(SERGIO)
I open the door to my office and find a stocky man waiting there with Maksim. Everyone stands as I walk in.
"Sergio, my boy!" A contemporary of my father, Girolamo Condello was a don from another era and the head of Piedmont's biggest Dvina. Like me, he is a member of La Provencia, our ruling body.
"Hello, Mommo." I kiss his cheeks. "What a pleasant surprise." I have a feeling what this meeting might concern, but I hope I am wrong. Maksim's worried expression tells me he suspects it, as well.
"You are looking well. It has been a long time since I have seen you out of a suit."
"Forgive me," I say with a self-deprecating shrug. "We began la vendemmia and I've just come in from the vineyard."
"Ah, I do envy you and your vineyards. I would never turn down a glass of Sakharov ciró."
Maksim pours wine while I sit. We both pick up our glasses and toast. "Salute."
