Page 49 of Effortless

“Also, keep an eye on those idiots.”

“What do you mean?”

“You might be short for another reason, if you get my drift.”

“Sticky fingers?”

As in, thieves.

Adriano lifted one shoulder in silent agreement. “I was rotating payment pickups because I thought the cash coming in was a little low. Not every payment fluctuates, you see. So when each one does fluctuate, and it’s the same guy every time doing the pickup for you or running the scheme, that tells you something. Keep an eye on that.”

“Yeah, I will for sure.”

Nobody needed a thief on their crew.

“How’s the crew otherwise?” Adriano asked.

“Quiet.”

Adriano cocked a brow like he didn’t entirely believe Tom. “That so?”

“They’re not giving me shit to my face anymore.”

“Just to your back, huh?”

Tom chuckled. “How did you know?”

“I had the same shit pulled on me when I was a young Capo. To be fair, I was even younger than you. That probably didn’t help my case, or anything, but yeah. I handled it. Theo handled it when he worked under his brother. Your father handed it when he worked under his father. Make them—”

“Respect me, I know.”

“Easier said than done, right?”

Tom shrugged. “I come from a different place than them, Adriano. They know it, and I know it. There’s no hiding from it. I sit where I do for an entirely different reason than why any of them are sitting where they are. None of them are willing to let me forget it.”

Adriano smirked. “Perhaps you should remember not to let any of them forget that despite your last name and position, you’ve still earned your spot, Tommaso.”

“Dad likes to tell me—”

“Fuck your father.”

Tom stilled, and let out a cough. “Pardon?”

Adriano waved a hand. “Listen, sometimes I think the boss forgets what it was like to be a young Capo trying to gain some ground with ignorant fuckers in a crew. Especially a crew they didn’t build themselves, or a crew that was just thrown at their feet. He forgets that at one time, the Rossi name didn’t mean privilege, but a fucking stain he had to work twice as hard as everybody else to get rid of. A stain that far too many weren’t willing to let him forget he had to wear even when he did work ten times as hard as them to prove his worth.

“So yeah,” Adriano continued with a laugh, “Fuck your dad on this right here. You do what you have to do to get control of that crew, and make them get their shit together. Take a guess at what your father likes more than subservient men, Tommaso. Go on, guess.”

“Good business?”

“Money.”

Tom nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Make good money, and he’s not going to give two flying fucks how you’ve got the crew to do what you want. They’re foot soldiers, Tom. They’re replaceable. Sure, you vet them, and that takes a bit of time to make sure they’re not some Fed or cop weeding their way in, but still … a couple of foot soldiers is nothing at the end of the day in this business. Fodder to a bigger fire, that’s all.”

“There are some good ones in the crew.”

Adriano agreed. “There always are. Be mindful of those. As for the others … well, don’t let them cause you too much grief. Otherwise, like a pack of stray dogs, they’ll gang up on you when you’re not looking. You’re not a weak or stupid man, nipote. Never let them believe you are. Ever.”