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He looked at his watch again. “He don’t believe in punctuality once again.”

“That ain’t his strong suit, Boss. But everything else is.” Then his driver looked through the rearview mirror at the boss in the backseat. “But will he agree to do it is the question. We got everything riding on him saying yes.”

There was a hard exhale. “If I can’t make it happen, Claudio will be done with me. No more excuses. He told me so already. And you know what that means.”

“Hell yeah I know what it means. It means Denny takes over.”

The boss was about to exhale again when the Bugatti sped onto the backlot of an old, abandoned, boarded-up strip mall and stopped beside his limo. His driver got out and opened the back driver side door as Teddy hopped out of his Bugatti and made his way toward the limo. “What up, Teddy T?”

“What up?” Teddy said as he got into the limo. The driver closed the door and stood beside it.

“I thought Mick ordered bodyguards on you and Nikki after shipments went missing.”

“He did.”

The boss smiled. “You don’t give a fuck, do you?”

Teddy gave a half-smile. “Something like that.”

“You’re a handful. You and Nikki both. I don’t know how Mick does it.”

“Are we here to talk about Pop, or about your shit?”

“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.