Page 18 of Santo
“You’re doing great, and now, tonight, my mom will interrogate you a little, maybe my nonna too. She’s the one you really wanna impress,” he said, turning my face to look at him. He kissed me again, pulling the other hand free from my pants and giving my ass a gentle spank and squeeze. “Let’s show you the books, then.”
An intense tingle stirred through me. If I hadn’t gone into my business degree, I’d have wanted to go into accounting because I loved seeing big numbers and imagining the way my life would be if I had all those figures in my bank account—rather than the negatives and debts owed.
He sat on his big comfy office chair in front of his desk and patted his knee. “Nobody’s around, so we can give in fora moment,” he whispered. “Unless you’re still feeling sore, in which case, I’ll get you a cushion.”
“Please,” I said, sucking in a breath. “It’s hurting a little.”
Sitting on his knee with a cushion barrier, I leaned into his chest with my back cradled behind him while he opened computer documents and pulled out a large green binder from a locked drawer in his desk. He didn’t need to swear me to any more secrecy than we already had with the NDA. I didn’t know where to begin looking—
“We’re in the business of money management,” he said, his words a soft whisper on the back of my neck. “We buy debts, we get the money back, and we use that money to finance projects like the construction company. We like to build, and be legitimate.”
“And the not-so legitimate?” I asked, turning slightly, our faces almost connecting. He kissed me on the cheek with a peck. “I thought all of this was going to be someillegalthings.” I tried to whisper.
“Mhm, you wanna see all the dark sides,” he said back to me in a similar whisper. “You’ve already seen part of it. Right?”
I shuddered against him, my ass almost sending him signals it wasn’t meant to. “But the other stuff,” I said. “It’s not like I’m auditing you.”
He kissed my neck. “We run bookies, illegal gambling, loans. That book was passed to Rocco. He collects and runs that arm of the operation now.”
“So, where’s the chart of operations?” I asked.
“Well, I’m the head, right?” he said. “Then there’s my brothers. Rocco, he runs, you know... that stuff. Rocco also runs Palazzo. And then Tomaso, he runs the security services as a legitimate business, but he’s an enforcer for unpaid debts and protecting the territory we own. They’re also both my right hands, so they answer straight to me.”
I was making the map myself in my mind. “It’s always fascinated me a little. You have a big family, then?”
He scoffed, and his belly chuckle gave me a little jiggle. “Oh yeah. Well, there’s my mom, Isabella, she also advises me. Then there’s my uncle Bobby, Roberto, he’s an asshole. My father’s brother. Homophobic ass. I’ve cut his role down massively, and the man has nobody to boss around anymore. All he’s got is a deli and the tiniest leeway with the amount he’s allowed to run as a bookie. Then we’ve got my aunt Teresa, that’s Camille’s mom. Then from her, cousin Dominic, he works construction here. And cousin Lucia, she’s married and living in Upstate New York.”
“That’s a lot,” I said. “I don’t have any family. I have my mom, and a man’s name who I don’t know.”
“You have your father’s last name?” he asked, frowning.
“No,” I laughed. “I know his name. I’ve met him a handful of times. I have my mom’s last name. Although I always thought it was more of an aspiration than a last name.”
“King.” He whispered it to me, kissing my cheek again. “I thinkprinceis much better suited to you.”
“I can be your prince, Daddy,” I said, hoping it was okay to find a little moment while at work.
He nuzzled his nose into my neck. “Good boy. And we haven’t got to my mom’s side of the family. She was originally a Gargiulo, and that side of the family was from Napoli, Italy. And her brother, Ludo, has two sons, but he died a few years ago. Marco Gargiulo, he’s one of the overseers under Rocco, for underground gambling. Then there’s Jack Gargiulo, or Detective Jack.” He snorted. “He’s family, but police, so—” He shrugged. “He’s a good guy, for the family.”
In my mind, I saw all these strings. They were a wide operation with family everywhere. “And how much of Boston isyours?”
“The area we’re in now, plus the apartments, both parks, the harbor...” He listed them off, but he wasn’t listing anywhere close to my neighborhood. “Pretty much all of South Boston.”
“But not South End?” I asked.
He laughed again, shaking his head. “You’re catching on quick,” he said. “You wanna guess who owns those?”
My eye twitched. I’d heard the names of the other families in the area. “Morrell?” I let out. “Cordello?”
“Ding, ding,” he said, kissing my cheek again. “The Cordello family are trying to get their claws into this part of Boston because with access to the harbor, they’ll have a new route in and out of the city.”
I snorted. “It’s not the only harbor in Boston.”
“It’s not, but it’s the only one they know they could use,” he said. “Bianchi security has a government contract for the harbor. And through that, we—well, my brothers—are able to launder money and take hefty fees from people bringing their product in.”
Leaning back again, my entire world was being blown up with new information. Illegal stuff was happening everywhere, and I never knew about it. I knew people laundered and skimmed money as part of some cases I read on businesspeople serving time in prison—and there were hefty fines imposed upon them.
“What would you do—” I started, my jaw tightening in the process.
