The Don

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Chris was used to watching the Don recount all the cash accumulated per day but today, the casino closed prematurely as a result of the Don's intended travel to Los Angeles and so Chris was surprised that despite the chance of missing his flight and also considering money made was little compared to the usual, the Don could not still trust the money counting machine.

"Sir, are you recounting $1,460? Don't you worry about missing the flight and the important meeting at LA?" Chris tried to dissuade him.
"You know Chris, this machines be moving mad sometimes and I don't joke with a penny" the Don responded in his usual joking but not joking manner.
Chris knew better not to push it. Having worked with the don for almost six years, he knew how seriously the Don took matters of money and disrespect.

Chris believed that the Don's persistent mediocrity in the casino business was down to his excessive mistrust and shortsightedness. The Don exhibited a "penny wise but pound foolish" attitude and to Chris, this was the reason why despite the resources at his disposal, he could not achieve what other Dons in the neighbouring cities could.

For instance, Don Santiago who started off with Cinema was able to diversify and move into casino, real estate and security while the Don who started off casino business four years before him was still small in the game despite enjoying popularity, love and a relatively loyal group of gentlemen and ladies at his disposal.

"Let's go" the Don announced "I counted $1,460"
Chris was not surprised, the Don has never gotten a contrary figure from the machine since he bought it four months ago, the last time the Don got a contrary amount was during the time of McStone, the previous and last accountant of the empire and even then, the discrepancy was due to human error which prompted the Don to churn out a large sum of money to procure the counting machine, which he could still not trust. He only used the machine to distribute the cash for easy counting.

"Boss, you have never been able to discredit the machine all these months, why do you still insist on counting the money yourself" Chris asked the Don as they were leaving.

"Old habits die hard" was the curt response Chris received.
The other gentlemen laughed but Chris felt it was a lame reason, afterall he just started using planes a few years ago and now virtually all his road trips ended at the airport. For a man who started off as a truck driver, Chris believed being on the road should have become an old habit too.

"Chris, I know you are a wise young man, observant and you have been loyal to me all these years" the Don began just as the plane took off.
"You have always brought suggestions that would drive the business forward, some I took and some I didn't take, but your commitment was never in doubt". He continued.
"You see, about the money counting stuff, I will try to leave it to the machine especially because of the time it takes to count all the cash manually and because so far the machine values always tally with the values I get manually. You have won in this one. But you must supervise it and make sure I don't run into loss" he said giving one of his rare smiles. "I will put you in charge of my finances"

Chris immediately understood the implication of the Don's message. The responsibility of being in charge of the Don's finances was no small position in the hierarchy. It automatically placed him as the third most powerful man in the empire behind only the don and the chief of security. It was a salient promotion.
"I will not let you down Don, you have showed great trust in me and I will make sure that I do not disappoint you, I will continue to put in my best to ensure the continued growth of this empire" Chris promised with all sincerity. It was not necessary because the Don already knew him and his capabilities.

"I know you will not disappoint, of all the people under my leadership, I chose you for a reason" the Don said "I have my shortcomings but I am a great manager of human resources, I am an excellent judge of character. When we land, I will make the announcement public for all to know your new role". The Don concluded his impromptu promotion speech.

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