Mafia Betrayal

Chapter One

4 Years Later

Luca

"Yes?" I barked into the receiver of my desk phone. I already knew who was on the other end.

"Uh, Mr. Catalano, your 11 o'clock is here." Olivia's scratchy, high-pitched voice came through the other line. It was the kind of tone someone had when their nose was plugged. So damn annoying.

I shoved a hand through my hair in frustration. "Olivia, is the intercom system broken?"

I knew full well it wasn't. I spent nearly an hour yesterday explaining to her how to use it so she could stop calling me every fucking time she had a question. Apparently, the lesson didn't sunk in.

This was all Carlo's fault. I put him in charge of hiring an assistant and what he came up with was Olivia. I knew exactly why--Olivia was a leggy blonde who lived every day like it was a beauty pageant, exactly Carlo's type. She wasn't mine, but I had to admit she was easy on the eyes. Problem was, she was dumber than a brick wall. She'd been here three weeks, and the intercom system was the least of our worries. And with the expansion of our business, I didn't need eye candy, I needed someone who could do their God damn job.

"I don't think it's broken, Mr. Catalano..." She squeaked, confused.

"Forget it." Dumber than a brick wall. "Send Claire in."

A few minutes later there was a quick knock on the door and then it swung open.

"Luca," Claire greeted with a warm smile. "Wonderful to see you."

She was here from the Globe, interviewing me for a feature story that Angelo swore would be good for our image. That was the only reason I agreed to this dog and pony show.

The last few years were rough on us with Antonio being arrested, forcing our operations underground and me into the Don roll almost immediately.

Catalonia Enterprises was a multifaceted organization born from our need to put on a more wholesome front. We denied all involvement with Antonio and had to prove to the general public that we weren't criminals like he was. We had to convince them we were honest business men with no connections to the Italian Mafia.

So far, it was going well. So well in fact, that our business nearly doubled in the first month. We started bringing in more cash than we ever could have anticipated, and now we had our toes in just about every category of business you could ever imagine. Real Estate, stocks, technical assistance. Hell, we even had guys in hospitals. Our cover businesses provided us with never-ending avenues for moving product.

Claire was here today to interview me about our recent successes and tomorrow her team would be by to conduct a photoshoot for a spread they would run with the article. Only after I agreed to be interviewed had she sprung the photoshoot on me.

"It's nice to see you too Claire. Please come in." I stood, welcoming her into my office with a fake grin plastered on my face. I promised Angelo I would play nice since he reminded me that as soon as I gave her what she wanted, she would be out of my hair.

"What a beautiful view you've got here!" She marveled at the floor to ceiling windows behind me with wonder on her face.

"We lucked out." I admitted. "This building came open the very day we started looking for office space and we were able to snatch it up right away. It's as far out as the city will let skyscrapers expand so the view will always be unobstructed." I boasted, walking towards her with my hands in my pockets.

It was a beautiful day, and when you were up this high, you could see for miles.

"I wouldn't get anything done if I worked here." She shot me a flirty smile. Claire was a pleasant looking woman, but definitely not my type. She had fiery red hair and matching green eyes. A pair of thick hipster glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. She was young--probably only twenty-five or so. Tall, with less curves than my liking. But her damning factor was that she had a good head on her shoulders. Since Charlotte left, I preferred hookers with no morals who didn't give shit if I remembered their name when they left, as long as I paid them. I wouldn't make the mistake of getting attached again.