Twenty minutes later, I hear Savannah’s voice down the hall. “Marie, you didn’t have to bring me lunch. I was going to take a break soon.”
“Mr. Volkov insisted.” Marie’s voice is warm, motherly. “He said you forget to eat when you’re working.”
“He’s not wrong.” A pause. “Thank you. This looks amazing.”
“It’s just a salad and some grilled chicken. Nothing fancy. But you need to keep your strength up for the baby.”
“I know. I’ve been so tired lately.”
“That’s normal for the first trimester. But you should rest when you can. Don’t let Mr. Volkov work you too hard.”
Savannah laughs. “I’ll try.”
I smile to myself. Marie has already adopted Savannah as part of the family. She mothers her the same way she mothers Alexi, making sure she eats and rests and takes care of herself.
It’s good. Savannah needs that. Needs people around her who care.
At 2:00 PM, my phone rings. Alexi.
“Hey, Dad. How was Paris?”
“Successful. Your stepmother impressed the hell out of the French investors.”
“She’s such a badass.” I hear traffic in the background. “I’m heading over in about an hour. Elena wants to meet Savannah properly. Is that cool?”
“Let me check with her first.”
I knock on Savannah’s office door and poke my head in. She’s on a call, but she waves me in. I wait until she hangs up.
“Alexi wants to come by with his girlfriend. Elena wants to meet you properly.”
Her face lights up. “Really? I’d love that.”
“You’re sure? If you’re too tired?—”
“I’m not too tired to meet Elena. I’ve been wanting to meet her.”
I text Alexi.Come at four. Savannah’s excited to meet her.
Silas arrives at 2:30 PM with a folder full of problems I need to handle.
We sit in my office, and he lays it out. A shipment from Eastern Europe arrived at the docks yesterday. The usual goods, hiddeninside legitimate hotel furniture and art pieces. But customs got suspicious.
“How suspicious?” I ask.
“Flagged three containers for additional inspection. Pedro had to call in our contact at the port authority to smooth things over.”
“And?”
“They passed inspection. But it was close.” Silas sets down the folder. “We need to be more careful. The feds are paying attention.”
“They’re always paying attention. That’s why we have people on the inside.”
“For now. But if this administration changes, those people might not be there anymore.”
He’s right. The network I’ve built relies on carefully placed contacts in law enforcement, customs, and city government. If those connections disappear, the whole operation becomes vulnerable.
“What about the distribution?” I ask.
