Page 16 of Nikki Sinatra: For Her Lover

“Not this street, but turn left at the next one.”

“You sure that GPS right?”

“Yes, Roz, it’s right.”

“But why would Nikki be over here? Even Mick said he don’t have any dealings with these trailer park fools over here. Why would Nikki be over here?”

“I don’t know, Roz, okay?” Teddy was irritated because of his wife’s involvement and his lack of knowledge about why she was involved. “I don’t know dammit!”

Roz slammed on brakes in the middle of the road and looked at Teddy. “You better take that bass out of your got damn voice when you’re talking to me, boy, or I’ll kick your ass through that windshield! Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Teddy leaned his head back. Why did he agree to let her come with him? Why ??? “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Then he looked at her “I’m sorry. That crash shook me up and I’m worried about Nikki. I’m worried sick about her.”

Roz dropped her attitude when she saw the distress all over his handsome face.

“I been there okay?” When she saw that he was still unconvinced that anybody could understand what he was going through, she grabbed his chin and turned his face toward her.

“I been there, alright? I get it. But I don’t care what your ass is going through, you better never talk to me like I’m one of your boys. Got it?”

Roz was his father’s wife. He married her in great part, Teddy believed, because of her toughness. He nodded his head. “I got it. I apologize. Now can you keep driving, please, since you wouldn’t let me drive myself.”

“You aren’t about to drive my brand-new shit,” said Roz as she continued driving.

“And it’s not just me saying that either, but Mick said it too.

The same hour he bought me this beautiful Bentley he told me that you and Nikki wreck too many cars and he didn’t want either one of you near mine. That’s why I’m driving it.”

“Make another left here,” Teddy said.

Roz got in the turning lane. “I don’t understand why Nikki’s driving your car anyway. Don’t she have a Porsche? Where’s her Porsche?”

Teddy hesitated. He hated proving his father right. “She wrecked it last night,” he said.

“She wrecked it? Did she get hurt?”

“No.Nobody did.”

“And that’s why you had your son’s car.”

Teddy nodded.“Right.”

“You had his beloved Sal Gabrini.”

“Uncle Sal didn’t invent the Bugatti,” said Teddy. “He just drives one.”

“And you just wrecked it.” Then Roz realized what she’d just said. “See there!” She had accusation in her voice. “Mick was right. He knew exactly what his ass was talking about. Both of y’all wrecked cars within a day of each other. Mick was absolutely right. You and Nikki can’t drive!”

“Make another right,” Teddy said as he continued to look at the GPS on his phone. “And then hook a quick left.”

Roz did as he asked and they turned onto a street that was as blighted and rundown as the previous streets they turned onto.

But unlike the prior streets, this one wasn’t overrun with apartment complexes but trailer parks.

With plenty of trailers everywhere. The most dilapidated trailers Roz had ever seen.

And she’d seen some doozies. “Damn,” she said. “People live like this?”

“Lots of people,” Teddy said. Then he spotted his Corvette. “Pull over,” he said quickly, and Roz pulled over to the side of the road.

After she pulled over she saw Teddy’s car parked in the driveway of one of those trailers.

“What is Nikki doing at somebody’s house this time of night?

That’s what I wanna know.” She looked at the clock on her dashboard.

“It’s almost eleven.” Which reminded her to phone her twins to let them know she’d be late.

After she phoned them, she leaned back and folded her arms. Then she looked at Teddy, who was still staring at the trailer. “Are you going to tell me what this is about? What made you decide you got to have GPS on Nikki?”

Teddy didn’t answer that question. He just continued to stare.

Nikki looked at his soft green eyes that seemed out of place on such a hard, no-nonsense, rugged face.

He was a strong, tough guy. They didn’t call him Teddy the Strong Tower, or Teddy T, for no reason.

But Roz also knew he was very vulnerable when it came to Nikki.

He was always afraid he could lose her, and Nikki was always afraid she could lose Teddy.

Roz knew because both of them confided in her. Up to a point.

In Roz’s view, Teddy wasn’t helping his case with all of his late-night outs from what Nikki had been telling her. But she understood that vulnerability. She was tough as nails too. Nobody was tougher than Roz. But she had that same weakness when it came to Mick.

“You keep that GPS turned on when you’re driving that ‘Vet?” she asked him.

“No,” he admitted.

“Then why you got it on when Nikki’s driving your car?”

“If something happens when she’s out in the field and I need to get to her, I need to know where I can find her.”

“Don’t hand me that baloney,” Roz retorted.

“If something happens to her, how would you know until it’s all over?

It tracks the car and that’s all it does.

You’ll know where she last parked your car, but tracking her is all that does.

So don’t even try that with me, Teddy. Why are we sitting in this car this time of night like the damn Police on a case? What did Nikki do?”

Teddy didn’t like to tell Roz his business at that deep level because he knew, if she so choose, she could tell his father.

And if his father was displeased, he would come down hard on Teddy and Nikki both.

They were the boss and the underboss of the Sinatra Crime Syndicate, or the SCS as former CIA Director Hammer Reese told them the Feds referred to it, and Mick didn’t allow for any chinks in their armor.

He and Nikki not on the same page was a major chink.

“We’ve been going at it lately,” Teddy admitted, “and she’s been spending more and more time away from the house. She claims she’s following up on leads, but she never tells me what leads.”

“So you’re saying she’s lying?”

“I’m saying I don’t know what she’s talking about and she won’t explain it to me. I reminded her ass that I’m her boss, the boss of this entire organization, but she tells me do I want her to quit? Just like that. One day I’m going to tell her ass yes quit.”

“And on that day,” said Roz, “be prepared for her to quit you and that job and never go back. You know how Nikki can be. She don’t play. You come at her like that, she’ll take you up on it even if it wasn’t what she truly wanted to do. Don’t go there unless you’re prepared to stay there.”

Teddy looked at Roz. She was one of those gorgeous but tough black women that everybody knew, by her look alone and who her husband was, to not even think about disrespecting.

He respected her above any woman he’d ever known, including his own mother.

Roz would tell it to you straight and didn’t care about the blowback.

He was certain his father married her because she didn’t compromise.

In many ways, Teddy followed in his father’s footsteps when he married Nikki.

He also knew, although Roz would never tell him, that he and Nikki weren’t the only couple having trouble. Mick and Roz were going at it too.

“How’s Pop?”

“What do you mean how is he? He’s fine.”

“I haven’t seen him around much lately.”

“His hands are full at Sinatra Industries. There was an attempted hostile takeover last month that riled him and his board of directors. They’ve been working overtime to ensure it never happens again.”

Teddy was surprised. “I had no idea. Why didn’t Pop say anything?”

“Why would he say something to you? He told you he always keeps his corporate life separate from his syndicate life. That’s why he’s letting you and Nikki run his syndicate so he can run his international corporation without fail.”

“Although everybody knows Pop’s still running the syndicate too. All the other bosses treat me like I’m still Pop’s underboss. And they treat Nikki like she doesn’t count at all. I have to get on their case every other week about her.”

Roz looked at him. “What about your men? They still disrespect Nikki too?”

Teddy didn’t want to discuss the extent of the disrespect. “They still tend to run things by me first. I have to get on their case about that. She’s your boss, I tell them, what are you coming to me for? But back to Pop,” he said. “I hear all ain’t rosy in that neck of the woods either.”

Roz leaned her head back again. “I told you he’s preoccupied and I can’t help him.”

“Why can’t you?”

“Because he wouldn’t let me when I tried to learn about how everything worked at his corporate headquarters. Now I don’t know shit to help him with. He rather I just stay in my acting and talent agent lanes. Although my acting days are few and far between lately.”

“I don’t know why. You’re the best out there.”

Roz smiled. “Thanks, Teddy. But the young rule the world these days. Veterans of the stage like me get the leftovers. And there’s a fight for those crumbs too. I’m tired of fighting.”

“But that’s what Nikki and I have been doing lately.

Fighting. All the time. And always about petty shit.

A couple nights ago I got up in her grill about staying out so late.

She had the nerve to tell me that I’d better get my white ass out of her face.

I told her my face is in her face, not my ass.

And then I turned around, pulled down my pants, and showed her my white ass to kiss. ”

“Let me guess: She didn’t kiss it?”

“Hell no. She kicked it though!”

Roz laughed.

“That’s not funny. She had on stilettos. That shit hurt.”

“What did you do?” Roz asked as her phone began ringing through the car’s Bluetooth connection.

“I was too stunned to do anything. I’m telling you Nikki is changing. Who’s calling you this time of night?”

“My secretary,” Roz said as she pressed the icon. “Yes?”

“Where are you, Boss?”

“On a stakeout.”

“A what out?”

“What is it, Teegan? Where is it written in your job description that you have permission to call me this time of night?”

“You won’t believe the great news. I’m in the office working late on those contracts that has to be finalized first thing tomorrow morning, and then I get this call from Jerome Patankin’s office.”

“Jerome? The guy who has the top-three grossing shows on Broadway as we speak? Why would Jerome be calling you?”

“His secretary called me. She says he wants her to schedule a meeting between you and - are you sitting down?”

“I’m in my car. Of course I’m sitting down.”

“He wants to schedule a meeting between you and the one and only Alan Kincaid.”

Even Teddy knew that name. “ Alan Kincaid ?” he said amazed.

But Roz was confused. “Why would Alan Kincaid want to meet with me?”

“According to Mr. Patankin’s secretary, Mr. Kincaid very much wants to work with you on a major project.”

Roz was floored.

“I was going to give her your cell number, but she asked if you could call her back when you get in the office tomorrow morning. But isn’t that something, Boss?

Alan Kincaid is the greatest actor of his generation and he wants to meet with you, the greatest actress, in my opinion, of her generation. Won’t that be something special, Boss?”

“It’ll be something alright,” said Roz.

“Want me to text the secretary’s phone number to you?”

“Jerome’s secretary? No. I have his number. I’ll call him directly to make sure this isn’t some prank.”

“Who would prank that big?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll look into it. Thanks Tee,” she said, they said their goodbyes, and Roz ended the call. And looked at Teddy.

Teddy smiled. “I’ll be damn. That’s like you working with Denzel Washington or George Clooney or somebody of that caliber.

That’s how big this is, Roz. You know he’s Sir Alan Kincaid now?

He was knighted. One of only a few black British actors to receive that honor And he wants to work with you. How do you feel?”

“Don’t know. It depends on what he has in mind,” Roz said.

But then Teddy sat upright. “The door’s opening,” he said quickly, and Roz looked over at the trailer where Teddy’s gaze was fixed. And sure enough, the door had opened and Nikki and a shirtless, muscular guy stepped out onto the stoop. And they hugged each other.

Teddy frowned. “What the fuck?” He began angrily unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Wait, Teddy,” Roz said as she grabbed his arm. “Confront the man, not Nikki yet. You don’t want to confront her without the facts.”

“Wouldn’t you jump out of this car and confront Pop if he was on some woman’s stoop hugging her?”

“Your father has given me ninety-nine-thousand reasons to be suspicious of his ass. Nikki hasn’t given you any.”

“I told you she’s staying out later and later at night.”

“You are too and have been throughout your entire marriage. Don’t go at Nikki with that stupid stuff. See what the guy has to say first.”

Teddy listened to Roz and watched as Nikki and the guy said their goodbyes, Nikki walked down the stoop and got into his Corvette, and she drove away.

As soon as she left, and after the man had gone back inside, Teddy got out of Roz’s Bentley and began making his way to the trailer.

Roz quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her gun out of her glove compartment, got out, and hurried behind him.

She knew the kind of temper Teddy had when he was backed into a corner.

She was going to make certain he didn’t get backed into any corners.