My Everything

Una reunión, una parte de configuración 2

“We want double or nothing Señor, comprende!”

“Uh, can you gentlemen give us a moment to deliberate?”

“Take your time Señor, take your time.”

The gentlemen chuckled, saying something under their breath in Spanish. His distrusting face became illuminated as the blood rushed to his cheeks. Whatever he said caused the other men to laugh contagiously loud. My muscles tensed and my abdomen contracted as my blood boiled with rage. I paused to avoid making any irrational decisions. I removed the hand that propped my chin and outstretched it, reaching for my phone.Tucked my feet under the chair and leaned forward taking a few breaths to regulate my heart rate. I bought my phone up to my face and spoke into the radios.

“Guys, whatever you do, we need this deal. We need to protect the enterprise and these men have the expertise we need, especially in Desolation and Eastern Amandora. We need to remain on their good side; we can’t afford to create a ruckus right now. Especially because Linda and Oz disappeared so quickly, any further disputes would only heighten the preexisting red flags.”

The men’s voices raised in intense deliberation. The White Fist looked on in awe as the brawl became louder. They quietly looked on at our team with their blank stares. Some men moved their heads from side to side as their eyes followed the conversation between Carl, Anthony, and Angelo. The role change felt awkward. I still sweat profusely at the suspense of the situation. I was continuously guzzling the water and gasping for breath in between. It felt like the beginning of an asthma attack. I caught both Rose and Brad’s attention who ran towards me hurriedly repeating: “Ms. Russo, Ms. Russo, can you hear us? Are you ok, Are you ok, Are you ok?”

I could feel their presence in the midst, but I felt my eyes rolling back in my head and my life flashed before my eyes. I could see a memory with Linda and me having dinner, the bad burger in Notaridge, the argument with the Wizard of Oz and trying to shun the media. I then heard growls that sounded like a bear coming after me. My head nodded back and forth. I felt faint. I then felt a chill on my forehead as a powerful force supported my head. I regained consciousness a bit as I blinked rapidly.

“Ms. Russo, you were burning up and your pulse was racing. I called Brad to help stabilize you. Should we call an ambulance, your health is most important. We can always handle the business deal from here.”

“There’s no need for an ambulance, Rose. I’m fine now, just having a long day.”

”Are you sure, Ms. Russo?”

“Of course I’m sure, I’ve had long days before. I’ll stick this meeting out.”

“Ok, if you insist, but if we have any more scares, I will have the ambulance on speed dial.”

“Thank you, for your concern, Rose.”

She nodded in acknowledgement, and we all turned our attention back to the screen. The men were still deep in discussion, the frustration on the faces of the White Fist representatives was vivid. There were upturned nostrils, crinkled faces, and raised eyebrows. However, the three men continued without recognition of the displeasure and scrutiny on the faces of their guests.

Carl slammed his hand loudly against the table. “18% percent, no higher!”

Anthony added in a noticeably softer tone, “Carl, you don’t think that’s low, what about 20 or 23.5%?”

“Mis amigos, time is running out. My men want double or nothing.”

“18.5%!” Angelo shouted as he pivoted his body to face the other team.

” I said 30%, señor!”

Angelo’s gaze was met with raised eyebrows and a wide grimace reminiscent of the cat from the scene of Alice in Wonderland during the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Angelo must have felt like a fresh rodent dinner to a hungry cat. I empathized with him, having been on the chopping block many times myself.

“22.5%”, Carl bellowed from the pit of his stomach.   

“Treinta señor, treinta! You don’t seem to understand English very well, señor Parlozzi. How about I make it 55%?”

“Please understand, señor Carlos, we can’t afford a hike in payouts right now. The operations in Desolation and Eastern Amandora are still fresh on the market. As a result, we had to use revenue from our older operations to inject into these new ventures.”

Anthony forcefully leaped forward in front of the other men and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“25.5% and that is our last offer take it or leave it!”

He then tugged on his jacket to remove any kinks and returned to a seated position with folded arms. Angelo and Carl followed closely behind, but before they could sit, Carlos leaped forward to go after Anthony. His wrinkled face was ripe with fury, like a sun-roasted tomato ready to burst. The other as always struggled to contain him as he wrestled, shifting his body from side to side, screaming ‘Traidor’ from the top of his lungs as they pulled him back. He finally became calm as one man whispered something in his ear. There was a brief burst of loud laughter, followed by silence.

By contrast, I was still struggling to find a state of calm. Rose and Brad hadn’t quite given their work their full attention as before. I could sense them focusing their attention on me. I tried my utmost best not to make eye contact with them. I shifted my attention from the screen to the wedge of lemon that was resting on the saucer next to the glass of water. I squeezed the juice from it into the glass before dropping what was left of the fruit into the glass. My mum showed me this trick when I was a teenager. She would give me a glass of lemon water before every major class presentation or school field trip to calm my butterflies and help me focus. What I did not see then that I understand now, is that making lemon water was much like a business operation. Get every ounce of juice out of your venture or what’s the point. I knew the White Fist wasn’t going to buy any old sad story, and this was why. They knew firsthand that after being in the business this long, we never before wasted a lemon. We used the juice, the skin, the rind, made oil, fertilized our gardens and maybe even got a few app ideas. Whatever we did, we didn’t do shabby, and we worked our resources to the bare bones. All in a day’s work under the radar, a lifestyle embedded in us as kids. One must move in silence, for an animal never catches its prey with loud footsteps.

The tone of the room seemed to change as the smile and laughter on the White Fist team contorted to evoke a state of fear. The anticipation of their next move and the disturbingly sudden silence placed a state of terror in Angelo, Carl, and Anthony as they stared blankly at the gentlemen.

“My guys and I gave you and your team a break this time, señor Butter Finger Galante. I want us to be clear on one thing, we don’t take disrespect lightly. Things could get ugly next time. We have agreed to 28.5% on one condition. We don’t want to see you on our streets and you can’t ever reject our calls. It's serious business running these streets and I wouldn’t like to see one of your men go missing. Take it or leave it señor.”

The other men stood with their legs apart, folded arms and wrinkled brows surrounding Carl, Anthony and Angelo. It seemed like the beginning of a commotion. Anthony tilted his head down and slowly clicked the pen to sign the contract when there was a loud sound like a gunshot, followed by police sirens in pursuit. Our protective barrier had crumbled as chaos reigned. Angelo, Anthony and Carl scrambled to find safety, ducking under the table without thinking. The White Fists immediately scampered out of the room repeatedly shouting “la policia, vamos!” Before we knew it, this discussion developed into ‘run for your lives.’