Page 23 of Frayed Bonds

Without my father and his brother, none of these motherfuckers would have their mansions or luxury sports cars. They'd be lucky enough to even be employed. My father took a risk with every person sitting in the room. Many of them had almost no experience when they were hired yet, now they all sit ready to go to war over his position. Not even two weeks after he’s been laid to rest.

Erica places the scotch on the table, small sniffles accompanying her in and out of the room, and as soon as the door shuts I inhale deeply.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” My voice booms through the room. None of my brothers flinch, they all simply sit staring straight ahead like three naughty toddlers.

After a beat of silence, Antonio speaks up. “How the fuck was I supposed to know she’d come in?” His eyes are ablaze and visible, now that he’s placed his glasses carefully into their case.

I don’t respond. Instead, I turn to Adriano who’s looking at me in shock. “And I suppose you’re going to say ‘How the fuck was I supposed to know she’d storm in?’” I say, mocking Antonio’s words.

Adriano's shocked expression transforms into a scowl, but no words leave his lips.

“Her timing could not have been any worse, if anything, it only motivated Diego's point.”

“I don’t see why I'm here,” Augustus speaks up, throwing his scotch back like it’s water.

My eyes thin into slits as I stare at him. If any of my brothers know how to push my buttons, it’s Augustus. We are the least alike, and our differences have always brought about tension, long before my father even passed. The bruises and cuts across his face have since faded, but the visual is still there when I look at him.

Where I am hardworking and ambitious, Augustus is more go-with-the-flow and takes life as it comes. Where I've had to work for what I want, he’s had everything handed to him.

“In case you've become hard of hearing from all your little fashion shows, Diego said they lack confidence in all four of us.”

“But we all know he’s only referring to you, he just couldn't call you out in front of the entire board.” Adriano snaps, coming to his twin’s defence right on cue.

“Exactly, because the last time that I checked, the only Vitale making headlines is you,” Antonio chirps in.

“Until you get your little Barbie doll under control, I don’t want to hear shit coming out of your mouth.” I snap at my youngest brother.

His face contorts as he rises to his feet. “Or what?”

I don't know when it happened, but sometime in the last week, Antonio has grown a pair of balls but somehow is only capable of using them to piss me off.

“Unless I’m mistaken, you’re fucked without me. You have no CFO to manage any of the non-existent investors you spoke about, so I'd be a lot nicer if I were you.” He spits.

“Get your shit under control before you start pointing fingers, brother,” Adriano says, throwing his scotch back as well.

Adriano and Gus are the first to leave, Antonio remains behind as he gathers all his papers from his presentation. He walks towards the door, his scotch glass still untouched.

“Oh, and by the way, your new assistant starts on Monday,” he says, stopping at the door.

“New assistant?”

“Yeah, since you decided to ‘fuck and duck’ the last one.”

“Who is it?”

A smirk grows on his face. “Goodnight, Ambrose.”

I pick up my glass and swirl the amber liquid around. For some reason, I get the feeling I know exactly who my new assistant is, and my life is starting to have a constant haze of pink.

Chapter nine

Valerie

Good luck on your first day Fiore Mio, and tell Antonio if anything happens to you, I'll beat him with my new titanium hip.

My father’s words from this morning cause a smile to travel up my lips as I enter the exceptionally large building.

Vitale Holdings truly put every other building in the surrounding area to shame. Not just towering over all of them with its forty stories, but also with its advanced modernism. It sticks out like a sore thumb against the more traditional buildings that surround it.

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