Page 6 of Teddy Sinatra: Go Your Own Way
“Whatever my shit is.”
“Right.”
“We’re really here to make a deal. A deal I thought was a big deal to you too.”
“Who said it wasn’t?”
“Your actions are saying it. Do you realize we’ve met six times in the last three months and you have never been on time for any of those meetings?”
“I’m a busy man, what can I say?”
“You can say yes.”
Teddy knew his answer was long overdue. But he also knew that answer would be monumental.
“Are you there yet, Teddy? And if not, why not? This is the chance of a lifetime for you. For me too. I need this to work as much as you do. What can I do to get you to yes?”
Teddy had his arms folded and was rubbing his chin. The boss stared at him. Always thinking, that one was. Always one step ahead. But never impulsive. Never quick to make decisions that he wasn’t ready to make. Which could make for an infuriating partnership. But he was just like his old man, the boss thought.
Then Teddy made a decision. But it wasn’t what the boss wanted to hear. “Give me another week.”
“A week, Teddy?”
“Too much shit going on right now. I’ll let you know in a week.”
“That’s what you told me last week.”
Teddy looked at him. “Your ass came to me. Now if your ass can’t wait on me then move the hell on.”
Nobody spoke to him that way. Nobody. But Teddy wasn’t exactly his equal. In the scheme of things, he knew he wasn’t even in Teddy’s league. Which meant he was about to blow it big time if he didn’t course-correct. That was why he smiled. “However long it takes,” he said. “You’re worth waiting for.”
Teddy knew that was bullshit, but he was too tired to argue. He gave a knock and the driver opened the door for him.
The driver smiled as Teddy got out. “I thought they said you wasn’t riding solo these days. Where your bodyguards at, Teddy T?”
“Wherever they wanna be,” Teddy said, the driver laughed, and Teddy hopped into his car and sped away.
The driver’s smile left. “Asshole,” he said out loud, and got back behind the wheel of the limo.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Mommy, where’s Daddy? Mommy? Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
Nikki Sinatra slowly opened her eyes. Her biracial toddler was standing beside her bed looking adorable with her big green eyes like her father’s and her smooth brown skin like her mother’s and her long, curly hair like a combination of both her parents. She was still sleepy, but she smiled. Angela Sinatra, calledKimmie, always made her smile. “Hey sweetie.”
“Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
Nikki grabbed her phone from the nightstand and looked at the time. She was still having trouble focusing her sleepy eyes, but she could easily see that it was 11:21pm. Late.
She sat the phone down, grabbed her daughter that stood in her pjs on the side of her bed, and she laid her on the bed beside her. “Where’s Nanny?”
“I waited until she went to sleep. Then I came to your room.”
Nikki shook her head. Another gangster in the family, she thought. “Daddy’s out working, baby. He’s at work.”
“But it’s bedtime. Why Daddy not in bed?”
Nikki rubbed her hair. Both of her parents were smart people and she inherited that gene too. Even as a toddler, she was nobody’s pushover. She was not going to take stupid answers as if they made sense. And Nikki wasn’t trying to make her take them. But she wasn’t about to explain anything about her parents’ complicated work life this time of night either. “Go to sleep. He’ll be home soon.”
