“Well first of all, I don't really enjoy tuna...”
“Wait 'til you see how fresh this stuff is, though,” Gio interrupted. “It'll melt in your mouth.”
“...and seaweed tends to get stuck in my teeth,” Carla continued. “Plus I prefer not to drink during business meetings, so I can stay focused.”
“Hey, why don't you just relax, okay?” Gio said. His enticing smile was still in place, but Carla saw a brief spark of anger flicker behind his eyes. Clearly, he didn't like being contradicted, especially by women. “There's no reason this has to be formal. We'll have a meal and some drinks and get to know each other a little better. It'll make it easier for us to work together, right?”
“I find it's usually best to maintain a wide border between personal and professional interactions with clients,” Carla answered. “It keeps things from getting confusing.”
“Now that you're working for us, you're gonna have to get used to a more laid back way of doing things,” said Gio. “Families like ours, we got a long tradition of breaking bread with our associates. It establishes trust and shows respect. We Italians don't want to work with people who are all business all the time. We want to work with people who'll dance at our weddings.”
“Well, I suppose having a meal together won't hurt,” Carla admitted. “But I don't dance.”
“I'll bet I could teach you a few moves you'd remember,” Gio said, winking lasciviously.
Carla wasn't sure what to do next. Should she let the wink go without comment? If she did, he'd probably see it as encouragement. Should she express her disapproval? If she did that, he might decide she was a frigid scold and decide to find a different lawyer.
She took a deep breath and decided to let it go.
“As your father was saying,” she began, “our first step is to find a way to make it look like you purchased this restaurant for yourself legally. So for starters, as far as we're concerned, your father has never been here and he isn't even here right now.”
“That oughtta be easy,” Gio muttered. “Pretending my father ain't around is something I do a lot.”
Carla forced a smile, uncertain of how to respond. Was he trying to sound tough now that his father was out of the room? Was he hoping for sympathy? On some subconscious level, perhaps both were true.
“Today is the first time you've been to The Laughing Fish. You're thinking about purchasing it, and you retained me as a legal consultant to help you. Mr. Shimizu was kind enough to let us look around and order a meal, despite the fact that the place is closed. Are you with me so far?”
“Yeah, I get it. I ain't stupid. But what you're saying is already basically true, right?” Gio shrugged.
“'Basically true' is still partly a lie,” Carla pointed out, “and it's extremely important that we get our stories straight before the FBI and IRS start crawling all over the paperwork. They'll be looking for any discrepancies to nail you with, no matter how small or trivial they may seem. Remember, they got Al Capone for tax evasion.”
“Yeah, they sure did,” Gio nodded. “Did you ever see the movie about that, with Robert DeNiro?”
“I don't believe I've seen that, no,” Carla replied. She felt herself growing irritated with his tangent, and she reminded herself to stay calm and take her time. Good undercover work took time and patience, like fishing.
“We should watch it together sometime,” Gio said. “I must've seen it, like, twenty times, at least. Man, the scene with DeNiro and the baseball bat gets me every time.”
Shimizu entered with their food and drinks, setting them down on the table. As he left, Gio picked up his chopsticks and started eating the red slivers of tuna piece by piece. “Mmm! I'm in paradise, this is so good. Have some.”
Carla cleared her throat. “As I said earlier, I don't really like tuna—”
Gio raised his eyebrows, his smile fading slightly. “And I told you that you'll love it,” he said, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice. He speared another piece of tuna with his chopsticks and held it out to her across the table. “Look, lady, in case you ain't figured it out yet, here's the headline: You're young, you're clearly just starting out in this business, and this is your first big break. Maybe the only one you'll ever get without going back to leeching off your daddy's name and reputation. So if you want to make millions working for our family, you're gonna have to learn to do as you're told. Now I'm not gonna discuss another fucking thing with you until you eat this tuna, so go on, take it.”