Page 25 of Family Secrets

Chapter Ten

“Will I see you at the fight tonight?” Emilio inquired over the rim of his glass, enjoying the look of irritation on Gino’s face. He loved nothing more than pressing the young man’s buttons, using his position as Family leader to get away with it. Giovanni was a strong individual, and Emilio knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he would turn the disaster of the Vitale dynasty he was about to be handed, into something phenomenal.

“Yes,” Gino acknowledged, struggling to keep the irritation out of his voice. “I have a vested interest in one of the boxers now.”

“Oh, really? Jonathan is okay with this?”

Shifting forward, Gino waited as the middle-aged waitress filled their coffee cups, before training his attention on the notorious Family leader. “My father’s interests haven’t been on the prosperity of this Family since he took over after he married my mother. Had it not been for her quick thinking, and my uncle Joey’s connections, I’d be working at the gym instead of owning it.”

With the rumors of his father’s affair, and subsequent birth of Sully, his uncle sprang into action, forcing his father to sign away any interest in the Amato business and vast earnings, leaving the Vitale’s scrambling to pay their bills for several years.

“Your mother is one of the most beautiful women to walk the planet, next to my Nicole, God rest her soul. Still calls me once a week to check up on me.”

Something pulled deep inside Gino from the buried emotion in Emilio’s voice, a level of love foreign to him.

“Nicole was her friend, just as you are mine…” Gino trailed off. “Despite my father.” Gino added, all too familiar with the lack of love lost between his father and the man seated across from him.

“Listen, Gino, I understand why you hate Felicia. She’s my niece and even I can’t stand to be in the room with her longer than a few minutes.” Emilio shamelessly admitted, cringing at the thought of his nieces’ voice. Comparing her high-pitched demands to nails on a chalkboard was like comparing the engine of a moped to that of a Mack truck.

“And yet you gave your permission for me to pursue her.”

“No, I gave my consent to the only available avenue to unite our Families.” Emilio returned, thinking of his late wife and her longing for a child, the lack of an heir yet another way he’d failed her. “Gino, I’m sure your father told you, death doesn’t sever the ties solidified by the union. Besides, I’m sure one of the dozens of women who flock to you would be happy to help you forget the annoyance of the ball and chain waiting at home.”

Gino wasn’t surprised at Emilio’s suggestion to have Felicia killed. She was a product of her upbringing, having parents who willingly gave in to her every demand.

“Enough talk of getting married, old man. Join me at the fight tonight, we’ll find you a young woman willing to suck the dust out of your decrepit dick.”

* * *

Pulling into the office,Gino parked his car beside his brother’s convertible, the bitter wind hitting him square in the chest as he climbed from the driver’s seat. He’d need to send Gazelle, his personal shopper, a request for a heavier jacket if the New Jersey winter continued to be this brutal. His eyes landed on the sign attached to the side of the building, one of the many companies he and his mother owned together, and the single source of revenue the pair allowed Jonathan and Sully to benefit from.

Making his way to the entrance, Gino greeted the handful of men working the lot, moving cars on and off the transport truck, flashing the luxury cars around right under the nose of various law enforcement agencies. Cars came into the port disguised as various other legitimate commodities, where they were off-loaded and put on a truck. A handful were loaned to the women who work for Sully, their VIN numbers as fake as the tits of the girls behind the wheel. When a new shipment came in, the cars the girls drove were exchanged and sold at a profit. Vitale’s, like most syndicate Families, had their hands in various businesses in order to launder the money made from the illegal shit. Amato Luxury Rentals was one of those companies. Gino was looking forward to getting away from it the minute he took over the Family, something his father stood adamantly against. With his mother’s help, he’d taken steps to secure the Family’s financial future by purchasing several failing businesses he could launder money through.

Entering the building, Gino lowered his sunglasses to check the room. The new receptionist made her presence known by standing from her seat and rounding the desk, spreading her legs wide enough for Gino to appreciate her bald pussy. She tossed him a seductive smile and a glimpse of her tits, which required their own zip code. Clearly, this was another one of Sully’s hopefuls, and if she was still there at the end of the day, Gino would gladly bend her over the desk and fuck her senseless.

Inside his office, Gino tossed his sunglasses to the desk beside him, an oversized piece of history purchased at an auction by his grandfather, who he was named after. Gino hated everything about this office; from the desk to the art Lisa hung on the wall, ugly pieces of shit she came across when she was fucking some art dealer. He much preferred the space at his condo in the city, the absolute silence he found there centered him and shielded him from the chaos of his world. Staring hard at the New York skyline, Gino let his mind drift off to thoughts of disappearing into the sea of people walking the streets, melting onto the nothingness of millions.

A knock at the door pulled him back to reality, the one where he had responsibilities and a shitload of people counting on him.

“Hey, Gino. I have the new girl, Elizabeth, here to meet you.” Gino caught Sully’s reflection in the window, a Cheshire grin on his face as he pushed on the partially open door, revealing the woman in question.

Gino spun on his heels, the image of her in his memory fell short of the real thing. Long dark hair framed the angel face with the big, blue eyes, causing his breath to catch in his throat and all rational thought left his mind.

Elizabeth felt nauseous from the adrenaline pulsing through her. Standing not ten feet from her was the man Lisa had warned her about. It surprised her to learn this man, who everyone seemed to fear, was the same man who tripped over his own feet, nearly landing on his handsome face. Unwilling to allow Lisa, or this man who felt the need to be larger than life, scare her out of a quite lucrative job, she squared her shoulders, extended her hand and crossed the room in his direction.

“Hello, Mr. Vitale. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Gino stared at the tiny woman with her hand extended and the confidence of a raging bull on her face. Having never encountered someone so blatantly ignorant of who he was, her courage both thrilled and unnerved him.

“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Smith.” Wrapping his fingers around hers, the connection created a sensation he’d never experienced. Gino hoped the genetics his parents gave him worked as well on Elizabeth as they did the bitch downstairs, affecting her a tenth as much as she did him. “My door is always open if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Mr. Vitale. Sully and Lisa have made me feel welcome, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Gino drifted his eyes to Sully, his lip curling into a half-smile. “Careful what you ask for, my brother is known to work his girls to exhaustion. You come see me if he steps out of line.”

Needing to separate himself from the beautiful woman who was messing with his focus, Gino grabbed his glasses. “If you will excuse me, I have a meeting I’m late for.”

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