Chapter 10—Bobby
“Was he able to give you any more names?” I ask Danny as he sits across from me, with Marco beside him.
“No, just the five in total. Two when you asked, and the other three when I had my turn with him.” Danny doesn’t smile, but I see a hint of glee in his eyes.
He’s almost robotic with the stoic expression he typically wears.
If I didn’t grow up with him, I’d swear he never smiles. But I’ve seen it. Rare, but it happens.
“And what about you?” I look at Marco for his report.
“I was able to secure each name he gave me. I had my team hand over the last of the five last night.” Marco was to round up the people who were part of this who Danny “convinced” Spencer to rat out.
Surprisingly, this was all Spencer’s idea—his and his father’s, who used to work here.
They created the plan together five years ago, and when his dad retired to a very nice island—thanks to the hundreds of thousands he took from me—Spencer started going after higher amounts and bringing in more people.
I’d like to think we would have caught him even if he wasn’t going bigger to the point that it was noticed, but who knows.
I make it a point not to focus on the what-ifs in life. It does nothing in the business world but leave you living in regret.
“I’ll make sure their accounts are cleared by tonight,” I confirm.
They aren’t the only ones getting their hands dirty here.
Each person who stole from me is paying me back.
All of it. I’ve already started foreclosing on their homes, taking back their 401(k)s, and even liquidating any assets worth something.
And Spencer’s father? Being extradited from his retirement location as we speak.
“Vinny wants a breakdown of how much we’ve lost so far, along with how many accounts were affected. He wants a list of names to see if there are connections to outside parties who could be potential issues for the famiglia down the line,” Danny says while adjusting in his chair.
The chair is built for an average man, which Danny is not.
He’s worked hard in the gym to train for what he brings to the family.
With that comes certain physical changes, like fitting comfortably in a standard wingback chair.
He prefers sitting on couches, when he sits at all.
He’s also not a fan of being too relaxed.
Sitting can lead to slower reaction time, which costs lives—things Danny doesn’t deal well with.
I nod at his words. “I expected as much. I have a meeting with the team lead to discuss just that. The team has only been working on this for the past few days, but they’ve dived in quickly and are triaging every file.
So far, they’ve flagged twenty-five with potential errors.
We won’t know if they’re just clerical or embezzlement issues until we dive deeper, but I’ll get Vinny preliminary numbers to placate him for now. ”
I might be second in line for the family, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take orders or suggestions from my little brothers.
If Vinny tells any of us to work on something, none of us take it as a slight that he chose one over the other.
We work as a whole. Not in one area alone, but in multiple.
We might have specialized skills for the main area we focus on, but I know Danny and Tommy are just as good at running down numbers as I am.
Though I’m the only one who doesn’t mind doing it.
“Speaking of which,” Marco says, standing, “we need to head down if we plan to make that lunch.”
“Right.” I stand and button my suit jacket’s top two buttons. Holding out my hand, I shake my brother’s as he rises. “Tell Vinny I’ll be sending over the numbers he wants this evening.”
“Works for me.”
“Oh, were you able to find out who threatened Vinny? Was it the Marazettis?”
Danny rolls his eyes. “Tommy thinks it was them since they seem to be coming up in discussion more after Dante took that terrible fall.”
I simper with a chuckle and get another eye roll from my brother. So many lies came out of that night between Tommy and Dante, but one that seems to be spiraling more than others is that the man died from falling down the stairs—not the bullet to the head.
“Funny. Where are you going for lunch? I’m starving.”
Normally I’d welcome my brother to any meal with me. He doesn’t add much to the conversation if it’s with those he doesn’t know, but I’ve never turned him down from joining me.
Until today.
“Sorry, but this is a private affair.” I step around my desk, pretending I don’t see the way he jolts, as if I slapped him, or the way he looks at Marco for guidance.
Thankfully, Marco is my man, not his, and knows when to hold things close to the chest. Like now.
He gives nothing away as he holds the door for us both to exit through.
“Private, huh? The last time you told me that was when you discussed why Sally Fisher was labeled a good kisser, and it wasn’t for her lips on someone’s mouth.”
I stumble slightly, not because of what Danny said, but because he remembers it. I was fifteen. And it’s been that many years since it happened.
Entering the elevator, I press the button for the ground floor as Marco and Danny enter as well. Danny keeps looking at me, but I keep my face neutral and give nothing away.
Until the elevator stops twenty floors from the lobby.
Our elevator program is designed to only go where I dedicate it with my key card, meaning it’s not meant to stop on another floor unless I selected it.
Or unless a person I’ve granted access to stops it using their own key card.
A week ago, only my brothers and Marco had that access. Not anymore.
“Oh, hey. I was hoping I wouldn’t be late for our lunch.” Willow smiles with so much warmth.
I breathe her in as I dip my head and move just slightly back, not enough to give her much room as she enters.
My brother and Marco move away as much as is civilized in an elevator filled with people. You know, where you don’t brush your arm against anyone else.
Willow greets Marco with a wave and smiles at Danny. His eyebrows nearly hit his hairline with how comfortable she is with me and my second. Funny, considering the man shaves his head daily.
“Did you still want to go to Da Nonna Leone, or did you want something closer to the office if you need to get back earlier?”
I can feel my brother practically breathing down my neck with questions.
Da Nonna Leone isn’t a casual location that just anyone can get into.
It’s famiglia. More importantly, it’s the Leones’.
Reservations are taken months in advance, unless you’re a Leone, and then you get in when you want.
Benefits of owning the place. Also, as in every family-run business, there’s always an empty table waiting for a Leone.
Even if the restaurant is packed, those who run our businesses know not to seat anyone at our tables unless it’s one of us.
Tommy ran into someone who forgot that rule. The man is no longer breathing. For other reasons as well, but that was one that didn’t help his case in the end.
I look down at Willow. Even though she’s wearing the heels I bought her, she’s still a few inches shorter than me. “You said you wanted the Pollo Alla Nonna Carmela again. There’s only one place in the city you can get it.”
It’s also not something on the menu. I know this, but she doesn’t, as she had me order for her last time. But unfortunately, Danny knows this as well. I’m showing him my hand before I even have time to play it.
I chance a glance at my brother in the elevator’s reflection, but he isn’t staring at me anymore. He’s looking at Willow’s badge. The one she’ll take off when we exit the building but is still wearing around her neck. The one that clearly shows her full name.
I breathe out a steady breath and look at my shoes, debating whether I want to say something or just let the inevitable happen.
Because by tonight, before I even get Vinny the numbers he wants, he’ll get the information Danny found on Willow.
Everything will be in the report that I got after Saturday’s dinner with her and the girls. I know exactly what he’ll find.
I also know what will be left out.
Her honeysuckle scent. The way her girls can turn any gray cloud into a rainbow with a simple laugh. It might say she’s smart in the file, but it won’t show how brilliant her mind really is. How her level of detail rivals my own, or how she’s both loyal and kind without losing her backbone.
He might find out who she is on paper, but he’ll never know her like I’ve come to know her over the past week.
When the elevator doors open to the lobby, I gesture for Willow to go first, then look back at my brother for a second before nodding to Marco. “We’ll meet you there.”
His lips twitch before I slide my keycard over the access panel and punch in my office floor again.
I step out the door a second before it closes, a cursing Danny still inside with Marco blocking his exit.
Another perk of my programming is that it doesn’t stop the elevator once it’s engaged unless the same person who scanned in the floor scans it again.
“Is Marco not coming?” Willow asks.
I shake my head. “He’ll meet us there. Danny forgot something upstairs, and he escorted him back up.”
“Oh. Who’s Danny?”
“My brother,” I say casually as I open the door.
There’s already someone waiting at my town car to hold the door for us.
No doubt Marco alerted the team that I needed a new driver.
I can drive myself, but I much prefer my attention on other things.
Usually it’s work. Today, it’s Willow, who will discuss work. So really, it’s still work.
“I thought I noticed a family resemblance.” She nods at the man holding the door as she slides into her seat, and I relish the simple joys she brings. No demanding to meet Danny or wanting to know what he does or why he’s here. Just noting our similar traits. It’s refreshing.