them tonight! I have a reservation for us at The Breakers.” Kristen wedged up right next to him as they went back to the car. She wanted him to drive. He kept his arm around her as they motored back to the restaurant. Anthony wasn’t about to leave his Lamborghini on the street overnight, so they drove their cars side by side and smiled at each other on the way to the resort.
Anthony and his fiancée shared a beautiful and romantic night. He arranged to have some of their clothes delivered to them, so after breakfast, they went to the golf course for a quick nine holes. Before Anthony let Kristen go back to her Ferrari, he held her and twirled her around saying “I want you to move into my house with me.” Kristen was hesitant “I’ll live with you, but I’m not selling my place until after we’re married.”
Anthony looked a bit defeated “I am going to buy you a mansion on the ocean, just like I know you want!” Kristen chuckled “Well, if you are going to do that, then I would probably try to start selling it now. But I won’t close the deal until after the honeymoon.” She loved the fact they were planning a life together. She had been on her own for too long.
Anthony looked at his Rolex and said “I would love to reserve the Breakers for another night, but I need to go home to New York to help my brothers handle some issues. I don’t know how long it is going to take, but I’ll call you every night and put you to bed.” Kristen pouted “Can’t I come with?” He answered “No, I want you here. You can start moving your stuff in and I will have my House Manager make all your arrangements.” Kristen said reluctantly “OK, I guess. I am going to miss you!”
Anthony said firmly “I want you to stay out of the clubs. Look at your ring every time you think about going out. You’re mine now! Stay home, and start knitting some baby booties.” She looked at him like he was joking. He was smiling, but she couldn’t be sure. “I’m going to impregnate you next time I see you. So, stop taking the pill.” Kristen laughed “Not until we’re married. We are doing this the right way!”
16 A.K.A. “TONY”
The minute Anthony Fiore embarked from his private jet onto New York soil, he became Tony.
“Tony” Fiore was proud of his Sicilian heritage and admired his long line of ruthless card-carrying family members of the Cosa Nostra. His father Franco recently died from cancer while serving ten of his eighty-year sentence for racketeering and murder. His grandfather Antonio, who Tony was named for, was gunned down in a Manhattan restaurant several years before.
Tony became a “Made Man” on his twenty-first birthday. Instead of taking him to his first bar, his father brought his son down to the docks to help kill three longshoremen who worked for him. They had been causing a lot of trouble and keeping the contents of the shipments they were hijacking for themselves.
The Fiores walked carefully through the dilapidated buildings until they sensed the men were inside one of them. They burst through the door and took them by surprise. Once they had them cornered, it was Tony’s time to impress his father, but he was not sure that he was comfortable with the thought of killing someone. He braced himself and raised the gun at two of the men. Then he let it drop by his side.
His father looked at him with impatience and walked over to him. He firmly lifted Tony’s arm and pulled the gun out of his hand. He then aimed at the men and shot them point blank. He glanced over at Tony who now had his eyes tightly closed trying to force back tears. The third man took off running and Franco then pulled out his own gun, stopping him in his tracks.
“Come on Tony, let’s go.” Tony followed his father with his head hanging down. He knew that he had disappointed him. They left the dock area and walked to the car. His father’s minions later took care of hauling the bodies out of there and feeding them to the carp.
As they drove, Franco said “Don’t worry about it Tony. You are a brave boy, but I have always known this life has never been for you. You are not like your brothers, you are special. Today is going to be our secret. But no one besides our family can ever know. Otherwise, we can’t survive if others don’t think we are all united. If we show we are vulnerable in any area, we will lose all respect. Tony never forgot those words and always kept on his game face in the years to come.
It had always been obvious which direction Tony was heading. While he was growing up, he had preferred to go to school instead of hanging out in the streets with his friends and his two younger brothers, Marco and Vincente. Later, he made top grades and ascended to Yale. Like Kristen’s father, he was inducted into all the right groups there. Anthony easily earned a degree in Chemical Engineering and went on to Harvard Business School, graduating with honors.
Now he was the founder and CEO of a chemical manufacturing company that was based in Miami, and predominant in the world market. He was very active at the helm. His father was very proud of how Anthony had succeeded, but still let him know he would always have his family obligations. There was no way Tony could have chosen any other life. His path was determined way before his birth.
Tony was loyally fierce to his roots, and when his father passed away, he stepped up to take over. Without Franco, the once powerful Fiore family was now near the bottom of the New York hierarchy. As time progressed, by Anthony’s choice, they gave up most of their holdings and only managed some minor gambling and loan operations. Tony still kept a close watch on what was left of the family business, aided by his two brothers.
This year, Anthony temporarily delegated most of his corporate duties to his Vice-Presidents to micro manage, and now only concentrated on the chemical company’s bigger issues and more importantly, courting his clients on the golf course, or his yacht. The fact he was such a powerful CEO, helped disguise all his earnings and let him enjoy his boat, jet, and all his toys in the open.
Tony was under the radar and the general public was not at all aware of him. But he was well-known to the other New York factions, those “in the know”, and of course, the government. He was under constant surveillance.
Though it was the Sicilian tradition for the oldest son to carry on, he was trying to groom his brothers to eventually take over. Right now, the Fiores were in the midst of a major power play. With his father gone, others felt they could move in on their territory. There had been some unsanctioned hits on their group and the Fiore family was out for retaliation. Though Tony truly wanted to break up the family business, he still needed to preserve their honor. His father and grandfather had worked too hard for it.
Luckily, his brother Marco wasn’t above grabbing a gun and getting it done by himself, thus eliminating the middle men and the rats! He enjoyed the hunt. It was better than sex! Right before he died, his father told Marco about the dock incident and that Tony was not truly “made”. Marco instantly lost respect for his brother and was now constantly challenging his authority.
Marco knew that Anthony wanted out of this life and was waiting for the day that Tony would pass over his power to him and disappear in the background. “Anthony” only seemed to get in the way and Marco blamed him for the Fiores losing their place in New York. There were other options to get Tony out of the picture, but Marco would never consider those. The brothers had a strong bond. They were blood, and that was good enough, for now.
Kristen was only aware of Anthony and had no clue about Tony. She wasn’t happy that he was making more and more trips to New York. But she knew she had to live with it because it was what she signed up for when she agreed to marry a corporate icon. She just wished he would be involved with more of the wedding planning.
Anthony loved the Kristen that was beneath the beautiful and at times, spoiled brat exterior. She had an edge to her and was never boring. She was easy to talk to and very accepting. He knew that someday he could tell her about his other life in New York and that she would be alright with it. Nothing much fazed her. She wasn’t freaked out and was not like most women who only constantly thought about themselves. She was one of the guys and he
knew she would make a great mother! Anthony truly did resent the fact that he did not have the extra time to be with his fiancée.
As their relationship solidified, Tony’s trips up north became more frequent. Kristen hated that he went there all the time and couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t let her go there too. She began complaining about this to him and finally one day he said “OK, I am taking you to New York with me on my trip there tomorrow. We are only going for the day. I want you to meet my brothers.”
Kristen was sleeping peacefully the next morning when Anthony rolled her over and said “Get up Stratford! Time to go. We’ll grab some breakfast on my jet.” Kristen was very groggy and looked for a small suitcase to pack. Anthony stopped her and smiled “I told you, we are only going for the day. Let’s go!”
She followed him down the stairs and out to his Lincoln. There was a substitute chauffeur who was wearing a rumpled suit and munching on a doughnut. As he opened the car door for them, Anthony took one look at him. “Really man, really?” He handed him a fifty and said “Get that suit pressed before you pick us up again. When is my regular driver coming back?” “Don’t know” the man mumbled. Anthony rolled his eyes