Her Protector

by Mallory Monroe

  time! You can’t keep pulling this shit on me. You could have taken two minutes in all those

  hours upon hours you were away to phone me and let me know you were okay. You aren’t

  going to stand up there and tell me shit was going down that whole time. You can’t tell me

  that. I didn’t know what to think, Teddy. I was worried sick about you!”

  And it was those last words, as Nikki recalled, that seemed to change Teddy’s mood. It was

  when she verbalized how worried she was about him, how she really felt about him, did his

  entire demeanor change. He went from combative to almost subdued. Her words, she now

  believed, had spooked him.

  “Yeah, well, don’t worry about me,” he had said. “Just do you. We might not have a future

  like that anyway.”

  Those words stunned Nikki. She remembered looking at his handsome face as if she was

  seeing him for the first time. “We don’t have a future like that? What’s that supposed to

  mean?”

  “It means what it means. I don’t know what the future holds. Do you? It might work out, it

  might not work out. I’m not ready to go down that road.” Then he frowned. “I’m not ready for

  that shit!”

  It was a gut-punch for Nikki. She’d only moved to Philly at Teddy’s suggestion, and only

  after he helped her out of a sticky situation in L.A. She didn’t know anybody but the Sinatra

  family now that she had relocated. The entire idea was that they were a couple and they were

  going to be together. Marriage wasn’t discussed, but it was definitely on the table. Now he

  was acting as if he had unilaterally taken it off the table. She was living with a man, letting his

  ass fuck her ass night after night, for what? The hell of it?

  She left. She packed her clothes, called for an Uber, and left. She didn’t even take the car

  he had purchased for her. It was the second time in their short relationship that she had left

  that car, and him, behind.

  But this time, instead of retreating to his sister’s house the way she had done before, she

  retreated to a cheap motel, where she could get her thoughts together and find her own place.

  She had minimal savings, but she had something, and it would give her a start. Going back to

  L.A., with that sticky situation still sticky, wasn’t an option.

  The next day she found a place: a very modest but clean, furnished apartment, and took

  nearly every dime of her savings to pay for it. And then she hit the pavement, looking for work.

  She knew, with her experience and background, she would have no problem finding a job. But

  nobody was interested in hiring her. She had been a bar manager in L.A. In Philly, she couldn’t

  land a job as a barmaid. She was in trouble.

  And then, late that night, Teddy came over. He caused a big scene by busting her door open

  without knocking. She told him he had no right to be angry given what he had said the day

  before, and then she forced him back out of her apartment and closed the door. In his face! It

  couldn’t lock. He had broken the lock. But she was able to keep a chair up against it until the

  next day.

  She heard nothing else from him, and assumed she wouldn’t, until yesterday. Teddy’s capo,

  Gio Savarino, drove the car Teddy had purchased for her to her apartment.

  “He says it’s yours,” Gio had said, dangling the keys in front of her when she answered the

  door. “He told me to bring the car to you point blank period.”

  If Nikki wasn’t broke, and knew she couldn’t continue to afford Ubers and bus rides in Philly,

  she would have thrown those keys right back at Gio. But she was broke. She didn’t throw

  anything. Not even a tantrum.

  “He also said,” Gio continued, “that he’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

  Nikki stared at Gio.

  Gio exhaled. He liked Nikki too. “One thing you need to know about Teddy,” he said, “is

  that the man knows how to separate business from pleasure. If you need a job, and from what

  I’ve heard, you do, then show up for work. He’ll keep it professional. He’s really good about

  that.”

  Nikki didn’t like the idea of being beholden to Teddy, but it was a lifeline for her. She was

  damn-near destitute, with zero prospects, and with less-than-a dollar to her name. She felt

  trapped, and was upset with herself for letting it come to this.

  That was why she didn’t throw those keys back yesterday. That was why she was, today,

  hustling to get onto the elevator, and get downstairs to that very same car. It was her first day

  at work as Teddy’s new personal assistant, and she wasn’t going to be late.

  She made it onto the elevator. It had no passengers onboard, which she liked. She was new

  to the complex, and wasn’t interested in making any friends, or even being particularly friendly

  with anyone just yet. She wasn’t emotionally ready for that.

  But as she rode down the elevator to the first floor, her cellphone began ringing. Her heart

  felt a kind of dread. Was it Teddy’s office calling to tell her he didn’t need a personal assistant

  after all? Was it Teddy himself?

  When she looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was Gloria Sinatra, Teddy’s kid sister, her

  heart settled back down. She and Glo had become close friends, even though they were

  nothing alike. Whereas Nikki was a strong-willed, assertive black woman who stood her ground

  no matter what the cost, Glo was a biracial beauty who gave the appearance of a female more

  suited to pageants than boardrooms. But appearances, Nikki knew, could be deceiving. Gloria

  had brains with her beauty. She answered. “Hey, Glo.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. What’s up with you?”

  “Nothing. Where’re you?”

  “On my way downstairs to leave for work. I’m trying to get there early. I’ll call you later.”

  “Whoa, Nikki,” Gloria said with a laugh. “What’s the big damn rush? You work for Teddy,

  your boyfriend, remember? Duh? Why are you worrying about being on time?”

  “You work for your father,” Nikki fired back. “Don’t you worry about being on time?”

  Gloria laughed again. “You and your quick comebacks! Okay, I get your point. You got me

  there. And you’re right. I’m hustling in my car right now trying to get to work on time too.

  Daddy don’t play that late shit!”

  Nikki smiled.

  Then there was a pause. “You and my brother okay?” Gloria asked. She had heard, from

  Joey, that there might have been a breakup. “You guys okay?”

  Nikki was no liar. “No,” she responded bluntly, “we’re not okay.”

  “Damn,” Gloria said. “I was so pulling for you two! Need to talk about it?”

  “Not right now, no.”

  “Well whenever you do, please know you’ll always have a listening ear. I love Teddy dearly,

  but his mood swings get on my nerves too.”

  Nikki smiled. “Thanks, Glo.”

  “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye,” Nikki said, and ended the call. Gloria, she felt, was a true friend.

  But when Nikki made it to her car, the gorgeous Aston-Martin Teddy had purchased for her,

  and got behind the gorgeous steering wheel and cranked up, she realized she had a major-ass

  problem. The tank was on empty! Gio brought it to her, but he didn’t bother to check the gas

  level. And she hadn’t touched it since he brought it to her y
esterday. Teddy and Gio were the

  last two people to drive it.

  She grabbed her purse. She already knew the verdict, but she was frantically hoping against

  hope. But the verdict was still the verdict: she had sixty-eight cents to her name. Sixty-eight

  cents! Not even enough for one gallon of gas. And the car was already on E. It was a wonder

  Gio didn’t run out of gas bringing it over.

  She hated this, but it couldn’t be helped. This was her first day and she needed that job.

  She called Gloria.

  But Gloria appeared to be talking to somebody else and wasn’t answering an incoming call

  from her.

  She called Teddy. He wasn’t answering either, which didn’t bode well for how her day was

  going to go with him.

  She even called Joey and even Gio. But both of their lines weren’t picking up either. It was

  early. They had shit to do. She understood. But it wasn’t helping her situation.

  She was in dire straits. She tried Gloria one more time. And Teddy. But still no answer. She

  even considered looking around at some of her neighbors and asking if she could borrow a few

  dollars from a friendly-looking one. But she would rather die than beg a stranger like that.

  She had no choice. And she knew it.

  She called Rosalind Sinatra, Mick Sinatra’s wife and Teddy’s stepmother. Roz answered, but

  only to quickly say she was on the other line handling business and would call her back. Roz

  Sinatra was a renowned agent and also a Broadway actress. She was a busy lady.

  And Nikki knew she would get a call back from Roz, but it could be hours later.

  Which meant Nikki had only one more option left. She didn’t know anybody else. She had

  no Uber money to give to anybody. She couldn’t even catch a bus with sixty-eight cents! But

  she had to get to work, and he could snap his finger and get somebody to come and give her a

  lift.

  Besides, she saved his life once.

  Not that she expected anything in return. She didn’t. But right now, she needed to call in

  that favor.

  She picked up her phone once more, and called Teddy’s father.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Mick Sinatra was in his office talking to Blair Conyers, his chief assistant, and he didn’t like

  what he was hearing. “What are they concerned about?” he asked her.

  “The numbers,” Blair said as she stood in front of his desk. “Their board of directors are

  questioning the percentages. They want to renegotiate the terms.”

  “That’s not happening,” Mick said bluntly. “The contract is signed, and we will stand by the

  four corners of that contract and take their asses to court if they renege.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I don’t know who they think they’re dealing with.”

  “That’s exactly what I told them, sir,” Blair said, “but they still insisted I tell you.”

  “You told me,” Mick said as his cell phone began ringing. They were in his office on the top

  floor of the mammoth Sinatra Industries corporate headquarters building. S.I. was

  international, and it consumed most of Mick’s time. But he remained head of the Sinatra crime

  family, a job, he knew, he could never retire from. “Let them know you told me,” he said as he

  looked at his Caller ID, “and end that conversation.”

  “Yes, sir,” Blair said.

  “Better yet,” Mick said, “let Lee handle it. He’s lead attorney. Tell him to tell them no deal.”

  Blair smiled. “I’m sure they’ll back off that nonsense if Leonard calls. Or even better you.”

  But Blair knew Mick wasn’t about to handle that nonsense himself. Mick, instead, was

  answering his cellphone even as Blair was finishing her sentence.

  “This is Sinatra,” he answered.

  “Hello, Mr. Sinatra.” It was Nikki. And she cleared her throat. “How are you this

  morning?” She halfway expected him to say busy and give her the shove off. But he didn’t.

  “I’m good,” Mick responded. He looked at Blair. She knew that look meant the call was

  personal and that she should give him some privacy. And Blair, feeling underappreciated as she

  usually did, made her way out of his office.

  Mick leaned back in his chair. “How are you?”

  “Well, honestly, I’m in a bit of a situation, sir.”

  Mick didn’t immediately respond as she had hoped he would, but he, instead, began rocking

  in his chair. “Okay,” he said.

  Not quite the response she was looking for, but she continued. “Today is my first day on the

  job as Teddy’s assistant, but I came downstairs and realized my car is on empty. I have no gas.”

  This was the shameful part. “I have no money to get gas. Or even to catch a bus for that

  matter.”

  A set frown came over Mick’s face. What the fuck was wrong with Teddy? “You’re still at

  home?”

  “Yes, sir. But not Teddy’s place. I have my own. My address--”

  “I know where you live,” Mick said to Nikki’s shock. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Nikki wanted to tell him that she was pressed for time and would appreciate it if his man

  could come right away, but she knew that would sound super-ungrateful. But she was honest if

  she was anything, no matter how it sounded. “If you could send somebody right away, sir,” she

  said, “I would really appreciate it. It’s my first day and I would hate to be late.”

  “I understand,” Mick said, and before she could even thank him, he had ended the call.

  Nikki leaned her head back on the headrest. How in the world could she not check the gas

  level when Gio brought the car to her? How incompetent could she be? And to have to call

  Mick Sinatra of all people to help her out? She felt like crap!

  She looked at her phone’s clock. It was seven-eleven. She had planned on being to work

  early to prove how much she appreciated having a job. Now she might be super-late, or might

  not get there at all.

  But, to her relief, Mick had sent over a man right away. Within fifteen minutes, or before

  seven-thirty, a Cadillac Escalade SUV pulled up behind her Aston-Martin Vanquish S. Relieved,

  she grabbed her purse, her briefcase, and her phone, got out of her car, and hurried up to her

  ride.

  She was thanking the driver as she was opening the door. “I really appreciate,” she began

  saying. Until she saw the driver. And it wasn’t one of Mr. Sinatra’s men. It was Mr. Sinatra!

  Her mouth, as if by reflex, flew open. “Mr. Sinatra?” she asked.

  “Get in,” Mick said. “You don’t want to be late, do you?”

  “No, sir,” Nikki said, getting in quickly. “Not at all, sir.”

  “Give him your keys,” Mick ordered.

  Nikki didn’t realize somebody was on the backseat of the SUV until she turned around. And

  she quickly handed him her keys.

  When the man got out and closed the back door, and she closed the front passenger door,

  Mick explained. “He’ll gas it up and leave it at your office,” he said.

  Mick, who seemed to know everything about his children, now seemed to know everything

  about her too! It was odd and flattering for Nikki. “Yes, sir,” she said, still a little shocked, and

  Mick took off.

  Mick glanced over at her, from her curvaceous hips that bordered on big hips, to her flat

  stomach, to her huge breasts, to her gorgeous face. In his eyes, she was the total package.

  “You okay?�
�� he asked her.

  “I’m okay. Just a little surprised,” she admitted. “I certainly didn’t expect to see you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I know you’re a very busy man.”

  Mick didn’t respond to that, because he was a very busy man. And Nikki shut up too, and

  settled into the ride. She had so many emotions she almost felt as if she was going to be

  overcome with emotion. From happy to be getting to work. To shame for having to have to call

  this busy man. To elation that a busy man like him thought enough of her to come himself. To

  embarrassment that he had to come at all.

  To hurt.

  Because it wasn’t Teddy.

  Because she was on bad terms with the man she loved.

  Because nothing about this move to Philly was turning out as she had hoped.

  CHAPTER SIX

  He could smell the ribs as soon as he opened the door. Dee’s Place it was called, and

  everybody in south Philly knew about that rib joint. Teddy knew about it too. He knew it was

  Mookie’s favorite hangout. He also knew Mookie knew all about what went down earlier that

  morning at the bakery.

  “Teddy T!” It was DeQuan, the owner, shouting out from over the counter. “Nice suit you

  got on you.”

  Teddy looked down. It was Armani, his designer of choice, but to him it looked like all the

  other suits he wore on a daily basis.

  But DeQuan didn’t see him on a daily basis. “Why your ass always dressing like you’re a

  regular business man?”

  “Because I am?”

  “Yeah, right. And I’m Martha Stewart!”

  Teddy laughed.

  “What you’re having this time?” DeQuan asked. “My famous dry-rub? It’s early for that

  shit, but I keep my ribs ready to go!”

  “I’m looking for Mookie. Seen that clown?”

  “Yeah I saw his slick ass,” DeQuan replied. “There’s not a day go by his ass isn’t here.

  Running up his tab. He’s in the back.”

  Teddy knew what that meant too: the back. In other words, the gambling holes. Those

  private rooms where they bet on anything and everything twenty-four-seven. Mookie wasn’t a

  gambler. He was the bookie who took the bets. Which meant he hung around a lot of mob