A Little Slice of Heaven by Gina Ardito

Author:Gina Ardito
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc

Chapter Ten

On Friday, Kyle’s plan to sleep until noon disintegrated when, at ten, the telephone seared his consciousness. Initially, he thought to ignore the incessant ringing. With this, his first day off since he began working at Villa Mare, he intended to loll around all day. After ten rings, blissful silence reigned for thirty seconds, and he burrowed under the blankets. Then the noise began again. Muttering about the rudeness of suburbanites, he tossed aside the blankets and padded into the kitchen, nearly yanking the phone off the wall.

“What?” he barked into the receiver.

“Kyle?” A male voice, low and urgent.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me. Rory.”

Sleep still clouded his brain, and Kyle came awake slowly. Rory? Oh, right. Rory, the accountant with an agenda.

“You okay?” Rory asked.

Senses tingled to life. “Of course, I’m all right. Why?”

“You have a television where you are now?”

The tingle grew into pins and needles across his skin. “Rory, what the—”

“Turn on NNC, if you get it out there,” Rory demanded.

“Hold on a sec.” Fully awake now, he placed the receiver on the countertop and strode into the living room. Picking up the remote control, he switched on the television and flipped around for a moment until he found the National News Channel.

A familiar face filled the thirteen-inch screen. He recognized her immediately. From her perfectly-coifed hair to the creamy pearls around her alabaster throat to the stupid Yorkie, Chaucer, posed on her lap in a matching red-plaid vest and bow tie. Some things never changed.

Adding to his surprise, an inset in the lower corner of the screen held a snapshot of him taken six months ago at a dinner party at the Legacy Club. Now, standing in this shabby room in an apartment the size of the club’s men’s room, he cringed at the arrogance the half-smirk on his face displayed. God, had he ever really looked so smug, so self-possessed? Forcing his eyes away from the unflattering photograph, he listened to the well-known voice filling the living room with liquid charm.

“…missing now for over a month,” Colette said into the camera, “and my family is desperately worried about him. We want to be certain he’s all right…”

“Son of a—” Heart thudding in triple time, Kyle raced into the kitchen again and fumbled for the receiver. “Why is my sister speaking to the press?”

“She’s looking for you.”

Gee, no kidding. “I can see that. But why?” His legs shook so badly, he had to sit. But he wanted to hear what else his sister might reveal. Extending one bare foot, he pulled a chair near. Now he could still see the television while anchored to the phone.

“…he couldn’t bear the shame of filing for bankruptcy…” Her words slithered into the kitchen, and the blood froze in his veins. As she dangled his closet skeletons before whirring cameras on national television, the realization of how this would affect his future crept into his mind like fog on a Louisiana bayou at midnight.

“Jeez, Rory, couldn’t you stop her?” No answer, which only confirmed the suspicions bouncing around Kyle’s head.

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