The back door of the Rolls Royce sprung open as I climbed out and up the steps of Winters Group Tower, the wind of New York whisking past me, and the sound of honks and angry yells filling my ears. This was my home, the place I belonged, the place that tested me, and would always force me to be tested. The lone place that my families two century empire was now housed for over seventy years, the place that my tower imperious as usual would remain the symbol of success, influence and power to those who seeked a better place for the world they lived in; and a symbol of a guardian, the building which would mark anyone who stood to use the illegal to their own benefit, who lacked the morals that business required to be done with a respecable reputation.
Entering the lobby I spotted Laura only just reaching her desk though it was seven in the morning, something Olivia hated me for this morning because I left as she was sleeping, presenting a note, breakfast, and flowers I supplied for her to not care that I neglected my sleep schedule and left for work early.
Today was also the selected court date for Grace's trial, and I knew by the end of it there would be the exact thing that I told her she'd get. I told her I'd ruin her, and I meant it. Anyone who had ever believed themselves and their foolish plan to take away everything from the people around me would have to one day accept that there was no out for them. That retribution was going to come, and when it did I would personally take every last thing that was dear to them. I had engineered the downfalls of hundreds of people, and I knew my ruthless approach made me no better then any of the people that I got rid of, however I also knew that when the day came I would never deny that I had my place in the world which I'd never be forgiven for. I made myself who I was, accepted my reputation and I was at least a man of my word.
Entering the elevator I selected the top floor and in a moment I was rocketed upwards towards my destination. I did wonder why my father had planned for Winters Group Tower to be a kilometer tall, why it needed over two hundred floors, but I decided I'd accept that at the end of the day this building needed that space so that I could control operations, and plan projects, develop technologies, and impliment all the needed requirements of my subsidiaries. I was back to who my parents hoped their business would be. I'd made what they did, doubled the reach and power the company had, and as I looked around at something as simple as an elevator that could travel at forty miles an hour with perfect acceleration and slowing to not even seem like it was moving that fast.
Everything with this tower in many ways was the representation of just how far and how fast I'd pushed Winters Group to grow. With the past sixteen months behind me and over one point five trillion in valuation growth since it's founding I was simply proud to have kept a building of this magnatude, and prowess in this city. I'd have gone elsewhere if I needed to, but I wasn't going to allow the basic building laws of this city to be the reason that the Winters Family and all of its success left our home.
When the doors opened I stepped out buttoning my jacket and making my way towards my office where Kaylee intercepted me in the hallway, long learning how fast to walk, and talk as I neared my work center.
"You have a meeting at eight followed by three hours of work time, lunch to plan winter operations, two back to back hour meetings with the board of ED's and then the second with your C-suite Execs, Mr. Anretti specifically, the rest of your day after is catch up time for all of todays work, and anything you get me to forward for you to complete," she says swiftly reading off her tablet at record speed until she looked up and stopped as I did in front of my office door.
"Thank you Kaylee," I say and step into my office snatching the remote from the nearby table and turning on the TV which immediately pulled up the investment page for my company, and the preset channel that I knew would be covering Grace's trial. The jury had been presented with hundreds of pages of evidence and timelines, of the cases, and as each minute passed Grace seemed to shrink into the chair she was seated in, as if she was hoping to disappear from the camera's view but it wouldn't happen. She was placed centrally, and ever as another camera followed the lawyers there was no defense against the amount of proof witnesses, and recored evidence that there was. She would at least end up being given a decent portion of the charges putting her away for a long time.
Jealousy, and vindictivity is a bitch.
Glancing away from the TV I sat down and flipped open a file to begin some of the pre work that I had to do today for my ability to go to London for Winter and spend it in peace with Olivia as we did each year, and more importantly our trip to Paris that we took annually as a way to be nostolgic for even a single night. I would admit that I was capable of not giving a singular fuck about who I took down on my way to the top, but I could also admit that the one person that would be an exception to was Olivia. There was no power strong enough on this planet that could get me to stop loving her, no amount of money, no amount of power, I'd even willingly give my ancestors the finger and a complete face of truthful apathy if they disproved of her. She was mine, and I was hers and at the end of the day the empire I'd managed to build was nothing short of being done this quickly with her support.
A part of me had always wondered if she would accept being the COO for this company when she was so passionate for being a neurosurgeon, and general specialist in neurology. She gave up that dream to become a Chief Operations Officer for the fastest growing company on the East Coast. She'd given a sacrifice to do something that I saw her flourish in. And looking back at what I had sacrificed and given up, I'd become a better man, I'd sacrificed the tattered asshole that I was that filled with gold at her presence in my life. I'd given up a lot of the more brutal tactics that I likely would have used if Olivia didn't have to also approve of my plans for corporate domination. She also never really checked me when it came to this company. She was my supporter, and I was hers and behind the veil we showed the world. I could lose it all and still be at ease with her by my side like we both knew we'd always be.
Standing nearly an hour later with the stack of files completed I walked to the window and looked out at the city beyond the first blizzard setting in for the second week of December, something that wasn't going to go away, and felt like it was washing the imperfections of what had occured this past year away with its blanch blanket over the city I loved.
New York wasn't a bright city. It was my city, it was the place I'd secured my name to be synonymous with success, and that wouldn't change, any time soon.
That is the end of this book, and time to go back to Alessio who I've gotten back into writing, and I now need to binge listen to documentaries to understand the Mafia better, see yall there. Comment, vote, and share, also follow if you're new. Anyways
Peace✌️
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Heirs To The City: The Quartet
RomanceIt had been one year since Adrian Winters ascended to the position of CEO of Winters Group, and had begun building a reputation of his own to break free of the shadow of his past, and the secrets it holds. But not all secrets get to stay that way. T...
