Mr. Consultant

I begged you not long ago

deceive the love in my heart,

With sympathy, with false tenderness,

To inspire your wondrous eyes,

To play with my subdued soul,

Fill it with poison and fire.

——"Pushkin Poems How Stubborn Our Hearts"

It was late at night, and the silver-white moonlight shone through the creamy clouds, casting a few mottled and sparse shadows.But the lights in the brownstone building were still bright, and even the guards in charge of security stood motionless like statues.The square in front of the building was full of black limousines parked row by row, as if they were about to melt into the dark night.

Giuseppe summoned all his subordinates, and when he left the Federal Hotel, he ordered Luca to convey the notice of the meeting to every subordinate's ears.Luca did as he did, and the phone line in his office was almost occupied for nearly an hour before all the important people got together.However, the initiator of this meeting, the consultant, has not yet appeared.

The consultant, after arriving at the Brownstone Building in a pure white Chrysler sedan, didn't care about Luca's work situation, but turned around and brought Xavier into the room.Luca was a little curious about this, but his instinct told him that it was best not to inquire about things that had nothing to do with him.But in fact, Giuseppe and Xavier did not engage in any ulterior motives. They just sat on the sofa and had a short meeting in earnest.

Giuseppe intends to follow Gustavo's idea and let Xavier get in touch with some family affairs.Although the young master's rhetoric shocked him, but as long as Xavier has such a will, it is a good thing anyway.But Giuseppe was still afraid that he would do something unpredictable, so he insisted on discussing with Xavier about the content of the meeting to make a decision.

He told Xavier that he was going to inform the cornermen about the results of the peace talks and ask them to strictly implement the agreement in the negotiation document.But this matter cannot be done too hard. After all, not everyone is willing to see peace, and after all, not all hatred can be eliminated with concessions.

Moreover, Maldini's purpose is still unclear, and there may still be some conspiracy and tricks unknown to them during the negotiations.Therefore, all work at this stage is limited to complying with the agreement, and there should be no good intentions like showing weakness.

But at the same time, they must also convey some firm ideas to their subordinates in order to strengthen the hearts and minds of the people who are shaky in the all-out war.Although Barone's situation is still not good, and too many bookkeeping points have suffered losses, they have not lost the battle, let alone any low-key compromises.They are still respectable gentlemen, and they should still continue their careers.

Xavier was confused, and Giuseppe's words were almost contradictory. On the one hand, he wanted Xavier to be as gentle and friendly as possible, but on the other hand, he wanted him to have some kind of firm and unquestionable feelings.Xavier felt that the consultant in front of him might be a hidden schizophrenia patient, or a model for all Oscar's best actors to follow.

God knows what is in that beautiful head!

But Xavier, the young master who had sworn to be Don two hours ago, could not, under any circumstances, show any dullness or imbecility in front of Giuseppe.He needs to maintain a pitiful and small face in front of Giuseppe, for the same pitiful and small self-esteem as face.

But in the final analysis, Xavier already regretted what he said in front of the Federal Hotel. He couldn't figure out why he had the idea of ​​wanting to stand at the top of power when he was originally in a daze.But this thought, this damned thought, was firmly nailed to his mind like a wedge, and drove his words and deeds like a spell.

And whenever Xavier thought about it, he felt a sort of illusion of standing on the edge of a cliff.He knows nothing about the world below the cliff, but he still stubbornly peeps, waits and sees, and even yearns unparalleled.And at the same time, he felt deeply from the bottom of his heart that under that cliff, there was also a certain pair of eyes staring at him.

There was a bit of mockery of overreaching, a bit of contempt for arrogance, and even a ruthless smile in those eyes.But there must be, even if there is only a tiny bit, there must still be some kind of inexplicable temptation and expectation.

This kind of look shocked and enlightened Xavier, because all of the above were the emotions that often surged in the eyes of the consultant.Xavier suddenly understood that he didn't dislike Giuseppe from the bottom of his heart, and he didn't even intend to provoke him.He just didn't want to be judged, he was afraid of the result, especially he didn't dare to give Giuseppe hope.Xavier thinks too much of him—

I don't want him to see the shame that he has worked so hard but achieved nothing.

However, at this moment, the young master has no way to escape this kind of evaluation.Because he wanted to make a career in Chicago and become a figure, all of which needed Giuseppe's help.So Xavier raised his head and stared directly at the consultant's brow with a pair of honey brown eyes.After a while, he blinked his eyes and made a not difficult but quite important decision——

For the first time Xavier admitted his ignorance when he said:

"Giuseppe, I don't quite understand, you should make things clearer."

Giuseppe was a little surprised when he heard his words, because in his impression, Xavier should be some kind of self-righteous and self-righteous model.But his intuition told him that the young master could no longer be judged by any criteria in the past.So he had no choice but to frown, look directly at the sharp knife-like eyes, and sort out his thoughts as he did when he was giving a report to Tang.Then explained to Xavier in a concise and straightforward way:

"Persuade them, order them, but never coerce them."

Xavier nodded. Although he hadn't dealt with those corner people, he had been told the essentials.Even though he is not yet confident that he can control all his emotions, he has figured it out and will practice in that direction.He believed that one day, he would put on that gentle mask.

So he gave Giuseppe a wink to open the door, stood up, and straightened the tie around his neck.He was still wearing the black suit that looked like a bodyguard, and the unsophisticated tailoring made him look more grumpy and rough, and also made him more like a mafia figure.

But beside the octagonal windows on the second floor of the Brownstone Building, it seemed like some kind of strange gathering, full of people of all colors.They are old and young, tall and short, but they all have the same reserved and firm eyes.They are all corners of Giuseppe's subordinates, responsible for most of the bookkeeping business in South Chicago, or the operation of hedge funds and stocks, and even the collection of various protection fees and usury.They are Giuseppe's closest and sharpest minions.

Some of them were Antonio's old ministry, and out of respect for the former adviser, they continued to serve Giuseppe in accordance with his will.The other part of the people is of Italian mixed blood or immigrants from other countries. They are not welcomed by those old-school characters in the "Grand Garden", let alone integrate into a gang that sticks to the rules like Maldini.

But Giuseppe, the omnipotent consultant, has no requirements for his subordinates other than work and loyalty, let alone the prejudice of those so-called "pure Italians".He is relatively fair to everyone, and any insignificant character can get a corresponding job from him.His generosity and tolerance made him admired by those who counted and counted in the city of Chicago, and he was also deeply awed by those of humble birth.He is the embodiment of a strange, civilized and social violence.

But at this moment, the sound of footsteps in the corridor came from far to near.The sound cheered up those corner heads who were sleepy because of the late night, opened their eyes wide, and sat up straight.They listened carefully, and there were two completely different steps in the footsteps.One of them is low and soft, that is the sound of leather-soled shoes, widely spaced, even with a certain slow solemnity.The other is the crisp sound of rubber-soled shoes, which is very light and vigorous, like the steps of young people.

The corner heads felt a little strange.Giuseppe usually chose to take Luca to meetings at the Brownstone, but for now, the baby-faced assistant was standing silently aside, bottle of anisette in hand.Giuseppe ordered him to receive these visitors on the second floor, pour wine and light cigarettes for them.Of course Luca did a good job, but who is the young man Giuseppe is leading?

Xavier's tall body turned around the corner of the marble-paved corridor, and the lights in the brownstone building were not bright, suppressing his somewhat frivolous face to be calm and gloomy.Giuseppe took the initiative to give up the middle seat, bowed his head and asked Xavier to take a seat.He asked Luca to move a chair and sit in an inconspicuous corner behind Xavier's right.He took the anisette bottle from Luca, and poured a glass for Xavier respectfully like the best waiter.

Xavier had given up drinking, it was an agreement between him and Giuseppe that Giuseppe would offer him some more deceptive pleasures in return.But at this time, he didn't want to disobey the wishes of the consultant, so he still calmly let the liquor overflow the inner wall of the cut glass.

"Gentlemen, first of all, please allow me to apologize to you for calling the meeting in such a late night." Giuseppe said so, his voice was not loud, just enough for all the people present to hear.He put on that gentle elite mask again, and his gray-green eyes were like poisonous snakes.He looked at the horns in front of him, confirmed his eyes with them, and exchanged permission.Then he unfolded the folder in his hand and asked Luca to send them a copy of the snow-white agreement inside.After finishing all this, Giuseppe stood up from his seat, and said to those horns in a gentle tone:

"Maybe you have already met, but I still want to officially introduce to you the head of the family, the object of my allegiance, Xavier Barone. And I propose that he call our meeting tonight."

After listening to Giuseppe's words, those corner people looked at each other in silence. Of course they heard what happened between Giuseppe and Xavier in the all-out war, and of course they witnessed Giuseppe being furious by the young master The case of dropping folders.So at this moment, they couldn't figure out whether this was Giuseppe's conspiracy or his helpless compromise.But no matter what, they had to come up with a decision immediately, because the consultant was not as patient as he appeared.

"It's a real pleasure for me."

In the shadows, a confidant of Giuseppe was the first to express his obedience.The others, thinking he had a clue, agreed, and begged Xavier's opinion in a subservient manner.

Xavier was not very used to such occasions, and the humble smiles of these people made him a little nervous.He was afraid that he would say something stupid and thoughtless, and even more afraid that he would not be worthy of the introduction that Giuseppe had gone to so much trouble for.Thinking of this, he turned his eyes unconsciously, and quietly glanced at the consultant:

Hell, Giuseppe put on that theater look again!

Xavier understood thoroughly that there were definitely some fundamental problems with the education method of this consultant.And maybe the reason why he became what he is today is not entirely his own fault and reason.

However, he couldn't settle accounts with the consultant, at least not at the moment, so he had to put on a show and recall Giuseppe's advice to him.Then, in accordance with the wishes of the consultant, he conveyed the results of the peace talks to those leaders in a polite and majestic manner.Fortunately, those people may be out of respect for Giuseppe, or because Xavier looked too serious when he was nervous, they did not raise any unimaginable demands and objections.

Xavier breathed a sigh of relief, and tried his best not to look at Giuseppe's expression. He looked at the hornets and found that they were still waiting for his instructions.Xavier knew that the consultant would never give him any help, so he could only frown, recalling Don Barone's arrangements at the end of the year a few years ago.This kind of difficult and unusual memory made his expression look even more inscrutable.

Thankfully, the reminiscences were not in vain, and Xavier remembered something very important at the end.Even though he didn't know exactly the meaning of this matter, Don Barone would earnestly implement it every year, so he felt that he could not make an exception.

"Get some Christmas presents for the families on the site, especially the kids. Without their respect, we would be nothing."

Xavier almost recited Don Barrone's words, and to be honest, most of the reason why he remembered this sentence was because Don Barrone never gave him a Christmas present, which made him feel in the bottom of his heart. Depressed for a long time.But Xavier never expected that when he said this sentence, he received the expressions of admiration and admiration from those corner heads.

The young master felt a little happy and a little flattered, but he couldn't show too many emotions, and he couldn't even start some unnecessary topics.He is like an actor with poor acting skills, who can only perform stably under the preset script, and at this time he gradually understands the benefits of Giuseppe's mask.

And the object of Xavier's envy, Giuseppe, with the mask he envied, concluded the meeting.After the meeting, Giuseppe ordered Luca to clean up the wine glasses and ashtrays on the table, then threw the folder into Xavier's arms, and said:

"You also memorize them by heart."

He stepped on his leather shoes and disappeared into the corridor.

The author has something to say:

rewrite once (lay flat