The meeting drew to an informal end with side conversations breaking out around the suite’s living area. Vale went to use the phone while Stone and Aaron talked. Gabriel went to the bar cart while Roman pulled Pitch aside.
“Spill it,” Roman demanded.
“You already know I’m interested in creating healthcare plans for the guards,” Pitch began.
Roman gave a hard nod.
Pitch returned the gesture. “The company they work out of treats ‘em like shit as far as employment incentives go. Especially when it comes to healthcare.”
“Which is nonexistent,” Roman supplied.
Another hard nod from Pitch. “They get sick and need to take a day or two, they gotta get a doctor to check ‘em out. Then they gotta bring a note from the doc saying they’re released to work. Half these guys can’t afford to feed their kids, let alone pay a doctor to tell ‘em they’ve got the sniffles.
The company- Guard’s Home-oh, they’re real sweet about all this. They offer to take the doctor’s fees from their next check-for a small processing fee.”
“Wow,” Roman smiled, shook his head, “sounds like a real warm-hearted business,” his eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to do with this, P?”
Pitch’s expression was acidic. “I’d like to put the fuckers out of business or at least get Tesano guys out of there. When I approached the guards about this, they said they didn’t even know how to get in touch with the doctors beforehand. All they’re given is an address of where to show up for the health check. The appointment and all that is scheduled by the folks up in the company.
What I want is for these guys to have doctors available to them through Tesano and for dad to wipe out that bullshit stipulation about needing a doctor’s note to come back to work after calling out for a day.”
Roman shrugged. “Sounds reasonable.”
Pitch rolled his eyes. “You’d think so. I need to square all this with Guard’s Home, not only because of Tesano’s contract with them, but so the guys won’t get any blowback for turning away from the in-house doc. I don’t expect it’d be anything major. Tesano isn’t the only place this company staffs, but that’s a nice chunk of change they’d be short if we’re unhappy.”
“Have you talked to the owners?” Roman asked.
“I’d like to, but finding them was almost impossible. Then more of the guards started talking to me-trusting me. When I asked about the owners, they told me all they saw on their checks was ETM Management. Emilio, Toriano and Michalino.”
Roman’s lashes fluttered until they closed over his eyes. “Jesus...” he processed the news for a moment. “You think Dad knows?”
“My guess is yes. Pop’s the smartest cat I know.”
“But you don’t think he knows Em’s scamming these guys?”
“No Rome, I don’t. It sounds like Pop was just tryin’ to be a stand up guy for his big brother. If I could get him to agree to putting our own doctor in house, maybe he’ll agree to Tesano having its own guard’s department-break away clean from the Guard’s Home folks we’ve got running things on our turf right now and give these guys a choice of where they want to be. My guess is they’ll choose us.”
“Yeah...” Roman rubbed at his jaw.
“What?” Pitch frowned.
“That might not be so easy.”
“What are you-”
“Let’s finish this later, alright?” Roman looked across the room to Vale. “I don’t think Hump needs to know everything.”
“Amen to that,” Pitch said.
~28~
“Impressive,” Humphrey said while looking up into the strong rafters of the dockside warehouse.
As agreed, Humphrey met Jude Ophion at 3pm that afternoon. Humphrey gave no clue that he knew how surprised Ophion had been that he’d showed. Part of him wondered whether the gruesome file was how the man usually weeded out would-be partners. Was the file only a scare tactic or were its contents wholly realistic? He didn’t think he was ready to know.
“How much?” He asked.
“A lifetime.”
“Excuse me?”
Jude Ophion studied the surroundings as well. “I’m looking for longevity, Mr. Tesano not just to ease a fleeting curiosity.”
“Is that why you think I came?”
“I don’t think you see the long term...profitability in what our interests can return.”
“Profitability.”
“Reproduction, Mr. Tesano. Making mothers out of barren women. Rich, barren women?” He added with a touch of intrigue.
“Based on the advances that have already been made, I could make you a millionaire in your own right and I’m only talking about artificial insemination here. I haven’t even touched on the profitability associated with tailoring or taking the parent completely out of the process.”
“Ophion?” Humphrey looked as though the other man had completely lost his mind. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Ophion looked up as though he too realized he may have said too much. “Enough about my interests for now, let’s speak on yours. Race. I assume you’ve read the histories of the gentlemen from Saint Domingue; Gabriel de Bory and Michel Rene D'auberteuil?”
“Selective breeding,” Humphrey supplied.
