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“Then what did you call me in here for?” I should have brought my coffee with me. Had I known my father was just planning on wasting my time, I could at least be enjoying my caffeine.
“We have more enemies that need to be handled.”
“Who did you have in mind?” I asked.
“Who don’t I have in mind?” He laughed. “But let’s start with the Astrids.”
“I hardly think my wife’s family is going to be a problem for us.” I made sure my tone was flat, and I didn’t show my annoyance.
Work was piling up on my own desk. I didn’t have time to play his little games.
“Her mother and father, no. Her mother has been tamed for our purposes, and her father seems to think this is a love match. He’s just happy his daughter will be provided for and loved, or some such nonsense. The Astrid I am more concerned about is her brother. Will the young Harrison be a problem for us?”
“Harrison is busy with his own world. As long as we don’t push anything too outrageous, I don’t think he will notice.”
“Too outrageous, like breaking down his sister’s door?” He arched one eyebrow at me.
I stared back, daring him to say more.
“What did you hear?” I asked when it was clear he wasn’t going to volunteer any further information.
“Just that Ms. Astrid’s room was broken into by a few of the staff. That they had broken the door. Thankfully, it seems like Amelia wasn’t there, since she was with you at the opera last night. Funny, though, I don’t seem to recall seeing you there.”
“I was busy with my fiancée, but if you ask, several of the staff will confirm I was there.” Because they were paid to say that. “If there is nothing else…” I stood to head back to my desk.
“I’m sure, but we do have to get some other things handled.” He rose and went to one of the large conference tables covered in several sheets of paper and blueprints.
“Who else do we need to have taken care of today, Father?”
“My son, the blood-thirsty businessman.” He laughed to himself. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be sending those associates of ours after people again soon, but I’m thinking we should start with more legal avenues first.”
He’d incorrectly assumed I had been implying we should have the Irish mob handle our affairs. “Come look over these plans for the new distillery, and let’s get to work.”
He took more plans out of cardboard tubes and flattened them out on the table, using little leather beanbags to hold down the corners.
That hadn’t been what I meant.
I loathed having to use the mob. It was too much risk and not enough reward. I also believed a man should do his own dirty work—hiring it out was a sign of a coward—but I’d learned a long time ago not to correct my father. It simply wasn’t worth the hassle. He wouldn’t let me talk much, anyway. It was fine. I would listen to him, learn from his experience and wisdom, then do whatever I thought best.
He was only angered if my disobedience didn’t prove to bring better results, which rarely happened. I knew this business inside and out, and as soon as I married, it would be handed over to me by his choice or my force. Then the thugs my father dealt with would be out the door right behind him.
A truly powerful man didn’t need an attack dog.
He was the attack dog.
What I could do to anyone who faced me was far more painful than a beating from a brute.
“I want to look at how we can use this marriage for our gain,” he said.
“What did you have in mind?”
“A lot. I know this initially prevented a loss, but we can gain quite a bit here as well. With that Astrid bastard being the district attorney. We can use that to our advantage and expand faster. I’m thinking Harrison can pave the way for us to go around a few city officials and a handful of laws and get the new divisions up and running by spring.”
“What if he doesn’t agree to help us?” I looked over the blueprints. They were for another distillery with an attached warehouse. The permits on this were going to take months.
“He will. Astrid is a pushover. He lets his fucking whore wife run everything.” He waved me off dismissively. “If she can’t get senior to do what we need, she will get junior to handle it.”
“Astrid senior may be easily manipulated by his wife, but I would bet good money that Harrison is not.”
