Page 75 of Power
While Luciano couldn’t confirm its validity or its origin, he wasn’t going to dismiss it either.
“So, is that a no?” Ezra asked, plucking him from his thoughts.
Luciano slid his gaze from the small group of models to his head designer. “It’s good.”
“Good isn’t good enough,” Ezra said. “That’s what you tell us. What’s missing? What does it need?”
Luciano eyed the clothes.
“The pants aren’t wide enough. I wantbellbottoms, and the scarves are boring.” Luciano walked over to the models, studied the garments up close. “The shirts and sweaters work.”
One of the models smiled at him. He flashed her a smile before turning to Ezra. “Tweak it.”
Ezra tucked his long hair behind his ears. “It needs zhuzhing, doesn’t it?”
Luciano thought of Simone, their sex-crazed evening, and the lust pouring from her eyes. He smiled. “That’s exactly what it needs.”
“You got it,” Ezra replied.
Luciano thanked his team before leaving the design center. He paused in front of the exit door to the stairs. It would be faster, but he wouldn’t be visible. Whenever he could, he made his presence known. He brought his energy into every room, every conversation, and every interaction.
Instead, he strode to the elevator bank. He said hello to everyone, offering a friendly smile or handshake. Being “the boss” was a full-time job and a full-time responsibility. How he acted, how he carried himself, what he said, even the way he looked at his work family mattered. He was scrutinized, criticized, and dissected on a minute-by-minute basis. While he didn’t give a damn, he didn’t want the Santini brand to suffer.
Milan housed his European headquarters and, while it would have made more sense to work in New York City, his US operations were located in the fashion district of DC… and DC loved him for it. He occupied a five-story building in CityCenter, on Palmer Alley in Northwest.
“Luciano!” His Sales and Marketing VP flagged him down. “Did you get a chance to read the results from last quarter?”
“I did. Our numbers look great, but we can do better.”
The Veep rolled his eyes. “Are you never satisfied?”
“I just said our numbers look great.” Luciano’s phone buzzed with a text. “And we can do better. We can always do better.” Then, he winked. “I’ll swing by and congratulate your team.”
His employee smiled. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”
They rode the elevator, along with several others. Luciano said hello to all of them, asking what projects each of them were working on. One by one, the elevator thinned, leaving him to exit the top floor alone.
He read the text from Carrera.
Four, off the grid
Meeting that afternoon, four o’clock, ALPHA’s Black Site.
After slipping his phone into his pocket, Luciano took the stairs down one flight to sales and marketing. En route to his VPs office, he said hello to several managers and account reps. Without sales and marketing, he was nothing. These people got the word out, followed up with their clients, introduced his new product lines, told them about upcoming sales, and managed to increase sales in the US, year over year.
“Suzie, good to see you,” Luciano said. “How’s the baby?”
Suzie grinned. “He’s almost nine months old.”
“Where are the pics?”
Beaming with parental pride, she showed him a few adorable baby pictures. Though he smiled, the pain tore through him.
“Children are life’s greatest joy,” he said. “God bless him.”
Her eyes grew moist. “Thank you, Mr. Santini.”
Luciano continued on. Being the boss could be intimidating, so he went out of his way to let his employees know they were appreciated.
