“How did it go?”

Gloria was seated in the middle chair in front of Mick’s desk, with Teddy and Joey seated in chairs beside her.  She looked at her father and made sure she gave a thoughtful answer.  But the words wouldn’t come without offending his beloved Blair Conyers.  “Not great,” she finally said.

“It went good then?” Mick asked her.

“I wouldn’t say that either.”

Mick frowned.  “Then say what the fuck you mean.”

Gloria swallowed hard.  “Blair, your executive assistant and my current boss, insisted that we play hardball and force them to accept every demand you mentioned you wanted.  I told her that’s not going to work.  Nobody’s going to ever agree to everything.  It’s not a negotiation in that case.  But she overruled me.”

Mick was staring at his daughter.  “And what happened?” he asked.

“They said no,” Gloria said, “but without prejudice.”

Joey smiled.  “Without prejudice?  What does that mean?  They aren’t racists?”

“It means,” Teddy said, “that they will be willing to come back to the negotiating table if there’s more flexibility on Dad’s part.  It means they said no, but they haven’t closed the door entirely.”

“Which is good,” Mick said.  “But why did they leave that door open?” he asked Gloria.

“Because I asked them to,” Gloria responded.  “Blair was sufficiently set back when they said no, so she looked to me for help.  I told them I would get with you, and then get back to them.  But only if they agree to return to the negotiating table.  And they agreed.”

Mick nodded.  “That was good work,” he said to her.

Gloria smiled.  “Thank you,” she said.

“Their CEO gave me a call.  He credited you with keeping the deal alive.”

Gloria beamed.

“I want you to put together a team and set up a meeting.  They’re waiting on your call.”

“Yes, sir.  But,” Gloria said.

“But what?” Mick asked.

“But what about Blair?”

Mick frowned.  “What the fuck about her?  She’s my assistant.  What the fuck she can do about it?  I’ll handle her.  You just get the right team together.”

Gloria was pleased.  “Yes, sir.”

“So, does that mean you’re promoting Glo, Pop?” Joey asked.  “You demoted her already.  Are you promoting her again?”

“She’s moving in the right direction,” said Mick.  “Promotions don’t grow on trees.  You have to earn them.  She’s in the earning process right now.”

“Congrats, Glo,” said Teddy with a smile.

“Thanks,” Gloria responded, unable to stop smiling.

“I’m going to be out of the country tomorrow,” Mick said to his daughter.  “I’m going to be in tough negotiations, so it might take a while.  I’ll be back as soon as I can get back.  Seal that deal before I get back.”

Gloria knew it was a tall order, but she was up to the challenge.  “Yes, sir,” she said.

“That’ll be all,” Mick said to her, she rose to her feet and she left.  She left with a big smile on her face.

“But as for you two,” Mick said, leaning forward and staring at his sons.  “What the fuck happened?”

Before Teddy could respond, Joey decided to play dumb.  “In reference to what?” he asked his father.

Mick gave him a hard, cold stare.  Playing dumb around him was never the way to go.

Teddy knew it too.  “One of our men fucked up,” he said.  “That’s what the fuck happened.”

“Fucked up how?” Mick asked.

“He got into it with Boss Bovenconti’s kid at some nightclub.  Shit popped off and the kid was badly beaten.  He’s in intensive care as we speak.”

“Why would one of our guys get into it with the son of a Don?” Mick wanted to know.  “Who would think that would be okay?”

Given that the perp had been one of Joey’s crewmembers, Teddy knew he could rat out his kid brother for his sloppy management style, and for the fact that it was always one of his men who fucked up.  But he couldn’t do it.  Teddy was no snitch.  “I don’t know what he was thinking,” he said, instead.

“Who was it?” Mick asked.

“Guy named Khaki.”

“On whose crew?” Mick asked.

Joey’s heart was pounding.  Mick had already given him several warnings about his lax leadership style.  He had yet to heed those warnings.

Mick frowned when he didn’t get an answer.  “Whose crew was he from?” he asked Teddy again.

“I can’t recall which crew, Pop,” Teddy said.

Joey was so grateful he could kiss his brother.  But when Mick, who was nobody’s fool, gave Joey a hard look, that gratitude flew out the window.  “What’s wrong?” he asked his father.  “What are you looking at me for?”

“Another fuck up?” Mick asked him.

“I didn’t do anything!” Joey said as if he was as innocent as the driven snow.

Mick stared at his son.  Was he destined to be a punk for the rest of his life?  Would Teddy have to carry him forever?  “Keep your ass out of trouble,” he finally said to him.

Why he would say that made no sense to Joey, but Joey would take it.  It was better than a beat down.  “Yes, sir,” he said.

“You can leave.”

Joey, like Gloria, gladly left his father’s office.  He gladly left Teddy in the hot seat.

Mick leaned back.  “What the fuck you think you’re doing?” he asked Teddy.

Teddy crossed his legs.  “What do you mean?”

“You think I’m a fucking idiot?  You think I don’t know what happens at all times to my businesses?  It was a member of Joey’s crew again, but you decide to lie to me?”

“I wasn’t going to rat him out, Pop.  I told him he needed to tighten it up.”

“What the fuck good is that going to do?  Every time I turn around there’s another fuck up, and it involves yet another member of Joey’s crew.  Tightening up is over.”

Teddy was hoping he wasn’t hearing what he thought he was hearing.  “What do you mean?”

“You know what the fuck I mean.  You need to end it.”

“End it?”

“Yeah, end it, Teddy!  Somebody’s not doing their job, what would you do?”

Teddy exhaled.  “Fire him,” he said.

“Joey isn’t doing his job.  You’re the underboss.  You run each and every crew working in the syndicate.  And you are in charge of each and every crew leader.  A crew leader isn’t keeping his men in check, you need to fire his ass.”

Teddy leaned forward.  Did he realize what he was asking of him?  “Pop, he’s just young,” he said.  “If we give him some more time--”

“Time is up!” Mick yelled.  “What the fuck you think I’m running?  An apprentice program?  The action of that one fucker last night could have led to a war.  A war, Teddy!  You think that’s a little thing?”

“No, it’s not a little thing, but what you’re asking me to do is no little thing either, Pop!  Joey works hard.  Yes, he needs to hold his crew feet to the fire more.  Yes, he does.  And if we just wait and give him a chance to do it, he will.”

“I’m not waiting around for him to do shit,” Mick said and grabbed his desk phone, ready to make a call.  “You have my order.”

Teddy knew he was being dismissed, but he also knew he was being asked something he couldn’t do.  He rose to his feet.  “I listened to you,” he said, “now you listen to me.  Joey’s leadership style is a train wreck sometimes.  Yes, it is.  And he panics and make rash decisions in tough spots.  He does that too.  But he’s still the best crew chief we have when it comes to making sure those ships get out on time, which is the biggest part of the business.  Nobody runs the docks better than Joey.  You put me in charge of every crew.  You put me in charge of every crew chief.  I’m not firing Joey,” he said boldly.

Mick just sat there, staring at him.

“I’m not firing him,” Teddy continued, to justify his blatant insubordination, “because there’s nobody better to replace him.  If I fired Joey it would be a decision based on anger rather than good sense, which you taught me was to never happen in your organization.  I have your order, but I can’t carry it out.”

“You can’t,” Mick asked, “or you won’t?”

“I won’t,” Teddy said boldly.

Mick continued to stare at him.  Then he leaned forward.  “Your reasoning is sound,” he admitted, “and your ultimate decision, based on that reasoning, is the right one.”

Teddy inwardly sighed relief.  This could have gone all kinds of wrong!

“But if there’s any more fuck ups,” Mick added, “you own it.  Joey will not be in the discussion.  His name, regardless of his actions, will not come up.  It’ll be on you.  And then I’ll get rid of both of your asses.  But it’ll all be on you.”

It was a responsibility Teddy didn’t want to take on.  His plate was already overflowing with pressure points.  But he couldn’t back out now.  “Yes, sir,” he said.

Then Mick leaned back again.  Silence ensued.

“Is that all, sir?” Teddy asked.

“Why did you have to go get her?” Mick asked, and then he looked at his son. “What has she done?”

Teddy paused, but knew his father had a right to know.  “The super in her building broke into her apartment and tried to rape her.  She fought back and shot him.”

Mick frowned.  He hated to hear that.  “Was she injured?” he asked.

“No, sir.  Thank God.”

“Did she kill him?” Mick asked.

“Nearly,” Teddy said.  “I had to finish him off.”

Mick exhaled.  He wished he could have shielded his sons from his line of work.  But they wanted in so badly.  “And you cleaned up the mess?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“You didn’t call in any crews?”

“No, sir.”

Mick nodded.  “Good.  That could have complicated matters.  They may swear allegiance to you, but they may not feel any such obligation to her.”

“That’s how I saw it too,” Teddy said.

“Now you own her problems too,” Mick said.  “Not very wise.”

“I didn’t do it because it was the wise thing to do,” Teddy said.

Mick stared at his son, waiting to hear those words.  “Then why did you do it?” he asked.

Teddy hesitated.  “Because I think she’s worth it,” he finally said.

Mick had never heard his son speak this way about a woman.  It was about damn time.  “She’s clean,” Mick said.  “I ran an extensive background on her.”

“I figured you did when I realized you knew her name.  Joey had Enzio run a background on her too.  She’s been well vetted.”

“Her father and ex-husband believe she snitched on them.  It’s not true,” Mick added.

Teddy nodded.  “Yeah, my sources confirmed that too.”

“But they think it is.  So be careful.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You need a strong woman, Teddy.  No little innocent virgin girl is going to work if you expect to someday run my organization.”

“I agree with that.”

“She’s strong,” Mick said.  “She’s got meddle in spades.  She’s a tough lady all right.  But does she have the will?  Does she want this kind of life?  That’s what you’ve got to assess with a clear head and heart.  I see that ass on her.  I see those tits.  I see her gorgeous face.  You’ve got to forget how good it feels to fuck her and stay clear-eyed about whether or not she can hang in this lifestyle.”

Teddy smiled.  “Damn, Pop, you’re marrying us off already?”

“When you find the right woman in our world, Teddy, you can’t fuck around.  You have to grab her hard and grab her fast.  Or you might lose her.”

“Same advice Tommy Gabrini gave me.”

“But first put her to the test,” Mick added.  “That’s what Tommy didn’t do, and it almost cost him his woman.  You baptize that bitch by fire.  If she doesn’t pass the test, kick her ass to the curb now, before you’re in too deep.  But if she passes, you grab her and keep her with everything you have.”

Teddy was shocked by his father’s passion.  He’d never seen him this animated about a woman who wasn’t Roz or Gloria.  But he also heard that other thing.

“Call her a bitch again,” Teddy said, “and I’ll kick your ass.”

  Mick inwardly smiled.  That’s my boy, he thought.  “Get the fuck out of my office,” he said.

And Teddy, smiling because Nikki had his old man’s tentative approval, gladly left.