He chuckled and hit the intercom once more. “Liu, the Red Tigers are ready to leave, but you might want to bring help to carry them out of here. Oh, and someone to help clean up a little.”
“Right away, Boss,” Liu responded.
“Do I get one of those?” I asked.
Daddy looked at me confused. “An intercom?”
“No, a Liu. He seems incredibly helpful,” I clarified.
“You have six men who now work for you, use one of them. You can’t poach my favorite assistant,” Daddy said, brushing off my request.
I stood and crossed my arms. “Why are you trying to force me to interact with them so much? I understand as a good leader I need to know and trust my people, but that’s not the vibe I’m getting from you.”
“Vibe? Really, Astin,” Father scolded with a chuckle before he became more serious. “The one thing I wish my father had done for me is teach me how I needed the right support. Thankfully, I had your uncles in my corner since day one watching my back. Over time, I gained the respect of the rest of my council, but they were nevermypeople. They’d gotten their position from my father or deals I had to stand behind. When I decided you were going to step into this role, I wanted you to have what I didn’t.”
“Those aren’t my men,” I argued.
Father gave me a knowing look. “You haven’t even tried, Astin. While you might have put the fear of God into them after your little display with Ryker, you have a long way to go to earn their respect. Once you do that, then the next step is their loyalty. I might have picked them, but they aren’t loyal to me personally. They respect the Caprioni name and the power we have, but they’re still wild and free. Those boys need a firm hand to take all their passion and knowledge and funnel it into something good.”
“You’ve really thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” I realized. “Why these men? There has to be more to them than just not caring I’m a woman and not having true loyalty to anyone. Out of everyone in this whole organization, you hand-picked these six men.”
“That, daughter, is for me to know and you to find out,” Daddy answered with a glint of humor in his gaze.
There was a knock before a smartly dressed and handsome man entered, took one look at the mess I’d made, and signaled to someone. “We’ll need to take the trash out the back. Can’t have anyone getting cold feet when they realize the new underboss isn’t as soft as she looks.”
A grin tugged at my lips at his words. By his voice, I guessed he was Liu, but what I was surprised by was how young he was to have the position of personal aide to my father. Liu had to be maybe a year or two older than me, making me wonder who his family might be that he was so comfortable in his place here.
Two bulky men, not the guards watching the door, grabbed the bikers. The one picking up Big Time took a look at his new shave then glanced at me. “Is this a sign we shouldn’t grow beards?” the man asked.
“Not at all, I like a man with a well-groomed beard. It just can’t be attached to a mouth that says rude things to me and the boss,” I explained. He nodded and dragged the president out of the office without another word.
Liu walked up to the desk and extended a hand to me. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person. I’ve heard much about you from your father, and I look forward to working alongside you in certain matters.”
“Lay-oh,” I said, sounding out his name as I shook his hand. “What’s the origin of that?”
“My mother is Chinese, and my father is Italian. She told my father the third child she’d get to name after her family,” Liu explained.
“Oh,” I gasped, realizing who he was. “Your mother is amazing. I’ve been following her campaign to be re-elected as senator. I don’t see her having any issues. Her opponent is a joke.”
“She’d be delighted to know she has your support as well as your father’s. The Caprioni Family has always been a proud supporter of my mother and her goals for the country,” Liu said, sounding like he was reading from a script or something.
I blinked at him a few times, unsure of what exactly to say to that. “Wow, how tight is that tie of yours?”
“Excuse me?” Liu asked as a woman with a bucket of cleaning supplies entered. “Ah, Kate, thank you for coming. The incident occurred in front of the desk. I don’t think much got on the carpet this time.”
“I was asking if you’re always this high-strung,” I commented when his dark-brown gaze returned to mine. “Trust me, I get it. Working for my father is a huge responsibility, but I’m not your boss nor do you need to tow the family line with me. I’m not going to rat you out to your mother if you tell me she’s a witch who runs your household and only makes it look like your father has any say in things so she doesn’t look bad to voters.”
Liu frowned at me. “Have you been looking into my family?”
“Hi, I’m Astin, underboss to the Caprioni Family. I look into everyone’s family who has a connection to mine. Funny thing is they don’t mention you, ever,” I stated.
What I said might come across as me being a bitch, but what I was really trying to do was show him he didn’t need to keep up the act with me. If Daddy trusted him enough to be his personal assistant, then that said more than enough about his loyalty and abilities. I wasn’t looking for him to prove anything to me, just for him to be himself.
“My mother is an absolute bitch who’s amazing at her job,” Liu announced, turned on his heel, and left the room.
Confused by our whole interaction, I looked at my father who seemed to have a contemplative look on his face. “What was that?” I asked, taking a seat on the corner of his desk.
“That, my dearest daughter, is something I’ve been trying to get him to admit for nine years,” Daddy murmured, rubbing his chin. “I took him in when his mother announced she was running for governor. He was the child she couldn’t control. Liu’s too smart for his own good. He needed his brilliant mind to be put to good work, so I took him under my wing, and he’s become invaluable to me.”