Page 20 of The Mafia's Property

In no time he was at the Casino and I got out while he went to park the car. The Casino was the oldest investment in our family and the most important. It was where my father made his riches and his name. It was because of this grand and dare I say garish building, that the Morelli name was worth a damn thing in this town. And it was because of Dante’s savvy that the Morelli name went from being locally known to internationally feared. Now he’s inviting me to sit in his chair. It was an honor I had to take seriously. Nico and I are known as the muscle of the family. The criminal part of this quasi-criminal organization and being given an opportunity to show that we aren’t just bouncers was something I never thought I would see happen.

The Casino was busy for this time of the season. It wasn’t tourist season, and it was still morning, and yet the place was full of people gambling their money away and people enjoying themselves like it’s still evening. That was the funny thing about casinos. They made you feel like any time of day was night time.

Dante’s office was at the top of the main floor. A glass cube that overlooked the main casino area, giving an aura of a dark lord, overseeing his underworld.

“Eager to get to the job,” a voice behind me said. I turned around to lock eyes with Dante.

Like the devil himself, he looked sharp in a black business suit and black tie. “Coming from a funeral?”

“You know, if it weren’t my brother who said that, a very different outcome would have occurred.”

“That’s why I say it.”

“Where is Nico?”

“He’ll be here.” He’s busy nuzzling his nose in some pussy and was probably finding out his Property hasn’t been broken in as we speak. Now whether I should tell Dante was another issue, but Nico would probably appreciate giving our big brother an excuse on his behalf. Dante would understand. He’s been pussy-struck himself. However, Nico and I have always viewed our relationship to each other as closer than any relationship we share with other people. “He had a thing or two to take care of.”

Dante raised his eyebrows like he didn’t believe me, but let the matter drop. He led me to a bank of elevators where a bunch of his administrative staff were waiting for one to come down. When the lift doors open, however, they all scurry away and let us have the lift. “He has his dick to take care of, you mean?” So he hasn’t let the matter drop. I get it. He could act a married man all he wants, but even he couldn’t deny Freya’s allure.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said as Dante punched the number to his office floor.

“You don’t have to cover for him all the time like you’re still teenagers. I saw your new property. She’s different from the other women.”

“She is.” I let it hang. Dante wants to know why we aren’t sharing.

“That’s it? Nothing about her work or where she came from. Wasn’t the last one a Scandinavian ambassador’s daughter. Who’s this one?”

“A stripper.” The elevators opened, and his assistant immediately accosts Dante with issues that need his attention. I am glad of the interruption, though it would have been funny to see Dante’s reaction. He wasn’t as discerning towards women as Nico, I or even Gio, but he’s always ribbing into our snobbishness.

I follow him into his office as his assistant continued to rattle his schedule to him. After she’s done, he introduced me to her and informs her of the recent change in management. She didn’t seem surprised and looked like she expected the announcement.

“She’ll know everything there is to know about the casino,” Dante said after the introductions were done. The assistant was in her early thirties and seems competent enough from the little I had seen of her over the years. After she’s gone, Dante turns to me and said, “So, what do you think?”

“About?”

“The casino. Have you ever been here except to pass by and maybe pick up some women?”

“The same as I thought before. Competently run. Well organized. A well-oiled money machine.”

“Didn’t you take a tour of the place?”

I shake my head.

“You need one.” He’s already walking to the office door as he speaks.

“Without Nico?”

“You can fill him in when he comes in.”

I’m not really feeling going around the place while being lectured about the amazing services this place had to offer. If I am to run it, however, I couldn’t complain. I followed Dante as he showed me all the most important areas of the hotel and casino. The entire tour lasted about a couple of hours and by the end I was feeling exhausted and full of information. This place is a funhouse for someone like Nico. He would enjoy the constant chiming of the slot machines, the cool air-conditioned air, the bright lights and the overly friendly staff. It wasn’t my sort of thing, but it looked like something I would get used to.

I was still wondering how Dante manages this place without popping a vein every day when he made a turn into a store. A jewelry store. One of many stores within the casino. It’s very high end and has a lot of brand-name jewels on display. There’s only one staffer inside who greeted us as we went further into the store until we reach a door at the back.

I follow Dante through the little door and enter a cloudy and stuffy office. In it was a simple wooden desk and chair. The walls were lined with shelves filled with all sorts of jewelry boxes of different shapes and sizes. I wondered how much money one would make if they stole just from this office only. Sitting in the only chair in the tiny office was a burly man who looked older than his age of forty-two. Sunny. Our chemist. We use him to test the legitimacy of the stuff that’s on the other side of the legal line we provide for some of our VIP clients. I wondered what he’s doing here until I remember that he’s a chemical engineer and used to work in some mine in South America before father brought him here.

“When you said early, I didn’t think you were going to be this early. Good thing I came before you two,” Sunny said. “Where’s the other one?”

“He’s not here, but he’ll come later,” Dante said. “They’ll be running this joint together while I’m gone.”

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