I dropped back into my chair, knowing my only choice was to listen. As resilient as Marchello and I were, when our father gave an order, we were more than receptive. I should have taken the damn nose ring out last night. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so inadequate if I had.
“I appreciate all that you’ve done to step up for this family. You and your brother did a fantastic job while I was away. You proved you were more than capable when Marchello had to disappear.”
I appreciated his words of confidence, but I didn’t do nearly enough for my family.
“I need you to continue being the man I know you can be.” He took a seat in the chair across from my desk. “It’s imperative that you stay focused.”
“I haven’t been at my best, but now that I’ve…” I cleared my throat. “Removed certain elements from my life, I’ll do better.”
“That’s the thing.” He adjusted the silver cufflinks on his sleeves. “Just because you walked away from Sable physically, doesn’t mean you left mentally.”
“It’s only been a few days, but I promise, I’m back on track.”
“I’m wondering if your decision to leave her was what you really wanted.” He stretched out his legs. “Her brother is a problem, but not one that can’t be solved.”
“I can’t solve it the way I want to.”
“You can’t, but I can.”
“The kid is a major screw up, but I’m not sure he deserves to die.” I ran my knuckles along the stubble on my chin. “I can’t do that to Sable.” Her brother was all she had. I couldn’t destroy her that way.
“He could have gotten you killed.” His jaw tightened. “He’s working with Bello, so if there is a chance that you will reunite with this woman, her brother has to be addressed.”
“I’m not getting back with Sable.” That statement tugged at my heart more prominently than I would have liked. “Let’s forget about them.”
“How are you going to do that if you can’t stop tracking her?” He pointed at my phone. “That’s not healthy.”
How did he…
“You’re recovering from a concussion. You’re supposed to be limiting your screen time.”
“I… You’re right.” What else could I say? As usual, my father’s awareness of every situation in this family was spot-on.
“I’m only going to say this once, and then it will be up to you.”
I wasn’t going to like this lecture because there would be more truth in it than I wanted.
“Make a decision,” he said. “You’re either going to forget Sable and move on, or you’re going to keep her in your life and do your fucking job.” His voice was even and calm, but when did he ever have to raise his voice to get his point across? “There is no in-between. Are we clear?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect.” He nodded. “Now, let’s get down to business.”
And that was that. He stated his position and expected me to fall in line. That was what he demanded from everyone in his orbit. I was no different.
He wouldn’t tell me what to do. I had to come to terms on my own, but he was clear that he expected me to get it together.
“Everything with Juan and his shipments are on target,” I said. “There have been no issues on that front.”
“Let’s keep it that way. I don’t want to piss off our most lucrative client.”
We had run into some issues a few months ago when some of the cartel’s shipments were intercepted. That was mostly due to Gian Gallanti and Danny Collins, but now that they were no longer with us, everything was running smoothly.
“Payments were made to the people in our pockets, so we shouldn’t have any issues with the police or the people at the harbor. They’ll continue to look the other way, and we’ll continue to move our products.” I glanced at my phone, fighting the urge to open the app and see where Sable had ended up. “The dealership is going to exceed last month’s profits.”
“Very good.”
“I need to get the nightclub renovated, but I’m trying to wait for Lissia to return. Marchello and I promised her she could be in charge of that project.”
