My mother called me early the next morning to invite me home for brunch. I knew she was eager to question me about my marriage to Dante. I was actually surprised that it had taken her so long to contact me. Perhaps she wanted to give Dante and me some time alone to get to know each other . I told her I could not come to the brunch but would be there for tea time. I wasn’t sure how long my visit to the casino would last.
I chose a chic beige costume and modest heels for the occasion. I didn’t want to look too sexy as a first impression. I had a feeling that I would have a hard time gaining everyone’s respect even without showing my legs.
When I came down the stairs, Dante was already waiting in the lobby. As usual, he was impeccably dressed in a dark brown three-piece suit and matching oxford shoes. His gaze darted toward me and I hoped he approved of my clothes. “Is it okay?” I pointed to my body.
“You look like a businesswoman. This is the right choice for today,” Dante said, nodding. I approached him. I didn’t try to take his hand or kiss him, although I wanted to.
“Just for today?”
“When you welcome our high rollers, you can dress more casually. Most of them are traditionalists, so a dress or skirt would be a wise choice.
My eyebrows rose. “I thought you didn’t pick me for this job because of my looks.”
Dante’s eyes traveled all over my body. “Valentina, only a blind man would not notice you. It’s always nice to charm the high rollers the way you would entertain guests invited to a party at our house. They know who you are. They know you are mine and taking your time to welcome them and talk to them about our new services will make them feel special. No one will confuse your hospitality with inappropriate flirting.
I looked at him doubtfully, but I was not going to argue with him. I was too grateful that he would allow me to work. I did not need to listen to rumors to know exactly what they would say about me once people found out that the Boss’s wife was not satisfied with being a trophy wife.
*** We took Dante’s Mercedes for our ride through Chicago’s industrial area because a snowstorm made the roads impassable for the Porsche. After thirty minutes, during which Dante explained what kind of gambling was most popular in our casinos and who the top high rollers were, we stopped in front of a gate barring access to an underground garage. Behind it loomed a huge warehouse with windows covered with dirt and walls covered with graffiti . A guard in a small booth greeted Dante and opened the gate for us. We walked down the slope to an anonymous parking lot. Nothing suggested the presence of a casino, but of course it was logical that the Outfit should hide its illegal gambling activities. A few other cars were already parked in the garage. Dante drove the Mercedes into the spot between a sleek black BMW and a pretentious red Mustang with snow chains around its huge tires. I had a feeling I knew who the latter belonged to.
Dante and I got out of the car. To my surprise, Dante put his hand on my back as he led me toward a rusty elevator at the other end of the garage.
“Is it safe?” I asked suspiciously. The thing looked like it was in desperate need of assistance.
Dante chuckled, “It’s all make-believe.” For a moment, his eyes met mine and an unexpected warmth filled me. Dante pressed a small black button and the elevator doors opened . The inside was not much better than the outside. It was a freight elevator with bare steel walls and a scuffed floor. Dante pulled a magnetic card out of his pocket and slipped it into a slot I hadn’t even noticed before. It was nowhere near the obvious elevator buttons. Dante noticed my curious look. “We’ve never had a visit from the feds, but if they ever check the warehouse, it will make it harder for them to find out what’s below us.”
The moment Dante had inserted the card, the elevator began to descend. The ride was quick, and when the doors finally opened, I was breathless.
We entered a vast underground area with luxurious red and gold carpets, chandeliers and dozens of huge tables for games of poker, blackjack, roulette and whatever else was played here. Flat-screen televisions on one wall of the casino showed everything from the African Cup of Nations to the darts championship in Scotland, from camel races in Dubai to ski tournaments in the Alps. Around the wall were couches for those who wanted to watch the athletes or teams to bet on. At the end of the room was a bar that took up almost the entire width of the room with hundreds of bottles of liquor, wine, and champagne.
At that moment the casino was deserted except for two cleaning women vacuuming the carpet. Several doors led to what I assumed were private rooms for VIP guests .
“In the back are the offices and a welcome area for high rollers,” Dante explained as he guided me across the room to a dark wooden door next to the bar.
“Do I work every day?”
Dante looked at me quizzically. “You can work whenever you want. No one will force you to work at all. But you’ll always get a notification when a high roller is scheduled, so you can decide if you’ll be there to greet them.
“That’s fine. You said there were special events. Is there anything being prepared in the next few weeks? For Valentine’s Day, for example?” It was still four weeks away from the day, but planning an event took time.
Dante lightly stroked my back, surprising me with the gesture. I wasn’t even sure if he noticed what he had done, as his face was still distant, except for the wry smile directed at me. “Valentine’s Day is not really something that men who come here are interested in. Even if they are married, their wives probably don’t know they are coming here. As I said, we always have at least a dozen prostitutes in the bar area, and the back bedrooms are never empty.”
“So I won’t just be running a casino, I’ll also be the queen of the brothel.”
Dante laughed. A real laugh. I looked at him to make sure my ears weren’t playing a trick on me, but the smile was already fading from his face. “You are not their pimp. You can introduce our high rollers to their free girls, but other than that, the prostitution part of the casino is in Raphael’s hands.
Raphael was Aria’s cousin. He was not related to me though.
With satisfaction, I realized that my guess about the car was correct. I had heard rumors about his swanky character.
“Isn’t he the one whose finger got cut off for looking at Aria with his mouth open?” Everyone knew that little piece of information, but I was curious about Dante’s feelings toward the incident. I still remembered the huge stir it had caused years earlier.
Dante’s lips thinned. “That’s him. Rocco Scuderi allowed Luca to punish Raffaele.”
We stopped in front of the door. “But you wouldn’t have done that?”
“I would not have allowed someone from New York to inflict punishment on my turf,” he said in an implacable tone. I wasn’t sure why, but my body reacted immediately to Dante’s fierce ferocity, wanting to be alone with him, to let him have his way with me like last night.
Ignoring my body’s needs, I said, “So you don’t think Raphael deserved it.” Personally, I thought it was a bit extreme to cut someone’s finger off because he was staring at him, but Luca was known for his cool head, even in the Outfit.
“I didn’t say that. But I would have insisted on punishing him myself, since he is my responsibility. But what’s done is done.”
“So Raphael is the deputy director?”
“No, he is in charge of the prostitutes. He makes sure we always have enough available. He cooperates with Thomas for this purpose.”
I wrinkled my nose, my standard reaction upon hearing his name. Dante arched a blond eyebrow. “Is it because of prostitution or because of Thomas? I thought you were friends with his wife Bibiana.
“Bibiana is my best friend, that’s why I can’t stand that man . I guess there is no chance that Thomas is a traitor, so will you be able to get rid of him?” Dante scrutinized my face. “You are serious.”
“YES. He’s been treating Bibiana like garbage since they got married. I wouldn’t shed a single tear if I put a bullet in his head.”
For a couple of moments our eyes met and I got the ‘impression that Dante wouldn’t mind a moment of privacy with me either, but then that moment was gone.
“He is a loyal soldier. He has never given me reason to doubt him. I can’t do anything for him.”
“Not even if I tell you that he rapes Bibiana?” I knew Bibiana didn’t want people to know, but maybe Dante could help her. It wasn’t as if she would tell others.
She rested her hand on the doorknob, her eyes somber. “She’s his wife.” “That doesn’t mean he can rape her,” I hissed.
“I know, but I can’t tell my men how they should treat their wives. Not even a Chief can interfere in a marriage.
My decision to ban rape as punishment or entertainment has already been met with resentment.”
I looked away to hide how moved I was by this topic.
Sometimes it was easy to forget the horrible things happening in the Outfit.
“Are you ready to go in? Raphael and Leo, the assistant director , are waiting for you in your office.
I took a deep breath, then nodded.
Dante opened the door and, with his hand still pressed against my back, led me into a long hallway with five other doors.
“I assume these are not intended for the public, unlike the doors that branch off the main floor?”
“YES. This is only for you and other employees. The outer doors lead to different rooms that prostitutes can use with their clients.”
I nodded. It was surreal that I would soon be working here.
Dante guided me to the door at the end of the hall and opened it. Behind it was a spacious windowless office with a desk, a meeting table with six chairs, a sofa and two chairs in front of the desk. Raphael, who was a couple of years younger than me, and a middle-aged man with a mustache occupied the chairs. Both stood up when Dante and I entered.
My eyes were immediately drawn to Raphael’s hand. His finger had been reattached by the Outfit doctor but was sticking out and was obviously stiff.
“Raphael, Leo,” Dante said coldly, dropping his hand from my back to shake theirs. Then he nodded toward me.
“This is my wife, Valentina. As I told you yesterday, she will take Dino’s place.” I assumed he was the guy who had filled his pockets with Outfit money.
I tilted my head, hoping to appear confident. I shook hands first with Leo, who was a few inches smaller than me, then with Raphael. Both men greeted me amicably, but I could see in their eyes that they were not happy with Dante’s choice to involve me in Outfit’s business. They would not have liked to have a woman as boss, even though Leo would still do most of the management work.
“Why don’t you give Valentina a tour? You know the details of this place better than I do,” Dante said to Leo, who nodded before looking at me with a stiff smile. “Right this way,” he said as he left the room and returned to the main floor. “Our opening hours are from six in the evening to six in the morning. Of course, sometimes a group of big gamblers want to reserve their seats for a different time slot. Then we open for them.”
It was not yet noon, so there was still plenty of time before the casino opened its doors. This explained why everything was still deserted. I pointed to a booth. “Is that where customers exchange their money for chips?”
Leone nodded, “YES. If a customer has no money, we offer them credit.”
“At fair interest rates, I’m sure,” I joked.
“Certainly,” Leo agreed with a toothless smile.
“And if they don’t return our money, who takes care of it ?”
“The same soldiers who collect all our money,” Dante said. He was following us. I wasn’t sure if he was making sure the men were being civilized or if he wanted to see how I was behaving.
“I assume this is an invitation-only place, so how do you get the word out? Do clients have to sign some sort of nondisclosure clause?
Raphael huffed, but fell silent when Dante gave him a grim look.
“We don’t need nondisclosure clauses. We tell clients that they can’t tell people about it unless they ask our permission in advance and we do a background check on the person. Our clients know they have to keep their mouths shut.”
“No one wants to mess with us unless they have a death wish,” Raphael said proudly.
Raphael was starting to get on my nerves. He was a little overconfident. The loss of a finger did not seem to have diminished his self-esteem. “And you are responsible for the girls?”
“I make sure the whores make our clients happy. And I choose the sluts who sit at the bar to make the men horny, and I also decide who will be one of the free girls. I test them all to make sure they know how to suck a cock and can take it in the ass.
Anal is a must. Most of the poor bastards don’t get it at home.
Dante’s eyes burned with anger but he didn’t interfere. Maybe he thought it would make me look weak.
After all, I was going to be the boss of this casino. “I hope you don’t talk to customers like that,” I said to Raphael.
Raphael’s throat turned red, from anger or embarrassment I couldn’t tell. Probably a little from both. He opened his mouth then closed it again after a glance at Dante. I had a feeling that Raphael would annoy me more than Leo.
“Are any of the girls here yet? I’d like to talk to them.”
Raphael’s eyes darted between Leo and Dante, as if he needed their approval before he could answer a simple question. “Most of them work at the Palermo Club until five o’clock and then come here.”
Were the girls who worked here from the Palermo Club?
Had any of them slept with Dante? I had to ask Bibiana if she knew the names of the women Dante chose when he frequented the club. “Then I will talk to them tomorrow.
Make sure they arrive early so I can have a word with them before they open our doors.”
“What is there to talk about? They are mindless whores, nothing more than three-hole whores.
“Raphael, that’s enough. I will not tolerate you talking to my wife like this,” Dante said in a dangerously low voice.
Raphael lowered his head but not before giving me a fierce look. I decided to ignore him for now. “Are there any major high rollers visiting today?”
Leo shook his head. “NO. But two senators and some of their friends are coming tomorrow. They don’t play that much. Mostly they spend their nights with girls.
“So we’re humoring them because we want them to protect our interests in the Senate?”
“Exactly,” Leo said, surprised, as if he could not believe that a woman could come to such a conclusion on her own. Men in our world would be surprised at how much their wives and daughters knew about the life they are trying to protect them from . You can’t grow up in a mob family and not understand much of what is going on.
Dante nodded in approval and a strange sense of pride filled me.
“All right, so I will be there tomorrow to introduce myself to them and meet the rest of our employees. I hope we will work well together.”
Leo nodded, but Raphael evidently did not think we would.
Dante put his hand on my back and we walked back to our car.
“So what do you think?” he asked as he started the car.
“I think Raphael will give me a hard time. He obviously doesn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t do well with women in general, unless they are prostitutes and have to do what he says. Don’t take it personally.”
“I don’t. I couldn’t care less what he thinks of me.
“No,” Dante disagrees. “He should respect you.”
“Because it would reflect badly on you if he didn’t.”
“That, and because you are his boss. You will make sure everything runs smoothly. I hope Leo will help you .”
“He seemed to be doing well. But you don’t trust him?”
“I don’t trust either of them.”
I nodded. “They seemed surprised when I said something intelligent. It really annoyed me.
“Most men prefer to think of their women as ignorant and incapable. I know the same men who disapproved of my ruling against rape will disapprove of you working in our casino.
“I think the crowd should stop underestimating women.”
Dante gave me a sidelong glance. “Maybe you can convince them.”
Did he really believe that? A question burned on the tip of my tongue. “Did your first wife work?”
His expression darkened. “NO. She kept busy with social engagements as most women in our world do.
“Oh, sure.” I wondered if although he offered me a job at the casino, he was displeased with my desire to work.
Would he prefer a trophy wife? Someone who looked good at parties, warmed his bed, and kept the staff in check? I decided to change the subject. “My mother invited me. I assume you have work to do?”
“Yes, of course. But I can accompany you to your parents’ house if you want . She’s on her way. I can tell Enzo or Taft to pick you up when you’re done.
“My mother will be overjoyed,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Would you rather we go home and you to your parents without me?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I wasn’t joking. My mother will be stunned with pleasure at seeing you again.”
“Your father is one of my underbosses. It’s not like your mother hasn’t met me countless times.”
“But not as her son-in-law. I’ve never seen her happier than when she found out you were stooping to marry me.
Dante’s eyebrows came together. “Because you were married before?”
“Obviously. I was damaged goods by our standards. Not a pure, innocent girl like Gianna or the many other girls who flatter you at parties.
“Believe me, I’m more than glad I didn’t agree to marry Gianna. She is a troublemaker. I don’t have the patience for someone like her. And I don’t pay much attention to girls at parties.
I huffed. “You’re a man. How can you not notice their smoldering looks?”
“Smokin’?” asked Dante with a hint of amusement. “And I didn’t say I didn’t notice. I make sure I’m always aware of everything going on in the room around me, but I’m not interested in their silly attempts at flirting. They adulate their image of me, but I’m not that man.
“I don’t know. Girls think you’re sexy because you’re powerful and aloof. The ice prince whose heart they want to melt.
Dante shook his head, then something changed on his face and he gave me another look. “So your mother didn’t know that you never consummated your first marriage?”
“Of course not. I don’t talk to her about things like that.
And believe me, she would find a way to tell you about my virginity because it would increase my value. She would die of happiness if she found out that you were the man who took my virtue. I froze. “You won’t tell anyone about Antonio, will you?”
Dante narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “I don’t see how that would help anyone. Of course, if I could involve my men, my search for Antony’s lover would be easier.”
“I won’t tell you his name,” I interjected, knowing where this was going and really hoping he wouldn’t get mad again.