Chapter 15
Marco lasted another year as capo.
Then stepped down himself.
That surprised everyone.
Including me.
Why?
He said the role had become something he defended instead of something he performed.
Good sentence.
He took a smaller advisory position away from my personal operations.
Less prestige.
More actual skill.
He was good at negotiating supplier conflicts and mediating old family disputes.
Turns out men sometimes become more useful after losing the job they thought defined them.
We never became close again.
Trust changed shape.
But one afternoon he told me:
“The worst part?”
“What?”
“I really thought one night in your chair would prove I deserved more of it.”
I looked at him.
“And?”
“It proved I wanted the chair.”
Different.
Exactly.
Power hunger often dresses as competence.
Recognition helps.
May you like
Late.
Still useful.
