Page 77 of Don Caselli

“What does this have to do with anything?”

He looked at me. “You like her?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

“You made me come all the way here to ask if I like somebody, Menace?” I was ready to mix up his damn organized nuts sitting beside me.

He leaned back, as Corleon sat down in the chair beside me. Dennis, or Maverick… whatever is damn name was, was chilling on his chest. “Learned a lot?”

“Yeah. Didn’t realize how much you actually do, Mens.”

“Cause y’all always assuming I’m fucking si?—”

“Mens, you don’t have to be on the defense,” Corleon said and looked at his best friend. “He’s admitting that he didn’t realize how much it takes to walk in your shoes.”

“I’ve always respected you. May not like you very much, but the respect has always been there. These few days, I learned a lot about what it takes to be you. Shit not easy and you wear that shit like it’s nothing. I’m sorry if I was ever selfish and spoiled to the fact that I didn’t know what it took for me to have that penthouse and cars.”

He messed with his hands, a sign that he was uncomfortable. Operating in his feelings wasn’t normal for him. It didn’t matter that he was a married man and had a child of his own. Menace wasn’t emotional, and he damn sure didn’t wear them on his sleeve. I wasn’t the most affectionate person either, but it was something I had always craved.

When Navy wrapped her arms around me or gave me a quick kiss on the cheek just because, that shit did something to me because I wasn’t used to it. Even with her mother, each time I saw her, she gave me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, always checking me over to see if I was good.

I wasn’t used to that.

“I had you take my place because I want you to oversee all the weapons and arms contracts.”

I leaned forward and looked at my brother, who stared me back into my eyes, never looking away. “Stop fucking with me, Maverick.”

“Fuck you calling me by my name for, Landon?”

“You just called me by mine.” I smirked, as he gave me his version of a smile. Shit was creepy if you didn’t know him.

“Don’t fuck this up.”

Corleon squeezed my shoulder. “You earned this shit, Don. I’ll do the onboarding and shit for your salary this week.”

“Salary?”

“You think your sisters just make their regular salaries?”

“I figured their trust funds help supplement their income.”

Menace chuckled, while Corleon spoke, “Mens pays them all a salary. They are put into these positions to protect this family and those around us.”

“Good to know.”

“Beans is your lieutenant now. This shit takes me away a lot, and I can’t be away from Wonder and my son right now… I don’t want to be. You can be smart when you want to be.”

“The fuck, Menace?”

He stared at me like he didn’t say shit wrong. “As you can see, there are government contracts, Don. Big shit that if they feel slighted, this shit could come back down on us. Shake hands, handle business and don’t become chummy with them. All that golf and buddy-buddy shit is all cool until you being judged by twelve or murdered. You never like to ride around in your Rezvani, but that shit is a must now. Your brother don’t ride around in his because he wants to.”

“I do though.” Menace looked at his best friend.

Corleon shook his head. “You in an important position. No longer operating as someone running reports and shit, Don. You damn near shoulder to shoulder with your brother. Running a division that he’s giving you full control of with the help of Beans. He kept you away for a reason, and the more you see, the more you’ll realize that he was protecting you. I ain’t even tripping because I know you’ll rise to the occasion. You a fucking Caselli.”

I understood everything that he was telling me. Witnessing the amount of powerful men that were associated with Case House, then seeing the men that I shook hands with over this past week was enough to not trust anybody.

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