I'm back and ready to post another chapter.
To the reader who left a guest review questioning my interpretation of House's character, I beg to differ with you. House wants people to think he's ironic, sarcastic, sexist and insulting. But that's part of his camouflage, part of the defensive walls he built around himself over the years. He almost believes it himself. In this story and all of my other House fanfics, there are people who bring out what he's hidden. The only thing he's confident about is his mind, his intellect. In every other aspect of his life, he's unsure. He's afraid to feel, afraid of getting close to people.
Chapter 101.
As we got off the elevator we faced double glass doors imprinted with the words 'Locarno Real Estate' in ten-inch high gold letters. Nothing else. The moment we went through them, a middle-aged woman in a crisp white blouse rose from behind her mahogany desk and smiled at us. "You must be Jessica Giordano. I'm Cheryl, Mr. Marcello's assistant."
"Yes, I'm Jess, and this is my friend, Dr. Gregory House."
"Mr. Marcello's waiting for you." She led us down a hall, carpeted in a deep pile Berber, to a wood panel door and pushed it open, letting us enter.
A tall, slim man in an expensive Italian suit stood by the window and motioned for us to take chairs at the large conference table. Once we were seated, he joined us and nodded at the woman. She left, but returned quickly carrying a tray with three white ceramic mugs and a carafe of coffee. She poured before leaving us again.
Marcello smoothed his well-cut black hair and got down to business. "I understand you're interested in purchasing property? Cheryl said you mentioned my niece."
"Yes, Tina. She said your company was one of the largest real estate firms in Trenton." Jess spread her hands on the table. "My sister and I are starting a catering business. We'll be working with restaurants in Trenton and Princeton, and will need a fairly central location to manage it all from."
"I see. But surely Tina told you I'm not a salesman. I'm a lawyer." He added cream to his coffee, but didn't drink any. "I work on the contracts and some of the other paperwork our clients need when they purchase a property."
"Oh, yes she did mention that. But since we didn't know who else to approach in your company, we came to you. I hope you can turn us over to your best realtor. We really need the perfect office space for our new company." Jess turned on that hundred watt smile that charmed the guard in the lobby.
It worked on Marcello, too. He returned her smile and nodded. "Tell me a little about your business."
"My sister, Nina, and I are starting a catering business. We already have contracts with several different restaurants to provide the food so that we can cater large and small parties. We'll need an office where we can talk to clients, keep records, and make all the arrangements for each event. So far, we have a staff of four, but expect we'll need about four or five more full-time employees, as well as maybe a dozen we can call on as needed."
She'd thought this out a lot more than I'd known, but I wasn't surprised.
"So you need about eight hundred square feet, including space to keep equipment you own." Marcello was writing down notes as she spoke.
Jess nodded. "Right. Two or three offices plus storage room. We do want this to be a class operation, so the offices will have to be furnished, well, like your offices." She indicated the table, chairs, and book cases in the conference room.
Marcello nodded. "I think the best person for you to work with is my nephew, Richard. Tina's brother. I'm surprised she didn't send you to him." He finally took a sip of coffee, his eyes on Jess.
I hid my smile. We'd now have a legitimate reason to talk to Ricky. But now we had to weave the name Carlo Molino into the conversation and see Marcello's reaction.
The man himself gave us the opening. "How do you know Tina?"
"Oh, we're friends of a friend. Julio Curci."
Marcello nodded, but he wasn't smiling. "Yes, she's mentioned Julio."
"He's a nice young man." Jess smiled warmly to show her fondness for him. "He works at one of the restaurants we've contracted with, The Melting Pot."
"Sounds like a fondu place."
"It is. The owner thinks very highly of Julio, plucked him away from a job at one of Carlo Molino's auto shops." Jess paused to wait for a reaction, but the only thing I noticed was some movement of his eyes, as if he was considering what she said.
"Have you ever had any work done at one of them?" I asked. "I'm thinking of getting the engine of my car replaced with a more powerful one at the place in Trenton."
Marcello shook his head. Either he had something to hide and was good at it, or it was true that he didn't know Molino's shops.
"Well, if you can help us set up a meeting with Ricky, I'd be most obliged." Jess stood.
"Ricky." Marcello smiled. "Yes, that's what Tina calls him, isn't it?" He stood as well. "I'll have Cheryl check Richard's schedule. I'm sure we can arrange something within the next day or so."
"That'll be perfect. Hopefully, my sister will be able to meet with us, too."
I stood and Marcello ushered us back to Cheryl's desk. "Cheryl, please look at Mr. Richard's appointments for the next few days and find a time for Miss Giordano to meet with him."
"Of course, Mr. Marcello. By the way, Mr. Locarno called. He'll meet with you at three today."
Marcello nodded but he was frowning. "Very well." He turned and left us.
I wondered why everyone called him 'Mr. Marcello' and Ricky 'Mr. Richard', but there could only be one Mr. Locarno. "Is Mr. Locarno active in this business too?" I put on my most innocent look.
Cheryl looked up from her computer. "He does take an interest, but Mr. Marcello oversees all the day-to-day operations." She looked back to the screen. "Mr. Richard has some time tomorrow morning starting at ten."
"Sounds good," Jess said. "I think my sister will be able to join me." She looked at me.
"And so will I." We made a good tag team, and I wasn't going to have her talk to Ricky without me.
Cheryl nodded once. "I've added you to his schedule. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Thank you." Jess smiled at her, and we left.
Once we were in the elevator heading down again, I said, "This is working out better than I thought."
"We'll see." Jess shrugged.
I studied her. She was usually the optimistic one.
She smiled back at me. "Relax. I just don't want to get my hopes up. It seems every time we think we're getting closer to learning what's going on, why Molino sent Julio, why we were abducted, even what happened to Francesca, it doesn't pan out."
Once we were in the car again, she took out her phone.
"Who are you calling?" I pulled out of the parking space, ready to head back to Princeton.
"My sister. I know we'll be seeing her later, but I wanted to let her know as soon as possible about the appointment with Ricky." She turned her attention to the phone. "Nina? It's Jess." She was quiet for a few seconds. "Yes, I know, but I wanted to tell you something before then. We're meeting with Richard Locarno tomorrow morning in Trenton." A pause. "No, he doesn't own a restaurant. He's a real estate agent. We need office space, don't we? And we still don't know why Julio was sent to revenge the Locarnos when they had nothing to do with his cousin's death. Maybe Ricky has some answers." She grinned. "Well, yes, I guess we are. See you later and we'll tell you all about how we set this up."
As she ended the call, I asked, "We are what?"
"Playing detective." She grinned. "I'm beginning to understand the thrill you get out of solving a complex medical case. I only hope that the solution to this isn't a let down."
"It won't be. Whatever the explanation, it's something we haven't thought of yet."
"You seem sure of that."
I nodded. Traffic was heavier than it had been earlier and we didn't arrive back at the condo until almost six.
"We don't have much time before we're supposed to meet Nina." Jess got out of the car and hurried inside. "I want to shower and change."
"It'll take less time if we shower together."
She chuckled. "Sure, why not? But we don't have time for anything else."
By ten to seven we were out the door and on our way again. We were a little late arriving at Johnny's restaurant. Nina was already seated. I wasn't surprised to see Wilson with her.
"We haven't ordered yet," Nina said as we sat down. She looked around the restaurant. "I think Uncle Johnny wants to order for us anyway."
"No doubt something that isn't even on the menu."
"No doubt." Nina grinned. "So, what's this about a meeting with one of the Locarnos tomorrow? How'd you even make contact with him?"
Jess explained about how we met Tina, and all she said about her brother and uncle.
"I would think the one you want to talk to is the uncle." Wilson had been listening intently to what she said.
"We already have." I smirked at him. "Marcello is a lawyer for the Locarno real estate firm. He personally set up an appointment for tomorrow morning for us with his nephew."
"But why would we be meeting with a realtor?" Nina still didn't get it.
"We need an office to run our business, don't we?" Before Jess could explain any more, Johnny appeared.
"I am so glad to see my two favorite nieces here again tonight. You're both looking well. I trust you're feeling alright."
"Yes. We've both recovered." Jess smiled at him.
"And not one but two doctors with you tonight." He motioned to one of the waiters. "Please bring my nieces and their guests the deluxe antipasto plate. I will have the kitchen prepare some entrees for them. The bill comes to me, understand?"
"Yes, of course Mr. Giordano." The waiter scurried off.
"How about a pasta carbonaro to start?" Johnny smiled and nodded before continuing. "Or perhaps you would prefer the lobster ravioli?" He didn't wait for an answer. "And then, a caprese salad. Veal scallopine in a white wine demi-glace, osso buco, and chicken breast wrapped in pancetta roasted with fontina, no?" He was still nodding and muttering to himself as he went off to the kitchen.
My mouth was salivating.