"Too many of the old men from the old school are dying, and they are being replaced with men who think like Anthony. If that continues, the empire that my father and his father before him built will be threatened. The life that my family has been accustomed to will be threatened. I can't take that chance. I can't let this little test of wills between you and Anthony escalate. It's not good for anyone's business."
Joseph's poignant words to his son were the only thing that Danny let himself concentrate on that endless night in his room. The Omerta that was sacred among the Borgata wasn't as steadfast as it once had been. Jason knew that as much as his father did. The time when loyalty to the organization came first was virtually a thing of the past. He couldn't help but wonder exactly when Joseph would let go of some of his staunch traditions and open his eyes to a world where men like Anthony teetered on the brink of destroying everything in the name of greed.
How could Jason respectfully tell his father that the honor and loyalty Joseph afforded his life long friend, Rocco Malucci, would be the thing that cost Joseph the things most dear to him, not Jason's distaste for Rocco's son? For the moment, Jason felt as though he was stuck in the middle, unable to go back to the old ways his father had taught him to believe but also not able to move forward into new territory out of respect for his father's authority.
Jason crossed his bedroom to where the unopened bottle of scotch sat. It was barely dawn and he knew this wasn't any way to start the day, yet he reasoned that he hadn't even gone to bed so what was the harm? As he brought the heavy glass to his lips, the whirl of the lawnmower outside caught his attention. Pulling open the slats of the blind that covered the window, Jason watched as the groundskeepers went to work keeping the Morgan Estate in pristine condition. He tried to recall a time in his life when all he had known was that his family was wealthy but didn't know exactly what their business was. It seemed like eons ago to him. Where had all his innocence gone? Where had his youth gone? Danny looked at his face in the mirror as he thought about how old he looked for only being twenty-six. He appeared tired, and more importantly, lonely. People forever surrounded him but still he felt isolated. He watched his sister and brother hold hands with those that they loved, watched them whisper playfully to one another sharing special secrets and moments. All those things that couples in love did. He wanted all of that so badly, so much so he ached for it.
With that thought, Elizabeth's face flooded his memory. Jason knew his involvement in the charity benefit for the hospital was a mistake, but the temptation of Elizabeth and the opportunity to blast Anthony Malucci out of the water had been too great for him to resist. Why was it that he suddenly felt as if he was the one drowning? Jason was drowning in a sea of befuddling emotions. Emotions that were so foreign that they made very little, if any sense at all to him.
Jason continually repeated to himself that he was only doing what had to be done to illustrate to Anthony exactly where he belonged in the administration, but again that weak, resounding voice from his heart told a different tale, a tale that had Elizabeth at center stage.
No matter how hard he tried, Jason was unable to irradiate Elizabeth's face from his mind's eye, remove her lingering scent from his nostrils, or stop her sweet voice from ringing in his ears. Never before had he entertained such feelings, and Jason vaguely wondered if this was what it felt like to be a lovesick schoolboy. Until a few days ago he had resigned himself to a loveless existence, but one look at Elizabeth and he was having his doubts.
"GET A GRIP MORGAN!" he said to the reflection that looked back at him. "What the hell are you thinking man?" he as if he would get an answer.
Yet Jason knew the answer to the question though. The answer was that he wasn't thinking at all, and that was the problem.
Elizabeth stood under the pounding water of the shower taking refuge there. The past evening had been filled with Anthony's angry repartee regarding the Morgan family well into the wee hours of the morning. She listened dutifully as she gathered all the ammunition that she needed to piece her plan together. Anthony's hatred for Jason Morgan would be the driving force she needed to bring her own vendetta to fruition. Being Anthony Malucci's wife had taught her a thing or two about revenge. Elizabeth intended on putting her husband's teachings to good use.
As she made her way into the dining room, Elizabeth was disappointed to see only Anthony sitting at the large table. Meals, any time for that matter, when much smoother when her father in law was present. Elizabeth drew in a heavy breath and gathered all of her inner strength before entering. "Good morning," she said picking up a small glass of orange juice from the lavish buffet. To this day it still amazed her the lengths the staff went to for just the three of them.
"Yeah," Anthony returned without ever looking up from The Chicago Sun Times.
"Are you still angry about what happened at the meeting last night?" she innocently asked.
"What do you think?" he barked in return.
"I was just hoping that maybe you would have calmed down some," she said sipping her coffee and took great enjoyment in watching him stew before her.
"There has to be some way to get Morgan off this event!" Anthony stated as if he was talking to himself rather than his wife.
"Why?" she questioned hiding a faint smile.
"WHY?!?!"
"Yes, why? Like I said last night, this is still a Malucci sponsored event. Your name is going to be the one on the marquee......"
"Like hell it is!" Anthony forcefully threw the society section of the paper across the table at her.
"What?" she asked catching the flying object just before it could spill her juice all over the table.
"Looking at the fucking headline!"
Elizabeth unfolded the paper. A picture of Jason Morgan sitting alongside his father looked back at her. Eyes traveling to the top of the page she read.
'Jason Morgan, CEO Morgan Enterprises, major benefactor in Chicago Memorial Coronary Car Unit expansion'
She was once again taken aback by Jason's handsome features. Even in the black and white photo of him, his commanding presence was evident. Elizabeth felt a warm rush fall over her as she thought back to her brief encounters with him. Jason Morgan set her body on fire in a way no man had ever done before and funny thing was that he had really done nothing at all.
"We're not even freakin' mentioned!" Anthony's angry words forced Elizabeth from her fantasy.
"I don't believe that," she countered. "Not after all that your father has done to put together such a wonderful silent auction. It would be crazy for the paper to pass that by." Elizabeth scanned the article and found nearly an entire column that had been dedicated to the auction. "Anthony, look right here." She pointed to the words she had just read. "The Malucci name is all over the place. It's actually a very nice piece. I thought that's what you wanted?"
"I wanted the headline!" he growled. "But no....MORGAN has to fucking have everything!"
At that very moment, Elizabeth vaguely thought Anthony sounded very much like a child throwing a tantrum. Before she could say anything to refute his words, Rocco entered the room.
"I am sorry to be getting to the table so late this morning," he apologized.
Elizabeth noticed how out of breath he seemed to be. As much as she tried to deny it, Rocco's condition was beginning to deteriorate more with each passing day. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked getting up from her seat.
"Yes dear that would be nice. I wanted to discuss how the first meeting went with you both last night but I was so tired – well I just couldn't stay awake any longer waiting. So how was it?"
"It went well...." Elizabeth began as Anthony cut her off.
"MORGAN IS AT IT AGAIN!!"
"What are you droning on about now?" Rocco asked knowing full well where his son was headed. Anthony was headed down the well-beaten path that led to his son's open hatred of Joseph and Jason Morgan. Yet this morning Rocco had neither the strength nor the desire to follow along.
"This!" He whipped the paper from between Elizabeth's fingers and thrust it in his father's face.
"And?"
"AND?!??! Is that all you can fucking say is and?"
"Anthony....." Elizabeth gasped sensing that his father wasn't quite up for the inevitable sparring match.
"You – shut the fuck up!" he barked staring Elizabeth down.
"ENOUGH!" Rocco said straining to speak. "I will not tolerate such behavior. You apologize to your wife."
"Apologize? Apologize for what?"
"I told you before Anthony that I expect you to respect your wife. This little display is hardly respectful. NOW APOLOGIZE!!"
Anthony bit the inside of his mouth so hard he could taste his own blood. He had never felt so belittled before in his life. "Sorry."
"Such enthusiasm," Rocco chided.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Anthony spit back. "If it was us to you I wouldn't have a fucking thing!"
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"You know what I am talking about. Morgan and his damn family upstaged us again. How the hell could The Sun Time have already known about this?" Anthony shook the paper in front of Rocco's eyes.
"I told them," the older man offered.
"You what???"
If Elizabeth could have crawled beneath the table at that precise moment she would have. Anthony's temper was a volcano about to erupt.
"I informed the gentleman who called inquiring about the charity benefit for the hospital that the Morgan and Malucci families would be working together to ensure a great success," Rocco said calmly.
"How the hell did you even know about Danny's offer to match the funds raised at the event?"
"I received a phone call from Joseph last night."
"And what, you just rolled over again and played dead like some fucking dog at his feet?"
"I don't owe you and explanation!"
"The hell you don't!" Anthony countered forcefully.
"Anthony, I will not discuss this with you. I know this isn't exactly how you saw this playing out, but it's done. Do you hear me?"
"NO – NO! Not this time. There is no way in hell I am letting Morgan do this. He's not going to play me for some idiot!" Anthony angrily stared at his father no longer caring what the old man wanted. "This was MY – do you hear me, MY event. It's going to be mine again!"
"NO ANTHONY! We are working together! Nothing is solely ours or solely theirs....."
"You think that someone forgot to mention that to Jason?" Anthony quipped.
"I have had just about enough of this private war you have with Joseph's son. Whether you like it or not one day Jason will be the Boss, and you will report to him and him alone...."
"Not if I can help it!" Anthony said under his breath.
"Come here," Rocco said through clenched teeth. "Come here you little bastard!" Anthony was stunned at the strength with which his father pulled him by the shirt, bring his face within inches of his. "YOU LISTEN AND YOU LISTEN GOOD!! IF I EVER SO MUCH AS THINK THAT YOU INTEND ON MAKING A MOVE TO CLIP JASON MORGAN – YOU BETTER RUN BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO PLACE THAT YOU COULD HIDE THAT I WOULDN'T FIND YOU!! Am I making my position clear?"
"Yes."
"What? I didn't hear you. Elizabeth, did you hear him?"
She was silent for a second, not knowing which side of the enemy line she should align herself with. Her heart told her Rocco but her head knew that her ally wasn't long for this earth. He would eventually leave her to fend for herself again. "Yes, actually I did hear him," she answered.
"Well I am glad someone did. Anthony, you think that just because you see me as a dying old man that I am a fool or easily duped. Well son you are wrong. Your biggest mistake is that you can't see past the nose on your face and if you're not careful that's going to cost you."
Joseph's poignant words to his son were the only thing that Danny let himself concentrate on that endless night in his room. The Omerta that was sacred among the Borgata wasn't as steadfast as it once had been. Jason knew that as much as his father did. The time when loyalty to the organization came first was virtually a thing of the past. He couldn't help but wonder exactly when Joseph would let go of some of his staunch traditions and open his eyes to a world where men like Anthony teetered on the brink of destroying everything in the name of greed.
How could Jason respectfully tell his father that the honor and loyalty Joseph afforded his life long friend, Rocco Malucci, would be the thing that cost Joseph the things most dear to him, not Jason's distaste for Rocco's son? For the moment, Jason felt as though he was stuck in the middle, unable to go back to the old ways his father had taught him to believe but also not able to move forward into new territory out of respect for his father's authority.
Jason crossed his bedroom to where the unopened bottle of scotch sat. It was barely dawn and he knew this wasn't any way to start the day, yet he reasoned that he hadn't even gone to bed so what was the harm? As he brought the heavy glass to his lips, the whirl of the lawnmower outside caught his attention. Pulling open the slats of the blind that covered the window, Jason watched as the groundskeepers went to work keeping the Morgan Estate in pristine condition. He tried to recall a time in his life when all he had known was that his family was wealthy but didn't know exactly what their business was. It seemed like eons ago to him. Where had all his innocence gone? Where had his youth gone? Danny looked at his face in the mirror as he thought about how old he looked for only being twenty-six. He appeared tired, and more importantly, lonely. People forever surrounded him but still he felt isolated. He watched his sister and brother hold hands with those that they loved, watched them whisper playfully to one another sharing special secrets and moments. All those things that couples in love did. He wanted all of that so badly, so much so he ached for it.
With that thought, Elizabeth's face flooded his memory. Jason knew his involvement in the charity benefit for the hospital was a mistake, but the temptation of Elizabeth and the opportunity to blast Anthony Malucci out of the water had been too great for him to resist. Why was it that he suddenly felt as if he was the one drowning? Jason was drowning in a sea of befuddling emotions. Emotions that were so foreign that they made very little, if any sense at all to him.
Jason continually repeated to himself that he was only doing what had to be done to illustrate to Anthony exactly where he belonged in the administration, but again that weak, resounding voice from his heart told a different tale, a tale that had Elizabeth at center stage.
No matter how hard he tried, Jason was unable to irradiate Elizabeth's face from his mind's eye, remove her lingering scent from his nostrils, or stop her sweet voice from ringing in his ears. Never before had he entertained such feelings, and Jason vaguely wondered if this was what it felt like to be a lovesick schoolboy. Until a few days ago he had resigned himself to a loveless existence, but one look at Elizabeth and he was having his doubts.
"GET A GRIP MORGAN!" he said to the reflection that looked back at him. "What the hell are you thinking man?" he as if he would get an answer.
Yet Jason knew the answer to the question though. The answer was that he wasn't thinking at all, and that was the problem.
Elizabeth stood under the pounding water of the shower taking refuge there. The past evening had been filled with Anthony's angry repartee regarding the Morgan family well into the wee hours of the morning. She listened dutifully as she gathered all the ammunition that she needed to piece her plan together. Anthony's hatred for Jason Morgan would be the driving force she needed to bring her own vendetta to fruition. Being Anthony Malucci's wife had taught her a thing or two about revenge. Elizabeth intended on putting her husband's teachings to good use.
As she made her way into the dining room, Elizabeth was disappointed to see only Anthony sitting at the large table. Meals, any time for that matter, when much smoother when her father in law was present. Elizabeth drew in a heavy breath and gathered all of her inner strength before entering. "Good morning," she said picking up a small glass of orange juice from the lavish buffet. To this day it still amazed her the lengths the staff went to for just the three of them.
"Yeah," Anthony returned without ever looking up from The Chicago Sun Times.
"Are you still angry about what happened at the meeting last night?" she innocently asked.
"What do you think?" he barked in return.
"I was just hoping that maybe you would have calmed down some," she said sipping her coffee and took great enjoyment in watching him stew before her.
"There has to be some way to get Morgan off this event!" Anthony stated as if he was talking to himself rather than his wife.
"Why?" she questioned hiding a faint smile.
"WHY?!?!"
"Yes, why? Like I said last night, this is still a Malucci sponsored event. Your name is going to be the one on the marquee......"
"Like hell it is!" Anthony forcefully threw the society section of the paper across the table at her.
"What?" she asked catching the flying object just before it could spill her juice all over the table.
"Looking at the fucking headline!"
Elizabeth unfolded the paper. A picture of Jason Morgan sitting alongside his father looked back at her. Eyes traveling to the top of the page she read.
'Jason Morgan, CEO Morgan Enterprises, major benefactor in Chicago Memorial Coronary Car Unit expansion'
She was once again taken aback by Jason's handsome features. Even in the black and white photo of him, his commanding presence was evident. Elizabeth felt a warm rush fall over her as she thought back to her brief encounters with him. Jason Morgan set her body on fire in a way no man had ever done before and funny thing was that he had really done nothing at all.
"We're not even freakin' mentioned!" Anthony's angry words forced Elizabeth from her fantasy.
"I don't believe that," she countered. "Not after all that your father has done to put together such a wonderful silent auction. It would be crazy for the paper to pass that by." Elizabeth scanned the article and found nearly an entire column that had been dedicated to the auction. "Anthony, look right here." She pointed to the words she had just read. "The Malucci name is all over the place. It's actually a very nice piece. I thought that's what you wanted?"
"I wanted the headline!" he growled. "But no....MORGAN has to fucking have everything!"
At that very moment, Elizabeth vaguely thought Anthony sounded very much like a child throwing a tantrum. Before she could say anything to refute his words, Rocco entered the room.
"I am sorry to be getting to the table so late this morning," he apologized.
Elizabeth noticed how out of breath he seemed to be. As much as she tried to deny it, Rocco's condition was beginning to deteriorate more with each passing day. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked getting up from her seat.
"Yes dear that would be nice. I wanted to discuss how the first meeting went with you both last night but I was so tired – well I just couldn't stay awake any longer waiting. So how was it?"
"It went well...." Elizabeth began as Anthony cut her off.
"MORGAN IS AT IT AGAIN!!"
"What are you droning on about now?" Rocco asked knowing full well where his son was headed. Anthony was headed down the well-beaten path that led to his son's open hatred of Joseph and Jason Morgan. Yet this morning Rocco had neither the strength nor the desire to follow along.
"This!" He whipped the paper from between Elizabeth's fingers and thrust it in his father's face.
"And?"
"AND?!??! Is that all you can fucking say is and?"
"Anthony....." Elizabeth gasped sensing that his father wasn't quite up for the inevitable sparring match.
"You – shut the fuck up!" he barked staring Elizabeth down.
"ENOUGH!" Rocco said straining to speak. "I will not tolerate such behavior. You apologize to your wife."
"Apologize? Apologize for what?"
"I told you before Anthony that I expect you to respect your wife. This little display is hardly respectful. NOW APOLOGIZE!!"
Anthony bit the inside of his mouth so hard he could taste his own blood. He had never felt so belittled before in his life. "Sorry."
"Such enthusiasm," Rocco chided.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Anthony spit back. "If it was us to you I wouldn't have a fucking thing!"
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"You know what I am talking about. Morgan and his damn family upstaged us again. How the hell could The Sun Time have already known about this?" Anthony shook the paper in front of Rocco's eyes.
"I told them," the older man offered.
"You what???"
If Elizabeth could have crawled beneath the table at that precise moment she would have. Anthony's temper was a volcano about to erupt.
"I informed the gentleman who called inquiring about the charity benefit for the hospital that the Morgan and Malucci families would be working together to ensure a great success," Rocco said calmly.
"How the hell did you even know about Danny's offer to match the funds raised at the event?"
"I received a phone call from Joseph last night."
"And what, you just rolled over again and played dead like some fucking dog at his feet?"
"I don't owe you and explanation!"
"The hell you don't!" Anthony countered forcefully.
"Anthony, I will not discuss this with you. I know this isn't exactly how you saw this playing out, but it's done. Do you hear me?"
"NO – NO! Not this time. There is no way in hell I am letting Morgan do this. He's not going to play me for some idiot!" Anthony angrily stared at his father no longer caring what the old man wanted. "This was MY – do you hear me, MY event. It's going to be mine again!"
"NO ANTHONY! We are working together! Nothing is solely ours or solely theirs....."
"You think that someone forgot to mention that to Jason?" Anthony quipped.
"I have had just about enough of this private war you have with Joseph's son. Whether you like it or not one day Jason will be the Boss, and you will report to him and him alone...."
"Not if I can help it!" Anthony said under his breath.
"Come here," Rocco said through clenched teeth. "Come here you little bastard!" Anthony was stunned at the strength with which his father pulled him by the shirt, bring his face within inches of his. "YOU LISTEN AND YOU LISTEN GOOD!! IF I EVER SO MUCH AS THINK THAT YOU INTEND ON MAKING A MOVE TO CLIP JASON MORGAN – YOU BETTER RUN BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO PLACE THAT YOU COULD HIDE THAT I WOULDN'T FIND YOU!! Am I making my position clear?"
"Yes."
"What? I didn't hear you. Elizabeth, did you hear him?"
She was silent for a second, not knowing which side of the enemy line she should align herself with. Her heart told her Rocco but her head knew that her ally wasn't long for this earth. He would eventually leave her to fend for herself again. "Yes, actually I did hear him," she answered.
"Well I am glad someone did. Anthony, you think that just because you see me as a dying old man that I am a fool or easily duped. Well son you are wrong. Your biggest mistake is that you can't see past the nose on your face and if you're not careful that's going to cost you."