“All right, Xavier. We can agree on the wages. Now, let's work out the rest of this deal.”
I looked around the room as everyone stood and began shaking hands.
“Rossi’s going to lose his shit,” I heard Isaac say under his breath next to me.
I gave him a half-grin while a feeling of pure satisfaction rushed over me. This was one of my most lucrative deals to date, and the fact that its completion was the final blow to a past business enemy was just more icing on the cake. My fingers were just itching to get the necessary papers signed and finally get the renovations completed. The deadline I’d set for the completion of the renovations was by the end of the year, which meant I had less than four months to get this shit done and open.
“I think it’s time to pay Rossi a visit,” I casually said to Isaac. The outlines of his eyes wrinkled a bit as the satisfied smile spread over his face. I was sure it was a mirror of the look I was giving him.
****
“Dominic Rossi, please?” I asked the female assistant who sat at the front of the spacious office on the bottom floor of a two-story building a few blocks from the strip. I leaned against the counter, crossing my legs at the ankles and looking around the nearly empty office space. I could tell at one time the office had been more robust with activity, but the two opened doors farther down the hallway that sat bereft of any furniture, save for a desk, told the story. Rossi’s company had been leaking employees and money for some time. The closing of his restaurants here in Vegas was the final straw that broke this camel’s back.
“I’m sorry, what was your na—?”
“Just tell him I’m an old friend.” I gave his receptionist an endearing smile, which caused her cheeks to turn a particular shade of crimson.
“Mr. Rossi, there’s a-an old friend here to see you.” She hesitated when she turned her green eyes on me.
I stared intently, waiting to glean any reply from her expression. When her forehead crinkled and her eyes flashed back to me, I knew she was debating on whether to ask me for my name again.
“Xavier Grant,” I told her without her prompting.
“Xavier Grant,” she repeated into the phone. “Oh, okay.”
I straightened as she hung up the phone.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Rossi is extremely busy today and he can’t…” Her lie was cut off by my laughter. I knew he would try to avoid this meeting any way possible, but not today.
I turned to Isaac, who’d remained quiet since we entered the office. “You can wait here. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Wait!” I heard the shrill voice of the receptionist as I began walking to where I assumed Rossi’s office was.
“It’s okay, doll. He’ll only be a minute,” Isaac’s voice interrupted the receptionist’s calls to my back.
A minute later, I was standing in front of the open door of Dominic Rossi’s personal office. His head was down, looking at the files in front of him, but as soon as I entered the room, his head came up. He’d aged since the last time I’d seen him, and not in a good way. His once dark and shiny hair was now a dull gray. The usual tan skin that spoke of his Italian heritage was more beet red. He’d put on some weight to his already stocky frame. Stress had a way of doing that to people. Shock, surprise and a slight twinge of fear all ran across his face.
“I would’ve expected you to have a better poker face than that, considering how long you’ve been in Vegas.”
“Xavier Grant,” he stated, sitting back in his chair, squinting. “You’ve got some nerve,strolling into my office like this.”
“I do,” I agreed as I took the seat directly in front of him. Resting my arms on either side of the chair I glanced around. “This place is smaller than your old office. What happened, Rossi?”
Just like his receptionist out front, his cheeks flushed red, but his was out of anger.
“What are you doing here?”
I smiled for the first time since entering his office, but it wasn’t friendly. “What? No ‘welcome back, Xavier’? I mean, it’s been, what? More than ten years since we last saw one another?”
“Cut the shit. You aren’t here for any goddamn welcome party.”
I nodded, conceding. “On that account, you’re right. I’m here for business.”
His eyes narrowed to slits.
“Yes, I know. You’re surprised. Anyway, I just signed two deals to open restaurants not too far from here. In fact, if you look out your window right over your shoulder, you can see the top of the casino where one of my restaurants will be. I’m naming that oneJunior’s, since I named my premiere restaurant in HoustonGrant’salready.”
By the time I finished, Rossi’s eyes had doubled in size as realization sunk in.
