Page 130 of Effortless

Tom pulled an illegal U-turn in the middle of the road when traffic slowed, and hit the gas. He had been closer to the warehouse than the restaurant, but ended up making it in half the time. By speeding, of course. He didn’t exactly need a speeding ticket, but it was what it was.

Parking in the employee spot, Tom shut down the Mercedes, and headed for the back of the joint. Tommas never worked at a table, but in a back office where he could have private meetings and whatever else was needed.

Sure enough, Tom found his father sitting behind a large desk. A steaming cup of coffee sat on one side, and a cell phone sat on the other. No paperwork or files like he would usually have. No employee from the restaurant was sitting in the chair.

Just Tommas, Theo, and Damian.

Tom stepped into the office. “You called?”

Tommas smiled. “Did you send Camilla off?”

“An hour ago, or so.”

“Already figuring out a way to get to New York, hmm?”

Tom chuckled. “That obvious?”

Smirks passed between the older men, and left Tom out of the loop of what was so amusing. Well, he did know. Him. He was amusing to them because this was the first time they had ever seen him in this sort of … mindset.

In love.

Tom checked his watch. “I was supposed to be at the warehouse in five minutes to meet the guys and get them set up for the week. If we get this over with, I can still make it in time so that most of them won’t have already bailed on me.”

“You won’t be needing to go to the warehouse.”

He looked up, and met his father’s gaze. “What?”

“The warehouse—handling the crew, I mean. Not necessary after today.”

Tom cleared his throat. “Kind of my job, boss.”

He almost said dad, but thought better of it at the last second. It was clear this was a business meeting, and not something else.

Respect was needed.

Always.

“Actually, I need an extra pair of hands handling the gunrunning side of the business,” Theo said with a shrug. “Mind, you won’t be running the guns, but handling the business side of the operation. Handling deals, managing the shipments, and the guys who work in the warehouses.”

“Like a new crew,” Tommas added.

Tom’s gaze drifted between his father, and Theo. “You don’t want me running guns, though.”

“You’re not running them, Tommaso. You’re doing something else, but in the same arena. Something better suited to you, son,” his father said, leaning back in chair to seem more relaxed. At least, for the moment. “See, you’re not like me, or like I was. You’re not even like Theo or Damian back when they were young Capos. You’re you. And I did not take into consideration that we have all treated you far differently than how we were treated. You’ve learned at a different pace, and your focus shows it. The way you know what is best for the organization, the crew, and you personally shows it, Tommaso.”

“Cross has already brought up the fact that he can’t handle every aspect of the gunrunning without some additional help. We all know you’re suited to it.” Theo pushed off the edge of the desk, and waved at hand at Damian. “Besides that, it’s about time you start shadowing the underboss, don’t you think?”

“It’s good business to put men where they work best,” Damian added.

“And where they deserve to be,” his father said.

Tom liked all of this.

He just had one question …

“What about the crew in the Heights?” Tom asked. “Is Adriano going to step back in, or what?”

Tommas shook his head. “Adriano has been working on building another crew, actually. He’s quite good at that—he knows where he does his best work.”