Greater Than Rubies, a Novella inspired by the Jewel Trilogy Read Free Page B

forgot to tell you.”
    “What?”
    “You need to go ahead and get your passport application turned in. It takes several weeks, and I don’t want to delay our honeymoon.”
    Her mouth felt a little dry as she contemplated, suddenly, all of the details she’d need to handle in the next four months. She barely heard him. “Passport?”
    “Yes. To go to Italy. Remember?”
    Mind whirling, wishing she had a pencil and a paper to take notes, she nodded. “Right, Italy.”
    He frowned. “You okay?”
    She shook her head and nodded. “Just a little overwhelmed. I need to remember where my birth certificate is, too.”
    Tony took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Relax, my love. All will be fine. I promise.”
     

Greater Than Rubies: CHAPTER 2

     
    ONY paused in working his way through the stack of end-of-the-year and fourth quarter revenue reports when his secretary, Margaret, buzzed through on the intercom. “Mr. Viscolli, there’s a young man coming up who has a business card with a handwritten note from you on the back of it.”
    A happy relief flooded his chest. “Yes, Derrick. I remember him. Please have the chef send up some hearty hot food and some hot tea. Maybe hot chocolate, too. He’s going to be cold and hungry.”
    He felt relieved to have a break. For the first time in nearly three years, Tony faced the unappealing prospect of having to instigate some layoffs. One of his West Coast endeavors was still infuriatingly and stubbornly unprofitable. The problem was that the project was currently overstaffed. But Tony had a stubborn streak of his own. From a public image perspective, he couldn’t lay his reputation on the line and layoff nearly 200 workers right before Christmas then turn around and employ at least that number of staff to pull off his wedding and reception a few months down the road. From another perspective, he realized that his employees had families and financial obligations and depended on his company to meet their needs.
    But for the last two years, he had been throwing money at that company with no tangible profitable return. Half a year ago, the tax write off and depreciation options had stopped being very much fun. The bottom line was that it would have to turn around before the end of first quarter next year, or else he would have to write it off as a complete loss. Since that wasn’t an option, he had to get creative. He was going to have to pray long and hard about the problem.
    Tony had time to file the reports away and make sure nothing pressing waited for him on his desk. Closing his eyes, he uttered a brief prayer, “Please God, help me focus on this meeting and let me make a difference in this young man’s life.”
    As he raised his head, a knock sounded on his door. Margaret opened it without waiting for him to bid entrance, and in walked Derrick DiNunzio.
    He had lost weight in the weeks since Tony first met him outside of a dirty bar in the absolutely wrong neighborhood. Tony had looked at the teenage boy with bloody knuckles and dirt on his face and seen a reflection of himself not long before. Then something, the Holy Spirit he supposed, pressed him to help this young man. He told Derrick to come see him when he turned eighteen. Now Derrick stood before him, right there in the same black leather jacket with the hole in the elbow, dirty jeans, worn out boots, and red-rimmed eyes. He had a scruffy beard and chapped lips.
    “Derrick DiNunzio,” Tony said, stepping forward with his hand out. Derrick looked at it and hesitantly shook it. Tony gripped Derrick’s hand with his other hand, trying to convey friendship and warmth. “I’m pleased you decided to take me up on my offer and come see me.”
    Derrick shrugged and tried to act tough, but he kept looking around at the very large and well appointed office. “Yeah, well you said maybe you had a job for me, Mr. Viscolli, and I could really use the work, so I came.”
    Tony looked at Margaret over Derrick’s