𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 ⚔︎

16

the next day, benny once again invited giovanni to his house in bayside to sort the finances for eddie's future hotel, le diamant. they were sat at the dining table in his kitchen with cups of coffee beside them. important documents, rolls of money, paper pads, pencils, and a calculator covered the surface.

the last time he had been alone with benny like this was the night they had went to denali's, a restaurant on the lower east side. it was the same evening that benny had informed giovanni about a suspected 'rat' in the costello family. recently, the incident had been on giovanni's mind a lot more than usual — he thought often about his cousin and the possible dangers he could be in if his true identity ever surfaced. he wondered what aleksander was doing, both in his office at the hidden KGB headquarters and when he went undercover as 'pierre dubois.' giovanni knew that alek's work as a secret agent must be challenging and very complicated, and that he was under a lot of pressure from his higher-ups in the USSR. giovanni had not been told anymore news about the rat, which made him uneasy: he didn't know if it should be a relief or an incoming disaster.

on the bright side, benny and giovanni had already figured out many factors for the hotel. with the help of the young man's genius, over the span of a few weeks, benny had outlined the marketing budget, the staffing costs, the builders' salaries, the sales forecast, and much, much more. now, it was eddie's job to design the place: this included creating a floor plan, choosing the right style and aesthetic, furnishing the rooms, putting in doors and windows, and other architectural attributes. after an hour or two of calculations and deliberating with one another, the two men came to a final sum.

giovanni slipped benny a piece of paper that he had been writing on. "thirty million, mr ricci."

benny's jaw dropped. "thirty million dollars..." he sat back in his chair. "oh, i really hope eddie's got enough for this. 'cause if he doesn't, it's gonna burn fuckin' a hole in his pocket — a hole that will be almost impossible to fill again."

giovanni nodded slowly in response.

benny sighed, taking off his glasses and wiping his forehead. "well, i guess it could be worse— in the long run, i'm sure the profits will be worth it."

suddenly, benny's grandkids came running in from the living room. they chased each other around the kitchen with colourful toys, squealing with joy, before leaving again.

giovanni watched them as they went. "mr ricci?"

benny looked up from his work. "yes?"

"why don't you have your own office?"

benny's lips curled into a smile. "oh, i like being at home, red. other people wanna separate their work from their home, but i like combining them. if i had an office, i'd never be at home!" he laughed. "i wanna be around my own things. my wife, my kids, my grandkids... it's just better for me this way."

"well, that makes sense."

benny lifted a huge wad of cash from the table and slid it into the money counting machine. "so, as you were saying before," he said, making sure giovanni was listening. "these bills in here are what you said you had made in the last month and a half, correct?"

"correct," giovanni said, his eyes shining.

"let's count," benny said, clicking a button.

a low hum buzzzed around the kitchen as the machine turned on and the money was counted. benny glanced at his rolex watch and his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. it took an astounding three minutes for the machine to come to a halt. he leaned over and looked at the little numbers on the screen, letting out a hearty chuckle.