Chapter 3
AJ Pov~
By the time I reached the dining room, everyone was already seated and eating breakfast.
I carried Caterina over to her chair and helped her settle in before she immediately joined a conversation with Lia and Isabella. Kids never wasted time.
I looked across the table and saw Leo and Marcio already sitting down, eating and talking quietly between themselves.
I walked over to my usual seat and dropped into the chair, immediately reaching for the bacon and eggs.
They noticed me. Both of them looked over. A simple nod. A silent greeting.
I nodded back before continuing to eat. We didn't need words. Not this morning. After breakfast, the three of us had to meet in Dad's office and go over everything we were responsible for before heading to school.
Because apparently, being a Boss now came with a schedule.
"Hey, A.J."I looked up. Ales was sitting across from me, leaning slightly forward so only I could hear her.
"So since you're the Boss for the next couple of days..." She lowered her voice. "Does that mean you won't punish Mr. Fielder?"
I stared at my twin. Ales had always been different from the rest of us. She was too kind. Too forgiving. Her heart was bigger than anyone else's in this family. Sometimes I wondered how she survived being a Basilio. But that was also what made her special.
"Dad put me in charge," I said firmly. "That means I have responsibilities."
I held her gaze. "Whether you like it or not, I have to handle Mr. Fielder."
Her shoulders dropped, and she leaned back in her chair with a frustrated sigh. She hated this side of our world. I knew she did. Before I could say anything else, Mom entered the dining room.
She carried a freshly dressed and completely clean Callie, which was honestly an accomplishment by itself. She placed her beside Lia.
Callie immediately spotted the chocolate pancakes waiting for her and her entire attitude changed. The little escape artist suddenly looked innocent. I couldn't help but smile.
Mom walked to her usual seat at the head of the table.
But the chair beside her, the one Dad always occupied, was empty. For a second, I noticed the difference. Dad not being here made everything feel different.
Then Mom looked over at me.
She gave me a small wink.
A silent reminder. You can do this.
I smiled back, then I glanced down at my watch. We were running out of time. Mom noticed immediately. Of course she did. She always noticed everything.
I reached over, grabbed one last piece of bacon, and stood up, swinging my backpack over my shoulder.
Marcio and Leo immediately followed. Before leaving, we each stopped to say goodbye. They kissed their mothers on the forehead. I did the same with mine.
Mom smiled up at me. "Have a good day." It sounded like a normal thing to say, but somehow...It felt different today.
A.J.'s POV~
We left the dining room and made our way upstairs to the floor where Dad's office was located. The three of us stepped inside, and I closed the door behind us.
Immediately, my eyes went to Dad's chair. His chair. For a moment, I thought about sitting in it. Then I shook my head.
No. Not yet.
Instead, I walked around the desk and sat in the chair across from it.
"Absolutely not." Marcio pointed toward Dad's chair. "You sit there." I looked at him.
"There are only two chairs over here for Leo and me." I glanced back at the black leather chair behind the desk.
Something about sitting there felt wrong. Like I was pretending to be someone I wasn't.
"You are the Boss now," Leo said, walking over and patting my shoulder. "So accept it and start acting like one, A.J."
I stared at the chair for another second. Then I took a deep breath.
Fine. If I was going to do this, I had to actually do it. I stood up and walked around the desk. Slowly, I sat down. For the first time in my life, I was sitting behind my father's desk. In his chair.
The leather was surprisingly comfortable considering the sleek black design.
I looked around the office. From this position, I understood why Dad chose this room. The entire estate was visible from here.
Marcio and Leo took their seats across from me. A few minutes later, the door opened again. Raf and Damien walked in and immediately dropped onto the couch.
They both looked at me expectantly.
I checked the time. "You're late."
Raf didn't even argue. "Sorry. Won't happen again." He nodded respectfully.
I looked down at the desk and noticed something I had never paid attention to before. A thick black book.
The word Planner was written across the front.
I raised an eyebrow. A Mafia Boss had a planner? Apparently, Pops wasn't just sitting around making threats all day.
I opened it to today's date.
My eyes widened. The page was filled. Calls. Meetings. Security checks. Names. Responsibilities.
There were instructions for organizing the guards, checking the security systems, and making sure everything in the control room was running properly.
Later that night, I had to check in with every guard and confirm everything around the estate had gone smoothly.
Then there was a visit to Club Vertigo. I had to meet with the manager, Johnny Villa, regarding money owed to the family.
I stared at the page. Damn. Being Boss was a lot more paperwork than I expected. I closed the planner and looked up at everyone.
Time to start. "Alright. First thing is the guards." I pointed toward myself. "I'll handle that personally."
I looked at Raf and Damien. "You two are responsible for the guards assigned to the school. Make sure they're doing their jobs properly. If you notice anything wrong, handle it—but report it to me."
They nodded.
"Leo." He straightened.
"I need you to check security before we leave for school. Make sure everything is running correctly. Put Uncle Stefano in charge of the control room for today."
Leo nodded. "Got it."
I turned toward Marcio. "You and I are handling the calls."
I tapped the planner. "These men are in charge of the underground operations and last night's shipments. We need confirmation everything arrived at the warehouse."
Everyone nodded. "Yes, Boss."
Hearing that still felt strange. But...
I couldn't deny the small feeling of pride that came with it. Maybe I could get used to this.
"Later tonight, we go to Club Vertigo."
Marcio's expression immediately changed. He smiled. "The five of us?"
"All of us. We leave at nine." The excitement in his face was obvious. We had spent years shadowing our fathers. Watching how they handled people. Watching how they commanded respect. We had even helped once or twice but this was different. This time, it wasn't practice. It was our responsibility.
"What about the tech company?" Damien asked. "You're the temporary CEO. Don't you have to handle that too?"
I nodded. "Yeah." "I'll call and see if they need anything from me. But legally, I can't do much without Dad's authority."
I checked my watch. Thirty minutes. That's all we had before school.
"Alright. Get moving. We don't have much time." Damien stood up. "See you later, bro." He and Raf left the office to handle their assignments.
Marcio stayed behind, looking at me with a smirk. "You got this." He reached for the phone. I nodded.
"You call the underground manager. I'll handle the shipment calls."
Marcio picked up the phone and began dialing.
I grabbed the office phone. The weight of it felt strangely heavier than normal. I dialed the number written beside the shipment information. Francesco. The man responsible for the deliveries. And judging by the timing...Those shipments were the ones we had been waiting on for over a week.
"Boss." A deep Italian voice answered on the other end of the phone.
Everyone who worked for my father was Italian. They were born into this world, raised in it, and loyalty to the Basilio family ran through their blood. Because of that, all of us kids grew up speaking Italian fluently.
And because of Mom's side...we also knew Russian.
I switched into Italian, my voice taking on the same business tone I had heard Pops use my entire life.
"Francesco, hai ricevuto le spedizioni?" Francesco, did you receive the shipments?
"Sí, padrone. Sono al magazzino e stanno venendo preparate proprio adesso." Yes, Boss. They are at the warehouse and being prepared as we speak.
I heard an echo in the background. He was definitely already there.
"Perfetto. Mi aspetto che sia tutto pronto entro stasera e pronto per la distribuzione. Mi sono spiegato?" Good. I expect everything to be ready by tonight and prepared for distribution. Do you understand me?
"Yes, Boss." The moment the call ended, I let out a slow breath. One task down. A thousand more to go.
I looked across the room at Marcio. He was still on his phone, but his expression had completely changed. He wasn't joking anymore. His face was hard. His voice was low and dangerous.
I couldn't understand every word since he was speaking quickly in Italian, but one sentence caught my attention.
"If you lay a hand on her again, I will not hesitate to make sure you regret having those hands. Do you understand me?"
My eyebrows pulled together. What the hell was going on? A few seconds later, Marcio slammed the phone down.
I looked at him. "What happened?"
His jaw clenched. "That fucking security guard at Vertigo assaulted one of the girls working there last night."
My anger rose immediately. "What?"
Marcio's expression darkened. "He knew exactly who she was. He knew the rules." I stood up."Does he know about Sybls?"
Marcio nodded. "Yeah."
The anger inside me grew. Sybls was a club Pops created when he became Boss. He had always hated the amount of violence and betrayal that existed in our world. Especially when innocent women became victims of it.