by Hamel, B. B.
“We can do that,” I say. “I can’t make any promises about a specific rate of return though. That’s just not something we can guarantee.”
“Of course not,” Carmine says, waving me away. “Anyone that would make a promise like that is lying or stealing, and probably both.”
“But I can say that if you trust me and work with me, I think you will both be happy with our work.”
Carmine nods appreciatively. “I think that sounds reasonable.”
“Very reasonable,” Dee echoes.
Darin looks happy. “I’m glad you guys are getting along.”
“It’s easy to get along with a girl like this,” Carmine says. I notice Jacob tense. “You know, smart and capable.”
“Thank you,” I say.
He nods his head. “But I must bring us back to an important matter.”
I feel Jacob tense slightly. “Which is?” he asks.
“Our privacy.” Carmine meets Jacob’s eye. “I understand that our last meeting was something of a surprise for you. I had assumed that you spoke with Darin here beforehand. Since you hadn’t, it was clear some things were misunderstood.”
“How were they misunderstood?” Jacob asks.
“Our privacy is simply that, our privacy. We aren’t hiding from anyone or anything. But we value privacy. I have competitors in this city, and if they knew I was investing with you, they might think I have too much. They might push against me and try to take my customers. I don’t want them to know how well I’m doing, Mr. Lofthouse. My privacy is an attempt to protect my business.”
Jacob nods slowly. “I can understand that.”
“Good.” Carmine smiles as the wine arrives. “Ah, here we go. Let’s toast to our mutual understanding.”
Everyone gets a glass. We toast and drink, and I have to admit, the wine is really good. The men start talking about other things, mostly local sports, and I let my mind drift away a little bit.
Jacob doesn’t seem pleased or relaxed, but lunch goes by without a hitch. We talk some more about the upcoming work, assuming we’re going to work with them at all. Darin keeps the conversation moving masterfully, easily filling any silences with small talk or questions. When it’s finished, the two men pay for the meal, just like they said they would. We all get up and drift out front.
“So, gentlemen,” Darin says. “It was a pleasure. Thank you for coming to meet with us again.”
“Thank you,” Carmine says back. They shake hands and the two men turn and leave. We watch them walk down the sidewalk for a minute before turning away.
“What do you think?” Darin asks Jacob.
“I think the same thing as before,” he says.
“But he had a perfectly good reason for being private.” Darin looks to me. “You think so, don’t you?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s not my place.”
“You’re here,” he presses. “What do you think?”
“I think… it’s plausible. But I wouldn’t do something I’m not comfortable with.”
Darin rolls his eyes and looks at Jacob. “Did I tell you what they want to invest?”
He shakes his head. “Does it matter?”
“Twelve million. Up front. With the potential for more over the years, depending on how it goes.”
Jacob stares at him. I stare at him. We’re dead silent for a second.
“That’s a lot,” he says finally. “That’s a hell of a lot. How do they have that much to invest?”
“I told you, they’re successful businessmen.”
“Even still.”
“Now do you get why they don’t want to seem too flashy?” Darin shakes his head. “Come on, think about it.”
“They did just buy an obscenely expensive lunch,” Jacob points out. “That seems flashy to me.”
Darin groans. “Come on, man.”
“I’m just saying—”
“Look, they’re legit. I trust them and I want their fucking money. So we’re doing this.”
There’s a tense moment as the two men stare at each other. I take a step back as they glare and I don’t want to get involved in this. If they want to disagree, that’s fine, but I’m not going to get in the middle.
“I’ll think about it,” Jacob says finally. “I’m not saying yes right now. But I’ll think about it.”
“Twelve million with more coming,” Darin says. “That’s a nice account.” He looks over at me. “You want that account, don’t you?”
I laugh. I can’t help myself. “The commission on that will float me for years.”
“So help your new girl out and take their fucking money.” Darin glares at Jacob for anther second.
“I said, I’ll think about it.”
“Fine. Fucking think about it.” Darin turns away. “I’m going back to my hotel. I’m fucking tired.”
“Good.”
Darin shakes his head. “I don’t get you, man. They’re legit. They have money. Why aren’t we taking it?”
“Because I have a bad feeling about them. Why do you want to get involved so bad?”
Darin stares at him for a second. “Twelve million,” he says and then turns and walks off. He heads down the sidewalk. Jacob stands there and watches him go.
I step forward and put a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
He looks at me and nods. “I’m okay.”
“That was rough.”
“He’s dead set on it.”
“Jacob…” I look into his eyes. “You know they’re gangsters, right? I mean, it’s so obvious.”
“Yeah, I know.” He looks away. “The money seems good. And it’s probably from a legitimate business.”
“Sure, they’re laundering it, or at least it seems like they are. Until Darin actually launders it and makes it clean again.”
He tenses. “I don’t know he’s doing that.”
“He’s pushing this hard,” I point out. “You see that, don’t you?”
“I see it,” he admits. “I’m trying to give him every opportunity to back off, but he’s not taking it.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want it to be true, but the more we look into it, the more I feel like he’s guilty.”
I want to kiss him but I know I can’t. Not right now, not out here. “We’ll figure it out, okay? I don’t know how, but we’ll figure it out.”
He looks at me. His eyes are dark and pleading and hungry. I can tell he wants to do something to me, and I want with all my body for him to do it. But instead, he just nods.
“Come on, let’s get back to the office.”
I nod a little and follow him down the block. He calls for his car and it arrives a few minutes later.
We ride back in silence together, each of us lost in our own versions of what just happened.
14
Jacob
I spend the next three days agonizing over what to do.
I don’t have too long to think though. Darin’s hitting the road again and he wants to know what to tell Carmine before they leave. I tell him I’ll think about it, and the more I do, the harder the decision becomes.
Taking their money and taking them on is basically what I’m trying to prove Darin doesn’t do. Clearly though, this is what he wants. He’s pushing hard, and every time we talk about it we get into an argument. He’s willing to fight with me for these men, and that puts me on edge.
It can’t just be about the money. Twelve million is a lot, but it’s not enough to sell out for. The cut we’ll get will be pretty nice, but it won’t change our lives in any significant way. It’ll certainly make the office sustainable for a few years while we get more clients and get rolling, but even still, it’s just not worth the hassle.
And yet Darin’s convinced that it is. Or at least he’s acting like it’s the most important thing in the world.
Finally though, I know what I have to do. It’s not easy, but I know it’s the right thing. The day comes
and I almost hate myself when I get into the office. I bring Val into my office first thing and shut the door. She sits in a chair, leaning toward me.
“You look awful,” she says.
“I didn’t sleep,” I admit.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been thinking,” I say, and hesitate. “I know what to do.”
“What?” She stares at me and I can see the worry in her eyes. I appreciate that and it actually gives me a little more strength to push forward.
“I’m going to take them on.”
She seems to deflate. “You are?” she asks. “But… why?”
“Because we’re going to investigate everything they do, just like I said. You’re going to be their manager and we’re going to watch them. We’re going to see where the money comes from and if they take any out, where it’s going. We’re going to figure out if they’re really legit or not.”
She takes a slow breath then lets it out. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Fine.”
We sit there in silence for a long moment. “Are you sure?” she asks. “Maybe Darin doesn’t know.”
“If they’re gangsters, he knows.”
She nods a little then stands. “I trust you,” she says. “If you think this is the way forward, I trust you.”
“Thank you.” I want to get up and touch her, kiss her, bite her lip, make her moan. But I can’t. I hold back, even if it drives me wild. I stare at her for a second. “I want to see you.”
“Yeah?” She sounds a little breathless. A little excited.
“Tonight. I’m going to be pent-up. I’m going to be angry. And I want to take it out on you.”
She stares at me, lips parted. She’s so fucking sexy with her auburn hair and pink lips and pale creamy skin. “I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll send a car for you. Be ready at nine.”
“Okay. Yeah. I’ll see you then.”
She turns and leaves the room.
I watch her ass and feel my pulse quicken.
I give myself a little bit to get it together before I call Darin. He’s in town but not in the office today, he’s out meeting with other potential clients. “Yo, brother,” he says.
“Hey, man. Listen. Can you come in later?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I just want to talk about that account.”
He pauses. “Good news?”
“Just come in.”
“Sure thing. See you later.” He hangs up.
I spend the rest of the day second-guessing myself. I keep wondering if I’m doing the wrong thing, if I’m needlessly betraying and setting up my own friend. I feel like I’ve given him enough outs, enough reasons to want to stop this whole thing, but he keeps pushing forward.
I’ll give him one more chance. I’ll make my case and make it clearly. If he’s not interested and still wants these men as an account, I’ll take them on and I’ll let Valerie do her thing. That’ll be his choice.
But fuck, the choice hurts. I hate that I have to make it, but I won’t back down from it.
He comes in around four-thirty. He slips into my office and sits down heavily on a chair. “Shit,” he says. “Busy day.”
“How many did you see?”
“Five,” he says with a laugh. “Signed two. You’ll like them.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Legit guys, big corporate accounts. Fat payrolls. That sort of thing.”
“Sounds like heaven already.”
He smiles but it’s an empty gesture. “So. You want to talk about Carmine. Let’s talk about Carmine.”
I take a deep breath and nod slowly. “Look. I want to be careful about these guys.”
“That’s obvious.”
“I know you’re set on taking their money. But I think we should consider maybe passing. What kind of fund do we want to be, anyway?”
“I want to be the kind of fund that’ll take money and make more money,” he says. “Look, Jacob, I get it. You don’t like the guys. You think they’re shady or whatever. But believe me, if you did your research, you’d know they’re for real.”
I frown a little bit. I had done my research. That was all I’d been doing since that meeting. From what I can tell, their front companies are real. But everything stinks about them. For example, only PO boxes are publicly listed. And there are no phone numbers anywhere, no mentions of their actual names, nothing. The registered agent is some lawyer out in Hoboken, which is about as cliché as it gets.
“Okay, fine. But if there’s any question at all, do we really need them? It sounds like you’re doing just fine.”
He closes his eyes for a second then slowly opens them. I can see the anxiety and annoyance clear all over his face. He’s not trying to hide how he’s feeling at all.
“If you want to block this, say so. But I want to move forward. I’m sick of this stupid second-guessing. We’re just going to piss these guys off and lose clients for no damn good reason.”
“I hear you,” I say. “I just—”
“Make up your mind,” he snaps.
I stare at him for a second. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry with me, and it’s really hard to make sense of.
I mean, if these guys really were just regular, hardworking Italian-Americans that want to keep themselves private, I don’t see why he’d insist on pushing so hard. We could move on from these guys and still flourish. They won’t change our lives.
But if they were mafia…
That would explain his insistence. He doesn’t care if I’m against it or if I’m uncomfortable. He just wants to move ahead.
“All right then,” I say. “Let’s sign them.”
He relaxes. He even smiles. “Really?”
“Fuck it. If that’s what you want, we’ll do it.”
He brightens up at that and stands up. “Fuck, yeah, man. This is a huge score.”
I force myself to smile. I don’t understand this excitement, because really, it’s not that big. I mean, it’s a solid amount of money, but not enough to fight over.
“I trust you,” I say, standing. He comes around my desk and gives me a big, hard hug. I laugh and slap his back. “We’ll make these guys a fortune.”
“That’s what I want to hear, my brother.” He grins and fakes punching me in the gut. I hate when he does that. “Look, get them all sorted, I’ll get the cash. We’ll start making these dudes rich.”
“Absolutely.”
He moves away from my desk and over to the window. He’s smiling but slowly his smile starts to fade. “So look, you’re going to give these guys to that girl, right?”
“You mean Valerie?” I go still, not moving a muscle. I can hear my heart beating fast in my chest.
“Right, yeah, the pretty redhead girl. You think she’s… a good fit?”
“I think she’s smart and more than capable.”
He makes a grunting sound. “I don’t know. Carmine didn’t like her.”
“Why not?” I try not to sound too eager or upset. I don’t want him to think this is a big deal. Carmine not liking her could mean any number of things. And I mean, we shuffle agents around all the time. It’s not all that unusual to pull someone from an account and move it to someone else.
Though I normally do that. Darin’s not exactly hands-on when it comes to the day-to-day operations around here.
“I don’t know. Just had a bad vibe or something.” He watches the window carefully. “And plus, maybe you’re a little too close to her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say it like I’m joking but I start to tense up. I start to feel like I might have to fight my best friend, here and now.
“Aimee told me.”
The words hit me in the gut.
“She… what?”
He looks at me with a huge grin on his face. “Look man, you want to fuck the hot new girl, be my guest. I encourage it, honestly. Go have a fucking blast. But I don’t know if it’s smart, bringing he
r to meetings and shit.”
“You… fuck. What?” I sit down, feeling unsteady.
He laughs at me. “Don’t act like that, dude. This can’t be the first employee you’ve tasted. I know I’ve gone through the whole damn office at least once.”
I stare at him and laugh. I can’t help it.
He fucking knows about my kiss with Valerie.
I was worried he knew about her being a fed. I was afraid he was going to say we had to get rid of her or that the mafia guys were on to her or some shit. I thought he’d ferreted me out and knew I was trying to set him up, or at least trying to see if he’d set himself up.
But no, he just knows about the kiss.
“Well, fuck,” I say. “I didn’t think she’d talk.”
“Aimee can’t help herself. Girl loves to gossip.” He grins at me and shrugs. “Look, I don’t care if you want to taste the merchandise, so to speak. But don’t let it affect your decisions.”
“Right. Yeah.”
“So we’ll keep her away from this?”
“Look, my own thing with her aside, she’s really good. If you want to show these guys what we can do, she’s the agent for it.”
He frowns a little. “No kidding?”
“I’m serious. Just don’t tell Carmine she’s working it. Trust me, she’s by far the best one here.”
“Well, you always did have good taste.”
“I was born and bred for it.”
He laughs again and shrugs. “All right. Fuck it. Go ahead and put her on it. I’m just not going to say shit to Carmine about it.”
“Sounds good. Trust me, she’s the way to go.”
“Yeah, I bet.” He smirks at me. “So what’s she like? Red all the way down or what?”
“Fuck off.”
He laughs again and walks to the door. I’m so relieved I barely feel a twinge of anger.
“All right, brother. I’m out. I’ll take care of Carmine and get it all set up. You’re the man, you know that?”
“You keep bringing in the big fish.”
“All right, brother.” He laughs and leaves the office, letting the door close behind him.
I lean back in my chair and close my eyes.
Fucking hell. That was close. So fucking close.
And the whole time I just kept worrying about her.
