Lorenzo answers. “Mario is chief executive. I oversee corporate strategy and expansion. We have two more brothers. Ricardo handles certain operational divisions. Diego manages security and private contracting. Several senior directors report directly to at least one of us.”
“And the rest of the family?” Ainsley asks.
When there’s no immediate response, Ainsley barrels ahead before I can stop her. She obviously didn’t feel the change in the room.
“You each have two sons, and your brother, Ricardo, has another,” she says, checking her notes. “Are they involved in the business?”
Lorenzo’s expression has cooled by a degree.
“You’ve done your homework,” he says.
“She always does,” I reply before Ainsley can, hoping to defuse whatever just got their backs up.
Benjamin seems to have picked up on it as well, but poor Ainsley still seems to be in the dark. I’ll have to have a talk with her about that.
Ainsley’s pen taps once against her tablet. “Public records and social presence can tell you a surprising amount. Not enough to advise you properly, but enough to know the family is integrated into the business.”
“The family is the business,” Lorenzo simply says.
Something about the way he says it feels less corporate and more… personal.
Like it’s about more thanjustbusiness.
I get the feeling again that my theory on the Contis and their dealings is not that far off the mark.
“Then the compliance structure has to account for that,” I say, hoping to shift the atmosphere back toward business. “Family companies have different vulnerabilities.”
Mario’s voice is still low, still dangerous. “Such as?”
“Informal authority. Undocumented approvals. Conflicts of interest. Blurred reporting lines. Employees afraid to escalate issues because the person causing the issue has their last name on the building.”
Benjamin adds, “And regulators tend to look harder when family ownership intersects with rapid expansion.”
It takes a moment, but Lorenzo’s expression shifts again, back into his less serious one. “That is one reason we wanted outside counsel.”
“And that’s only one of the reasons,” I say.
Mario leans back, and there is approval in his silence. I feel it before I can name it, and I hate how aware I am of it.
I did not come here to impress Mario Conti personally.
I came here to win a client, and they are not the same thing.
They cannot be the same thing.
“We should discuss engagement terms,” Lorenzo says, and I almost exhale in relief at the crisis averted.
I start gathering paperwork after a long and thorough meeting where I’m almost sure we got the job. I don’t want to celebrate just yet, but I can practically taste it.
I tap the file in my hands to line up the edges and slip it into my portfolio, preparing to walk out confident.
“Assuming engagement terms are acceptable and conflict checks clear, we could begin as soon as next week.”
“Tomorrow,” Mario says.
I still.
I feel Benjamin and Ainsley do so on either side of me as well.
