A five-story office building glimmered in the desert sun, it lorded over much of the city of sin being one of the larger buildings outside of the new glimmering casino resorts on the strip.  Calico Development Group Headquarters was a center of power in Summerlin, Las Vegas.  In an effort to make this harsher environment feel more like home, Aurora Mastrosimone had likened the name in her mind to something from a book she'd read in her childhood.

Summerlin... the Summer Lands... The Summer Kingdom of King Arthur.  Camelot.  And while the Godmother Chair of Las Vegas was, in fact, a woman, one could argue that Arthur's power had come from female hands just as Billy's had... first from Beko and now from Miss Niki.  The comparisons probably ended there, she realized, as there was little in common between her and the milksop harlot Guinevere.  And while Billy was noble enough to compare to Arthur and every bit as much a warrior king (if one likened a King to a Don) she didn't suppose she could say the comparison was perfect.  Arthur had been a paragon of virtues, while Billy, well... Aurora smirked at the thought.

I was never really that fond of Arthur anyway.

Like most days, Aurora wore jeans and a comfortable t-shirt.  Her leather jacket with its stained cuffs hung on the back of her chair and her nickel-plated, pearl-handled m1911s bearing the Luciano family crest were currently in the shoulder holster she wore.  Her hair, still dyed blonde after the conflagration which had been Russia was pulled back into a simple ponytail.  Nothing fancy today.  Today she was here to work. 

Her newborn son and daughter were in the caring hands of the recently hired Mavis ... the Mastrosimone's nanny.  She tried not to think of that too much about it.  Her emotions were still volatile when it came to her son.  She knew she couldn't be with him every second of every day... not if she was going to have a real career.  No, she just had to get out for a little bit every day and eventually it wouldn't seem so ... hard.

Today's agenda seemed quite straight forward.  She reviewed her notes as she stood in front of the large window overlooking the construction area which would become their crown jewel... a casino resort of their own!  The list was short, but one big item was going to eat up most of her time.  As Chief Operations Officer her husband expected her not only to oversee ongoing projects... but also work with new recruits.  Aurora wasn't EXACTLY known for her social skills and while Billy insisted she was going to do "great, you'll be fine!"  Aurora wasn't as confident.

Memories of her childhood came flashing back to her.  Where some people fell into her orbit looking to get nearer to her parents and the power they represented, others hated her for it.  She spent time either alone or fighting with people.  Fighting when people turned their anger on her or fighting when she came to realize the friends she thought she had, were there only out of a desire for the things they hoped she could get for them. 

Aurora was a rung on a ladder for more than a few people to climb.  While she was happy to be that rung for the folks who had proven to like her, for her.... she'd come to hate more than a few people who had only used her and abandoned her when they'd gotten what they wanted out of her.  Having people want to be your friend for what you could do for them was GREAT, for Godfathers... not so much for little girls.  Being the birth daughter, the niece, and the adopted daughter of Godfathers... it wasn't all people supposed it might be.  And while her brother William had made an art form of flirtation, manipulation, bribery, and blackmail to live a charmed social life... Aurora had never been interested in such things.  She always told herself she would sooner have no friends than live as Will had - with everyone suspect and never really knowing if anyone around him could be truly trusted, or cared for.

In recent years, she'd made a few friends... maybe her luck was finally changing.  Maybe she was getting better at dealing with people.  Maybe Billy had a point?  Could she really have it within her to be the sort of woman he saw her as?  She was becoming a decent wife and mother, right?  Why was it so odd to think of being able to ... be social successfully?

The knock on her door sent her rigid.

Rebecca, Billy's secretary peaked her head in.  "Some of the newest recruits have arrived.  Would you like me to send them in?"

Aurora turned to look at Rebecca and gave the woman a nod.  "Please and bring in some tea and coffee, if you would?"  For not the first time Aurora told herself she'd hire an assistant.  Her mother was never without one.  Billy had one.  She supposed it was time to break down and hire someone.  She couldn't do EVERYTHING herself, right?

With that she went to her seat at her desk and sat down, waiting for the first of the new recruits to come in.

Fawn nervously stood outside the office. Was this even right? Yes. It was. She wanted to make it big. She wanted to run her own crew, to own the city. Or at least part of it. But she was a nobody right now, and that was why the young redhead was here. To learn. To train with the best. She had to train. She was just some purse-stealing, con-woman who made barely enough to scrape by and keep her bodyguard. Not that she needed one yet. Still nice. Fawn shook her head, she needed to get out of the heat. Hopefully, the office would have a nice air conditioning system. 

She stepped into the building, a wave of cold air hitting her face. Good. It cooled the light sunburns on her pale, freckled skin. A quick conversation with the secretary sent her up to uh. Miss, what was her name again? Fawn supposed it didn't matter. She would find out when she arrived. The out-of-place girl looked around, taking in her surroundings for the first time. It was nice. Professional. Of course, it was all a front. For their true business. 

A quick elevator ride had her on the designated floor. Miss Mastrosimone! That was her name. The boss's wife. Someone she knew nothing about. She'd have to ask Jay about her, or maybe Miss Moretti. Fawn stepped out of the elevator, nodding when the first face she saw told her to go on in. She knocked on the door, then stepped inside. 

"Hello there, Miss Mastrosimone," Fawn spoke clearly, but it was obvious she was nervous. One wrong move and she could get whacked. This was Billy's wife.

She wasn't used to hearing someone call her Mrs. Mastrosimone yet.  It always made her smile with a bit of pride.  Rebecca followed the young woman in with a tray of coffee, tea, and fixings.  She put them onto the coffee table in the small seating area which was furnished with black leather chairs and matching sofa.  On the wall above the sofa was a large landscape painting of a pride of lions lounging on rocks.  The office itself was sparsely furnished and decorated as if the owner had only just moved in.  And by the painted name on the door 'Aurora Mastrosimone, Chief Operations Officer' it didn't seem as though this space and been occupied for very long.

At the age of twenty-three, Aurora knew she was young for a hand.  Older than her mother had been when she became a CL but arguably her mother hadn't really earned that title... many would have said her father, the Godfather, had indulged some bit of nepotism and considering the fact that her mother stepped down from leadership the first time she had it... well, maybe they were right to say so.

"Please, come in."  Aurora said standing up from the desk, now not so sure of her original placement.  Maybe the couch was better?  More friendly?  

Aurora motioned to the small seating area, "Make yourself comfortable.  Coffee?  Tea?"  she looked to Rebecca and dismissed her with a, "Thank you Rebecca, if any of the other recruits show up, please send them on in."

Billy's secretary nodded, "Yes, Mrs. Mastrosimone."  And with that the young woman retreated back to her desk leaving Fawn alone with Aurora.

"So, you have me at a disadvantage. Been a lot of friends of friends coming through the doors lately.  What's your name and ... are you a local?"

Will got into the elevator, took a deep breath and directed the operator, "5, please".  He took another deep breath and removed his handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed the sweat from his brow.  Two days and he was already summoned to the Left Hand's office.  "whew" He let out a sigh.

He'd only been in the city a couple of days.  He'd worked hard in those couple of days, but wasn't sure he'd done enough.  And now...this.  It seemed like the elevator was taking forever, and all kinds of thoughts were going through his head.  Will held his hat in his hands, and tried to focus on making sure his shaking hands didn't betray his fears.  He wanted to make a good impression.  But it was clear...he was nervous. 

He took another deep breath, "here we go," as the elevator's doors opened on the 5th floor. 

The assistant at the desk waved him right into Mrs. Mastrosimone's office.  Will walked slowly, paused for a second at the door, then walked in.