Page 14 of Mafia Boss' Surprise Baby

“Well not if I show up with the boss,” she says sarcastically.

“Not because of that. You’re smart and you’re a good person. You should never feel like you don’t belong.”

She sort of looks at me different when I say it. I go over what I said in my mind and realize I said too much, made it too much about personal admiration.

“I overshot there,” I say. “I was trying for the speech where it’s what’s inside that counts.”

“How would you know if I’m a good person?” She asks which isn’t what I expect.

“You think I didn’t get you checked out before I hired you?”

“Rory’s my brother!” she says indignantly.

“Yeah, that don’t mean you’re the same person as him. You said yourself he didn’t know half what went on with you even as a kid. I’m not letting someone near this organization until I’m sure of them.”

“I’m still insulted. I’m from the neighborhood, Mickey. You think I went out to LA and now my head ain’t on straight?” I question.

“Okay, now you’re gonna take off your earrings and fight me. I see how it is.”

“No, I’m just surprised you didn’t trust me going in.”

“I wanted to trust you if that counts for anything. But I didn’t invite you in here blindly. I’m not an idiot.”

“I know you’re not. I just thought—loyalty, right?”

“Because your dad worked for my dad? Because your brother’s my friend and works with me? You’re your own woman, Katie. I thought you’d want credit for that.”

“I know I’m a nepo hire.”

“No, you’re not. If I wanted a nepo hire I’d get Ragucci’s dipshit nephew with the hair gel. You’re qualified. You just happen to belong to a family that’s been associated with mine for a long time. It’s something to be proud of but it didn’t get you hired. You did that yourself with your credentials and the way you talk, everything you know.”

“Keep talking all nice and complimentary like that and everybody in Boston’s gonna find out you’re not an asshole.”

“Well, I can’t let that happen, can I?”

I shove away from the table and throw the door open to the hall with a bit too much force.

10

KATE

“Don’t overcomplicate the disclosure notes. That’s the main thing.”

“When I studied the Uniform Commercial Code, I learned the basic red flags,” I say, “but I need to learn the ins and outs of all this. What’s it look like on Peachtree or SAP?”

“Facts are facts, and we stick as close to them as possible,” Sal Vilamonte tells me. “You’re a fresh set of eyes and it helps to have that, to be able to spot anything that looks fishy to you when you look at the numbers.”

“I don’t have the criminology expertise a certified forensic accountant needs to investigate, but this looks seamless. Ragucci’s a damn wizard. I’ve looked at these transactions till I could recite them from memory and I’m not seeing a damn thing.” I shake my head in astonishment.

“He’s been cookin’ these books for thirty years. He oughta be good at it,” Sal chuckles. “He’s doin’ good this morning. I talked to his missus before breakfast.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been praying for him. And now I need to pray for myself because I don’t have anything near this level of ability to conceal things in the numbers.”

“It’s about a delicate touch. Mostly he and the boss take care of it, but we handle the day-to-day stuff. Logistics, inventory, payroll. If you have questions about any of it just let me know.”

“Thanks. I will. I just want to keep us out of audit until Ragucci’s back in action,” I say.

The guy isn’t just a wizard, he’s an artist. It’s incredible. I comb through the last quarter’s records, the projections for the remainder of the fiscal year. Not one decimal is out of place, and if I were auditing this, I wouldn’t know where to begin claiming if I suspected misappropriation of funds.

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