Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
GINO
I’ve never truly had a first day of work until today.
My entire life, I was expected to be in the mafia, and today that changed.
Every business, contract, and deal my father had is officially over and done with.
I’ve spent years building this, and we weren’t ready to launch the business officially until now.
Parts were already started, like the logistics company.
Today, it’s the security and investment side’s turn.
The security portion, being run by the Cambio brothers, has already started getting calls for help from private investigation work to protect celebrities when they’re in the city.
The investment side is going to be run by Ryan and Juliet; they've already started building out a plan to hire accountants, analysts, and financiers to start a portfolio of investments.
We don’t move into our office for another few weeks, so my house is currently acting as headquarters.
No matter my sister’s opinion, it's staying as Esposito Enterprises. I took a vote with everyone else, and they all decided to keep it. Maybe it’s because they’re used to me being in charge or because they couldn’t come up with any other ideas; I’ll never know.
The first day was hectic. There were a lot of meetings and signing of paperwork. Juliet spent most of her time in her office figuring out exactly how many people she’ll need to hire in the accounting department.
Once we wrap up everything, it’s almost seven, and we have a reservation with everyone to celebrate.
I walk to her office door. I lightly knock on the door frame.
She gives me a bright smile. She’s in a lavender blouse and black jeans, and her hair is in a high ponytail.
“Hey, are you almost ready?” I ask her.
She looks up. “Yeah, just one second.”
I lean against the door frame. “Take your time.”
She looks back down at what she was working on. After a few minutes, she turns off her computer and gets up from her seat.
“Should I change?” she asks.
“No, you look perfect,” I reply as she walks to me, and I press a soft kiss to her lips.
I move so she can walk out of the office, and I follow behind her.
We make the drive to dinner at an Italian restaurant I own. Once we get there, we are led into a private dining room with everyone.
My sister is seated with Mateo and their children, both in high chairs. Sophie is seated next to Vanessa with Ryan on her other side. All three Cambio brothers are seated together. And Drew and Alonso are seated next to them.
I take a seat next to Mateo, and Juliet sits next to me.
Once everyone orders their drinks, I clear my throat, and everyone looks over to me.
“The last year, as we know, was hard, but today was the start of something new for all of us,” I begin. “Something we worked for a long time. We are probably going to fuck some things up, but we’ll figure it out. We’re doing this together.”
Everyone clinks their glasses.
I place my hand on Juliet’s thigh, and she looks over to me.
Even though it took me nearly a decade to be with her, meeting her in Business 101 was the best thing to ever happen to me.