Page 57 of Unfettered

For all the good that did me. Both my children are dead, and the Organization my family spent decades building lies in tatters. But those are simply stumbling blocks, stepping stones to meeting the ultimate goal. For every hit against me, every step back, my adversaries have faced far more.

So they can continue to burn my world down around me, as their shortsightedness will work in my favor. Despite every match struck against me, the Council still has not won, nor will they.

Ifall on the assortment of baked goods without hesitation. Roman laughs as he pours me a cup of coffee. I smile at him, so fucking in love in ways I didn’t think was possible. And not just because these chocolate croissants are amazing when paired with the perfectly-balanced coffee the kitchen keeps in stock.

After making sure my plate is adequately filled, I start on another one for Roman. I notice there's his favorite cornettos—the Italian version of a croissant. Since the two of us disagree on this issue, it appears the kitchen has sent out both options.

When I stumble upon the mini crostates, my heart melts further. It dawns on me that Master must have put this together. It has everyone’s favorites, not just mine and Roman’s. I touch my chest, loving that he did this, even if I can’t imagine how much time it took. It also angers me that he’s been working in a hostile environment just to give us nourishment.

Sighing, I add a berry one to Roman’s plate before sneaking a chocolate one onto mine. After seeing Roman’s quirked eyebrow, I roll my eyes and grab myself something that doesn’t contain chocolate. Really, given the agenda for today’s hellish meeting, I should be allowed all the chocolate and coffee, to prevent potential…stabbings. Still, I can’t prevent a smile from spreading across my face at my love’s concern.

“Alright, if everyone is ready?” Carter starts, even if he seems to be amused by the ferocity of which the basket of yumminess is disappearing. At our chorus of agreement, he continues, “Then we have a long meeting to get through. First up, we have discussed punishment regarding the bullying and want to relay the results.”

I notice Jude straighten, while Roman ducks his head. I pat my love’s leg discreetly, but I still feel this is the best route. I know he hates it, but there must be consequences.

“First, let me say that we greatly appreciate everything the Voices are doing. We understand you have taken on a significant portion of the workload. As such, I want to reassure you that measures are being taken to provide you with assistance.

“On that note, we will be giving every Voice, and our IT department, a PA. We want to make things easier for you. Part of the reason for the consequences you’ll face is not just because the situation should have been reported to us, but because we want you to speak up if we’re giving you an unreasonable amount of work.

“Jude, I know your argument was that you didn’t have the time to fix the situation, but as Lio pointed out, we only needed to be told that the situation existed. We would have figured out a solution together at that point, as the Council. It’s what we’re here for now. There’s no need for things to fall on just one person.”

Jude blows out a breath and nods. It’s a good reminder of what we’re striving for, and I heartily approve of Carter’s approach. Taking over the mantle, I decide to handle the actual punishment and save Carter any awkwardness.

“Leandro will pay for the salary of his PA for one year. After that, it’ll be absorbed into our budget. And let me make this perfectly clear,” I stop and meet each Voice’s gaze steadily to ensure they’re paying attention, “we do not want you to be overwhelmed. If you are, we expect you to come to us. If that means adding additional support staff, that is what we’ll do. But these PAs will work closely with you, and they are there to offer you their help. Having them is not the punishment.”

“You really expect to find PAs who will work for the mafia?” Jude’s voice is dripping with doubt, and I almost want to roll my eyes.

Snorting, I retort, “I’m positive. There will always be people who like to live on the edge, and have interesting personalities. I think we may be able to get Javi to give us some recommendations.”

“Oh, great. We’re going to be overrun by cats,” Jude says in disgust, but I ignore it. After all, what’s wrong with that? Yes, to all the animals.

“Getting back on task…” Carter prods me, and I grin sheepishly.

“Right. So the punishment for you, Jude, will not be financial. Instead, since bullying is incredibly harmful emotionally, we felt it best that you spend time with Cristian and Sandro. I know you’re already familiar with Cristian, but we think it’s important that you get to see them as they are now. We have all gone through major changes. As such, we expect you to spend time with them all together and individually.”

A sharp nod is all I receive in response, so I let it drop. With that, I gesture for Carter to continue on with the meeting. I’m already done with my first cup of coffee, so I pour myself another. I have a feeling I’ll need the maid to refill the container at least once before this is all over.

“This brings us back to the topic of giving appropriate support. We feel that adding another Voice is the responsible thing to do. While we’ve narrowed it down to an option, we want to make sure you are both alright with who we are thinking of.”

Keegan’s eyes narrow as his love hesitates. For good reason. Keegan and I are the only ones here from the original Martelli side…and neither of us were even Martellis technically. None of us are sure how he’s going to take this one.

Part of me worries he’ll feel this was a takeover and not a merger. On the other hand, fuck that. We’re fully integrated, and anyone who says differently can meet my knife, or enjoy a bullet in the head.

“Tennant is who we’re looking at as an option. We’d like your opinion,” Carter finishes, sitting back as he waits for Jude and Keegan’s response.

“Hmm… Regardless of the fact he was disrespectful?” Keegan doesn’t give anything away, despite the sharpness of the question.

Since it was my idea, I step in. “One of the reasons we chose Tennant is because he was willing to challenge us. Both you and Jude do an amazing job, and we want to continue that. However, while we need to make sure our dynamic remains cooperative, we also want to make sure that anyone who joins has the experience necessary across a wide breadth of issues, and feels comfortable disagreeing with us. The last thing we want as Bosses is to be blindly agreed with. Both of you are willing to speak up, and we want to keep that going.”

Keegan nods slowly, seeing my point. Nobody can deny that Tennant will stand up to us, and has the experience necessary to be a Voice. Although, it’ll certainly be an interesting situation.

“You realize that will be inviting chaos, right?” Jude’s eyes flash with a wicked humor that's directed at Carter, who merely sighs with resignation.

“Does that mean you’re in favor?” he asks, sidestepping the knowledge that he’s bringing in someone who is in a relationship with two members of the Council and a fellow Voice.

With the agreement of both Keegan and Jude, Carter makes a note on his paperwork in front of him. It’s going to be a never-ending meeting. I’m definitely going to need even more coffee to survive.

“That brings us to the next point of what to do with the former Bosses. We discussed asking them what they want to do. Is that still the thought?” Carter asks us, and gestures to the Voices for their input as well.