“I thought it could be good to have a Narzand in our pocket,” I said.
Merrick growled at me. “What do we need one of their types for? We don’t need them.” He sighed. “Please tell me you don’t actually have feelings for this woman?”
“Of course not,” I snapped back a little too quickly. “Caring for people is a sign of weakness.”
“You need to get your whore in line and get your money back, otherwise I’m going to be forced to reduce your privileges. I’m trusting you to run your own business. If you’re proving to me that you can’t, then I’ll have no choice but to reign you in.”
I dropped my head. “Yes sir.” I shifted my gaze towards Milli. “Out of curiosity. How did you find out about Avion?”
“It wasn’t Milli if that’s what you’re wondering. He’s been irritatingly loyal to you,” Merrick admitted, and it made me feel a little better at least. “No, I received my information from the Narzand Brothers themselves. They’ve been tearing through the underground looking for their precious baby sister.”
“I had no idea,” I said, looking at Milli again.
“It seems your right-hand man is doing his job, keeping your mind off the menial and taking care of things.”
It gave me renewed faith in Milli. Not only had he been taking care of things behind the scenes, but despite what I believed, he was not running and telling my father everything that was going on with me. I had a lot of respect for that man, and I needed to start showing it more.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I really did hate disappointing Merrick. After everything he’d done for me, I only wanted him to be proud of my progress. That was the main reason I was hoping he wouldn’t find out about Avion and my plan with the Narzands until it was further along. “I’ll do better, I promise.”
It was silent in the room for a while and then Merrick sighed. He stood up from my office chair and said, “Come and sit down in your own chair. Honestly.” I walked over and sat down, and my dad set a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve got a good mindset, Gio, you just need to learn how to prioritize a little better. Come on, huh? I taught you all of this.”
“You did. I’m sorry I let you down.”
He let out a grunt. “Come on, you didn’t let me down I just…” He knocked me in my head. “I gotta make sure you know what you’re doing up here. Your mother worries about you.”
Merrick had this way of making me feel like I was eight again in a way that I both loved and hated. It was like having an actual parent, which was always nice, but I didn’t like being treated like a child, especially when what I was supposed to be doing was building something that Merrick didn’t have to worry about.
“I really am truly sorry, to you and mom. I can admit this got away from me a little bit, but I’ll deal with it, I promise,” I said.
“I should hope so. Those damned brothers are causing a ton of problems. I’ve been cleaning up left and right,” Merrick said.
“I understand. I’ll start with them. I’ll have Milli fill me in, and we’ll take care of it.”
Merrick started walking away from my desk towards the door. “Nah, don’t worry about it. This old man’s gotta have some fun too. I’ll deal with keeping the Narzand brothers at bay, you worry about making good with the sister.”
I nodded, thankful that he still wanted to help me even though it had turned into such a shitstorm. “Okay. I’ll do that.”
He turned to face me putting his hands on his hips. “Don’t look so down. I’m your old man. I’m supposed to jam you up when you get outta line, but you know it’s all love at the end of the day.”
I offered a small smile. “I do. Thank you.”
Milli sighed. “You’re spoiling him again, Merrick.”
Merrick just laughed. “What am I supposed to do with my only son?” He slapped Milli on the back, “Besides, I ain’t the only one spoiling him. You’ve been letting him run amok without telling me. Do you just want to let him have his fun, or what?”
Milli looked me dead in the eyes as he said, “Gio’s plans work out more often than not. I figured even if this one got a little buck wild, he’d reign it in somehow. I still think that.”
I nodded but said nothing. What was between his words was a request for me to step up not just for myself, but for him as well. He was putting his faith in me, and every time I didn’t make good on that, it didn’t just affect my place with Merrick, it affected his too. I could admit that I’d let things with Avion go haywire, but it was time to get control over it, for my sake, for Milli’s sake, and for my father’s entire legacy.
Merrick held his hands up in the air. “Alright, I’ve been the bad guy enough. I gotta go. The longer I’m here those brothers could be tearing up the city.” He pointed at me. “You’re coming to have dinner with your mom and I next week. That’s your punishment for all this.”
“Hardly a punishment, but I’ll take it,” I responded.
“Milli,” Merrick said.
Milli looked up. “Yes, sir?”
“Walk me out.”
