“Do you think so?” Umberto shrugged. “She’s very efficient, extremely discreet, and, above all, loyal, an essential quality in her line of work.”
“Whatever you say, Papa,” Allegra tried to hide the irritation her father's praise of his secretary stirred in her. “Why?” she asked, leaning forward.
“Well, I suppose you want to know why I stubbornly insist on buying that small venture I told you about,” Umberto said, relaxing into the chair and waiting for his daughter to continue.
“Let’s see: the TV station’s audience is mainly middle-aged people and seniors with Italian roots. The magazines and newspapers’ content is boring and irrelevant. Their online presence is almost nonexistent, and they’ve accumulated a mountain of debt over the years… A financial disaster.” Allegra let out a long, almost dramatic sigh. “Now, please, tell me a single reason why you want it part of Ronson Media Corp.”
“You answered that question yourself, right at the very beginning, when you tried to talk me out of it.” Umberto was amused by the puzzled look on his daughter’s face. “It was when you described the TV and radio station audience,” he smiled mysteriously, then groaned. “And just so you know, I hate this name.”
“What name? Ronson Media Corp?” Allegra frowned. “Do you want to change it? If so, how are you going to name the company?”
“Not the company’s name,” Umberto let out a long, heavy sigh. “Just... Ronson. I detested him from day one, but I had no choice. I always obeyed my father because it was my duty, and that time was no exception.”
“Papa, what are you talking about?” Allegra almost shouted. “Are you suggesting that the grandfather I never knew told you, or rather commanded you, to change your last name?”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 2
A long, heavy silence followed the man’s brief response, then Allegra cleared her throat. “And what was your last name before?”
“Rocca,” Umberto replied, a little embarrassed. “That’s all you need to know for now." He sighed. “You know what my biggest wish was, and still is? That you were a boy.”
“I thought…” Allegra swallowed hard a few times before continuing. “Fifteen years ago, when you made me a junior partner in the company, you promised me that one day I’d run it from behind this desk, sitting in that chair.”
“Yes, I did.” Umberto’s heart ached at the disappointment in his daughter’s voice. “I’ll keep my word no matter what,” he said in a determined tone, “because you worked yourself to the bone to earn it. However, I was talking about running our organization. The laws don’t allow it because… well… you’re a woman.”
“Papa, do you hear yourself talking?” Allegra raised her voice slightly. “What laws are those that prevent a woman from running any kind of organization?" She huffed a laugh. “You sound like it’s the Mafia.”
Umberto flinched slightly but chose to ignore his daughter’s comment. Instead, he shifted the topic. “We need to connect with members of the Italian community in New York City, and what better way to reach their homes than through screens, radio waves, and the written word in all its forms?”
Allegra settled into the chair, a frown forming on her forehead. “So… first, your father told you to switch your Italian last name for an Irish one, and now you want to go back to the original? Why would you do that? And what was the reason behind your father’s decision? Let’s be honest, he made itwithout asking you. As you said, it was a command; he left you no choice.”
Umberto let out a short laugh. “Good questions, but I expected no less from you.” He ran a hand over his face. “Papa thought taking an English or Irish name was the best way to blend in and make the rich and powerful accept me as one of them. As you can see, it worked. Now it is time to take back what was rightfully mine by birth but was stolen by unjust laws.”
“Take back a birthright that was stolen from you?” Allegra huffed again. “Come on, papa, this sounds like one of those sappy romance novels set in the medieval era, with lost heirs and…” The look on her father’s face made her stop abruptly. “You are not kidding, are you?”
In a monotone, as if reading a news bulletin, Umberto started describing to his daughter the difficulties surrounding his birth and the nearly boundless love his father held for him and his mother. He also recounted how his ruthless grandfather compelled his only son into an arranged marriage with someone he despised, even though he was required to have children with her.
Oh, so there’s competition, Allegra thought to herself as she listened to her father’s story. The challenges didn’t discourage her from pursuing and achieving her goals; on the contrary, they made things even more interesting. The obstacles served as a good stimulant for her mind to find the best way to overcome them.
Allegra listened to her father’s story with genuine interest. The part about The Council banning an illegitimate male child from being named his father’s successor angered her to no end, just as when Umberto had earlier mentioned that women are forbidden from ruling in their own right.
Her again, Allegra huffed internally as Kirsten quietly knocked on the door and entered the office, interrupting herfascinating story by announcing the arrival of the team of negotiators she and her father had scheduled the meeting with. However, for her, business always came first, so for now she pushed personal matters to the back of her mind.
Half an hour later, to the satisfaction and surprise of those negotiating for the small media group, the deal was finalized. Given Allegra’s inflexibility on the financial terms, they expected her to give them a hard time, and were quite surprised when she didn’t.
Hands were shaken, and the contract was signed. Then the men left, relieved and happy, still unable to believe how lucky they were. Once alone, the father and daughter spent another hour and a half discussing the best strategy to leverage the company they had just acquired to connect with influential people in business and politics who were, in one way or another, linked to the Old-World Mafia.
Offering them free advertising, not only on the local TV, newspaper, magazines, and radio station he had just purchased but also on all the mass media channels he controlled, would be a good place to start, Allegra suggested to her father. Umberto enthusiastically approved the idea, congratulating his daughter and telling her how proud he was of her.
“Thank you, papa,” Allegra smiled brightly. “Coming from you, these words mean everything to me. Please tell me more about our rivals, the rules they follow, and everything else Grandfather shared about the world you come from."
There are two pure-blood male members of the Sforza family: Ottavio, the oldest, who is the current leader recognized by The Council of The Ten, and Martino, who married into the powerful Orsini family and is even more influential than his brother. Both have male children.” Umberto’s face twisted in disgust as he said the last part.
“I see..." Allegra left her seat, grabbed a pen and a small notebook from the desk, then sat down again and began to write as she spoke. “I’ll have to do some digging, but I have all the help I need; after all, we own some of the most-read tabloids, and our journalists are the best,” she grinned.
“I’ll spare you and our employees the effort,” Umberto sighed, disappointed. “Martino is as innocent as a little child, and Ottavio was forgiven for the sins he committed against the Council.”
