Seeing her curled up in bed crying nearly did me in. It brought up long-buried feelings of holding my brothers and sister, taking care of them after our mother died. I immediately went into protector mode with them, and that same protector mode came out while I was with Emma.
Emma shared her favorite memories of herbabushka,and I held her while we watched her favorite show streaming on her laptop since she doesn’t have a television. I didn’t mind, because it meant that I had to stay close to her to watch. Except I wasn’t really watching, because I was too busy with my arm around her and my nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of her honeysuckle shampoo.
I made her eat three meals a day, and Boris even delivered some of those meals from the restaurant. I gave her privacy to take a bath or shower, and I held her close when she said she didn’t want to be alone.
Today, I needed to return to reality. I could only ignore my professional life for so long, so I am meeting with my father’s associates and my brothers at the city house to discuss the future of our brotherhood. So far, the transition from my father’s leadership to mine has been smooth, and I want to keep it that way. It makes my future plans easier to manage.
“Ivan! Where the hell have you been the last three days?” is the first thing I hear when I walk into the dining room at my home in Beacon Hill. Dmitri stands up from his place at the table, throwing his arms open wide.
“Busy,” I tell him while glancing at the messages on my phone. They’ve seen Emma at the restaurant during our weekly lunches, but only Mikhail is aware I was at Emma’s apartment the last three days.
“You know there are things that require your attention, right?” Dmitri replied. Maksim and Grigory nod in agreement.
“I’m aware,” I tell them while Mikhail hands me a folder of information.
Fifteen minutes later, every seat at the dining room table is full. The men who have joined my brothers and I served under my father, and the last time they were in my house was the day my father gathered everyone and announced he was retiring. In the months since, I’ve met with these men individually as well as with my brothers in attendance.
“Let’s get started,” I tell everyone, settling into my chair with a drink.
“We’ve acquired a substantial amount of real estate recently in the Seaport District,” Grigory starts. “We have now extended our influence in the area to encompass five blocks in each direction from the new central warehouse.”
“Security?” I ask, directing my attention towards Dmitri.
“We have men monitoring the neighborhood and keeping an eye on the Irish. With our influence expanding, we are getting close to territorial borders which could lead to future conflict. The security teams are adding cameras and monitoring systems to the new buildings,” Dmitri responds.
“Let’s not forget the apartment building over on Greenwood,” Maksim chimes in.
“Security is being upgraded on that building as we speak,” Dmitri confirms.
“What’s the purpose of a residential building?” asks one of my father’s men.
“Real estate diversity,” I tell him. “It also allows us to start keeping a closer eye on some of the Irish mafia soldiers. At least one of them lives in that building that we know of right now.”
“Do we anticipate conflict with the Irish?” another man speaks up.
“We always anticipate conflict with the Irish,” Maksim says. “They’re our biggest threat in the Seaport District.”
“Moving on,” I say to everyone. “Gentlemen, we are here today to discuss the leadership transition. My father is retired, and I am now in charge. Some of you will not like the coming changes.”
I notice my father’s men shifting in their seats. I also notice Maksim paying close attention to all of them.
“Starting today, those of you who reported to my father will start handing over your operations and personnel to my chosen advisors. This handover will be complete in the next three months.”
Mikhail starts handing out folders to everyone sitting around the table. These folders contain detailed plans created following the individual discussions I already had with my father’s men.
“You expect us to just hand everything over to your brothers?” one of the men asks, anger rising in his voice.
“Yes, I do. My brothers and several trusted associates have been shadowing you all for months in preparation for this transition,” I tell him. “At the end of three months, if you choose to leave, you will be given a generous retirement allowance and transportation to a location of your choosing, including home to Russia.”
Two of my father’s men get up quickly from the table, muttering under their breath. The other two men stand, acknowledge me at the head of the table, and follow the first two out the door. They didn’t see this coming, which was their first mistake. They should have known their positions would be in jeopardy when I took over.
My phone starts to ring, and I notice that it’s Yuri calling. Something in my gut twists. It’s too early for him to give me an update on Emma for the day.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, answering on the second ring.
“Boss. We got a problem,” Yuri says.
“What kind of problem?”
