13. Liam
Adam and Slick sit across from me in the tiny booth at the family-owned café while I sip on my morning cup of coffee and thumb through the news. The dining room is loud, full of chatter from others who are also enjoying their dose of caffeine, and that’s good for business. This is the first business that’s fully mine, donated to the cause by my father whose stern warnings continue to come in via text, voice mail, and the occasional phone call.
I’ve been flying straight for two weeks now, but only because I loathe the idea of him breathing down my neck again. And well, maybe I’m finally starting to take this a bit more seriously since I watched him have a coughing fit that took his breath away. Forty years of smoking will do that to ya, and he keeps puffing away like a chimney, not even caring that he probably has emphysema and his lungs are likely blacker than tar. It’s all an indication that my time on the throne fast approaches and I have to lead soon.
“Heard the run went sideways last night. Vito got lifted.” Adam smirks as he has a drink of his iced coffee, and I grunt in ambivalence. Vito is a tool. He should’ve seen it coming.
“Yeah, well he’ll learn a little in lockup.” I switch apps, turning to the reviews for the shows this week. I’ve become a bit of a fanatic now, following Elena’s career as if it were my own. I know they didn’t have a show in order to get reviews, but I’m keeping tabs on the other theaters and the actresses there too.
The woman to whom I’m married will be top-tier even if I have to make her that myself, so it pays to stay ahead of the curve on this. I won’t allow any other actress to take the spotlight or cast a shadow on my leading lady. That would be unbecoming of the Salvatore name. It’s the one mistake my father made with his decision. He married for love, not power, and my mother, bless her heart, was never able to carry her weight in the family.
Elena will be someone all my men respect and cherish, which is why I defend her so vehemently now. She will be nothing less than the envy of every Salvatore woman and the desire of every brother in arms. And she’ll be mine—a trophy on my arm to complement me and my name.
“Fuck’s sake,” I grunt as I see the latest headline. It reads Cortez on Thin Ice, and there’s a picture of Elena on stage in the previous play. She looks incredible, but the headline is worrisome.
“What is it?” Adam sets his cup down and leans in to hear my news, and I toss my phone at him so he can see it himself.
”It says the theater head, Nicholas Flemming, has given Elena a warning about her performances. With the negative review, they’ve put her on probation. If she gets more negative reviews, she’ll lose her career. This is ridiculous. They can’t see that she’s amazing? I shouldn’t have to do this shit just to open their eyes.” I’m livid again, ready to march over to that theater and give Flemming a piece of my mind.
I won’t keep dancing around this subject. I want her at the top, and I want the world to see that everyone who helped her get there supports her and thinks she’s stellar. I get what I want, no matter what I have to go through to get it.
“What are you thinkin’?” Slick asks. He sets his coffee down and his eyes scan the dining room.
Though this place is owned by me, not many people know that. To the people surrounding us, I’m just another face in the crowd. I’m only here to drink my coffee and wake up for my day. I’m not hatching a plot for murder or worse. And these people around me are just normal folks, people on their way to or from work, women with kids, men with families, college students on the commute. They don’t suspect a thing. Slick’s quick gaze ensures that no one is eavesdropping.
“Well, the head of the theater can’t fire Elena if he’s dead, now can he? And if he no longer owns the theater, if say… something horrible happened to him and his family had to sell, well then, a new owner could take over, right?” I pick my coffee up again and sip it. It’s getting cold now, past the temperature I’d like to drink. My frustration from digging through the news distracted me.
“You think it won’t be a little fishy if you buy that place and your girlfriend is the star of every show?” Adam chuckles and slides my phone back to me after having read the article.
“That ain’t how this works, and you know it. Dad can be the face. Slick can. You could…” I nod at him as I say that last part, and he shrugs a shoulder.
“Like, I get how you guard your image and you’re trying to build that with Elena, but your dad ain’t gonna like this one bit.” Adam’s sound words of wisdom strike a chord. I have made a resolution to myself to at least attempt to make better, less rash, decisions.
“Well then, Mr. Wise Guy, tell me how to make this happen in a way that keeps Dad happy. Because it’s going to happen, whether it makes me look bad or not. I won’t date a woman who isn’t the best, and I know she is. The public just has to believe that too, and clearly, her bosses are blind imbeciles or they have something against her.” I run a hand through my hair and lean back in the booth, and Adam zones out with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Our conversation falls to a lull as I think of ways to achieve my goal. At least for this week, she’s secured the leading role in the musical. That other bitch is gone now, so there were only two obvious choices, and I think they chose Elena because it’s a soprano role and the other woman whose name escapes me right now is an alto. They’d have to rewrite the entire score if they were going to put her in the part. I just have to keep this ball rolling now.
“What if you make a power move?” Slick leans to the side and drums his fingers on the table.
“That’s my plan. Off the owner and buy him out.” I don’t see where he’s going with this. My play is pretty obvious.
“Yes, well my point is, you have to have a real reason to do that. Look how many men your father has killed in the name of a hostile takeover. He’s a businessman through and through, and this could be considered an acquisition. Except, it has to work for him, for the Family. You can’t just make Elena the star. You have to have a reason to buy the theater.” Now Slick is making sense.
“Yeah, like money laundering. You know how much change is given out on a nightly basis in the theater? Between ticket sales and concessions, you could clean thousands every single night. You know your dad’s always lookin’ for better fronts.” Adam is making even more sense. This could really work. It’s a way to get what I want and need, impress my father, and own Elena’s career for as long as she wants to be an actress.
“Alright, well you guys set it up. I’m thinking if we’re going to do this right, it has to be a complete accident. Something that will never be traced back to us in any way. Hire a guy to hire a guy sort of thing. And when it’s done, I want to be the first person to know it. I want my father’s name on that bill of sale before the body is cold.” Before I finish talking, Slick has his phone out making calls. “And get me a hot coffee,” I snap, pushing the cup of cold garbage at Adam.
He slides out of the booth and heads up to refresh my morning brew as I pull my phone out of my pocket. Just thinking about being victorious over these losers who think they know better than me makes me want to hear her voice. I’d pinch myself, but I’m not dreaming. I just make my reality what I want.
The call rings through, and the voice of an angel picks up. “Liam, hey…” She’s so fucking sweet, it’s not funny. So innocent and pure, and I feel like that balances out the devil in me.
“There’s the most beautiful woman in the world. How is your day going?” I know I’ve called her between rehearsals, that or she’s taken the time to answer my call in the middle of one. Risky, but just my style.
“My day is good. I was just thinking of you.” There’s a bit of a quaver in her voice, but I’m not going to ask what’s wrong. I know she still thinks someone is out to get her because of the things that have been happening. She’s told me at least thirty times, and she has no clue how my hands work to create the world around her that she dreams of living in. The only one acceptable to my reputation.
“Well, would you like to think of something else? How about dinner with me tonight? I’ll pick you up from the theater after rehearsal, and we can go back to my place. I can do that thing you like so much.” An animalistic urge to claim her as mine again and again rises up, and I let out a low growl.
“Liam.” She snickers. “You will make me blush.”
“Good, then that jerk who keeps flirting with you every time I’m around will know how a real man makes a woman feel.” That creep is next on my list. He makes so much as one move her direction and he’s gone. I don’t like him and I’ve told her before, but she assures me that he’s nothing. I trust her. I don’t trust him.
“Alright, be nice now…” Her chiding is sweet too. It’s as if she thinks she has power over me, a way to keep me in check. Like that man who thought he tamed the tigers, only to be eaten by one and no one could stop the beast. I’m the beast. I won’t devour her, though. I’ll devour anyone who comes near her or threatens my plan for her.
“So, is that a yes?”
“I’ll come to dinner with you. Yes.” I hear the smile on her lips and I meet it with one of my own.
“Good. I’ll come backstage to get you when the show is over. I’ll be in my favorite seat, and I’ll have so many roses, your dressing room won’t hold them all.” I tap my hand on the table as Slick looks up at me. He looks like he needs to say something, so I cut her loose. “I’ll talk later, baby. See you tonight.”
“Bye…” I hang up as her voice still hangs in the air and turn to see what Slick wants.
“It’s ordered. Ramiro will call a guy he knows. Twenty grand up front, twenty when it’s done, and a one-percent cut of the profit.” Slick knows how to wheel and deal. I’m pleased with that arrangement.
“Perfect. Now, let’s get my coffee and get out of here. I have a busy day. We have three deliveries before we can get freshened up for the show. I have a feeling tonight is going to be a sell-out.”
We meet Adam as he leaves the front counter and heads to the door, where we’re headed. I have a terrific feeling about all of this. I’m making moves now, and things will only continue to improve as I go.