Page 85 of Vicious Little Games

“No, I don’t. At least not anytime soon. I would need a real job, steady income, time to sow more wild oats before I could be a halfway decent father to some kid.”

“Then we have two entirely different futures planned out. My plan includes becoming my father’s successor. I’m his daughter, and since one of my sisters is still missing and the other cries at the drop of a hat, I’m the only one who is up for the task.”

“You seem to have forgotten that not only am I your competition, I’m Dante’s handpicked choice to be his successor.”

“Not anymore. He recently told me that I’ve impressed him.”

“Good for you. Is that all this competition is about? Getting Daddy’s approval? Because he’s going to expect you to do the actual job of running shit if you win.”

“I know that. And I can handle anything that comes my way.”

“Just because you can handle shit, doesn’t mean you should.”

Sighing heavily, she turns back to me. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means, while you’re making business decisions in your ivory tower, you’ll never understand how those decisions impact others, all the hundreds, if not thousands of middle-class workers like Annette that Dante currently employs. I will never understand how someone could sit on billions of dollars instead of doing something decent with it.”

“You mean like charity?” Cass asks, not sounding like she’s being sarcastic but she’s trying to understand.

“Yes. Charity. You know why my mom won’t give me more of my grandfather’s inheritance than what I need to cover basic tuition and fees?”

“No. Why?”

“Because I bet she’s already given it all away.”

“Given it away? To whom?”

“I don’t know. To help the homeless or needy kids in Vegas. All that blood money she got from my grandfather can finally do a little good. I’m not saying all of Dante’s money should be handed out, but I think he could do more than sit on it in his fancy penthouse at the top of his hotel and casino.”

“So, if you become my father’s heir, you’ll give most of his money away?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“What about the fentanyl trafficking?” Cass asks.

“What about it?”

“Would you stop that too?”

“I don’t know enough about it to say either way yet. But as long as Dante is earning off illegal businesses, his ass is on the line. I don’t think I can see the benefit of running a drug business with the threat of prison constantly hanging over my head.”

“So, you think he should stick to legit businesses?”

“Yes, I guess that’s what I’m saying.”

“I agree,” Cass replies. “I wouldn’t want to continue the fentanyl. Not necessarily because drugs are bad and kill people. I just wouldn’t want to pay for the consequences of getting caught dealing it and be thrown in prison for years. Especially when I have a family. Daddy is lucky he hasn’t been arrested yet.”

“I’m sure Dante takes plenty of precautions, greases the right hands, pays feds to look the other way, that kind of thing.”

“Nothing is foolproof, though.”

“No, it’s not,” I concur. “Have you told Dante your thoughts on going legit if you become his heir?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to disappoint him,” she says, eyeing me again across the dark back seat.

---