Ten thousand dollars?
His jaw dropped. His shock and amazement were apparent as he exclaimed, “I . . . I don’t know what to say! I never even expected a bonus, and now to receive this much money is unbelievable. Thank you! Thank you so much!”
James shook hands with both men and continued thanking them.
Anthony laughed and said, “Jimmy, you are part of the family now. And we always take care of our family.”
James was on an amazing high for the rest of the day. He was even more committed to his job. He promised himself that he would accomplish much more during his second year.
Over the next few weeks, James noticed that Anthony was spending much less time at the office. When he asked Nick about Anthony’s absence, he was told that Mario was getting Anthony involved with other parts of the business. James was confused, since he thought Anthony was only going to be involved with the restaurant aspect. When he mentioned this to Nick, he got an interesting and insightful response.
“Mario has been grooming Anthony since the kid was in diapers. Anthony will run more than just the restaurant business someday.”
James did not ask any more questions—but later, back in his apartment, he felt uneasy. He thought about the night in college when Anthony had said that he was not his father and did not plan on following him into the crime business. He also remembered John telling him that he was being naive. He tried blocking it all out of his mind, but he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling.
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