Papa's car pulls up beside mine a few minutes later, his driver opening the door for him. He emerges slowly, more slowly than he used to, and I can see the toll that months of declining health have taken on him, though he tries his best to hide it from everyone, especially from me.
"Buongiorno, Liana." His voice is warm despite the early hour.
"Buongiorno, Papa." I kiss both his cheeks, studying his face with concern. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Fine, fine." He waves away my concern with the same dismissive gesture he's used my entire life. "Tell me about the shipment."
"It should arrive within the hour. I checked with Dario first thing this morning, and he confirmed there are no delays on their end."
"Good." He starts walking toward the main warehouse, and I fall into step beside him, matching his slower pace. "And the customs situation?"
"All handled. I spoke with Moretti yesterday afternoon, and he's expecting the paperwork to come through today."
"I heard he asked for more money." Papa's tone is neutral, but I can hear the disapproval underneath.
"He always asks for more money. I negotiated him down to an additional five percent instead of the fifteen he initially wanted."
Papa glances at me, his expression thoughtful. "Five percent is still more than we originally agreed to pay."
"Five percent is reasonable given the current political climate." I pull out my phone and show him the news articles I've saved over the past week. "The new minister has been cracking down hard on port operations throughout the region. Three arrests last month alone, and two more just this past week. Moretti isn't being greedy by asking for more. He's being careful, and that kind of caution is worth paying for."
Papa takes my phone from me and reads through the articles, his expression remaining carefully neutral, though I know he's impressed with the research I've done. He's always impressed with my work, which only makes this entire situation more frustrating.
He trained me too well to let me go easily.
We reach Warehouse Seven, where several men are already waiting for us in the early morning light. I recognize most of them by name and reputation. They all straighten immediately when they see us approaching.
"Don Dominic." Antonio steps forward first, nodding respectfully. "Miss Costa."
"Antonio. How are things progressing this morning?"
"Very good. The night crew finished unloading the Valencia shipment around four this morning, and everything has been properly accounted for."
"Were there any issues with the inventory counts?" I'm already mentally comparing his numbers against the manifest I reviewed last night.
"None at all. The count was completely clean, just as expected."
I pull out my tablet and check the numbers against our internal records. The Valencia shipment was officially listed as textiles on all the customs paperwork, but in reality, we're moving luxury goods that are avoiding the hefty import taxes. Designer handbags, expensive watches, high-end electronics. It's not drugs, and it's certainly not weapons. Papa has always kept our operations relatively clean, at least by the standards of our world.
Relatively clean, anyway.
"The numbers match perfectly," I confirm after reviewing everything. "Has distribution already started?"
"We're waiting for your approval before we move anything," Dario says, looking directly at me rather than at Papa.
Not Papa's approval. Mine.
Because I'm the one who designed and implemented this entire distribution network over the past two years. I'm the one who spent months cultivating the relationships with the retailers who purchase from us. I'm the one who organized every aspect of this operation from the ground up.
Papa watches silently as I pull up the detailed distribution schedule on my tablet.
"We'll split the shipment three ways," I say, speaking with the authority I've earned. "Forty percent goes to Milano, thirty-five percent to Roma, and twenty-five percent stays here for local distribution. Milano gets first choice on the watches since they move luxury goods much faster than the othermarkets. Roma takes the majority of the handbags. We keep the electronics here for local distribution where we have better control."
Dario nods, already taking detailed notes on his own tablet.
"And what about the Valencia contact?" Papa asks, testing me even though he already knows the answer. "Was he satisfied with the payment we arranged?"
"Very satisfied with everything. He's already asking about placing our next order, which shows he values the relationship we've built." I look at Antonio directly. "Which brings me to an important point about the Lisboa shipment. It's currently scheduled to arrive next week, but I think we need to delay it."
