder. “I appreciate that you wanted to take care of this yourself, but next time, keep me in the loop.” He put his other hand on my shoulder. “That goes for you, too. We work best as a team.”

So that’s my story.

Next time someone I care about is in danger, I’m going to remember this night. Sure, there are times when we need to take care of our problems on our own, but when it involves the people we love, it’s never a bad idea to ask for help.

Have you ever tried to help someone and just made things worse? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!

XOXO ~Shelby

I’m in a Book!

Posted: March 26, 2025 in Consulting, Experiences, Thoughts
Tags: , , , ,
6

Yesterday, I went into work at Thrasher Development to talk to Uncle Joey about one of his colleagues. This man had done Uncle Joey a big favor, and now Uncle Joey owed him. Since it was usually the other way around, it made me a little nervous, especially because it probably meant that I would be using my mind reading skills to make it happen.

I got to the office and found Jackie standing over a box with a big grin on her face. She glanced at me and her smile got even bigger. “Guess what’s in the box!! My newest book!!”

Good thing I didn’t say it before she did, since I’d already picked it up from her mind. “That’s great!”

She snagged a book from the box and held it up. “The Hitman and the Psychic!! Isn’t that the cutest cover?”

I nodded, taking in the illustrated cover of a woman with long blond hair, flying off the back of a motorcycle. She was barely hanging onto the guy as he sped along a blue road through the clouds. Wait… was that a frown on her face? And those pink clouds… they almost looked like an explosion. “Yeah. That’s really cute!”

“Isn’t it? And guess what? It’s the one I’ve been writing about you and Ramos!!”

I nodded, but my heart rate spiked. I knew she’d been writing a book based on us, but I couldn’t help worrying about how close it would actually get.

She noticed my alarm and went on to explain. “Don’t worry… it’s not exactly you and Ramos… I mean, the characters in the book are based on the two of you… but no one will know. And you’re not married in the book, so the sex is totally fine.” She was thinking she’d changed the names to Stone and Serenity, along with a few other details. Although, if anyone who knew us read it, they’d probably see the similarities. Still, it was different enough that I shouldn’t worry. “And I used my Jocelyn Drake pen name, so it’s all good.”

“Wow. That’s… great. So what’s her psychic ability?”

“She has psychometry, so it’s different from your premonitions. It means that when she touches an object or a person, she gets a reading, or a vision about them.”

“Oh… yeah. That’s way different.” At least Jackie didn’t know I could read minds, or she probably would have put that in there, and my secret would have been exposed to the whole world! What a disaster.

“And I have another surprise. I dedicated it to you!”

“You did? Let me see.”

She held the book open to the dedication page which read: “To Shelby Nichols. You are the inspiration for this book! I hope you love it!”

“Oh, wow!! That’s so sweet! Thank you! I can’t wait to read it.”

“It comes out in two weeks, but I wanted you to have the first copy. Let me just sign it, and it’s all yours!”

“Really? Thanks so much! I’m so excited to read it!” While she signed it, I couldn’t wait to find out how her two characters got together. Was Stone just as sexy and hot as Ramos? I wasn’t sure anyone could live up to him, but I was sure anxious to find out. Plus… I could hardly wait to read the steamy parts. I knew that made me a bad person, but what could I say?

After closing the book, she handed it to me. “There you go.”

“Thanks so much. I’m going to start it as soon as my meeting with Uncle Joey is over.”

“Oh yeah… you’d probably better get down to his office.” She smoothed her brows, so I wouldn’t see her concern, but she was hoping that paying Tony back wouldn’t be too dangerous. On the other hand, it might make a great plot for her next book.

I managed to keep from rolling my eyes. “Hey, did you give Ramos a copy?”

“Not yet. But as soon as the meeting’s over, I will. Do you think he’ll read it?”

“Is his character a bad-ass and sexy as hell?”

She grinned. “Yup.”

I shook my head. “Maybe you’d better not. He might get a big head.”

She snorted. “Right… like he doesn’t already have one.”

“That’s true. Well… I’d better get down there.” I hurried down the hall, making a pit stop in my office to drop off my book and purse. At least now I had something to look forward to.

The meeting wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. Plus, with Ramos helping me out, how could I complain? I didn’t have to meet with Tony for a few days, so I hurried back to my office to start reading the book.

After the first few pages, I was hooked. Still, I decided it was best to read it at the office instead of taking it home. The last thing I needed was for Savannah or Chris to get wind of it. I ended up staying an extra hour, and I only stopped because Ramos came barging into my office. I couldn’t hide that I was reading the book, and he folded his arms with a knowing smile.

“You busy?”

“Yes. Go away.”

He shrugged. “Okay. I guess I’ll go without you.”

I sat up straight. “Go where?”

“Got an errand to run. It’s a beautiful day, so I’m taking the bike. See ya.”

“No! Wait. I’ll come. I mean… I need a break, so this is perfect timing.”

His eyes narrowed. “You sure?”

“Oh, stop it. Of course I’m sure.”

“That’s Jackie’s book, isn’t it. The one about us?”

“Uh… yeah. But you shouldn’t read it.”

His brows rose. “Oh yeah? Why not?”

I shrugged. “It’s a romance novel. You wouldn’t like it. Let’s go.”

He shook his head, thinking that he already had his copy, and he couldn’t wait to dive in. Especially if it made me this nervous. “Nice try.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not nervous. It’s a great story. And… what can I say? It’s kind of cool. Serenity’s a bad-ass. I wish I was more like her.”

“Hey… you’re a bad-ass too. What about the guy?”

I sent him a smile. “He’s… well… you’ll just have to read it and find out.”

We got back an hour later, and I didn’t have time to read any more, so I’m planning on getting into the office early tomorrow. I’m loving it so far. These characters are a hoot. I’ll be sure and let you know what I think about the book in my next blog post!! Maybe you’ll want to read it, too!

Until then,

Shelby

Lunch with the Girls

Posted: March 12, 2025 in Experiences
Tags: , , , , , ,
11

This afternoon, I had a special lunch with some of my closest girlfriends. We’re all the same age, and we were getting together to celebrate our birthdays for the year. Most of them knew that I got my PI license, and that I’ve worked for the police as well as having clients of my own. But they don’t know that I can read minds. It always makes our get-togethers more interesting for me, but I’m sure they’d hate it if they knew I could hear their thoughts.

Still… I always try to keep my shields up around them, since I’d rather not know their secrets. Besides, most women feel free to share their opinions on just about anything, whether you want to hear it or not.

We always go around the table to tell any news about our families… mostly the accomplishments of our husbands and children, along with all the amazing vacations we’d been on, or were planning. It’s not my favorite part of getting together, because seriously…most days we’re all just doing our best to survive, and I don’t want to hear about their kids sports medals, or how they aced an exam.

Of course, when it comes to me, it’s a little different. They’re usually interested in the types of cases I’ve been working on, and they love the stories of my mishaps… like the one I just told them about getting skunked. Most of the time, they like to hear my stories, but this time, I picked up a hefty dose of skepticism.

That’s when I heard that most of them thought I exaggerated and embellished everything I said. They figured I lied about my experiences because it didn’t make sense that all these things could really happen to one person. It usually didn’t bother me, but this time it hurt my feelings, since they basically thought I was a big liar.

Because of that, I ended my story about getting skunked pretty quick, leaving out all the fun parts about seeing Ramos take off his shirt. I mentioned that he was there, but that was as far as I got before someone else stole the spotlight. A couple of them secretly rolled their eyes and thought no one could ever be as hot as I claimed he was. It kind of bummed me out.

Since I was a bit depressed about the whole thing, it came as a surprise to get a text from Ramos. He said that Uncle Joey needed me to come to his office right away, and wondered if that would work. I responded that I was at lunch with my friends, but I’d happily leave early if he’d come and get me on his bike.

He didn’t respond right away. Then his text came back, saying, Is this for your benefit, or your friend’s benefit? I answered truthfully with a Yes to both. It took another minute before he answered that one, but all he wanted to know was the name and address of the restaurant.

With joy in my heart, I gave him the information. Of course that meant I had to leave my car there, but do you think I cared? He could always bring me back when I was done, right?

I broke it to my friends that I was needed at work, and would have to leave early. They seemed sad enough until I told them that Ramos was coming on his bike to pick me up. I picked up a lot of excitement from them to see if my claims that he was the hottest man on earth were true, although a couple of them asked why I couldn’t just drive my car.

They got shushed pretty quick when the others said they couldn’t wait to see the mystery man that was in so many of my stories. They were also thinking that all my lies about how handsome he was would finally be put to rest, because no one could look that good.

Our table was next to the window, giving them all a perfect view of the street, and I hid a smile. Secretly, I couldn’t wait to see their faces when he pulled up. Hearing the familiar rumble of Ramos’s motorcycle brought a rush of butterflies to my stomach.

As Ramos pulled into a spot right in front of the window, everyone turned to watch him. The girls in the back even stood up to get a better look. Ramos took off his helmet, and brushed his fingers through his hair, and every single one of the women sighed. It was epic.

“Well… I gotta go. See ya next time.”

With their eyes glued to the vision on the other side of the glass, not one of them looked my way. I hurried out to the bike and grinned at Ramos. Still seated on his bike, he raised a brow. “Well… how did I do?”

My smile widened. “Most excellent. Now they believe me.”

He shook his head. “That’s nice. But just so you know, I’m adding this to my tab.”

My brows drew together. “Oh come on… you’re enjoying this too, aren’t you?”

His lips twisted. “I’m used to it… but I could report you to human resources for this.”

I rolled my eyes. “What? Do we even have an HR department?”

He sent me that lop-sided grin of his that always turned my insides to mush, and shook his head. “Why don’t you get on before those ladies in there start drooling.”

I glanced at the restaurant and noticed them all standing at the window. A couple of them even had their hands pressed against the glass. I sent them a quick wave before tugging on my helmet, and settling in behind Ramos on the bike.

Knowing my friends watched while I put my arms around Ramos gave me the biggest thrill I’d had in a long time. As he drove off, my grin didn’t fade, even after Uncle Joey asked me to figure out who had broken into his safe. I knew I could figure it out, and, deep down, I was even grateful they’d done it.

That was probably not nice of me, but what can I say? All’s well that ends well, right?

Until next time!

~Shelby

High-Class Grifter

Posted: December 12, 2024 in Consulting, Experiences, Thoughts
Tags: , , , ,
13

As most of you know, I work for a mob-boss. Because of that, there are some days that can get quite exciting. Uncle Joey is dependent on my mind-reading skills to help him in his business dealings, so I get to meet all kinds of people. Most of them are just trying to make a buck, and hoping to get Uncle Joey’s backing. I kind of feel sorry for them, since working with a mob boss isn’t ever the best way to go. There are always strings attached and once you’re caught, there’s no escape.

Of course, Uncle Joey isn’t quite like most mob bosses because he has a heart, at least where I’m concerned. But that isn’t true for everyone. One thing I learned at the beginning of our relationship is that Uncle Joey doesn’t like people who run or grovel. I tried running once, but Ramos showed me the error of my ways, and now look at me. I’m still here helping Uncle Joey however I can. On the other hand, I’ve grown quite fond of Uncle Joey as well as Ramos, so what can I say?

Back to my point. Yesterday, I accompanied Uncle Joey and Ramos to a special meeting. It was held in an exclusive club, quite high-class, and full of important people. I found out that once you pay your fifty-thousand dollar fee, you can use the facilities as a special meeting place. It’s exclusive enough that even a mob boss can meet with a politician and no one would even blink an eye.

Usually, Uncle Joey keeps me out of that side of his business, mostly because I have connections to the police and do consulting work for them. That’s why I was somewhat concerned about being in this setting with Uncle Joey in his official capacity as a mob boss, but I shouldn’t have worried. Like he told me, what happens in the club, stays in the club. But since I can read minds, I picked up that he really wanted me there because something wasn’t right and he wanted me to get to the bottom of it.

That made me smile. There’s just something about the challenge of figuring out the truth behind what people say that motivates me. I’m like a dog on the scent, and it’s a challenge I’m totally ready to take on. What can I say? Finding the lies, and confronting them about it, gives me a thrill.

We entered the club and were immediately escorted upstairs to a private room. The man we were meeting was already there and stood to greet us. He had a deep golden tan, with brown eyes and hair that had been streaked by the sun. “Hey mate. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He held out his hand to Uncle Joey. “Hudson Kramer at your service.” He spoke with an Australian accent, and immediately reminded me of Crocodile Dundee.

“You as well.” Uncle Joey gave him a firm handshake before turning to me. “This is my niece, Shelby Nichols, and my second, Alejandro Ramos.”

“It’s a pleasure.” After shaking our hands, he motioned to the chairs at the round table. “Shall we get started?”

We took our places and Hudson handed Uncle Joey a folder. “Thank you for meeting with me. That folder contains all the information you need about me and my company. As you know, I’m looking for investors in my mine. I’ve had a turn of amazing luck in finding a substantial deposit of black opals in the Lightening Ridge of Northern Australia. I have full claims and rights to this mine, which I own outright. So far, the opals we’ve excavated are some of the purest ever seen. I brought a few to show you.”

He turned on an LED desk lamp, with the light directed onto the table. Opening his suit coat, he unfastened the buckle of a small, black pack that circled his waist. He pulled it off and set it on the table. The hard case had a combination code which he entered before flipping it open. A smaller case sat inside and he opened it to pluck out a black velvet square of material which he laid flat on the table in front of us. Next, he took out a plastic bag and dumped four black opals of various sizes onto the black velvet fabric.

“This is a sample of what we have discovered.” He placed them in a row, and moved the light to shine on the gems. “Black opals are the most valuable form of opal – due to their dark body tone and the resulting vibrant play of color. A top of the range gem quality black opal can fetch prices up to $15,000 per carat. However, just because an opal is black doesn’t make it valuable. There are many factors including brightness and pattern which determine the overall value of opal as you can see here.”

He pointed out the differences in the opals and gave us the value of each one. The largest one he showed us was worth over fifty grand, a staggering amount. “All of these came out of my mine, and I’m sure there are more, but as I said, the cost of the mine has depleted my resources, and I’m looking for an investor such as yourself to continue operations.”

He went on to talk about the terms of the investment, and I had a hard time discerning if he was lying or earnest in his proposal. “The main reason I decided to approach you was because of your recent investment in the lost Taft Mine. I have a much better proposition to offer you, since our mine is not lost, and we have already struck gold, as it were.”

“Very impressive,” Uncle Joey said, picking up the largest stone to examine it more closely before setting it back on the fabric. “Your terms are quite high, but I might be willing to negotiate based on a percentage of the profits. How do you feel about that?”

Hudson’s pulse jumped, and he was thinking that now was his chance to sweeten the deal. “I am agreeable to that. If we could set up a steady stream of capital into the mine, I’m sure the outcome would more than triple your investment. How does an initial amount of ten million sound to you?”

Uncle Joey’s brows rose, that was higher than he’d expected, and it gave him pause. He had checked Hudson out, and believed he had the rights to the mine he spoke of, but the high price seemed extreme compared to the risk. “You’d have to find a lot of opals for me to make a profit.”

Hudson realized his mistake and cursed in his mind, thinking he should have stuck with the five million he’d been planning on. But the way I’d admired the stones made him go higher. He was glad I was there since it was easy to see that I liked them. If he played to my vanity, my influence alone could get Manetto on board.

“What do you think, Shelby?” Hudson asked. “Do you like the stones?”

“Oh yes. They’re absolutely breathtaking.”

He nodded. “It’s the black that brings out the colors.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

Hudson glanced at Uncle Joey. “You’re right about making a profit.” He pursed his lips. “Would you be interested in co-ownership? That way we would split the profits fifty-fifty.”

Uncle Joey nodded. “After my initial investment was re-paid, I would consider a fifty-fifty split.”

Hudson kept his face devoid of emotion, but inside he was jumping up and down. He might pull this off after all. If Manetto signed on for ten million, he could use up to three for the mine and pocket the rest. The mine would never pay out that much, but Manetto had to know it was a risk, and could hardly complain.

Hudson let out a breath, feigning indecision, like it was hard to give up half of the mine. “I can have the papers drawn up for you to look at and you can give me a decision tomorrow? Will that work?”

Uncle Joey glanced my way, and I smiled. “I love the opals. They’re so colorful.”

Uncle Joey nodded. “So what do you think about this one?” He picked up one of the smaller opals. “It would look great in a necklace.”

“It sure would.” I turned to Hudson. “But here’s the thing. Your proposal sounds good, but I think investing in your mine would be a losing proposition. You’ve done a good job with the presentation, but you went too far in your asking price. Naturally, Uncle Joey checked you out before the meeting, so we know you own the mine, but you haven’t had a lot of success with finding the opals you’re pushing.”

I shook my head. “Hudson, you’re playing a dangerous game. Cheating a mob boss out of his money is unwise. Just because you live in Australia doesn’t mean you’d be exempt from retaliation. You might think you could pocket the bulk of the money, but believe me, you’d be paying back every cent with interest for the rest of your life. Is that what you really want?”

Hudson had grown pale, and his eyes rounded with shock. “This is a legitimate enterprise. I’m not trying to swindle anyone out of anything.” He glanced at Uncle Joey. “Believe me, I respect your reputation. If this isn’t something you’re interested in, then just say so. I approached you first, but I have others who would be grateful for the chance to get in on the mine.”

He began to gather the opals, putting them back into his case and zipping it up. Before he put the case around his waist, Uncle Joey stood. “Hudson… Let me give you a word of advice. Never cross a mob-boss. Now… If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go back to Australia and we’ll forget all about this incident. Otherwise, I will spread the word about this grift you’re playing, and it won’t go so well for you.”

Hudson flushed. How had it gone so badly? “My business is legitimate, but I’ll take your advice into consideration.”

Uncle Joey held up the opal he still had in his hand. “I’m keeping this for my niece. What’s it worth to you?”

He was thinking five grand, even though it was only worth two. I turned to Uncle Joey. “He probably wants five grand, but it’s only worth two.”

Uncle Joey smiled. “I’ll give you one, and we’ll call it even since you wasted my time.” He glanced at Ramos, who pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills and counted out ten of them. Ramos stepped over to Hudson, and stuffed them into the breast pocket of Hudson’s jacket.

I wanted to say, Keep the change, you filthy animal, but kept my mouth shut and just smiled instead. Hudson bolted to his feet, and hurried out the door, thinking that all his hard work had just gone to hell, and he’d messed up. But how? What had given him away? I lost track of his thoughts and shook my head.

“Did he learn his lesson?” Uncle Joey asked.

I shrugged. “Beats me.”

Uncle Joey nodded, and held the opal out to me. “This is for you. Consider it an early Christmas present.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Take it to Dale, at Brinkman’s Jewelry and have him set it for you. Black gold would look amazing.”

I couldn’t hold back my smile. “Thanks Uncle Joey. I will.”

We left, and never heard of Hudson Kramer again, so I guess he took Uncle Joey’s advice.

On another note, now you can see why I don’t mind working for Uncle Joey. I’m picking up my necklace tomorrow, and I can’t wait to wear it. I’ll see if I can post a photo next time.

Until then…

XOXO

Shelby

Date Night

Posted: June 14, 2024 in Advice, Consulting, Experiences, Thoughts
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
12

From the title, you probably think this is going to be about a date I had that went horribly wrong. You wouldn’t be too far off, but it wasn’t my date. As most of you know, my son, Josh, just turned sixteen and he’s in high school now. Needless to say, the last school dance of the year wasn’t long ago, and Josh got asked by a girl I didn’t know.

As most of you are thinking, yes… I checked her out, and found that she was a senior and quite popular. She was also gorgeous. So why did she ask Josh to go to the dance? I could only guess, but of course, Josh agreed to go, and he thought it was because he was hot and had his own car.

Anyway… to make a long story short, the night of the dance came and she picked him up in a limo. She even came to the door to get him, which was perfect, since I planned on finding out exactly what she was thinking about their date.

Luckily for her, there was nothing nefarious about her intentions, or it might have turned out differently. She’d asked him to go with her because she’d just broken up with her boyfriend and she wasn’t about to miss the last dance of her high school experience. She also thought Josh was really cute, and she wanted to have a fun time with him and her friends. Then I heard that the other girls in the group had asked younger boys, so Josh wasn’t the only one. I picked up that they’d done it to show the senior boys that they weren’t the only fish in the sea, which I had to admire.

Relieved that it wasn’t anything serious, I told him goodbye and hurried out the door myself. Uncle Joey had requested my presence at a dinner he’d scheduled with an out-of-town guest, and I didn’t want to be late. Inspired by the kids, I’d even dressed up a bit, wearing the red dress I’d picked up in New York a few months ago.

At the restaurant, Uncle Joey greeted me warmly with a kiss on the cheek, and introduced me to his guest, Gabe Dunn. He was close to my age, and lavished me with attention after finding out I was Uncle Joey’s niece. Naturally, I knew he was just kissing up, so I didn’t let it go to my head, although I did enjoy being called ‘beautiful,’ and ‘lovely.’

We were shown to a table by a window, and I sat between the two men, which left an empty chair across from me. Before I could ask who else was joining us, Ramos strode to our table. He wore a black dress shirt and jacket combo, and every woman in the place couldn’t take their eyes off him. He pulled out the chair with his back to the window, and sat down with a smile, knowing he was the center of attention, and loving it.

While we looked over our menus, I picked up that Gabe was nervous about this meeting because he owed Uncle Joey a large sum of money, and he didn’t have it. In fact, he was so desperate, that he was willing to gamble his life for it.

Unsure how he planned to do that, I listened real close, but got distracted by a big group of kids coming into the restaurant. There were four couples. The girls wore prom dresses that barely covered their cleavage, and were accompanied by boys in their best suits and ties. Spotting Josh among them, I gasped. Holy hell! Of all the joints in all the city, he had to come to this one?

Luckily, he hadn’t seen me yet, and I hoped he wouldn’t. Still, Uncle Joey narrowed his eyes and glanced my way with a raised brow, asking in his mind if that was Josh… and what was he doing there? Ramos and Gabe had noticed the group as well, and both of them smiled at the sight. Then Ramos’s brows rose and he glanced at me, asking if I knew Josh would be here.

I shook my head and shrugged, trying to ignore the group, and hoping that Josh didn’t notice us. We ordered our food, and Uncle Joey asked Gabe if he’d had a pleasant visit. While they spoke, Josh’s date happened to glance in my direction and her eyes bulged. She elbowed Josh and pointed me out, thinking that I was one of those moms, and maybe Josh wasn’t so cool after all.

Josh spotted me and his face turned red. What the hell was I doing there? Was I keeping track of him and his date? This was terrible. Then he noticed Uncle joey at my side and Ramos sitting across from me, and it all made sense. He relaxed, and a little smile crept over his lips. He sent me a chin-lift and leaned over to his date, explaining that I was with my boss, and that I worked as a private investigator.

Hearing that, his date’s eyes widened and her attitude changed from disgust to admiration. After ordering their dinner, she asked Josh dozens of questions about me and some of the cases I’d worked on. Josh had a great time telling her about my latest escapade with the police in solving a cold case.

Whew… grateful I’d dodged a bullet with that one, I turned back to the conversation at my table. Our entrees arrived and I enjoyed the first few bites of my rib-eye steak and baked potato. After that, I picked up Gabe’s thoughts of desperation, and that he’d have to go through with his plans to kill Uncle Joey. I nearly choked on my last bite and had to take several large gulps of water to wash it down.

“Are you all right?” Uncle Joey asked, patting my back.

I cleared my throat a few times before I could answer. “Sorry… yes. I’m fine now.”

“Good.” He glanced at Gabe and continued their conversation.

Ramos’s brows rose. He hadn’t missed my reaction, and knew something was going on. I smiled at him and nodded. I waited until Gabe took a bite of food, and turned to him. “So Gabe… I understand you’re feeling a little desperate about the money you owe my uncle.”

His eyes widened and he dropped his fork on the ground. “Shit. Uh… excuse me.” He leaned down to pick it up, and set it next to his plate. Turning his mega-watt smile on me, he raised his brows. “Not at all. Whatever gave you that idea?” As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn’t.

“Well… sometimes desperate people do desperate things, so I’m just warning you that killing someone is not always the best solution.”

I glanced at Uncle Joey, who raised his brows and sent Gabe a piercing stare. “You planning a little something to happen to me?”

Gabe swore in his mind and swallowed. “Of course not. I would never do something that stupid.” He glanced down at his hands. “To be honest, I am trying to work out a solution to solve my cash flow so I can pay you back.” He was thinking that he may have thought about killing Uncle Joey, but he’d never do anything like that in a million years.

He narrowed his eyes at me, wondering how I’d known… or maybe it was just something that happened often enough that it was a pretty good guess.

“So, is paying me going to be a problem?” Uncle Joey’s lips turned down and he was thinking that it was just as he’d thought, and Gabe didn’t have the money after all. It was so discouraging. Why did these people guarantee him a nice payout if they didn’t plan to follow through? Were they not scared of him enough? Had he lost his tough-guy image?

I wanted to tell him that he hadn’t lost anything… mostly because so many people wanted him dead, but that wasn’t something I could blurt out over dinner.

Ramos met my gaze, thinking that I’d better figure out a solution, or Uncle Joey would have to do something drastic… like have him break both of Gabe’s legs… just to save face.

My eyes widened and I glanced at Gabe. “Listen Gabe… you don’t want to end up with a couple of broken legs, do you?”

Gabe’s eyes bulged, and he shook his head. “Of course not.” He met Uncle Joey’s gaze. “I’m sure I can get the money together. I just need another day or two. Is that acceptable? I can have it by day after tomorrow?”

Uncle Joey leaned forward. “Let’s finish our meal first. While we do that, you can come up with an offer I can’t refuse. How does that sound?”

Hesitant, Gabe finally nodded. “Sure. I appreciate it. Thank you.” He licked his lips before picking up his dirty fork and began carving up his prime rib. Thoughts of stabbing Uncle Joey with the knife filled his mind, but he pushed them back, thinking that he’d have to figure out a better way to do it. In the meantime, he figured he could sweeten the deal by adding half a million in cryptocurrency. He’d been keeping his crypto for a rainy day, and even though it was all on paper, he hoped Uncle Joey would fall for it.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I just took another bite of my steak and let Gabe make the offer to Uncle Joey. Gabe thought it was the perfect solution and his enthusiasm kept him talking a lot longer than he needed to. He nearly got all the way to the end of his spiel before he noticed Uncle Joey’s frowny face.

“Uh… excuse me.” Gabe set his napkin on the table. “I need to visit the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he left, I turned to Uncle Joey. “I think he might take off. Do you want Ramos to follow him?”

Uncle Joey sighed. “Not tonight. Let’s finish our dinner and we’ll deal with him… later.”

I nodded. “I know it’s discouraging, but don’t lose hope. He might still come through.”

Gabe never did come back. As we finished our meal, I entertained Uncle Joey and Ramos with some of the thoughts I’d picked up from Josh’s table. Most of the girls’ thoughts were about how much they wanted to eat their food, but couldn’t because their dresses would be too tight. Some of the boys felt awkward. They wanted to look cool and make their dates laugh. But all-in-all the group was having a good time… and so did we.

The group finished up, ready to head to the dance. Since our entertainment was leaving, we decided to head out as well. Before we stood to leave, Josh surprised me by bringing his date over to our table. He introduced her to all of us, and both Uncle Joey and Ramos stood to meet her.

She seemed a little star-struck at the attention, especially when the full force of Ramos’s intensely dark gaze met hers. He also spoke to Josh like they were old friends, and it impressed her even more. Needless to say, Josh rose several notches in her esteem, and he didn’t mind that at all.

We said our goodbyes and they all hurried out to their limo. I picked up some nostalgia from Uncle Joey about his high school days, and wishing he’d enjoyed them more. Ramos didn’t have the same feelings since he’d spent most of that time involved in a gang. But it did remind him of his girlfriend back then, and how things could have been different if she hadn’t died.

Yikes. “So what’s the plan for Gabe?”

Ramos smirked. “I’ll pay him a visit later tonight.” He raised a brow. “Hopefully I won’t have to break his legs.” He was mostly teasing. “Did you pick up anything from him that I need to be aware of?”

I shook my head. “Just be on your guard. He was thinking about killing Uncle Joey, but then a lot of people do, so I don’t know if he’d really try it, but…” I shrugged. “You never know.”

Uncle Joey raised a brow. “They do?”

“Only the ones who owe you money… so you should take that as a compliment, right?”

He huffed. “If you say so.”

“Oh… and don’t worry that you’ve lost your touch. These guys are all intimidated and scared by you, so it’s all good.”

His lips twisted. “Thanks Shelby. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

Who knew those kinds of compliments would ever be a good thing? I smiled at him and we said our goodbyes before going our separate ways; Uncle Joey and Ramos to plan how to handle Gabe, and me to my car and home.

In the end, Josh had a great time and even thought having me for a mom wasn’t so bad. Go me! Uncle Joey ended up getting his money from Gabe, and Ramos assured me he didn’t break any legs in the process.

It turned out that the evening was a huge success after all, which doesn’t always happen when I’m involved. In fact, it was so fun, that I’m wondering if I can manage to be at the same restaurant as my kids and their dates all the time… hehehe.