Page 2 of The Sting of Love
“You ready? The prick is here,” he says, pulling in a ragged breath.
I raise a brow. “I’m ready.”
This is going to be interesting, and I already know it’s going to test me because I can’t stand Mario,that prick, any more than he can stand me. Our meetings in the past have been edgy to say the least. He’s one of those fuckers who think they should be handed shit on a plate just because they’ve been doing a job for a long time. I have news for his ass tonight.
Alex and I head down to the ground floor and out back to where the main offices are situated. Mario is already waiting inside the office that I’ll be using. He’s sitting on the leather chair in front of the desk, one leg crossed over the other and a glass of scotch in his hand. Ice clinks against crystal as he straightens up and gives us a smile. Neither of us is smiling, however. It’s clear this fool has definitely gotten far too comfortable because he doesn’t take heed of the seriousness in our demeanor.
He’s been taking care of business for the last nine months since Pablo retired with a bad heart. Pablo has been running the show for the last forty years. Right from the old days when alliances were formed. If he’d had sons it would be them who would take over management and not me.
If Mario wasn’t the sloppy prick we’ve discovered him to be, he’d be the obvious choice out of respect for his years of service, regardless of the links myself and my family have to the alliance and the business. But he’s royally fucked himself over by being an asshole.
The handful of seconds I’ve been in here highlights irritating facts about his personality that always rub me the wrong way. Mario is sloppy as fuck with that lackadaisical, far too laid back attitude I can’t stand. There’s a time to play and a time to work. When you do your work, you can play hard and have the best of both worlds. This asshole looks like he’s been playing too much and enjoying the spoils of living it large. The fool most likely thinks we’re just here for the usual checks and doesn’t have the brains to suspect that trouble must be on the horizon for us to come back to Sicily so soon.
Alex takes his seat behind the desk and leans forward onto the wooden surface while I sit in the chair across from them. I’m just supposed to observe this first part.
“Good to see you guys so soon. Chicago is always welcome in the motherland,” Mario chimes and sips from his drink. He has a very distinct overbite that looks more pronounced when he’s brown-nosing or talking shit. “I trust you’ve seen that things are going good here even in Pablo’s absence. The man trained me well.”
“I don’t doubt your training one bit,” Alex says and cracks his knuckles the way Claudius does. Those guys hang around each other so much they all have the same mannerisms. The result is the scary, badass effect that doesn’t stand for shit.
I’m a little different. I’m cool and calm. People tend to underestimate and mistake that for a sign of weakness, then they get the shock of their lives when I switch up on them.
“Good, good. Hope everything’s okay. It’s not like you guys to summon me for a meeting at this hour. I’m hoping to bang the new waitress tonight, so if we could wrap this up quick, it would be much appreciated,” he cajoles.
Motherfucker. Alex and I exchange glances. The fucker is so comfortable he’s lost his sense of respect, and the rawness of his nose suggests he’s sniffed a littlesomething somethingtoo.
Alex straightens up and smiles. It’s the first tell that shit’s gonna go down tonight. Mario smiles back like a fool, completely missing the point.
“I can see fucking must be on your mind, if you can speak to me and my guy like we’re the same,” Alex states. It’s then that Mario tenses and the laid back attitude fades. “Things are not okay, Mario. This meeting is about relieving you of your duties.”
“What!” The prick gasps and straightens up so quickly his drink slushes and some of the liquid spills onto his white shirt leaving an amber stain.
“You fucking heard me, so I won’t be repeating myself,” Alex answers glaring at him. “Pablo’s been gone for nine months, and you’ve let things slip into shit. Things look good on the surface, but they aren’t.”
I like watching.Observing. I like to watch people’s reaction first and try and pick up on body language. The first thing I notice about this guy is he gives nothing away. I don’t know what that means yet. You can never tell what shit unpredictable people will do. So, I have no idea what his reaction is truly telling me when he looks as shocked as expected after an accusation like that.
He sets his glass on the table and looks serious now. “What’s happening? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says.
“We’re here again because the boss got a tip off from one of our associates that his name and the business came up in some evidence that was enroute to the feds. Evidence that would have linked him to human and drug trafficking.”
Mario’s olive skin goes pale, and he shakes his head. “Nah, nah, that’s not happening here, my friend.”
“Looks like it is, and we’re going to check things out. Donny will be in charge with the view to take over in the next few weeks.”
Mario’s nostrils flare and his eyes blaze. “What the fuck? You kidding me?” he snaps, and glares at me.
I straighten up, but I don’t say anything yet. I don’t like how this fucker is looking at me, and it looks like I’m going to have to teach him a lesson.
“I do not joke,” Alex answers. “This is fucking serious. The boss’ name and the business has been removed from the evidence, but that doesn’t fix the problem.”
“It’s not my fault. I’ve been doing everything exactly the same,” he argues.
I’m pretty sure he hasn’t. Pablo was the kind of man who would take care of things like it was his own business. Mario is not like that in the least.
“Mario it’s clear to me that you let things slip with certain clients, and now we have to investigate,” Alex points out and his face hardens. “If you can come in here and talk about fucking the new waitress, then I’m sure as shit that you don’t have your head screwed on.”
“Come on, man, that’s not something to take and judge me. I work hard when it’s time to work. Now you are taking my job away. I’ve been Pablo’s assistant for the last ten years,” he contends. “I’ve taken care of all the business across Italy and Sicily alongside Pablo,anddoing it all on my own for the last nine months.”
Right as he may be, getting caught up in shit like human and drug trafficking are the kinds of mistakes that can’t be allowed to go unnoticed. They are big things to worry about. The scare gave us the heads-up that we’ll need to look into everything and find the loose links. Something definitely happened along the way and that something is Mario’s fault. We can’t give second chances to people who fuck up when they’re supposed to be in charge of a big operation.
