Anton DeCalvo sat beside his grandfather on the dock of their shipping company’s building. These business lunches were becoming more frequent as his grandfather prepped him to take over the family business. Today, two of the high-up employees in the business, Marco and Stefano, joined them. They would be watching Anton’s every move. So would his grandfather. He swallowed a bite of his burger and kept his ears open as Grandfather discussed business. He was to learn as much from doing as he was to learn from watching others with more experience.

Anton had been in the family business for years now and had learned plenty, but things were different lately. His grandfather was getting up in years and before long, Anton would be the one running the business. If he didn’t learn all he could while he still had his grandfather around, he would fail, taking the business and everyone who worked for them down along with him.

“Are you getting this?” Grandfather asked.

Anton nodded.

“This is the key, right here,” Grandfather said. “As long as this is in place, everything looks legal and the FBI can’t touch us. You don’t have this? You’re screwed, and you screw everyone else. You don’t want to screw everyone, Anty, do you?”

“Of course not,” Anton said. “That’s why I’ve been working under you for almost ten years now.”

“Ahh.” Grandfather slapped his cheek. “My grandson. I thought it would be my son taking over, but we all know how that turned out.”

Anton’s dad was long gone and never wanted anything to do with the family business. Anton had paid the price for this refusal. All through high school, when his parents couldn’t buy him name brand sneakers and he got made fun of, when he couldn’t afford to go on the class ski trip, he had resented them and their meager earnings. He wanted riches and success. His dream then had been to run a big business. Maybe become VP or even CEO of a huge company. And now his dream was here, coming true before his eyes, thanks to his grandfather and years of hard work.

His grandfather was richer than anyone Anton had ever met. And the best part was, in their business, they didn’t have to worry about things like ethics and morals. Nearly everything they did was illegal. To the outside world, they ran a shipping company sending packages and goods around the world. But few people knew that the “goods” they often shipped were things like drugs, guns, and slaves. Anything that needed to be moved and couldn’t be transported through typical means, came through DeCalvo Shipping.

For years, he’d worked directly under his grandfather. That was good for now, but he relished the day he would take over everything. When his paycheck would be even bigger and nothing was out of his reach.

He almost laughed as he thought about it. Not much was out of his reach right now. Women, money, any good time he could think up—it was all his. But having more of a good thing couldn’t be bad. His life had become more than he even dreamed, and it would only get better from here. Soon enough, it would be time for him to find the perfect woman—gorgeous face, smoking body, faithful and loyal to a fault, someone he could trust to keep the secrets, could count on to raise the kids right and be there to take his mind off business at night. They’d have a nice little family, and one day he’d be training his son to take over the family business.

“Now,” Grandfather said. “I’m gonna give you a scenario and I want you to tell me what you’d do.”

Anton set down his burger. Usually, he followed the orders, he didn’t give them. This was his chance to prove he was capable of both. “Okay.”

“A rival shows up and intercepts your shipment. This causes you to lose money and causes your client to lose faith in your ability to deliver. How would you handle it?”

“Is this the first time this rival has gotten in the way?” Anton asked.

“Sure.” Grandfather shrugged and laced his fingers.

“Umm, how much money it cost the company?”

“Thousands.”

Anton looked at his colleagues. Funny that Grandfather actually called them that. Usually the mafia just called employees family members, but whatever. They would be judging his answer. He thought that on a first offense, killing the guy was a little severe, but he had to show he was ruthless.

“Ice ‘em,” Anton said.

Instead of saying he’d made the right call, Grandfather glared. “You think this is a joke?”

“No sir. Just trying to lighten the mood. We take out anyone who gets in our way. Make an example of them so no one else tries it.”

“That’s the right answer,” Grandfather said. “Nothing cute about killing people.”

“No, I know that. I’m sorry.”

“Ahh.” Grandfather slapped his cheek again. “You’re a good kid, Anty.”

Anton tried to read Marco and Stefano’s expressions to see what they thought of his answer, but they were stoic as always.

“We do have the matter of Sergio and Benito Lopez,” Marco said.

Stefano nodded. “It’s been too long without action, boss.”

Grandfather nodded. “As my grandson would say, ice ‘em.”

They nodded.

Anton was always amazed at how nonchalant his grandfather was at ordering people to die. Hopefully, he would be able to be that way. He would order hits and not give a second thought to them. Sit cooly at lunch and over a burger and fries, decide someone’s fate. That was the hardest part of this job, the part Anton hadn’t quite been able to stomach yet. He was getting there, and with his grandfather’s help, he’d learn to keep business business.

If these men had gotten in the way of their company, it was their business to take care of it, set an example, and make sure it didn’t happen again. They had to know that when you shipped with DeCalvo, you got great service, and when you pissed them off, you got killed. That was the only way to make sure they kept their name and influence over their territory. Otherwise, rival families would have stepped in and taken over years ago. His grandfather was tough and ruthless, and that was what kept the family going. That was what was needed. That was what Anton had to become.

He glanced across their parking lot, where three women walked toward a restaurant across the street. People had been coming and going all morning—it was a busy place. He hadn’t taken much time to really look at any of them. But one of the women looked familiar. He couldn’t take his eyes off her until he recognized who it was.

With a start, it hit him. Hannah Malcolm. He hadn’t seen her in years. Not since high school. Not since soon after they broke up. She’d been his girlfriend from the first day she walked into that school, and stayed his girlfriend until the day he left, breaking her heart in the process. It had been ten years since he’d talked to her.

Grandfather must have seen him looking. “Something you like, Anty?”

“That’s my high school girlfriend,” he said.

“Let the past stay in the past,” Stefano said.

“She was special,” Anton said.

“Go on then,” Grandfather said. “Go get her. She’ll fall all over you now.”

“Thanks.” Anton quirked his mouth into a smile and swallowed down the last bite of his burger.

He got up and crossed the parking lot, entering the restaurant with her image still in his mind.