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After handling my hygiene, I opted to don a pair of black slacks, a beige short sleeved polo shirt and matching black dress shoes. This was my way of dressing down. I could count on one hand how many pairs of jeans I owned. I don’t knock them, but my father taught me to always dress like a boss whether it’s casual or business. I was always to present myself as someone of importance. That’s something I’ve never deviated from.
Leaving out of my room, I walk into the living room to find Basil sitting on the couch with his phone in hand. Unlike me, he’s dressed in a pair of jeans, a black dress shirt with black leather loafers.
“We’re to be at Zar’s in an hour,” he states, never moving his eyes from the phone.
“I’m ready,” I state.
Basil lifts his eyes up at me, then chuckles. “You look like father.”
I laugh with him. “Father never looked this damn good.”
“I’ll make sure to tell him that the next time I talk with him,” he teases, standing and putting his phone in his pants pocket.
“By all means, do so. He’ll just say out of his boys, I’m the only one to listen to what he told us. If he saw what you were wearing, you know he would probably tell you to go change.”
Basil looks down at his clothes, then back at me. “There is nothing wrong with what I have on. Father is stuck in the seventies and unfortunately, he has you stuck with him. Even out of a suit, you still look like his clone. Can the real Yiorgos Kourakos please stand up?”
“Shut up, Basil. This is all me one hundred percent and if a motherfucker needs validation, I have no problem shooting them in the ass to prove it. Don’t let the clothes fool you.”
He snickers, grasping my shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you. I know all about the person behind the clothes. Come on, our rides waiting downstairs.”
“I hope Aunt Althaia and GeeGee have some food ready because I’m starving,” I laugh as we pick up the bags filled with presents before we head for the door.
As our driver steers the SUV along the expressway, my mind drifts back to the night my father called me into his office to tell me about Uncle Sebastian and Yiannis’ request for me to come to the States. Being the oldest, since Jerome died, Father made it known I was next in line to take over but because of Jerome’s betrayal, he was harder on me and always had people watching me. I was sixteen at the time and it bothered me at first but got I used to it. I wanted to prove to Father that was not like Jerome. My loyalty to him would never falter.
The difference between Jerome and I was that the only greed I had was to keep our family on top, right by Father’s side. So, every lesson, training, even the discipline I soaked all that shit in. I killed men and women who threatened my family. Gender didn’t mean shit to me. If you thought you were big and bad enough to go up against the most powerful family in all of Greece, then you should know your death was imminent. I take no pleasure in killing others but like Father used to say, ‘Always be one step ahead of your enemies and when the time is right you strike, killing them before they have a chance to kill you.’ So, as the years passed Father’s words of wisdom and through his tutelage, I became just as ruthless as he was. The police, the politicians, and the whole fucking city feared us. Hell, even the very mention of the Kourakos name sent motherfuckers into a state of panic and I loved it.
So, that night when I was summoned, I thought we were going to discuss a little group of hardheads that popped up on the south wing of Athens who thought they could move in on our territory. My plan was to go in and teach their young asses a lesson. Basil and I had already talked about it, so the only thing left to do was convey it to Father.
Walking through the vast halls to the elevator that would take me up to Father’s office, I was greeted by our servants and a few of my younger siblings who were running to God knows where. Some have described our house as a palace but to me it was home. It sits on fifty acres of land with a pool, tennis court, a guest house and a small warehouse that held all of Father’s vintage car collection. There are three levels to the main house. The first has most of the common areas along with a game room, home theatre, a large formal dining room, my mother, Cassia has a parlor for entertaining her friends and then there were the servant’s quarters.
The second floor is where our bedrooms were located. Father and Mother’s room was all the way down on the far end of the hall while the girls’ rooms were on the right and the boys on the left. Every one of us had our own space which I appreciated as I got older. Other than the housekeepers or security, no one else was allowed up there. It was literally impossible to sneak a girl up to my room and believe me I tried a time or two only to be caught.
Father’s grand office was located on the third floor. Most of his business was conducted there. The office that once belonged to Jerome became mine. I guess you can say it was mine and Basil’s because he was always in there with me. Security had a room up there to watch the grounds twenty-four seven on the surveillance cameras. Father was all about keeping his family safe by any means necessary which is why you would find armed men walking the grounds all times of the day and night.
Unless you had prior permission from Father or I, no one was allowed to enter the security gates. When Father had meetings with clients or business partners, they were let onto the grounds through a different security gate located in the back of the estate. Before taking the back elevator up to the third floor, they were thoroughly searched and stripped of any weapons. Scanning devices were used to detect if they were wearing wires. That helped us weed out a couple of rats who were working with police to try and take us down but unfortunately for them, their betrayal left them with sliced throats and their dead bodies tossed in front of the police station.
When I reached the elevator, Basil was standing next to it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, pressing the button for the door to open.
“Father called and told me to meet him in his office,” he replied as we stepped in.
I tapped the floor’s number, then leaned against the wall.
“Same here. I think it has something to do with those pesky little wanks out south. I think that might the reason. So, I’m going to tell him how we’re going to handle their asses.”
Basil shook his head, chuckling. “I’ll tell you what, their asses must have huge balls to try and compete with us. We were once young like that, full of piss and vinegar.”
The elevator stopped and the door opened. I glanced at Basil and said, “That is true, but we were on the winning side. Those shits think too much of themselves and if we don’t stop them now, I see future problems coming our way.”
Basil and I got off the elevator and walked the short distance to Father’s office. The door was closed, so I knocked. I learned early on to never barge into Father’s office without permission. Not only was it a sign of disrespect to do so but you never knew if Father was in an important meeting or if he was inflicting deadly pain to some unlucky asshole.
“?λα μ?σα (Come in),” Father’s deep voice said.
I turned the knob, then pushed the door open. Father was standing with his back to us, facing the window as he blew out a thick cloud of smoke from his cigar. The aromatic smell filled the room. I guess like Father, like son because he is the reason why I started smoking them. His oldest friend and Second in Command, Darius Ariti sat in the leather chair on the left of the desk with a brandy glass in his hand.
“?θελες να μας δεις, πατ?ρα. (You wanted to see us, Father)” I stated in native language as we came further into the room, then stopped behind the chairs in front of his desk.
