Boystown Season Three Read online

  “I have a lot of experience.”

  “Don’t you like working at the bistro? You seem to be doing well there.”

  “I am,” Dustin said. “But they can’t give me more hours and I need to be working as much as possible.”

  “This is Jensen, by the way,” Emmett said, introducing the young man to Dustin.

  “Nice to meet you,” Dustin replied.

  “It’s funny; we were just talking about staffing and hiring,” Emmett added. “From the few times I’ve seen you in action at the bistro, you seem like a great worker. Why don’t you leave me your contact info and I’ll have Max get back to you and set up an interview? He’s taking the lead on hiring.”

  “Sure,” Dustin said, handing Emmett his resume. “This has all my work history and contact information on it.”

  Emmett took the resume from Dustin and glanced over it. “Impressive. Thanks. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Great, thanks. Sorry to interrupt,” Dustin said, turning to leave the restaurant. “And nice to meet you, Jensen.”

  “Same,” Jensen replied as he watched Dustin leave the restaurant.

  “Nice guy,” Emmett said.

  “Seems like it. Cute, too” Jensen added. “Well, I need to get going. You talk things over with Max and let me know what he says.”

  “Sure thing. I’m going to call him now. Not sure what’s keeping him.”

  “See you later,” Jensen said, heading out the front door.

  Emmett pulled out his phone and called Max.

  While Emmett tried to get a hold of his fiancé, Joyelle Mancini was in her bedroom frantically stuffing a suitcase with clothes. She rushed to the closet, grabbed a few items, and returned to the bed on which the suitcase was sitting.

  She stopped to look at her wedding picture sitting on top of the dresser. Running her fingers over the top of it, she paused a moment. Then she picked it up and threw it against the wall, watching as the glass shattered and fell to the floor.

  Derek ran into the room, still dressed in his overcoat and scarf. “What was that?” He looked down at the glass on the floor, then at the suitcase on the bed, then at his wife. “What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving.”

  “Leaving? Where are you going?”

  “Anywhere but here.”

  “What happened?”

  “You and Cole, that’s what happened. I remember. I remember everything.”

  Derek reached out to grab Joyelle, but she stepped backwards. “Wait, Joyelle. Let me explain.”

  “Explain what? The lost wedding ring? The video at the party? The kiss you two shared this morning on his front steps? And God knows what else.”

  “It’s not like that. I love you.”

  “No, you love him. You said it yourself in that video.”

  “That video was taken out of context. Edited.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Joyelle said, zipping her suitcase closed.

  “Joyelle, you’re upset. Let’s sit down and talk about this.”

  “You must think I’m a fool,” she said, grabbing her purse and hat. “There’s nothing to talk about. You made your choice.” She removed her wedding ring and tossed it onto the bed. “You can have that. Cole already has one -- now there’s an extra. In case you ‘lose’ one again.”

  “I did make my choice -- you. You’re the one I married.”

  “Clearly, it’s all been a lie.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Save it, Derek,” she said, lifting her suitcase from the bed. “Clean up the glass. At least that’s one mess you can clean up.” She left the room and moments later, the front door slammed loudly.

  “Fuck,” Derek said, kicking the broken picture frame across the floor.

  At the same time, Gino Ciancio was in his office in San Francisco reviewing some paperwork. His secretary buzzed in through his phone.

  “You have a call from Rome waiting on the line.”

  “Rome? Okay, thanks.” Gino picked up the telephone. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Gino,” his Aunt Concetta said in a soft voice.

  “Aunt Connie? My God, how are you?”

  “I’m good, dear. How are you?”

  “I’m great, thanks. Wow, it’s good to hear you voice. It’s been such a long time.”

  “It hasn’t been so long,” Concetta said. “Only a few days, really.”

  “A few days?” Gino asked.

  “I am calling to see what you decided to do with the diary.”

  “The diary? Aunt Connie, I’m not exactly sure what you’re talking about.”

  “Your mother’s diary that I gave to you the other day.”

  Gino paused for a moment, puzzled. “Aunt Connie, is everything okay?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “I’m only asking because I haven’t seen you in years. You never gave me any diary. And certainly not recently.”

  “But we just met -- oh, dear God!”

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “What have I done? What have I done?”

  The call suddenly ended. “Aunt Connie? Aunt Connie, are you there?”

  Gino put the phone down and got up from his desk. He walked out of his office and knocked on his brother’s office door. When there was no answer, Gino opened the door to look inside. It was empty.

  He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. “It’s me. Please bring the car around. I need to get home right away.” He walked back into his office, grabbed his coat, and headed out of the office toward the elevators.

  Meanwhile, Emmett was opening the door to the restaurant to welcome his brother Justin. Emmett helped Justin into the restaurant and over to a chair near the front window. Once Justin was seated, Emmett sat down as well. Several workers were also present, finishing up work on the space.

  “Thanks for coming by,” Emmett said.

  “I wanted to feel out the place, since I’ve heard so much about it,” Justin said. “And I want to talk to you, too.”

  “Any time.”

  “I just wanted to tell you that I understand why you are giving your voting rights in the company to Derek. You two are very close and it’s cool. I didn’t want you to worry about it or think that I feel any resentment.”

  “Thank you,” Emmett said. “I appreciate you saying that.”

  “I do, however, hope that you’ll remain connected to the business. You have a good head on your shoulders and we could learn from you. And vice versa, of course.”

  “You know how I feel about the company. But if there is anything specific that you ever need help with, I’d be happy to share my thoughts.”

  “Good. It is a family business, after all.” Justin stopped for a moment and began to turn his head in different directions. Then he blinked and shook his head.

  “Are you okay?” Emmett asked.

  “I’m not sure, I--” Justin put his head down and blinked again.

  “Justin?”

  “Oh, my God,” Justin said, extending his hand toward Emmett. “It’s you.”

  “Me?”

  “I can see you.” Justin turned to his right. “And the table. And the chair.”

  Emmett jumped up from his chair. “Holy shit!”

  “It’s like…shadows,” Justin explained, pointing in different directions. “Coming in and out of view.”

  “Let’s get you to the doctor,” Emmett said.

  Justin slowly stood up, his walking stick falling onto the floor. “Hold on.” Justin put his hand to his head and steadied himself.

  “You okay?”

  “Just a bit dizzy, but I’m okay. Things are focusing in and out.”

  “Here,” Emmett said, putting his arm around Justin. “Let me help you.”

  The two brothers slowly walked out of the restaurant to Emmett’s car and then drove to the hospital.

  As two brothers headed toward St. Joseph Hospital, two other brothers
came face to face in the Ciancio mansion. Naked, Marco Ciancio stood at the foot of his bed looking at Rachel Carson, also naked, who was lying in the bed.

  “Are you sure you don’t want round two?” Rachel asked, smiling.

  “I need to get to the office to actually get some work done today,” Marco said.

  “You’re the boss; you don’t need to be at the office all the time.”

  “My brother might argue with you on that one,” Marco said, pulling on his underwear. “Go on, get dressed.”

  Rachel reluctantly got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. As the bathroom door closed, Gino pounded on the bedroom door before opening it and rushing it into the room. Lunging at Marco, Gino pinned him against the wall.

  “What have you done?” Gino asked.

  “Whoa, brother,” Marco said. “What is going on?”

  Gino put his hands around Marco’s throat. “What did you do to Aunt Connie? Tell me!”

  “Aunt Connie?”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Marco. I just got off the phone with her. Now tell me!”

  Rachel emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a robe. “What is going on?”

  Both Gino and Marco looked at her and Gino released his hold on Marco.

  “I didn’t realize you were on the clock,” Gino said. “Get dressed and get down to the library. You have five minutes.” Gino left the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Marco rubbed his throat. “Don’t worry; I’ve got this.”

  “I sure hope so,” Rachel replied. “He looks furious. It’s kind of hot, actually. Maybe I’m with the wrong brother.”

  Marco grabbed Rachel and kissed her violently. “I’m the one who’s in charge. Don’t forget it.” Marco released Rachel, picked up his clothes from the floor, and went into the bathroom.

  Making sure the bathroom door was closed, Rachel pulled her phone from her wallet and dialed a number. Walking over to the large window, Rachel waited for Keith Colgan to answer her call.

  “Hello?” Keith asked as he stood in the St. Joseph Hospital cafeteria with a coffee cup in front of him on the counter.

  “It’s me,” Rachel said. “Just checking in to see how things are coming.”

  “They’re coming,” Keith replied.

  “And what, exactly, does that mean?”

  “It means that I’m taking care of things as I said I would,” Keith replied.

  “Good, good,” Rachel said. “Because I have your boyfriend Michael on speed dial. And we both know how he’d hate to know the truth about you.”

  “I understand,” Keith said. “Don’t worry about it. Now I have to go.”

  Keith put his phone back into this pocket and looked around the cafeteria, which wasn’t crowded. Then he pulled the brown bottle from his pocket, poured some of its contents into the coffee cup, and put the bottle away.

  He left the cafeteria and took the elevator up several floors. Exiting the elevator, he walked down the corridor where he found Emmett pacing back and forth.

  “Hey,” Emmett said. “Good to see you.”

  “I thought you might like some coffee,” Keith said, handing Emmett the cup. “Between Justin and Jesse, I know you’re sort of doing ‘double duty’ here.”

  “Thanks,” Emmett said, taking a sip of the coffee. “Justin is in with the doctor now. I think his vision has returned.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Keith said. “It’s nice to have some good news for a change. Seems like you two have gotten a bit closer lately.”

  “It’s complicated,” Emmett said. “But we’re trying. Derek is, too.”

  “I’m glad,” Keith said, as Max approached them from down the hall.

  “Hey,” Emmett said to Max. “Any word on Jesse?”

  “No,” Max said. He looked at Keith. “Michael is doing his best, though. He’s a good man.”

  “Thank you,” Keith replied. “How’s Jacqueline doing?”

  “She’s hanging in there. Logan is with her.”

  “Good.”

  “Thanks for offering to help with the fundraiser. Emmett told me,” Max said. “That’s great. We can use all the help we can get now.”

  “Is it still on?” Keith asked. “With Jesse missing, I didn’t know...”

  “It’s been crazy today, so I don’t know. I’ll talk to Logan about it later. I’m sure it can be rescheduled, if need be.”

  “Maybe that’s best,” Emmett said.

  “You okay?” Max asked Emmett. “You look tired.”

  Emmett smiled. “Well, there’s been a lot going on. For all of us.”

  “Agreed,” Keith added.

  “Everything go okay with the kid?”

  “Jensen? We can talk about him later,” Emmett said, drinking more of his coffee.

  “Who’s Jensen?” Keith asked.

  “Long story,” Emmett replied. “I’ll tell you later. I need to check on Justin.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Max said.

  “I’ll catch you guys later. Let me know about the fundraiser,” Keith stated.

  “Thanks for the coffee.”

  “No problem,” Keith replied as he watched Max and Emmett walk away down the hallway. Then he turned and walked toward the elevators.

  At the same time, Marco entered the Ciancio estate library, where Gino, standing behind the bar and making himself a drink, was waiting for him. Marco had his mother’s diary with him and placed it on the table in front of the fireplace.

  “Sorry to have interrupted your love in the afternoon,” Gino said.

  “You were like a crazy man up there,” Marco declared. “What is wrong with you?”

  “What is wrong with me? What the hell did you do to Aunt Connie?”

  “I met with her last week, that’s all.”

  “But she thought she was meeting with me,” Gino said. “Didn’t she?”

  “Her eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”

  “What the hell are you up to? First all the questions about Mother’s art collection and now this? I want to know and I want to know now!”

  “Okay, okay,” Marco said, walking over to the bar and making pouring himself a glass of wine.

  “Start talking,” Gino stated.

  “I have been searching for the fourth Mancini brother.”

  “And?”

  “Father and I were discussing it and I asked him if there was any possibility that our mother had a child by old man Mancini.”

  “What?”

  “Of course, Father got upset and denied that possibility, but I wanted to check things out for sure. So I contacted Aunt Connie. After all, Mother spent all that time with her in Rome after her affair.”

  “And what did she say?”

  “She denied any knowledge of a child. She said Mother was in Rome for cancer treatments.”

  “Isn’t that true?” Gino asked, walking closer to Marco.

  “It is, partially. A few days later, Aunt Connie called me back. Well, actually she called you.”

  “I never got any calls from her,” Gino said.

  “I know. But I did. She said she was coming to California to meet with me and give something important to me.”

  “You mean, she was coming to California to meet with me.”

  “Technically, yes.”

  “You son of a bitch.”

  “Mother kept a diary the entire time she was in Rome. She left it with Aunt Connie and told her to save it and give it to you whenever she felt it was appropriate.”

  “And you stole it.”

  “No,” Marco said. “I just previewed it for you.”

  “Mother intended it for me.”

  Marco walked over to the table and picked up the diary. “And now you’ll get to read it.”

  Gino took the diary from Marco. “You have a lot of nerve posing as me and stealing that diary. From an old nun on top of it.”

  “You’re the one worried about going to heaven,” Marco joked. “I prefer warmer climates.”


  “What’s in here?”

  “Read for yourself,” Marco said. “But I’ll give you the same warning that Aunt Connie gave me. If you choose to read what’s in that book, your view of this family will never be the same. And she was right. Happy reading.” Marco finished his wine and left the room.

  Gino watched his brother exit. Then he sat down in the leather chair next to the fireplace. He opened the diary and began to read.

  Outside the library in the hallway, Marco paused and removed two sheets of paper from his pocket; they were two pages of his mother’s diary that he removed prior to turning the book over to Gino. Marco looked back at the library door and smiled. Then he tucked the pages back into his pocket and continued down the corridor.

  As the sun rose over Lake Michigan, the skyscrapers of Chicago glistened in its rays. With most of the winter snow melted, Spring was taking hold in the Windy City. Joggers ran along Lake Shore Drive and others opted to walk to work instead of taking a cab or a bus.

  In his office, Derek paced back and forth behind his desk while talking on the phone with his brother Emmett.

  “Thanks for letting me know, Emmett,” Derek said.

  Cole O’Brien entered the office and Derek indicated for him to come in and take a seat, which he did.

  “That’s good news. I’ll see him later on today,” Derek told Emmett. “No, no. She didn’t come home last night. I’m sure she stayed at her mother’s.” Derek paused to listen to Emmett. “Listen, I have to run. I have a meeting, but I’ll check in with you later on today. I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. Get some rest.”

  Derek ended the call and put his cell phone down on his desk.

  “Good morning,” Cole said with a smile. “I was excited to get your call. Always love seeing you.”

  “Me, too,” Derek replied, walking around the desk and standing in front of it. “That was Emmett. My brother Justin’s vision has returned.”

  “That’s great.”

  “And that’s not all that’s returned. So have Joyelle’s memories.”

  “Oh,” Cole replied. “How did that go?”

  “Not well,” Derek said. “She saw me leaving your apartment and us kissing when you gave me my wallet. Apparently, that triggered everything coming back.”