Chapter 49: Small Gift
The professional body collectors remained at the church, continuing their grim work. Tommy and Franklin, carrying the packed spoils—the documents and the high-end valuables—drove the Toyota Prius back to the burger joint.
After getting out of the car, Tommy walked to the trunk, opened it, casually took out a few thick stacks of cash, and threw them to Franklin.
"This money will be your salary for this month," Tommy instructed. "As for the dividend from today's operation, I'll transfer it to your bank account in a few days. Also, don't forget to change your clothes. How about this, go to Raphael's clothing store, tell him I sent you, and he'll dress you like a man of status."
As Tommy spoke, he handed over a heavy Continental Hotel gold coin. When he shopped for himself, he could simply charge it and have Gianna settle the bill all at once. But for Franklin, there was no such treatment; he still needed the gold coin as a symbolic down payment and stepping stone. Raphael's clothing store, naturally, was the bespoke establishment that specialized in customizing bulletproof suits for the criminal elite.
Franklin nodded, tucking away the cash and the gold coin. He looked down at his faded T-shirt and shorts. He hadn't felt anything wrong with them before, because that's how he and his friend Lama always dressed. But now, after Tommy's coolly delivered reminder, he suddenly felt that his appearance was terribly unpresentable.
That's right. Since he wanted to enter high society, he should look the part. Always dressing like a street punk, no matter how much money he made, people would talk behind his back. With today's generous earnings, Franklin left the parking lot happily. This was his first time earning so much money, and thinking about the potential future dividends, his face broke into a wide, genuine smile.
"You really have to follow the right person!"Franklin sighed in his heart. He used to hustle with Lama in gangs, working himself to the bone and still not earning a fraction of what he made today. The risks were also high; one wrong move and he'd be visiting the police station or worse. But today was different. Although following Tommy still carried immense, life-threatening risk, the new boss was generous with money, dishing out tens of thousands of dollars at once. Who wouldn't be loyal to such a generous boss?
Thinking of this, Franklin's resolve grew even stronger; he was determined to commit to Tommy's path. Only then could he truly escape the streets, make a real name for himself, and become a person of status in society.
Hopping onto his old second-hand motorcycle, Franklin sped away.
On the other side, Tommy pushed open the door of the burger joint and walked into the Crab Burger King restaurant. As evening approached, the renovation team had already left for home. Only Jin remained alone in the store, sound asleep, slumped over the massive ledger.
During this period, her workload had been immense. She was constantly on the go, almost traversing half of New York, all to find suitable businesses for acquisition. Fortunately, hard work pays off. After such a long time, she finally completed the challenging task Tommy assigned her, successfully acquiring a local transportation company, a food processing plant, a large ranch, and a large farm.
Now, everything was ready. Once the renovations at Crab Burger King were complete, Tommy Vercetti's envisioned vertical business chain could get on track and begin normal, profitable operations. Busy with acquisitions and busy with renovations, Jin had been physically and mentally exhausted these past few days, which was why she couldn't resist the drowsiness and dozed off at her desk.
Leather shoes clacked lightly on the floor. Hearing the footsteps, Jin suddenly woke up, looked up at the door, and seeing it was her boss, she relaxed. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and stretched.
"Boss, are things all taken care of?"
"Of course." Seeing Jin's weary face, even Tommy , with his ruthless pragmatic core, felt a little embarrassed. He knew he was an irresponsible boss. Aside from signing documents and setting grand goals, he did almost nothing, leaving the immense logistical load entirely to Jin. He was a complete hands-off manager.
Therefore, Tommy decided to offer some immediate compensation. Under Jin's puzzled gaze, Tommy turned and walked out of Crab Burger King. Within a few minutes, he pushed the door open again and placed a small, velvet box in front of Jin.
Inside the box was a platinum necklace, with a sparkling one-carat diamond set in the center of a four-leaf clover shape.
"On the way back just now, I passed a jewelry store, saw this, and then thought of you," Tommy lied smoothly. After all, he couldn't very well say that the pendant was a spoil he had just obtained from a dead gang leader's vault.
They say diamonds are an intelligence tax, a scam packaged by merchants for profit. But for women, these shiny little things possess an undeniable, emotional allure. Just at the first glance of the pendant, Jin's gaze was firmly drawn, unable to tear away.
"Boss, this pendant must have cost you a lot of money, isn't it too valuable?"
"Compared to your efforts, this small amount of money is nothing. If it feels like too much, just consider it your overtime pay for this entire period."
Jin gave him a deep, grateful look, took off the simple pendant she was wearing around her neck, and allowed Tommy to put on the dazzling diamond necklace for her.
"Let's go, it's time to get off work." Tommy checked his watch; it was about half an hour until eight in the evening. "I'll treat you to a couple of drinks at the bar, just to relax after all your hard work recently."
Jin looked suspicious and asked, "Boss, the bar you're talking about, it wouldn't happen to be the Red Circle Club that that mysterious lawyer transferred to you this afternoon, would it?"
"So smart, you guessed it right away." Having his intention guessed, Tommy wasn't embarrassed. As the boss of a newly acquired business, he naturally had to go and stake his claim. A new official always takes three immediate measures. He would not interfere with the legitimate business of the Red Circle Club. But those illicit and illegal activities, especially the drug trade, he would definitely abolish.
Tommy was not short of money now. During the day, he had just 'begged' ten million dollars from Vigo Tarasov and robbed the Russian Gang's underground vault, which contained another considerable fortune. Moreover, with the Red Circle Club, his previous five million in black money could also be cleanly laundered; it was just a matter of time. Furthermore, even if Tommy were to be short on money, he would not consider the drug business. That stuff was too dirty and would attract a lot of unnecessary attention and trouble; only an idiot would foolishly get mixed up in it.
As for whether his drastic measure would lead to employee opposition? Tommy didn't care about that. As the saying goes, those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish. Now that he was the boss, he was the one in charge. It was fine if they listened obediently, but if anyone dared to disobey, he would absolutely not be soft-hearted and would definitely let them have a taste of a bullet.
Getting into the driver's seat of the Ferrari, this time Tommy drove. Accompanied by the throaty roar of the engine, the bright red sports car sped off, quickly disappearing into the distance.
Tommy was still on his way, but before him, one person had already arrived at the Red Circle Club and began a spectacular, single-handed massacre.
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