Meet the New Boss

Participants:

adam_icon.gif gigi_icon.gif

Scene Title Meet the New Boss
Synopsis Same as the old boss. Well, mostly. Adam pays Doña Giovanna Civella a visit in hopes of rekindling business relations with the Civella Family.
Date June 14, 2009

Little Italy, Gigi Civella's office


The glory days of the Civella family are just a fading echo less than a year after the patriarch was incarcerated. Rather than a location in a posh office building, the office of the new Doña Civella is located in the private back rooms of a prosperous Little Italy restaurant. Spacious though the surroundings may be, it is a far cry from what Giovanna is used to. She taps her manicured fingernails impatiently on the surface of a polished mahogany desk, waiting for her nine o'clock. She has already received word of his arrival and only waits for her security to finish searching the man and checking any weapons he may have been carrying at the door.

Frankie Civella kept notes on everyone he ever did business with, no matter how trivial they may have seemed; birthdays, children's names, spouses and wedding anniversaries, favourite flowers, foods and colours — anything to come in useful for strengthening a prosperous relationship. Gigi opens a drawer and pages through her visitor's file once more with a frown. There is not much to go on. All she has is a photo from some forty-odd years ago, when her father was still a young man in Chicago, before she was even born. With a heavy and slightly annoyed sigh, the file is flipped closed once more and replaced in the drawer, sliding it shut smoothly. It annoys her. Knowledge, as they say, is power, and Doña Civella is woefully without ammunition.

Adam was indeed armed, though he lets his weapons go without occasion for argument. Rather, he keeps them with the men he's brought which are nowhere near as polished as the Doña's are, but a gun is a gun. Once he steps into the main room, he flashes a charming smile towards the Doña and tilts his head to the right a moment. It's reminiscent of the look he had in the photo, in fact, it could very well be the same man. But that seems unlikely, doesn't it? At any rate, he steps forward towards the desk and says, "Doña Civella, I presume. You are quite a rapturous sight."

"Mister Monroe." Gigi rises from her seat and leans across her desk to offer her hand to shake. Women in the position of power that Giovanna Civella occupies tend to have to do whatever they can to assert their authority so their male counterparts find them competent. When a display of authority is uncalled for, however, a woman relies on her other assets to disarm a man. In this case, leaning across the desk to greet with a traditional handshake also exposes a generous eyeful of the woman's cleavage previously hidden by the crimson button-down blouse she wears. His flattery draws a smile from red painted lips that match her shirt.

Adam smiles, taking the hand gently and shakes it firmly, "Please, call me Adam." after he lets her hand goes, he sits down in a seat and says, "I want to thank you for your time. Frankie," he pauses, "Is it ok if I call your father Frankie? It's been quite some time since we last talked. At any rate, Frankie has apparently been busy and I wanted to get back in touch with him." he leans forward as if sharing a secret, "He still owes me thirty five dollars from a poker game we played." he smiles, teasingly.

"Whatever my father had you address him as is fine by me," Gigi allows graciously. "Would you care for a drink?" She steps away from her desk to an ornate cabinet housing what appears to be port, scotch, and perhaps bourbon in beautiful crystal bottles. She pours a small glass of port for herself. "I'm afraid my father won't be taking visitors for quite some time in Sing Sing. If it's money you're after…" She flickers a smile in Adam's direction, congenial despite the slightly dour conversation, "I could write you a check."

Adam shakes his head lightly, "No, I'm alright." he says to the offer of liquor. As for the check he says, "Oh, that won't be necessary, I'm sure Frankie's good for it." he studies the top of the desk for some time before he says, "I'm sorry to hear that he's been.." he pauses, "What do you call it, pinched?" he nods his head, "I'm sorry to hear he's been pinched. Do you run his business in his stead or is it just a temporary measure?" he questions.

"Unless my lawyers suddenly find their brains and manufacture a strategy for appeals that isn't moronic, I suspect I'll be in this position for quite some time." Gigi returns to her place behind her desk after a small sip of her drink. "I don't suppose you would be willing to indulge me and answer a question, would you, Adam?" Red lips twist upward in a charming smile.

Adam nods a bit at her answer about the lawyers and shakes his head, "Such a horrible state of affairs." he commiserates. He leans back in his seat and lays his arm about the arm comfortably. There is a smile, "Oh, Doña Civella, how could I deny you anything?"

Such a good boy, he is. "I have a photo of both you and my father hanging on my wall from when you were both young men." Gigi leans forward to rest her clasped hands on her desk with a glint in her eyes. "Tell me, then, how is it that you are still a young man?"

Adam smiles a bit. He leans forward, "Oh, my Doña Civella, you surely do me the honor of giving me flattery. Some of us age well. You might say that I pay my plastic surgeon extremely well." he winks a bit, "I suppose that makes me vain, but we all have our demons to bear." which, is probably the worst explanation in history. Although to be fair, he's extremely charming about it.

"My dear Mister Monroe, I was born at night," Gigi grins widely, letting that hang in the air for only a moment. "Not last night." The woman sits back in her chair, tucking a glossy strand of dark hair behind her ear. "What is it that I can do for you?"

Adam smiles thoughtfully and says, "I'd like to think of it as more as for what we can do for each other. Frankie and I were…" he pauses, "Well, we ran the gamut from acquaintances to good friends depending on the week, but what we did was help each other. I thought we could do the same." he puts his hands together, "I'm not looking into expanding into the criminal arena, but it's certainly not a bad thing to have allies. And you might find that I'm pretty good at…fixing problems."

"Now, now, Adam. I run a legitimate business," Doña Civella corrects chidingly. The two of them may know better, but appearances are everything. "However… You are quite right — Allies are everything." She glances to the man's folded hands, then back up to his eyes. "A fixer," she murmurs. "One can always use a knowledgeable handyman."

Adam smiles, "Quite." he says gently. He leans forward in his seat and says, "I'm sure you'll want to ask your father if you haven't already, but I have good credentials. We could also discuss such an arrangement over dinner….purely as business associates, of course." he says, "Wouldn't want anyone to imagine anything untoward."

"No, of course not," Gigi agrees with a playful smirk. "Why don't you come back here next week?" She gestures more toward the restaurant outside the doors of her office. "Dinner will be on the house, of course."

Adam smiles, "Oh, sounds so promising." he stands a bit, "You should have my number if you need me, I believe I left it when I first called. Do let me know if you need me." he bows a bit, "It's been such a pleasure."

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Adam." Gigi rises from her seat to step around her desk and offer her hand again. "It was a pleasure to meet such an established associate of my father's. I'll be sure to pass him along your well wishes when I speak to him again."

Adam nods, taking the hand again. He turns it, knuckles up and leans forward to kiss it gently in a european manner. Well, a vaguely romantic european manner. At any rate, he stands and nods,, "Please do. I will be seeing you around." and with that, he moves to leave.

Gigi smiles as though the gesture was expected and inclines her head. "You certainly will."


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