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I consider all of this. “What exactly are the claims?”
“The way Anthony put it, it’s a powerful drug with healing properties like boosting immunity and speeding up body processes such as cell regeneration. He said the only side effect is that users ofVitalenbecome reliant on the substance.”
“Good for profit.”
“Exactly. But the projected profit from this drug, Roberto, it’s no joke. The men Anthony has been working with have been adamant about only one thing: they want this social change to start from the ground up. Starting with us—giving the mafia a new reputation completely. They want all possible underground connections utilized to getVitalenon the streets, which means they want all of the Five Families to work together on this.”
This piques my attention more than anything else he’s said. I turn to him, narrowing my eyes. “Allof the Five Families? You don’t say.”
My father growls slightly, mistaking my interest for disbelief.
“I know, Roberto. Working with those conceited, disdainfulfigli di puttanaRussos,” —he practically spits our rival family’s last name, along with the cursing— “is beyond me. Anthony was reluctant, too. But he was not the only Don the Illuminati tapped for this. It was five Dons, one from each family, including that Californiamerdafamily and every Don there agreed to this new deal.”
I purse my lips, trying to ignore the little excitement at the possibilities of that statement. “So that means…what, exactly?”
He huffs. “It means that for the first time in over seventy years, the Giovanni family is in a tentative stalemate with the Russos. For now, at least, until the Russos undoubtedly screw it up and get one of them or us killed, those selfish bastards.” He looks at me then, lifting his chin. “The Five Families will collectively select a suitable representative from each family to run point on this. Individuals who can work well in this…uniquecircumstance. Your brother elected you. Are you interested, Roberto?”
More than you could possibly know.All I can think about is angry emerald eyes set in the stunning face of someone whoshouldbe my enemy but isn’t...for the time being.
I can work with a temporary stalemate.
I smile slowly. “You said this was a collective decision. I’d like to vote for who the other representatives should be.”
Chapter 5
Giulia
Sometimesbeinganaptbusinesswoman with an eye for numbers and a knack for schmoozing contacts is a pain in the ass. For example, when it gets you nominated for this kind of thing. I'm still trying to absorb everything Antonio and my father have told me about this for the last week.
A new start. A unique chance for the mafia. Profit galore. You're the elected Russo representative, Giulia.
I finish curling my hair and turn off the iron, examining the results in the mirror. My hair is naturally curly, code fornaturally hell-bent on behaving like a fuzzy nightmare.I like order, and my hair likes disorder, so we rarely get along unless I've straightened or curled it into submission.
Dressed business casual in dark gray jeans, black pumps, and a white V-neck shirt with a white blazer, I look like the pulled-together professional I am every other day of the week.
But unlike usual, I Don’tfeelthe part.
Perhaps it's because of the tiny little detail that Antonio only chose to share with me yesterday, as if he intentionally wanted to give me as little time to overthink it as possible.
You'll be working with a Giovanni, Giulia,he'd said with his characteristic older-brother bossy tone, just for the time being. Our families' representatives will meet before you work with the others later.
No big deal. Just casually working with someone representing the Chicago mafia family that my family abhors.
And why wouldn't we hate them? I've lost cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and business associates to the Giovannis throughout my relatively short life. The Russos have reciprocated in every way they've tried to backstab us. Still, it never seems to do much good—they're a mob of liars and cheats, slinking around behind the backs of all the other Five Families and doing business where and how they like, consequences be damned for all of us.
Now I'm off to meet for dinner with one. If this white blazer could decide to feel a little more like impenetrable armor, that would be great.
I take a deep breath before gathering my purse and keys, leaving my hotel room to go to the predecided meetup spot. Being Giovannis and vehemently against making life easy for the rest of us, they apparently decided that San Francisco was a better meetup spot, more in their favor.
Asses, all of them.
But I can't think about that right before facing one of them, not when so much hinges on this. The possibility of establishing the ropework to bring my family not only lots more profit, but the means for creating a new name for ourselves? I'm just as tired of operating in the shadows, our lifestyle a byword on society's lips, as everyone else in the Five Families or any other organized crime group.
I Don’t like that either—organized crime. This new opportunity might be built onVitalen,andVitalenmight be a drug that people become reliant on, but so what? People already rely on so much—cell phones, the internet, plumbing, air, water... That's hardly a terrible side effect to have attached to the Russo name compared to some of the other shit I've seen over the years.
My family and the other four families picked me. And like my parents, I Don’t really make mistakes. I succeed or work my ass off to get to where I need to be. There is no way I'm going to let them down.
So though I don’t like the idea of sitting across a dinner table from a fucking Giovanni, I'll get over it. All I need to do is remember my father's many negotiation and diplomacy tactics, which have served me well through school and Harvard and into the world of shady business transactions.
