Chapter 7 - CHLOE QUIT WORKING FOR HIM BEFORE SHE AGREED TO DATE HIM
The next morning, Chloe handed Mrs. Gable a resignation letter.
Mrs. Gable read it.
Then looked over her glasses.
“Because of Mr. Russo?”
“Yes.”
“Did he behave improperly?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
Chloe turned red.
Mrs. Gable sighed.
“Young people.”
“I’m twenty-four.”
“Exactly.”
Chloe wanted no romance where Victor signed her paycheck.
Important.
She gave proper notice.
Victor hated it.
“You don’t need to quit.”
“Yes, I do.”
“I can move you to another property.”
“Still your company.”
“Different division.”
“Victor.”
He stopped.
Right.
She finished two weeks.
Then took a full-time scheduling and patient-support job at St. Catherine’s renal clinic after the hospital’s billing review created additional patient-navigation positions.
Not through Victor.
She applied.
Interviewed.
Earned it.
Her prior experience managing Tommy’s care made her useful.
Salary lower than the Russo estate.
Benefits excellent.
Hours human.
Victor asked:
“You took less money?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I get to sit down.”
He considered.
“Reasonable.”
Then they dated.
Awkwardly.
Victor’s idea of a first date:
Private dining room.
Security.
Chef.
Chloe said no.
They ate pizza in Oak Park.
Victor wore a suit.
Everyone stared.
Tommy said:
“You look kidnapped.”
Victor ignored him.
Second date:
Art museum.
Third:
Walk by Lake Michigan.
Victor’s security remained distant.
Compromise.
Then Chloe met people from Victor’s legitimate business world.
Attorneys.
Executives.
Club managers.
Warehouse supervisors.
Some were terrified of her.
Why?
Because Victor listened when she spoke.
She hated that.
One evening she told him:
“People think I can get them fired.”
“Can you?”
“No.”
“Then tell them.”
“I did.”
“Problem solved.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“They think your affection gives me power.”
Victor went still.
That sounded familiar.
Marco.
Family.
Informal authority.
Then Chloe said:
“I don’t want to become another exception around you.”
That landed.
So Victor changed something.
No employee issues discussed with Chloe unless directly relevant to her.
No business favors for her friends.
No vendor introductions because she asked.
No staff treating her as unofficial authority.
He told senior leadership clearly:
“Ms. Bennett has no role in company decisions.”
One executive asked:
“Then what is she?”
Victor stared.
“My girlfriend.”
The man nearly died.
Chloe laughed for a week.
Then Victor did something harder.
He began working with outside counsel to separate his legitimate businesses from criminal or coercive operations still attached to the Russo name.
Not overnight.
Not magically.
There were old debts.
Old alliances.
Old revenue streams.
Some illegal.
Some gray.
Some legitimate.
Chloe did not become his moral rehabilitation coach.
She simply said:
“I won’t build a future inside something that hurts people.”
That was enough.
Victor had already been reducing street operations after Alessandro died.
Now he accelerated.
Protection collections stopped.
Certain club activities closed.
Warehouses shifted to audited operations.
He cooperated where necessary through lawyers on financial and regulatory exposure.
Costs were enormous.
Revenue dropped.
Some associates left.
One threatened him.
Victor handled it through security and legal channels where possible.
Not every old problem vanished peacefully.
But he no longer treated violence as the first proof of control.
Progress.
Then Marco came back.
Not with a gun.
With a lawsuit.
He claimed Victor improperly removed him from business interests.
Good.
Lawyers.
Paper.
Civil court.
Victor hated every minute.
Chloe loved it.
“Look at you.”
“What?”
“Resolving family conflict through discovery.”
“Don’t.”
“Should I frame the complaint?”
“Chloe.”
“Growth.”
He kissed her just to stop her talking.
May you like
It worked briefly.
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