by K. L Hart
I get an instant reply,
Casey: Ok, Ring me ASAP though!
I wiggle the computer mouse in front of me and the iMac comes to life, I don’t have a password so I don’t even bother trying to get into it, I'll need someone to get me in though! I imagine every detail of how to run this Casino is on that PC! Wait can I even run a Casino? Surely you have to be Twenty-one! I’ll have to ask someone how this is going to work, being underage surely will not help me at all! I let out a sigh and lean back in my chair, how the fuck am I going to pull this one off! I know how to be a bitch, I know how to get my way, I know some aspects of business, luckily, I had the foresight to take that in school! But this I have no clue and no one to talk me through it! People get thrown in the deep end all the time for work, unluckily for me I am getting thrown out of a fucking plane in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!
I walk in to the expansive meeting room down the hall from my Dads office and the men sat around the table stand when I walk in, Uncle Rocco pulls out the Chair at the head of the long Conference table and I stand in front of it.
“Boss’s, Pleasure to see you all again! May I introduce Sienna Vellucci!” Everyone takes their seats again and so do I. I am very intimated in this room, but I do not show it, I maybe shaking on the inside but my exterior is cool, calm and collected! My features are hard and I have a stony look on my face.
“Thank you, Rocco, you may leave us now!” The man to my left announces and Uncle Rocco leaves me alone in a room full of Mafia bosses, great!
“Miss Vellucci, may I be the first to give my condolences on your fathers demise! We were good friends and he will be missed at this council!” The man on my right says and I can see he is genuine even though his facial expressions have not changed, we are taught to read people, what others see and what we see are two very different things.
“I am Ricci Marino and I cover the New York division.” Marino is the youngest of the group I would say early thirties! His eyes are bright green and have hint of playfulness in them, he is lean and looks good in a three-piece suit from what I can see. Marino points to the man sitting on my left,
“That is Christiano De Ponte and he covers the Chicago division” This man is around mid-forties and looks like the big boss he is, he has a black fitted suit on and his hair is starting to go grey around the edges, his eyes are dark and ominous but it suits him.
“Next to me is Nero Franzoni from the New Orleans division" Marino says, Franzoni is also mid-forties but hasn’t started to go grey yet, or he dyes his hair! His eyes soften as he nods his head to me and he looks reasonably trust worthy!
“And last but not least, the old man over there is Vito Nicoletti of the Philadelphia division.” Nicoletti has got to be pushing sixty, the lines on his face give him away not to mention his full head of white hair! He doesn’t acknowledge me or even look in my direction, it’s the old ways with this one! Women are not worthy and should not be treated as though they are! I know exactly where I stand with this man. I glance around all four men once more and I know if I ever need any of them, I will only go to Marino and Franzoni, I can see that the two men on my right will have my back, they are not ridged and holding in their frustration, they are relaxed and slightly entertained about how this is going to go down, my kind of people!
“Pleasure to meet you all, I'm sure!” I shoot a pointed look to Nicoletti and may have a slightly sarcastic tone! I will not let any of these men back me into a corner! Franzoni is the next to talk,
“First and foremost, I hope you have been given a briefing on your businesses and how you are to proceed over the next few days, you have a lot to learn and you need to do it quickly!”
“I have and the next few days schedule is being handled as we speak!”
“We are here to deal with your fathers will and finalize your place at the head of your family and on this council.” De Ponte tells me.
“Two Will and Testimonies were made by your father, one leaving everything to your brother but making sure you were financially stable and the other, leaving you everything and your brother being completely cut out, due to the circumstances we find ourselves in today the latter is the one we will keep, the other one has already been destroyed!” Franzoni explains, Marino slides me a document and I stare at the front page, ‘Final will and Testimony of Enzo Vellucci.’
“Read over it later, no need to go into detail now, everything requested by your father in that Will has been completed already, you own and run everything!” De Ponte adds.
“The Casino, how can I run it? I'm not even old enough to step foot in it!” I ask. Marino smiles and I know I have asked the right question!
“We have a plan for that, you will be running it in the background but we have someone who is going to help you and be your advocate until you turn twenty-one, not only will he help you with the Casino he can help you with the other businesses too.” Franzoni answers,
“Who?”
“My Grandson!” Nicoletti lands his glare on me, his voice is booming and he is clearly not happy about this situation. Nicoletti stares me down for a minute and then snaps his eyes away again.
“Matteo Nicoletti, will be here tomorrow, he is on hand to help you with whatever you need for the next three years!” Marino informs me, I give him a nod. The rest of the meeting goes on rather uneventfully, I sign a few documents and am told to expect a test of loyalty, whatever that means! I thank them all for coming and promise to update them on anything they need to know and then leave, Uncle Rocco is waiting for me outside and walks me back to my Daddy’s office,
“You did well, Sienna, your father would be proud. Now spend the rest of the day going through the businesses and how they are run, the passwords for the computers for this office and the one at your mansion are in that will, also this laptop contains everything you need to know about the other enterprises, I will be back tomorrow to destroy it so learn everything!”
“Yes, Uncle!” With that he turns and leaves, wonderful!
The rest of the day goes by in a blur, I am constantly interrupted from my ‘learning’ to meet my staff, Henderson, my head of security, Baxter, head of the hotel, Vinitto, head of the Casino and so many more I just can’t remember them all! I did notice that not one was female, everyone who directly answers to me is male! I roll my eyes at the thought and decide the Mafia has not entered the 21st Century at all. It’s Eleven PM when I finally get home and I head straight to bed, I have one more document to scour through on the laptop and then it can be destroyed, I am going to get comfortable read the damn thing and get some much-needed sleep!
Chapter Three
Baxter knocks on the open door to my Daddy’s office the next morning,
“You wanted to see me, Boss?”
“Yes, thanks for coming so quickly!” I gesture to the seat in front of me, Baxter is a middle-aged man, he is smart and confident but doesn’t exude power like the Mafia men do!
“I'm hoping you can help me; I need a full makeover of this Office!” I say, leaning back in the chair.
“I can organize that, but can I ask why?” Baxter looks at me with a confused expression and I decide the truth won’t hurt.
“While this office looks like this, I am just a stand in, a temporary fixture and this will always be Enzo Vellucci’s office and in turn, the family and business will never truly be mine to lead and that is a weakness!”
“Fair point, I shall get a designer in immediately!” He gets up and nods his head, he starts walking towards the door.
“Oh, and for the love of god, employee a fucking female!” With a nod Baxter walks out of the room and I get back to some Casino paperwork! Not even five minutes go by before my phone is buzzing on the table, Casey’s name flashing on the screen!
“Hey, Girl!” I answer,
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I'm good”
“Good, please tell me you are a distant relative to the Las Vagas Vellucci’s!”
“Can’t, I would be lying
!”
“Are you Enzo Vellucci's daughter?”
“I am!” Or is it I was?
“Oh!” the line goes quiet a moment before she shrieks,
“I knew you were a fucking princess, fair enough I never would have guessed a Mafia princess but still!” she says all of this in a rush of excitement and a genuine smile graces my face.
“I'm not sure what you're on about, the Mafia doesn’t exist my father was just a very successful resort and casino owner!” I try and make it obvious that I am lying,
“Wait did you say he was?” Her voice turns serious,
“Yeah, Code Black basically means dead!”
“Oh! Sienna I'm so sorry! Can I help in anyway?” I cough out a laugh.
“Any knowledge about running a Casino?”
“What!”
“I have been left everything and now I'm in charge!” I over annunciate the word everything, hoping she catches the hidden meaning there.
“Oh, shit!” She says obviously shocked. The office door swings open and I snap my gaze to the intruder! A guy walks in, he leans his shoulder on the wall and crosses his arms, waiting for me to finish my phone call. I, however, do not speak to Casey who I can hear ranting down the phone, nor do I speak to the guy in front of me! I stare at him; I study as much of him as I possibly can! He is one hell of a male specimen, his tall frame and huge muscles make his black suit and white shirt look better than they probably did on the hanger, his smooth tanned skin peeks through the top of his shirt where the top two buttons are undone. His Jawline is strong and ticking in agitation, he has black facial hair on his chin and above his lip that is trimmed perfectly so he looks dark and dangerous, his black hair is cut into short back and sides and Is styled on top with spikes that are pushed to the center, giving him a lazy disheveled look that is sexy as sin, his eyes are a light brown and they stare blankly at me, but when the light hits them, they turn a light grey color which has me fighting back a swoon! Under the corner of his right eye is a small dent, could be a scar? Whatever it is, it suits him and just adds to his unnaturally handsome face!
“Casey, I have to go!” I hang up without even waiting for her response.
“Can I help you?”
“No, I am here to help you! I have been sent to babysit you until you are old enough to look after yourself!” I roll my eyes at his cocky remark. He pushes off the wall and stands in front of the desk,
“Matteo Nicoletti!”
“Sienna Vellucci.” Matteo takes a seat in one of the chairs, I wait for him to talk and when he doesn’t, I get back to the work on the screen in front of me. I feel his stare on me while I work and I struggle to concentrate, but I don’t let him see that. I pick up the handset on my desk and press speed dial four.
“Vinitto,” He answers,
“Who do I speak too about the showroom?”
“Me Miss,”
“Do you want to explain to me why I own a fully functioning entertainment hall with all the best equipment and no show for a whole week starting April Tenth?”
“We have been too busy with the Casino, I...” I cut him off,
“I don’t care about your excuses! I expect a show every night of the year, get it sorted!”
“But that is less than a week!”
“I don’t care, sort it, get a drag queen for all I care! Get the entertainment, sell tickets, get asses in them fucking seats!”
“Yes, Miss.” Vinitto says defeatedly.
“And it is Boss not Miss!” I declare and slam the handset down. I don’t miss the fact that Matteo has raised his eyebrow and a hint of a smirk graces his face.
“Do you not have something more productive to do?” I lean back in my chair, cross my arms and give him an unimpressed look. Matteo shrugs, obviously not giving a shit,
“Not right now,”
“So, you're just going to sit there all day?”
“No, you are going to finish up here and we are going to check out some of the other businesses out, together!”
“Look you may be here to help me but do not mistake that this is my turf, my family and I own it all! Do not treat me as anything less!” I stare him down, not letting his good looks or bad boy persona get to me,
“Good, that backbone will serve you well! Maybe you will survive the next few weeks!” I roll my eyes at him,
“I’ll be done in ten minutes; we will go to the other businesses and then we will sit down and discuss how we move forward over the upcoming few months!” I say, I don’t wait for his response and just get back to work.
Chapter Four
I'm leaning over a metal handrail watching a good hundred people hard at work below us, cutting and measuring out bags of Cocaine ready for sale. They all have masks on to stop them getting high off the dust, Matteo is standing behind me interrogating, Bruno, The Manager of this warehouse.
“Is it all pure?”
“Half of the shit we sell is, half is cut seventy thirty!”
“What’s it cut with?” I ask,
“Caffeine.”
“Swap it out for Benzocaine!”
“But that will up our costs!” His tone gets that little bit higher at my command,
“Just do it! Prices may go up our end but the sales will go through the roof, make the ratio sixty forty and that will even out the profit margin!”
“Boss?” Bruno asks, I look over my shoulder at the pair with a raised eyebrow, Matteo smirks and then shakes his head. I push off the metal bar and stalk towards Bruno, my glare makes his Adams apple bob as he swallows hard! I stop an inch from his face, I poke him in the chest as I grit my teeth,
“I am your Boss, I am the head of this fucking operation, I am the Don! He is here because I allow him to be! You answer to me! Do you understand?” Bruno nods his head repeatedly; he now looks like a nodding fucking dog!
“Good, now run along and do what I told you too!”
“Yes boss, sorry!” he says as he literally sprints away. Matteo chuckles and I swing my glare around to him, my fists have balled by my sides,
“Something funny?”
“Never thought I would see a girl with more balls than most men, let alone create that amount of fear in a man!”
“Yeah well!” I shrug and walk back over to the handrail and resume people watching. Matteo comes and stands next to me, copying my position on the rail,
“This is a big outfit, you sure your up for this?”
“Honestly, I have no idea! All I know is I will try; I will do everything I can to fill my father's shoes and look after my family and my men!”
“Fair enough! I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think your cut out for everything this life will throw at you, I don’t think you can handle the dark stuff coming your way, I think this will end up breaking you! But you have already shown me your nothing like I expected and maybe you can prove me wrong!” I let out a sigh, knowing he is probably right, I don’t think I'm cut out for this, why should he?
“I never planned for this, I was meant to either live my life however I wanted or be married off to solidify a business partnership! I expected that I prepared for that, I never prepared for Luca to be a fucking traitor, even though I suppose the signs were there, he has always been a little weasel. I also did not expect Daddy to die before I even graduated High school!” I have no idea why I am telling him all of this? Maybe because I need someone to help me wade through this shitstorm! Matteo stares at me for a moment then nods his head.
“Where are you staying?” I try to shake of the awkwardness that has me tense.
“At the Casino.”
“Good!”
“Come on, Ill drop you home before I head back.” We both leave the Warehouse which is literally in the middle of the desert and get into Matteo’s cherry red Lamborghini Murcielago, the car is every man's wet dream and I wouldn’t mind owning this bad boy! The car roars when Matteo starts up the engine, the ride is smooth and he drives this bad boy brilliantly, he maneuvers corners
at high speeds with ease and I have to admire how confident he is with such a powerful machine! It takes less than twenty minutes to get to my front door, I go to unbuckle my seatbelt but Matteo grabs my wrist, a strange feeling shoots through me and my eyes snap to his,
“I am going to give you this option once and once only! I can get you out of this I can make you disappear, give you a normal life! Sign everything over to me and I will give you back everything you lost the moment Enzo died!” I snatch my arm away from his hold and glare at him.
“I will die before I let anyone take my turf, I will do as my father trusted in me to do! You will have to kill me to get Vegas!” I grit my teeth together in anger. I get out of the car and slam the door; I stalk into my home without a second glance at the conniving prick in the nice car!
I am still raging the next day when I storm through the casino and up to my office, I end up pacing for around an hour, trying to work out how to handle Matteo! I am still pacing when the dickhead himself strolls into the room, he leans against the wall in a casual way but Matteo never looks casual he looks more menacing! He wouldn’t kill me to get take over the Vellucci Mafia right? No! Surely not!
“What do you want?” His smirk is back and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes at him.
“I want to give you something!” I narrow my eyes on him and he chuckles,
“Why?”
“Because I can!” he pushes off the wall and comes to me, he reaches around his back and I internally panic, please do not kill me! His hand painfully slowly comes back around holding a gun. Oh fuck!
“This is for you!” He spins the gun around, presenting me with the handle! Relief washes through me.
“Thanks, I suppose,” I take it and inspect the small weapon, it has a girly pattern engraved on it, it is much lighter than I expected a gun to be though.
“Why have you given me this?”
“You need to be able to protect yourself, people will want to take you down because of the power you have!” Ok, so if he wanted me dead, he wouldn’t give me a gun! I am pretty certain I can trust that he won’t kill me! That’s a bonus!
