Chapter 4 - The Little PartnerRory stood beside Vincent, her hands tucked neatly into the front pocket of her red hoodie. She looked up at the towering boss with intense scientific curiosity.
"Are you magic?" she asked.
Vincent paused. For the first time all evening, a genuine, ghost of a smile touched the corner of his lips.
"Why do you ask that, Rory?"
"Because," she said seriously, pointing at Sterling, who was now weeping softly into the sticky floor tiles, "Mom tried to make him pay for eleven weeks with her mouth, and he said no. You used your phone for ten seconds, and now he looks like he swallowed a bug."
Marcus let out a low, rumbling laugh from behind them.
Vincent stood up to his full, imposing height. He looked down at the child, then looked past her, spotting Elena frozen behind the wooden partition. Their eyes met across the dim dining room.
Elena’s heart slammed against her ribs. She braced herself for the worst. The underworld boss was going to punish her, fire her, or worse, for letting her kid wander into his domain.
Instead, Vincent nodded respectfully. A single, sharp dip of his chin.
Then he looked back down at Rory. "It’s not magic, little one. It’s simple mathematics. Some men only understand the exchange of value when the cost becomes higher than the profit." He reached into his tailored wool coat and pulled out a heavy, embossed business card made of matte black metal. He pressed it into Rory’s tiny palm. "If anyone ever tells you or your mother 'no' again, you tell them to call this number. Ask for me."
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Rory stared down at the heavy card, her eyes wide. "Can I trade it for ice cream?"
"You can buy the ice cream factory," Vincent replied smoothly.
