Chapter 7: Sacrificing Spinelli
Jason started his counter offensive plan to save Spinelli from himself the very next day. He went to Sonny's office and waited with ill concealed impatience for Sonny to finish giving instructions to Max and Milo about some assignment. "Don't screw it up!" Were his partner's characteristic parting words to the Giambatti brothers as they exited his office. He turned his attention to Jason as he sat back in his red leather office chair, Sonny rocked back and forth, eying Jason speculatively, "What's on your mind?"
Jason paced restlessly in front of Sonny's desk, collecting his thoughts as he considered the best way to present what he wanted Sonny to do. Eventually, after Sonny started fiddling with an enameled letter opener indicating he was becoming impatient at Jason's silence, he spoke abruptly, "I want you to call Maretti and tell him that we want a prenuptial agreement between Laura and Spinelli."
Whatever Sonny was expecting Jason to say this wasn't it but as soon as he comprehended what his second in command was asking for, he frowned. "I'm not going to do that, Jason."
His voice was firm but he held back on projecting the irritation he felt at Jason's unreasonable request. Sonny could never understand why Jason felt compelled to protect Spinelli the same way he did Michael but this was one time he knew he needed to tread carefully. Without the geeky kid's cooperation this much anticipated merger wasn't going to happen and Sonny had invested too much effort into smoothing the way for him to allow it to go under. Hell, he had plans, big plans, for those warehouses and piers down the coastline. He sure wasn't going to let his future intentions to expand get screwed up because Jason was worried about Spinelli's marital rights.
"Yes, you are," Jason was now standing in front of Sonny's desk, his body was tense as he glared at his associate, "Because if you don't Sonny, I will make sure this glorified merger of yours gets shot out of the water." He didn't say anything else. He didn't have to because everyone knew Jason Morgan didn't make idle threats.
Sonny swallowed uneasily, it was clear Jason possessed some information that he knew nothing about. Sonny fully believed that whatever form this material might take, it would be damaging enough to derail the wedding plans. He also realized that Jason wouldn't use anything which could hurt Spinelli, so whatever it was must paint either Laura or her father in an incriminating light.
'It's probably something that idiot hacker dug up for him using his magic laptop,' Sonny thought to himself in furious frustration at having to concede to Jason's wishes in the matter.
Sonny stared at Jason for a few moments as he tapped his fingers on the desktop. It was a manufactured pretense of reluctance. His hesitation was merely an attempt by the mob boss to salvage his pride in front of his former protégé before he capitulated to his demands which was an action that they both recognized as a foregone conclusion. Jason, acknowledging that he had won the concession he wanted, stood patiently as he allowed Sonny to maintain the façade that he was in control of the interaction.
Sonny rubbed at the back of his neck in a vain attempt to relieve a dull ache resulting from tense muscles developed in response to his friend blackmailing him. With a weary sigh of irritation he capitulated, "All right, I'll call Giovanni and set up a meeting so that the kids can sign a pre-nuptial agreement."
Sonny was mildly disturbed by the wolf-like smile Jason gave him in reaction to his agreement, "Don't worry, Sonny," Jason promised, relenting now that he had gotten exactly what he came for, "I'll make sure you won't lose by it."
Five days later, Giovanni Maretti, his daughter Laura and some unnamed man in a black suit who looked like he could have auditioned for a part as an undertaker but was actually the Maretti lawyer, sat in uncomfortably close quarters across a table in Sonny's restaurant from Jason, Diane Miller and Spinelli . Sonny was sitting in a turned around chair at the free end of the booth table. Today even Conan wasn't brave enough to ask anyone if they wanted something to eat or drink as the antagonism radiating between the two groups was palpable.
"Look," Giovanni's temper was clearly fraying though up until this point he was only taking his pique out on the unfortunate cigar clenched between his teeth, the end was tattered and frayed from him constantly gnawing on it as the lawyers battled back and forth, "I still don't understand the necessity for this paperwork. Sonny and I agreed on the arrangement, we shook on it and that ought to be good enough. It always has been in all my other business dealings." He'd made several variations of this same speech ever since the meeting began over forty-five minutes ago.
"Yes," Diane replied with heavy sarcasm, her small store of patience having been used up within the first quarter of an hour, "That was a wonderful time back when men were men and women knew their place was to be traded like chattel. Still, Mr. Maretti, it is the mark of a sophisticated and wise man to recognize that the times they are a changing and it behooves one to move with them. Here in the twenty-first century it has become quite commonplace to have pre-nuptial agreements intended to protect the assets of each of the participants in the marriage."
"We're a devoutly Catholic family, Miss. Miller," Giovanni said in stubborn rebuttal to her assertions, "My youngest is even a fully ordained priest. There isn't any need for a pre-nuptial agreement because there won't be a divorce, ever." The final word was emphasized with a heavy menace that was impossible to miss as he directed a threatening glare first at Spinelli and then at his daughter, neither of whom had said a word during the proceedings.
Spinelli's protests had already been aired to Jason prior to the meeting. "Stone Cold, I asked you to not interfere any further in my decision." Spinelli was more upset than Jason could ever recall him being. It wasn't his usual excitable anger but an foreign cold quietness that Jason distinctly disliked being directed his way.
"I'm not trying to prevent the marriage, Spinelli," Jason was speaking the unvarnished truth, he was no longer pursuing that particular goal, now he was solely focused on damage control, "This isn't a simple marriage between a couple of young people with only a few possessions. It's an alliance between two powerful families and there are a lot of economic issues to consider. The pre-nuptial arrangement will protect both you and Laura. You should want to sign it as a gesture which proves that you are entirely uninterested in marrying Laura for any sort of financial gain."
Jason was so very grateful for all the time he had spent before the bathroom mirror practicing that exact speech when he saw the lines of suspicion smooth out from Spinelli's face. "I never thought of it in quite those terms," Spinelli said thoughtfully. Jason relaxed as he realized that one more battle in this all important war was won.
"No doubt you are entirely correct, Sir," Diane said shooting a cynical glance at Sonny who just stared back at her with a raised eyebrow, "I am certain Mr. Spinelli would never in any way renege on his vows or his duty to your daughter."
Neither she nor Jason had missed Giovanni's thinly veiled warning toward the young couple and neither liked it. Still, she had a job to perform in order to protect Spinelli's interests. Unfortunately, that more pressing obligation outweighed her overwhelming desire to order a nice chianti just so she could throw it in Giovanni's sanctimonious faces. Two glasses, she mentally amended, one for Sonny as well.
"Though I am not equally acquainted with Miss. Maretti's character so as to vouch for her, I will take your word as surety that neither will she be the one to break the sacred bond of matrimony. Therefore, if we are all so assured that they will be together long enough to celebrate their Golden Anniversary happily surrounded by their devoted children and grandchildren," Diane smiled cruelly at the spontaneous gasp which erupted from Laura as she stared at the lawyer in ill disguised dismay, "What harm then is there in this document which by that time will be lying forgotten and moldering in our respective legal offices, hmmh?"
Diane looked at Giovanni with a victorious expression, it was clear she had outfoxed the old devil. She could feel Jason's arm pressing against her own as they sat scrunched together along the narrow bench, the delineated muscles tightly coiled as he awaited Giovanni's response.
Diane felt a flash of remorse as she remembered that this meeting wasn't a normal game of legal cat and mouse but a vital gambit in an overarching scheme to keep Spinelli as insulated and protected from the inevitable fallout of this misguided union as humanly possible. One look at Laura Maretti's overdone hair and makeup, never mind her entirely inappropriate shoes (black flats with a white pantsuit, who does that?) had convinced Diane of the vital need for shielding her vulnerable Mr. Grasshopper from an entirely inappropriate match far more than any of the mob enforcer's surprisingly impassioned speeches upon the same topic.
Seeing was entirely believing in this case and Diane, unlike Jason, wasn't as of yet, entirely resigned to the impossibility of averting the marriage itself. Never say die was the mantra of every well trained trial lawyer right up until the moment when the plunger of the syringe was being pushed and the deadly drugs began circulating in the condemned prisoner's body. It was a destiny she oftentimes visualized for Sonny but until that fateful day she intended to fleece him of every billable dollar she could. She would have cheerfully charged Sonny for drawing up this particular pre-nuptial agreement for today's meeting if Jason hadn't demanded that he pay her instead. He wanted there to be no question of Diane representing anyone but Spinelli in this awful quagmire he had found himself trapped unwittingly within, a situation which had nothing to do with love and everything to do with opportunistic greed.
Giovanni scratched doubtfully at his chin as he looked appraisingly at Diane, "This is one of those whatchamcallits, a leap of faith thing you're talking about here, right?"
"That's exactly correct, Mr. Maretti," Diane said with a false brightness as though she were encouraging a slow child, "I am talking about taking a leap of faith that this marriage will work out but not being so imprudent as to not have insurance in case they slip and fall instead. What's that saying?" She thoughtfully tapped her teeth with her gold Cross pen, it had been a law school graduation gift from her father and she reserved it for signings of only the most important documents, "Expect success but plan for failure. Well, that is all this document is, the plan for an entirely unanticipated failure."
Giovanni spoke grudgingly, "Well, when it's put like that Miss. Miller, I guess we could say that this meeting is just talking about a future that will never happen. So, I guess in that case that there's no harm in the kids signing it." He frowned, "There are some things I want to clarify though before we get to that step. First of all, how come if neither Damian nor Laura can lay claim to each others assets that those waterfront properties won't revert to Laura in case of a divorce?" His eyes were sharp as he looked first at Diane and then at Sonny who worked hard at keeping his expression disinterested.
Diane sighed as she replied, speaking in a slow, clear voice with the vain hope that finally the blockhead would get the difference as she explained it for the third and, she was determined, final time. "As I said previously, Mr. Maretti, those properties are excluded from Miss. Maretti's assets because they will no longer belong to her but rather to the Corinthos-Morgan organization. It is my understanding that you and Mr. Corinthos agreed upon those properties as being something in the nature of a dowry or maybe it would better to think of them as a non-refundable finder's fee. They are, so to say, a thank you from you to Mr. Corinthos for finding such a fine upstanding young man as Mr. Spinelli here to be a good husband to Laura."
Diane bit her lip in vexation as she caught the sheer look of loathing Laura sent toward Spinelli from under lashes overly laden with mascara. She darted a quick glance at Spinelli who was completely oblivious to the girl's antipathy as he was still blushing at Diane's unexpected compliment. Jason noticed though and his face grew even more angular as he stared in stone faced antagonism at an indifferent Laura.
"Yeah, okay," Giovanni pulled the shredded cigar out of his mouth and looked at it in disgust. He threw it carelessly on the floor where it lay for a scant few seconds before Conan was there to sweep it into a immaculately clean dustpan. Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out a fresh cigar and waved it at Sonny, "I guess you deserve something for setting this all up for me, Corinthos. It better not end in divorce though," he continued speaking as he precisely clipped the end of the new cigar, discarding the butt onto the floor to be swept up by a further scandalized Conan, "It won't sit well with me if I have to take this one back but lose my piers and warehouses in exchange." He was trying to be humorous but the joke fell flat as no one laughed or even smiled. It was now her father's turn to be on the receiving end of Laura's baleful stare but Giovanni didn't appear to notice his daughter's irritation with him.
"Excellent," Diane felt as though she had been slogging uphill with a heavy pack in the blazing sun, not that she had ever done any such rash activity but she was convinced that the result of such a depraved behavior would have made her feel fully as wrung out and exhausted as this detested meeting had, "Now that we have settled that point of contention, the rest of the agreement is pretty straightforward. In case of a divorce, Laura may take away anything she brings into the marriage and she may also keep any items of clothing, or sundry gifts bestowed upon her by Mr. Spinelli. This arrangement also extends to any pieces of jewelry which he gives her…" Diane paused and looked expectantly at Spinelli while everyone else, including Jason, looked at her in puzzlement.
For a brief moment even Spinelli appeared to be unsure as to what Diane wanted him to do and then a look of sudden realization dawned on his face. He delved into the pocket of his lightweight jacket retrieving a small blue box that he passed diffidently across the table to Laura. She snatched it eagerly from his hand. Her face, for the first time since they had encountered her, was alive with interest. A small greedy smile danced over her lips as she impatiently opened the lid of the outer box and reached for the smaller, midnight blue velveteen jeweler's box.
Before she opened it and saw what was inside, Spinelli spoke, almost stammering in his uncertainty, "It's…a token of our soon to be mutually entwined future, a mark of the high esteem in which I hold my future bride."
Laura stared mutely down at the revealed ring. It was a single pear cut stone of beautiful cut and clarity, set in an asymmetrical platinum band. It was simple and timeless and Laura clearly didn't care for it. It was equally apparent that no one had ever schooled her in the art of concealing disappointment. Her face, with its contemptuous curl of her upper lip, plainly communicated how little she valued the diamond ring Spinelli had so meticulously chosen for his future wife.
Diane was already bristling as she easily read Laura's scorn and her hand was itching to reach over and retrieve the ring. She and Spinelli had spent an entire afternoon shopping for a suitable ring. He had poured over sample tray after sample tray until even Diane's indefatigable shopping enthusiasm was beginning to flag. Yet, when they finally saw this ring, it was obvious to both of them that it was the one. After all, what woman wouldn't be the happy recipient of such a lovely piece of jewelry picked out with such forethought and care?
"Apparently one whose taste is entirely confined to her mouth," she muttered to herself. A quick glance at Spinelli confirmed that he had registered Laura's poor reception of the ring, he looked crestfallen and embarrassed. Diane didn't dare risk looking at Jason, she just issued a silent prayer that he hadn't come to this meeting armed.
"Laurie, try it on," Giovanni urged his recalcitrant daughter, not in the least understanding how she could be so hesitant to try on a piece of new jewelry. He wondered briefly if she wasn't feeling ill.
With a scowl, Laura picked up the ring and placed it on the ring finger of her right rather than her left hand as though she were deliberately denying its evident purpose. "It's too big," she said with cruel satisfaction as she held up her finger and showed how easily she could twirl the ring around. Laura slipped the offending object off her finger and tossed it carelessly onto the table where it clattered and spun around for a few seconds before finally coming to a rest.
The sound of the ring hitting the table was the only noise in the restaurant. All the occupants on both sides of the booth stared down at the table, the tiny ring glittering in the dim light as it held their fascinated attention. Only Laura was unaffected by the overt tension in the room. Casually, she sat back in the booth and rummaged around in her capacious purse until she found the tube of lip gloss she was searching for. She pursed her lips and methodically applied the orange scented substance without giving any indication that she was aware of being the cynosure of all eyes.
Even Sonny appeared shocked at Laura's cavalier treatment of the engagement ring. "You shouldn't be so quick to toss that." He said his tone mildly censuring which earned him a partisan glare from Giovanni who while he regularly scolded his recalcitrant daughter didn't extend the privilege to anyone else. He reached out a casual hand and picking up the ring examined it with a knowledgeable eye under the diffuse restaurant light. "It's a good stone and a very classic setting. It's the ideal choice for a match which will transcend time," he sent a crooked grin Laura's way, his dimples flashing, "Not that I know about marriages which last you understand but engagement rings, those I'm an expert on and this is a quality choice. All you need to do is get it resized" He extended the ring toward Laura who stared defiantly at him and refused to take it.
It was Spinelli's hand which instead stretched out to retrieve the rejected ring from Sonny who relinquished it to him with an expression which on another man might have been classified as sympathy. "The Jackal was foolish in the extreme," his voice was soft and hesitant. "It was indeed arrogant of him to shop for this emblem of our life together with the distaff half of the coupling missing. After all," he sent a wry smile at Laura who was staring at him with both irritation and incomprehension as he spoke, "You are the one who will be wearing the ring until the dissolution of our union however and whenever that may come about."
Diane pricked her ears up at this first chink in the heretofore unassailable armor of Spinelli's certainty that this marriage would be it for him. 'He didn't say 'until death do us part', she thought to herself smugly. It couldn't have been an oversight either. Diane would believe that from anyone else but not Spinelli who chose with great care each syllable which dropped from his lips.
Giovanni stiffened as he said repressively, "That union better only be dissolved because of you dying there, Spinelli."
Instinctively, Diane reached over and grabbed for Jason pulling hard on his arm as he started to lunge over the table toward Giovanni. "Jason," she gasped, "It's neither the time nor the place." Her words fell on deaf ears, Jason was intent on one thing only, showing Giovanni exactly who was likely to die that day and it wasn't going to be his roommate.
"Jason!" The only reason Sonny's imperious shout worked where Diane's physical restraint hadn't was because of Jason's years of obedience in responding to Sonny's commands, "Stop it! Giovanni didn't mean anything by it, right?" He turned toward Giovanni, his eyes glinting dangerously, as Jason stood between the booth bench and the table glaring at the man who he plainly perceived as being a threat to his friend and protégé. "Well," Sonny prompted impatiently, rolling his shoulders in a characteristic demonstration of ill restrained power, "Did you intend anything by saying that, Giovanni?"
"No," Giovanni responded sullenly, his face carefully composed into a mask of indifference but his eyes were hooded and his hands clenched. It was clear he felt humiliated but recognized that he lacked the power to respond as he wished to in this particular confrontation. "I didn't mean any disrespect to Spinelli. I just wanted to be sure that we were all on the same page about the sanctity of marriage."
"The Jackal's esteemed future father-in–law may rest assured that the Jackal meant no impertinence with his poor choice of words," Spinelli's quiet voice cut across the overwrought silence which had settled over the group at the table when Giovanni finished speaking. "He fully intends to honor his commitment to the fair daughter of the House of Maretti."
Giovanni nodded in acknowledgment of Spinelli's placatory speech but he didn't say anything in response. After Jason sat down, his body rigid with anger, the older man risked sending a look of pure malevolence toward Spinelli which far outweighed any equivalent expression seen on his daughter's face. Only Diane and Spinelli caught his vitriolic glare. The hacker blushed and averted his eyes while Diane stared unflinchingly back at Giovanni, her face set in a matching look of ill will. She was determined at the earliest moment possible to have a private conversation with Jason about protecting Spinelli from Giovanni's wrath. Nobody was going to hurt a hair on Mr. Grasshopper's head while Diane Miller was around to protect him.
"Ahem," the throat clearing interjection came from the cadaverous appearing Maretti lawyer. It was the first sound out of him since his introduction at the beginning of the meeting. "While all this about rings and marriage vows is very touching, I am sure," he began speaking, his voice dryly pedantic, "There are more pressing matters before us. What precisely is this?" He drew a legal document out of the pile of papers sitting before him and placed it with a flourish before Diane.
Diane picked up the sheaf of stapled papers and barely glanced at it before dropping it back down on the table. "It's a deed," she said with condescending sweetness, her red lips curving upwards in a wolfish grin, "You know that piece of paper homeowners receive when they purchase a piece of property or a house, Mister…uh what exactly was your name again?" She stared challenging at him, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in inquiry.
"Alderson, and I know what a deed is," the lawyer was flushing at Diane's intentional jibe at his professionalism. "That wasn't what I was asking. I wanted to know why it was included in the papers concerning the prenuptial agreement. It appears the only name on the deed is Mr. Spinelli's." He sent his own glance of disapproval in the alleged bridegroom's direction.
"That would be correct," Diane said with smooth approbation, "How clever of you to catch that Mr. Alderson. This," she tapped the deed with her index finger, the blood red color of her nail polish flaring dully in the subdued light, "Is the deed to the penthouse across the hall from Mr. Morgan's. It is to be the residence of the newlyweds. Mr. Morgan gifted the property to Mr. Spinelli."
"What?" The astounded syllable came simultaneously from Giovanni, Laura and Spinelli.
"Daddy," it was a high pitched wail of anguish, "I'm not going to live in this hick town and you can't make me!"
"Wait a minute here," Giovanni turned belligerently toward Sonny, "I never agreed to this. I was going to buy the kids a townhouse somewhere close by me." The unspoken implication was that proximity would enable him to keep an eye on the young married couple.
"Stone Cold," Spinelli was looking across Diane at Jason, his eyes bright with emotion, "It's too much, while I appreciate the gesture more than I can say, I cannot accept such an enormous gift."
"Enough!" Sonny bellowed across the babble of voices, "Jason what the hell is all this?"
Jason shrugged, "I gave the penthouse to Spinelli. It has nothing to do with the marriage. It's his free and clear and, as long as he wants her to, Laura can live there but she has no rights to it."
"They're going to live in New York," Giovanni was adamant.
"No, they're not," Jason responded stubbornly.
There was no way he was going to let Spinelli get sucked into Maretti's unfriendly and potentially dangerous orbit. It was bad enough he had to concede the marriage itself, nothing else of his was going to be forfeited.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Diane strove to lay the proverbial oils on these most disturbed waters, "It is meet that the Spinellis," she intentionally used the couple's new designation to underscore the fact of the wedding, "Reside in Port Charles. After all, Mr. Maretti," she gave the man a small conspiratorial smile, "You strike me as a man of a traditional bent. As such it's usual for the wife to live where the husband works and resides rather than the other way around. Beside which," she sent her gimlet gaze toward Laura who was slumped miserably down in the booth, every line of her body proclaiming her unending misery about the outcomes of this meeting, "It's not as though Ms. Maretti works herself." Then she leaned across the table and speaking in a low clear voice said, "I would think a change of venue might do wondrous things for the young lady's outlook on life. Perhaps she will undertake a life of charitable endeavors or pursue courses at Port Charles University."
"In your dreams," Laura snarled as she suddenly realized what Diane was suggesting about her life.
Giovanni stared in bemusement at Diane, his features still set in a truculent scowl as he slowly worked his way through Diane's argument and Laura's half furious, half panicked response. "You mean," it was clear the concept was still forming in his mind, "That if Laurie lived up here with…him," Jason stiffened at the implied insult to Spinelli as the older man either couldn't be bothered to remember his new son-in-law's name or didn't think it necessary to use it. Diane kicked him under the table, she didn't want Jason's unbridled aggression derailing her subtle plan. Jason subsided with a low growl of irritation, his reflexive anger going unnoticed by a contemplative Giovanni. Suddenly he was beaming as he looked at Diane with something approaching awe. "That's a terrific idea," he said in wholehearted agreement, his displeasure of a moment ago entirely forgotten. "You'll see, Laurie," he said turning to his daughter who was staring aghast at her father, "It'll do you good to move someplace new, meet new people, and do new things." It was obvious that the operative selling word was new.
"Daddy!" It was a wail of despair, "I don't want to live somewhere new."
Her blue eyes welled with tears that brimmed over her lower lids and spilled down her cheeks leaving black streaks of mascara in their wake. It was apparent that the girl was in genuine distress. For the first time since the meeting began, and Diane met the little hussy, she felt some stirrings of compassion as she looked at the young woman who had eyes for no one but her father as she vehemently protested her fate.
"You can't do this to me, you just can't. It's bad enough you're making me marry him and live with him when it's the last thing I want to do." Her words were blunt and unmistakable in their meaning. Diane's burgeoning empathy immediately turned to implacable hate when she turned to Spinelli and saw the look of abject desolation on his face as he absorbed Laura's cruel words. "You can't make me live up here in the middle of nowhere. I don't know anyone and I'll be away from you and Carmine and Paolo."
"If the concept of marriage to the Jackal," Spinelli had reverted to the safety of the third person in his reaction to what Laura had said about him, "Is so distasteful to Miss. Maretti," there was no nickname, no beauteous blonde one or Aphrodite of his heart designation, just the formal appellation of her name. Somehow that intentional slight, though no one who didn't know Spinelli would interpret it as such, made Diane feel better. Maybe it wasn't too late after all, maybe they could salvage Mr. Grasshopper from this mess without the prequel of a wretched marriage having to occur followed by the blessed release of the inevitably messy divorce. Such an outcome was the only possible path which both Jason and Diane foresaw as the result of this ill advised match and as such was the primary motivation for this prenuptial agreement. "Then perhaps the best solution for the parties involved is to dissolve all plans for a martial bond. I would not wish to be the source of such unhappiness for one so young and lovely." His voice was soft, the hurt underlying each syllable clearly audible to both Jason and Diane.
"Maybe that's a good idea," Diane said briskly as she reached over and wrapped her hand around Spinelli's, giving it a brief squeeze to show her support of his needs in this trying time. "They're both young yet and perhaps Miss. Maretti still has things she feels she needs to accomplish before settling down as a wife and mother."
Later that night Diane would sit on her overstuffed sofa, drinking a glass of pinot noir and rubbing her sore feet as she mentally replayed the afternoon over in her mind. She realized with grim hindsight that particular point in the meeting was the pivotal moment which, if only handled differently, could have ensured Spinelli's freedom. Yet, because of her interference, her stupid speech about Laura not being ready for marriage she had turned the tide. Up until then it was obvious that Giovanni was having second thoughts as he listened to his daughter's impassioned plea to not be married off or at least sent away from her home and everyone that was familiar to her.
"Here's to me and my big mouth," Diane said to herself. Her face was grim as she held the glass up to the empty room in an ironic salute and then took a very large swallow. If this wasn't an ideal reason to get drunk, she didn't know what was.
Giovanni stared at Diane, his expression dazed, he shook his head in sharp negation of her speech. "No, this one," he pointed his thumb at Laura, "Has lacked a mother's touch and in her absence I spoiled her. She's had too much freedom and it hasn't made either her or me or her brothers happy. It's time to try something new and the responsibility of marriage and a home to run and, God willing, children will make her grow up." He looked at his crying daughter, his eyes sad but his expression resolute, "I'm sorry honey, but this is for your own good, someday you'll see that, maybe even thank me."
Giovanni's speech was the defacto end of the meeting. A very satisfied Giovanni and Sonny shook hands while a subdued Spinelli and a sulking Laura stood in mutual silence, neither one acknowledging the other.
Just as Giovanni was leading his small entourage of Laura and Mr. Alderson toward the door, Spinelli called out, "Wait, the ring…" He held out the rejected blue velvet box as a tentative peace offering toward Laura.
She didn't even bother with a verbal response but just shrugged and turned back toward the door. It was actually Giovanni who paused but it wasn't to retrieve the small box Spinelli was still holding out upon his extended palm. Instead, he looked at Diane with a speculative gleam visible in his eye even from where he stood several feet away in the cloaking shadows.
"Miss. Miller," he said, sounding almost hesitant, "You are an amazingly gifted attorney," he stopped for a moment as though thinking how best to proceed after offering a compliment that was nothing more than the simple truth. "How about you come and work for me among the bright lights of New York City and get out of Hicksville, U.S.A. I guarantee that I would pay you more than you're earning now," again he paused and then added with an air of heavy flirtatiousness, "Maybe you and me could explore ourselves some attorney-client privilege." Maretti had stated what he wanted and now he was just standing beside the bar awaiting Diane's verdict about his offer, his expression half hopeful and half fearful.
Sonny let out an involuntary guffaw of laughter which he immediately quelled after taking one look at Diane's icy countenance. "Mr. Maretti," Diane replied haughtily, "I am already more than gainfully employed in the safeguarding of the Corinthos-Morgan legal interests. Believe you me, I make sure on a daily basis that I am paid exactly what I am worth. In addition, I never, but never," she emphasized without feeling the smallest iota of guilt as she entirely disregarded her relationship with Max or her maternal feelings for Spinelli, "Cross the boundaries between my personal and professional lives. So, under these circumstances, I am afraid I will have to regretfully decline your most munificent and eloquently worded proposal, sad though it may be that we shan't have the opportunity to 'explore ourselves some attorney-client privilege.'"
Her spot on mimicry of Maretti's less than polished proposal caused an unexpected smile to bloom across Jason's face as he enjoyed the evident discomfiture of the other mob boss. It took a moment for Giovanni to interpret Diane's reply as a clear cut refusal of his offer. When he finally understood he had been summarily rejected and even mildly mocked in the process, he flushed with embarrassment.
"Um, yeah, sure, well, if you ever change your mind and want more excitement than these yahoos can offer be sure to give me a call…" He turned away and gave the unoffending Alderson a vicious shove, "Get out of my way!" He hissed as the lawyer stumbled clumsily out of the angry man's path.
The group left behind in the restaurant could clearly hear Laura's angry, shrill voice challenging her father as they exited onto the street, "I see how it is. When you have the hots for that dyed red haired hussy then this place is Hicksville but when you want me to move up here and die of sheer boredom it's some sort of experiment in self-improvement. Well, I won't do it, Daddy. You hear me, I won't!"
"Laurie…" Giovanni's weary voice drifted back as he tried to reason with his semi-hysterical daughter.
"Dyed!" Diane spat in high umbrage, "That little bleached blonde brat is one to talk!"
"Sure you don't want to take Giovanni up on his generous offer. Diane?" Sonny couldn't resist teasing her, "You could trade us and Max in for all that glamour and the chance to get to know him better."
"I am billing you triple for this delightful experience, Sonny" Diane replied furiously in response to his unwise gibe, "Oh, that odious man! One more word out of his smarmy mouth and I was going to…to…" and she raised her foot and kicked at the empty space in front of her with one excessively high heel. The effect of shifting all her weight onto the remaining but all too insubstantial stiletto caused her to lose her balance. She would have fallen if Jason hadn't reached out and steadied her.
"Careful there, Diane," his voice was rich with amused affection, "Maretti's not worth breaking a bone over."
"You are so very right," she responded, her mouth set in a grim line as she regained her footing. "Here," with the rapidity of a striking snake, she turned toward an unaware Spinelli who was still forlornly clutching the rejected engagement ring, "Give me that," she snatched it from his unresisting grasp, "I'll get her exactly the kind of ring that little tramp wants. In the meantime, you, Mr. Grasshopper, will receive a refund that can go toward a nice little electronic treat for yourself."
"Really?" Spinelli queried doubtfully, "Perhaps instead the brusque lady of justice would prefer to keep the ring as she demonstrated a strong affinity for it at the time of purchase."
Diane popped the top of the small box and looked thoughtfully down at the ring sparkling from within its nest of light blue satin. With a regretful sigh, she shook her head. "Many thanks for the offer, Mr. Grasshopper but I think this ring should be returned to the jewelers and purchased by some young couple who truly admire its intrinsic beauty and simplicity as you did." She smiled warmly at him, "It would feel peculiar wearing a ring, lovely as it is that was meant for an occasion which it seems unlikely will ever occur in my life." Diane's voice was melancholy as she snapped the lid of the ring box shut.
"Yet, surely, the protector of the night might someday…" Spinelli offered uncertainly.
Diane shrugged, "Who knows?" She said philosophically, "And even if Max did ask me, I'm not sure I'd accept. I'm getting to be too old and set in my ways to compromise for the sake of a man, no matter how flexible or inventive in bed he might be."
"Diane," Sonny protested, "I don't pay your exorbitant salary so I have to be subjected to tales of what you and Max get up to in your free time. You know I don't even like the fact of the two of you being involved in the first place."
"Well, Sonny," Diane was back in full combative mode, her eyes flashing dangerously as she moved into his personal space. Sonny was trapped against the bar and she took full advantage of the fact by jabbing him in the chest with one well manicured finger. "It seems that your enforcement of that policy of not mixing business and pleasure could be considered patchy at best considering the deal you just arranged for this poor boy." She jerked her head over her right shoulder to indicate Spinelli who was standing behind her and looking unhappily flustered at being dragged into their confrontation. "It's a travesty, that's what it is, you are sacrificing Spinelli upon the altar of greed and I, for one, am calling you on it."
Regaining his composure, Sonny unceremoniously pushed his way past Diane. Once he was back out into the center of the restaurant, he flexed his shoulders and adjusted his suit jacket as he tried to imply that he was indifferent to her charges of manipulation. "Hey," he said, mildly, "Nobody forced Spinelli here to agree to this engagement, isn't that right kid?" Sonny looked inquiringly at Spinelli who just nodded mutely while Jason moved to stand next to him in a show of support. His face was set in its usual unreadable planes but his eyes flashed resentfully at his partner.
"Yes, I know," Diane said cynically as she stared at Sonny with patent dislike, "It was all just presented as a case of unspoken blackmail by making it incumbent upon Mr. Grasshopper to feel as though the engagement would provide security and financial well being for all the people he cares about. You knew he wouldn't…no, couldn't refuse such an offer." She shook her head in disgust while Sonny just shrugged and grinned unrepentantly at her but his dimples had never possessed any power over the attorney.
Spinelli stepped forward, his eyes distressed, "Miss. Miller," he said softly, dispensing with the usual nickname he applied to her, "You mustn't worry on my account. I know what I am doing. I am entering the situation with my eyes fully open to all eventualities including the potential outcome that the marriage may not, in the end, prove successful."
Diane saw the look of distress which crossed Jason's face as Spinelli spoke and the calculating expression on Sonny's face as he stared at Spinelli's back, his eyes narrowed in speculation. She smiled at the hacker, a gentle smile that no one else, not even Max, ever managed to elicit from the hard as nails lawyer.
Reaching over she patted his cheek, "You might as well tell the rain not to fall or the birds not to migrate," she whispered, "I reserve the right to worry about you whenever and wherever I want to." Then she pulled her hand away and suddenly reverted to being Diane Miller, famous litigator and all around hard case. "Anyway, gentleman," she said briskly as she gathered up her briefcase and her lightweight, spring coat, "It's time for me to head home. I need my beauty sleep if I am going out tomorrow in order to find the perfect ring for that…" she recalled herself just in time as she caught the pained look in Spinelli's eyes, "For Ms. Maretti. I guarantee you that she will love, simply love the replacement ring." With a brief predatory flash of teeth that might have been her idea of a reassuring smile, she exited the restaurant.
Ten days later, Jason was able to ratify in person that Diane had absolutely kept her promise. The first thing he noticed when he saw Laura waiting for him outside the Manhattan café they had agreed to meet at for lunch was the way her finger sparkled and blazed even in the intensity of the noonday sun.
A/N Reviews are appreciated