Page 6 of Reckless Sinner
Honestly, it reminded me of my father, sometimes. Except that Alan was one of the good guys. He had taken a hard line against the mafia and organized crime ever since he’d first started up the firm, and he’d held to that promise in all of his actions. It was why I’d wanted to work for him—and why I’d been shocked when he’d agreed to take me on.
Now, I wondered if there was a reason he was calling me in. If my family name was somehow going to screw me over.
Alan smiled as I entered his office. “Shut the door, please, would you, Dante?”
I did so and walked over to his desk. Alan stood facing the wall so that he was half turned towards me, half turned towards the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up his office. Soon I’d have an office like that, once we got all of my shit moved up to this floor.
“Great view, isn’t it?” he asked.
I nodded. “That it is, sir.”
“Ah, enough with the sir.” Alan waved a hand in the air and turned towards me fully. “Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you in here. In fact you’re probably wondering how you made partner at all with that last name of yours.”
I decided that playing dumb wouldn’t get me anywhere. “I didn’t like to complain, sir.”
“Good man, good man.” Alan clapped me on the shoulder. “Truth be told there was a real fuss about it, I’m not gonna lie. People don’t trust you and I can’t blame ‘em. We’ve seen plenty of those mafia bastards walk free because they had a good lawyer in their pocket and you are much better than ‘good’ at this job.”
I nodded. This was building up to something, and I wanted Alan to hurry up and tell me what it was, but I knew it wouldn’t do well to rush him.
Alan walked around his desk slowly, like a king around his throne. “I knew that you were earnest, though. I knew I made a good investment with you. And I want you to succeed in this firm. But we need a guarantee, to soothe everyone’s minds.”
“What did you have in mind, sir?”
Alan gave me a smile as if to saythat’s the ticket.“Well. It’s not public knowledge yet, so don’t spread it around. But I plan on running for Attorney General.”
AG. Holy shit. I had to work hard to keep my eyebrows from shooting up. Of course it made sense, Alan Weston was an ambitious man and wanted to be tough on crime, and everyone loved him for it… but Attorney General? That was definitely a huge step up.
“Congratulations, sir,” I said. “I’m sure you’ll be able to secure the position.”
“With you by my side, I certainly hope to.”
And there it was.
“You see, you’re a success story.” Alan braced his hands on the back of his office chair. “Whether people realize it yet or not doesn’t matter. We’ll help them realize it. You came from a family of crime, a history of it, and you’ve made a name for yourself at one of the most prestigious firms in the country, working for the greater good. I want to help change your image and take you under my wing.”
“…and of course I’ll show the world how appreciative I am of your mentorship in helping me break away from my family and how much work you do to work against organized crime,” I finished for him. “I’m a success story, because of you.”
He nodded. “Exactly.”
I had to hold in a sigh of relief. I’d been worried that Alan would ask me to betray my family in some way. Of course Dad would call me a traitor anyway. Vincent might as well—and Marco wouldn’t care, because he’d already written me off.
But this would still be a lot better than what I’d feared would happen—actively gathering information against my family, turning state’s witness, maybe even trying to prosecute them myself, something like that. Proving my loyalty, somehow, by betraying my family completely.
That was the last thing that I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a part of my family’s business, but I didn’t want to hurt them, either. While I was sure my dad didn’t believe it, I did love him, and my brothers. I wouldn’t want to actively work to take them down even if I didn’t want to be an active part of whatever their schemes were.
“Of course sir,” I said. “I’d love to help. You deserve the post and I’m honored that you think I can help you get there.”
“You’re going to be an asset to the firm,” Alan replied. “I’m just sorry that the others don’t see it yet. But they will. You can count on that.”
We shook hands, and then Alan added, “By the way, I saw the way my daughter was looking at you. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that I have connections of my own, if you break her heart,” he said, his tone almost . . . teasing.
“Of course, sir.” That was a much gentler response than I’d expected.
Huh. Perhaps it was time that I stop keeping Alan Weston at arm’s length. It seemed he liked me more than I’d thought. Of course, this was all for a price… but the fact that he’d just given me permission to try dating his daughter, that spoke to more than just using me as a pawn for his political hopes. That meant he trusted me and liked me at least somewhat. I appreciated it.
And I certainly wasn’t about to let either of these opportunities go to waste.
CHAPTER4
