It’s been two months since our wedding. I have been happier than I ever thought possible. The only problem is that my days started becoming mundane. I meet Brittany weekly for lunch and shopping, then go exercise at a studio. I usually cook breakfast for Gabriel every morning. We eat at home or at the casino, and once a week at Catherine’s. I never realized how busy my days were when I was staying at the apartment. Back then, my days were occupied with learning and doing research. I filled my days with purpose. I never in my life had time just to twiddle my thumbs, but now I find myself doing that on a regular basis.

Except for today, things are about to change. Catherine called last night and told me it was time for me to learn about the other side of the business. I jumped with joy just to have something to do.

Before I leave for Catherine’s, I call Gabriel to let him know I will be with his mother all day. Of course, I don’t tell him why; Catherine asked me not to. She claims this side of the business is too delicate for a man to handle.

Upon my arrival, I’m escorted to Catherine’s office. I notice her behind her desk, and she has a bunch of files stacked high and her computer is on.

“You’re just in time, Fallon. Come in and have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

As I sit, I remain silent, waiting for her instructions.

“All right, Fallon, like we talked about before, this is a part of our business that is crucial to us. I am entrusting you will be able to handle it. Of course, though, I will stay in the loop until I feel it’s time for me to release complete control. Gabriel, Zander, and Liam are not to be involved in our business unless we see fit, meaning if we have information important for them to know. Secrecy and privacy are the most important part. However, Vin does know some of what goes on. Not everything but enough. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes, but I still don’t see how keeping them in the dark helps the business. I mean, if we gather information that needs to be said to them, how do we explain it? How do we explain how we obtained the information?”

She leans back into her chair and thinks on what I asked.

“I see the problem; my husband never interfered with me when I was conducting business. The boys never questioned how I gathered anything. But with you, I don’t know how Gabriel wouldn’t ask. I guess we’ll simply tell him you are working for me. He shouldn’t ask any more than what we give him. I still wish for all of them to be kept in the dark. Men have a bond with each other when it comes to their sexual prowess.”

“Fine, that should work. So, where do we begin?”

“I have to get you caught up. I have some of our latest information here in these files, but every man gets not only a file, he also gets uploaded into my system.”

“Where would you like me to start?”

“First, this is your new phone. It’s a burner pre-paid. The girls will call you with intel or if they need anything. We use it because if the women or our guys ever get caught, we don't want anything to lead them to us. I have loaded all their numbers on there. I also notified them that by Monday you would be on call. Now when they have a new client, they will call us with the information on what that person likes. If he or she has any preferences in or out of the bedroom, and if they have a certain routine. They will tell us whatever they learn. From there, we start a file on that person. Once the file is started, our people will keep their eyes open for any new information or things they might learn, as in their behavior. The biggest thing is if they witness or overhear anything about their business. Lastly, if we need something done or particular information, we contact them and ask for their help.

“I also have my accountant contacting you tomorrow. He will fill you in on all our people’s investments, as well as how it’s done. He will teach you everything you need to know. This is important, Fallon; the number one rule is: never, ever have someone else conduct parts of your business you cannot understand. Learn from the accountant; that way, if you ever see any discrepancies, you can act fast. There will always be people out there who will try to screw you over, using your stupidity against you. Our friends count on us, and we count on them. We cannot afford to have one person in control of their accounts, without knowing a little about what’s going on.”

“I didn’t think about that. I guess who holds the money has all the power.”

“That’s why it’s important you learn what he does, and how he does it. That’s why we also have a file on him. He owns a very prestigious investment company. This is his side job, and we pay him handsomely – and we keep his secrets.”

She throws a file my way. The name on it says, Stanley Naquin. I see he likes men, but he’s married with four children and is involved heavily in the Catholic church.

Catherine watches me while I read, then states, “Our finance guy lives a double life. He knows some of our business, but not all. I have given all our people a separate identity, so he doesn’t know who they really are or what they do.”

She also informs me Mr. Naquin will come in bi-weekly and teach me for as long as I need. I will also take some online classes.

The phone rings, and Catherine answers. It’s her burner phone, and she puts it on speaker. It’s Candy; she tells us her appointment with Mr. Williams has been canceled due to his mother dying. Before hanging up, she tells me hello and asks me how married life is. I’m going to like this job.

“Catherine, why did we need to know about Mr. Williams’ mother passing?”

“Mr. Williams works for the shipyard and has control over all shipments. He has always been close to his mother, and with her passing, that means he will be grieving. We could use that to our advantage, but unfortunately right now this information is useless to us. We’ll still put it in the file. You never know what tomorrow could bring.”

“Clever. I didn’t think of that. I guess no matter how small the intel is, it’s still important.”

“Exactly, information is power. For right now, we will send our condolences and flowers.”

She starts to teach me how to upload the files onto a hard drive, then shows me exactly how she wants them cataloged. Hours later, I am still typing away and reading it all. By twelve o’clock, Catherine has lunch brought in. I’m grateful; my stomach has been upset all morning, and maybe some food will help settle it. While we sit and eat, I ask her about two files I don’t see.

“Catherine, I haven’t seen anything on Senator Rollins or Theodore Trahan. Have I just not gotten to them yet?”

“No, I am going to handle those two accounts. Don’t ask about them again. You will not be given access to them ever.”

I study her face, and she is dead serious. I wonder what the hell is up with that. We continue to eat in silence; it seems like I hit a nerve with her.

I’m almost finished with my meal when my stomach fights back. I jump up and go straight to the trash can. My stomach revolts with violence. Catherine is holding my hair, while I can’t hold anything down.

“Fallon, are you OK?”

“I think so. I’m so sorry. My stomach hasn’t felt too good for a couple of days now; I think I might have caught something. Oh god, I hope I don’t get you sick.”

“Why don’t you go lay down, dear? Hopefully, you will feel better after you’ve rested.”

I agree to leave her, and I go to my old room and rest.

Mother calls, letting me know Fallon wasn’t feeling well and I should bring a suitcase of clothes for her, so she and I can spend the weekend there, so she could keep an eye on her. I think it’s a perfect idea. The weekends are chaotic for the casino, and if Fallon’s sick, my mother will be a great help to watch over her. I can’t wait till Liam is ready to start handling more responsibility; then I’ll be able to spend more time with my wife. I know she gets lonely, and it hurts that I can’t be with her like she deserves.

Zander comes into my office, fixes himself a drink, then asks, “I heard you had a run-in with Angelle earlier. Should we be worried?”

“Yeah, she thought it was OK for her to show her face around here, like there was no problem.”

“I didn’t realize there was a problem with her.”

“There has always been a problem when it comes to Angelle. I can’t believe I allowed myself to entertain her ideas of us for as long as I did. She thinks I owe her something now, claiming I embarrassed her whole family by marrying Fallon.”

Zander states, “That might be a problem if the Senator thinks that.”

“I don’t think the Senator has the balls to fuck with us. I just need to make sure she stays the fuck away from me and my wife.”

“That could be another problem. How do you plan to keep Angelle and Fallon separate during social functions?”

“I have no fucking idea, but I need to figure it out. I can’t have Angelle insulting Fallon.”

Zander chuckles and says, “I think, brother, our little Fallon can handle more than you think. If I were you, I would let your wife loose on Angelle’s ass. My money would be on Fallon.”

“Wouldn’t that be something.”

“It would.” Changing the subject, Zander veers off into a territory I wasn’t ready for. “Well, are you ready to talk about Father, or are you just going to continue being silent about it?”

“I don’t know, Zander. Why didn’t you ever come to me? Not once did you ever mention the truth about Mom and Dad.”

“I wanted to, Gabriel. Especially when you were a prick to Mom or talked as if all his problems were her fault. You just don’t know how many times I wanted to shut you the fuck up, but Mom never wanted you to find out.”

“Now I’m struggling to know dad was a bastard and Mom had to fight him to raise us.”

“I have a feeling she did more than fight him.”

What the hell is Zander hinting at?

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I remember the sounds that used to come from their room. I could never block that shit out.”

“You mean, he would force himself on her?”

Zander shrugs and stares into his glass before he answers, “I don’t know. All I know is, she won’t ever tell us, but if I had to guess, yeah, I think the motherfucker would rape her.”

How could I have blocked all of this out? I remember a lot of yelling and screaming, but I don’t have any memory of it being that bad.

“I don’t know how I could have been so oblivious to it all.”

“I think you just put all the blame on Mom because you wanted a dad. By the time I was old enough to enjoy him, he wasn’t the man you seemed to remember, and with Liam we both protected him. When we knew shit was going on, we entertained him so he wouldn’t notice.”

“I do remember that. I just wish I hadn’t been so blind. I don’t know how to express how sorry I am for always treating Mother like I did.”

“Well, we all have things to be sorry for. I’m sorry I allowed Mom to keep me from talking about it or protecting her. I wanted to kill him that night when I saw what he had done to her. I saw her raw for the first time. She was free of makeup, the bruises were so severe, and there were scars, Gabriel.” He throws his glass across the room and shouts, “Fucking scars, Gabriel! I look at her sometimes, and I see all is her beauty, but then I remember all the scars. I prayed I would forget about them, but I can’t. I have fucking nightmares about what I saw. I seriously don’t know how she covers what I’ve seen. But Gabriel, you can’t fuck with her anymore, now that it’s all out in the open. I won’t put up with you emotionally abusing her. Not anymore.”

“I promise, Zander. I’m sorry. I’m the oldest, and I feel like I let everyone down.”

“You weren’t given a choice, Gabriel. Imagine how I feel. I knew and did nothing. I let her convince me it was for the best. I’ve been sorry about it for a long fucking time.”

He gets up and leaves without another word.

I’m such an asshole.