Nikki faced her first crisis as a boss, while simultaneously having to deal with her parents’ disapproval of her pending nuptials. Luckily, spring break was around the corner so she would have time to focus on the two matters without interfering with her studies.
Since she would not take over Esposito’s business until they were married, Nikki was able to bounce some ideas off of him to figure things out, but mainly she just wanted to use her time with him to relax. Unfortunately, Nikki often had a one-track mind. She was accustomed to finding a solution to problems, which was why she always received A’s in school.
On a Saturday afternoon, Nikki was simply miserable because she couldn’t find a way to solve her problem and finally Esposito offered a solution.
“If I give you a number, will it cheer you up?” Esposito asked.
“If you give me a number, we can do whatever you want tonight,” Nikki said excitedly.
“OK, this is a friend in Miami,” Esposito told her. “If you call him, he’ll be able to help make your problem go away.”
“Just set up a meeting with him,” Nikki said. “I’m not doing any business over the phone.”
Esposito agreed and when spring break arrived, Nikki chartered a plane to Miami and booked a villa for the week to meet with her supposed problem solver. She wanted to do it without Esposito’s help, however, so she brought along Al and Erica, leaving Greta to tend to business at home for the week.
When Nikki stepped off the airplane, it was a sight to see. She was wearing a tight black tank top, tucked into a tight pair of white Capri pants, tied together with a thick black leather belt and a pair of six-inch black stiletto heels. Her gold necklaces were dripping from her neck, gold bracelets around her right wrist and a black leather Louis Vuitton purse in the crook of her right arm . She had dark full shield sunglasses covering her eyes and a Fedora over her curly brown hair. Burning between her lips was gigantic cuban cigar and when she pulled it from her mouth -- letting out a voluminous cloud of smoke -- her thick gold Rolex slid from her left wrist, down her forearm, also showing off her massive diamond engagement ring.
Nikki put the cigar back into the center of her luscious lips and descended the steps of her plane to walk to the car waiting for her on the tarmac of the private airport. Of course, the driver only decided to exit the car when the trio of beautiful young women walked up, drawing Nikki’s ire.
“What the fuck is taking you so long?” Nikki barked at him with the cigar still in her mouth.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” The driver responded.
“If I have to wait for you to open the door again you’ll be filing for unemployment,” Nikki snapped as she moved her cigar from her lips to her fingers. “Let’s go! Get our bags.”
Once they were finally in the back of the limo, Nikki ordered the driver to take them right to Esposito’s friend, Salvatore DiVincenzo. When they arrived at his mansion, they were led to the back garden.
DiVincenzo, a man in his mid-40s, walked out to the garden to find a trio of young women awaiting his presence, with the leader sitting at the table puffing on a cigar, covered in gold and tattoos.
“Well Nicole, it’s nice to finally meet the woman that Angelo has been raving about,” DiVincenzo said as he sat down. “I must admit, I have never conducted a meeting of this sort with a woman, let alone one so young.”
“I don’t see age,” Nikki said leaning back in her chair unimpressed, sunglasses still covering her eyes, cocking her left arm to a 90-degree angle, causing her Rolex to slide down her wrist with her cigar still between her fingers. “I only see green.”
“I was told you are quite the businesswoman,” DiVincenzo said with a smile.
“I am,” Nikki said curtly as she stubbed out her spent cigar in the ashtray sitting on the table in front of her. “With that being said, I think we should just get down to business.”
“Fair enough,” DiVincenzo said. “From what I understand, you have a problem.”
“I do,” Nikki said. “I need that problem to go away.”
“Let me ask you then,” DiVincenzo proceeded. “Why don’t you take care of this problem by yourself, rather than flying to Miami to ask me to do it?”
“Because I don’t want that type of blood on my hands,” Nikki responded.
“Part of being involved in such endeavors sometimes requires you to have blood on your hands,” DiVincenzo told her.
“I’m not afraid of taking care of it myself,” Nikki said as she took a cigarette from her purse and lit it up. “We have done a great job of operating and expanding in a very short amount of time without being on the radar of the cops.”
“So you want me to take the risk you don’t want?” DiVincenzo said.
“You wouldn’t be suspected or traceable,” Nikki countered as she let out a stream of smoke. “Murder is something I want to avoid at all costs. It’s not always necessary, regardless of what conventional business practices say.”
“That’s a very unconventional practice for this type of business,” DiVincenzo said.
“I told you, all I see is green,” Nikki said through an exhale, still leaning back in her chair, right leg crossed over her right, left arm with at an angle and cigarette burning between her fingers. “Killing attracts attention, which hurts business. People don’t want to deal with that. Plus, if my people are in jail, they can’t make my organization money. If my people are always in jail, I have to get new ones and it’s hard to find good people in general, let alone good ones that join an organization that’s always being watched.”
“So, what do I get out of this proposed deal?” DiVincenzo asked.
“You get paid,” Nikki laughed. “If it’s a favor that you want, then we can talk about that later, but I came to you because my fiance recommended you. I would think his friendship and my money would be enough.”
“We can certainly talk about a favor later,” DiVincenzo chuckled. “I needed to get to know you and you are as impressive as advertised. I would do anything for my good friend’s future bride. My associate will speak be in touch soon.”
With that, Nikki stubbed her cigarette and shook hands with DiVincenzo. Her first crisis as a boss was solved.
______________________________________________________________________________
With their meeting successful and out of the way, Nikki now had the rest of the week to enjoy the warm Florida weather and relax. There was a caveat, however, as business wasn’t the only reason Nikki wanted to go to Miami.
Since her parents had questioned whether or not she could handle being the stepmother to a teenage, it had been gnawing at Nikki. She wanted to prove them wrong and she wanted to meet Esposito’s daughter. Secretly, Nikki had stolen her number from Esposito and was texting her for weeks prior to her trip.
Nikki had learned that Esposito had been blackmailed by the girl’s mother into gaining custody and that he had desperately expressed the desire to be a part of her life. So, the two girls arranged to meet for lunch the following day.
She wanted to make a good first impression, so Nikki chose to wear a black tank top, tucked into a pair of mint green Capri pants, tied together with a thick black leather belt and six-inch black open-toed heels. She also had on all of her usual jewelry, and spent nearly the entire ride to the restaurant checking her Rolex and puffing on a cigarette.
When her car pulled up to the restaurant, Nikki saw Esposito’s daughter, Stefania, standing at the door. She was tall and conservatively dressed. Certainly not well-dressed considering money was not an issue for her father. She also did not look 13 at all.
The driver opened the door and Nikki stepped out, cigarette between her fingers and when they caught eyes, it was obvious that Stefania was expecting someone different to be greeting her.
“You’re the girl my dad is marrying?” Stefania blurted out when Nikki approached her. “You are barely older than me.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Nikki smiled as she took a drag on her cigarette, exhaling away from the young girl’s face.
“Yeah right,” Stefania scoffed. “You’re probably nothing more than a golddigger that wants my dad’s money.”
“Honey, I can assure you that I have my own money,” Nikki laughed.
“Just because you are getting married doesn’t make it your money,” Stefania shot back.
“No, I have my own money that comes from my business,” Nikki corrected.
“Why does my dad want to marry you?” Stefania asked incredulously. “And you smoke?! That’s so disgusting!”
Nikki was clearly stunned. From their conversations, she had expected to have a nice lunch and get to know her future stepdaughter. It was obvious Stefania did not have the same expectations.
“Did you meet me just to yell at me?” Nikki asked.
“Pretty much,” Stefania said. “I just wanted to see what 19-year-old was using my dad.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Nikki said. “I’m very much in love with your dad. I’ll be in town for the rest of the week. If you want to actually get to know me, you have my number.”
Nikki got back into the car and drove off. She wasn’t saddened by the confrontation, rather frustrated that Stefania wouldn’t take the time to get to know her. Later that night, Nikki called Esposito to confess what she had done. Needless to say, he was not happy about it, but he understood her curiosity. Esposito assured her not to worry, but that wasn’t something Nikki did easily, especially since her parents already questioned her.
She tried to get over the situation. A few days of shopping, sunbathing and partying with Al and Erica helped her a bit, but on the day they were supposed to leave, it was still eating at her insides.
So, Nikki found where Stefania and her mother lived and paid them a visit. When she arrived at the house, it was not what Nikki expected. The house was in a poor neighborhood and it was extremely rundown. It did, however, explain Stefania’s clothes.
She knocked on the door, and when Stefania opened it, she was not expecting to see Nikki standing on her porch wearing an orange Harley Davidson tank top, tucked into a pair of dark blue bootcut jeans, thick black leather belt around her waist, black cowboy boots on her feet and an orange bandana in her hair. Stefania also didn’t expect her father to marry a 19-year-old covered in tattoos and gold jewelry.
“What do you want?” Stefania asked.
“I’d like to get to know you,” Nikki said. “Since we’re going to be family either way, we might as well try to make the best of it.”
Stefania opened the door and let Nikki inside. The house was filthy. There were liquor bottles strewn around the tiny living room and it became clear where the money Esposito sent each month was going.
“Is your mom here?” Nikki asked.
“She’s asleep in the bedroom,” Stefania responded.
“I don’t think your dad would be happy with this house,” Nikki said as she looked around.
“Who cares what my dad thinks?” Stefania barked. “We never get any help from him and yet he’s marrying you.”
“Honey, your dad sends money every month,” Nikki said with a confused look on her face.
“No, he doesn’t. I hardly ever hear from him,” Stefania said.
“Oh shit, you don’t know the story,” Nikki said shockingly.
“I know the story,” Stefania said defiantly. “He left us to go live his rich life. Meanwhile, I’m here taking care of mom and getting straight A’s. He wouldn’t know that though.”
Nikki tried to explain the situation, but Stefania wasn’t having it. Just as Nikki felt she might have a breakthrough, Stefania’s mother came bursting into the room to yell at Stefania. She was drunk.
“Did you eat my pizza?” She bellowed, seemingly unaware that Nikki was in the room.
“We don’t have any pizza,” Stefania answered.
“Don’t you lie to me!” She screamed. “It was in there before I fell asleep.”
“Mom, we don’t have any pizza,” Stefania said innocently.
With that, she began to swing at Stefania, she landed a few weak punches, but she was so drunk that it made no impact. Finally, Nikki had enough. She got in between the two and landed a hard right fist to the jaw of Esposito drunk ex-girlfriend and floored her.
When she tried to get to her feet, Nikki sent her right back down with a boot to the chest. Finally, another right punch sent her to the floor for good. Nikki knew she couldn’t leave Stefania in this house anymore and Esposito clearly had no idea how bad it was.
“Go get your shit!” Nikki shouted at Stefania. “You’re coming with me.”
Stefania simply stood there with a blank stare on her face.
“Don’t just stand there,” Nikki screamed. “Go get your shit. We have to go. Now!”
Finally, Stefania scampered off to her room to collect her belongings. Meanwhile, Nikki crouched down to check on her mother, who was beginning to stir.
“Stefania is coming with me,” Nikki whispered to her sternly. “You aren’t going to say a fucking word about it. If I hear from you or you lay a finger on her again, I’ll put you in the fucking ground.”
Stefania emerged from her room with a small duffel bag and Nikki ushered her out the door. Once they were in the back of the car, Nikki lit a cigarette and quickly texted Al and Erica to gather up their bags and meet them at the airport. Then she called Esposito to tell him what transpired. He assured Nikki that she did the right thing in taking her away.
“Where are we going?” Stefania asked Nikki when she hung up the phone.
“You’re coming back to Jersey with me,” Nikki informed as she exhaled and flicked her cigarette out of the back window of the car. “You’re going to live with your father.”
They boarded the private jet, Nikki plopped down in her seat and began to process what had just happened as the plane took off. She was now going to be, in part, responsible for a teenage girl.
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