“I’m overworked,” I tell him. “Brief me on the details of this project again.”
“Well, we still haven’t found a partner. And we don’t quite have the funds to build the property alone,” he says.
I stand and open up my closet to look for a clean suit to wear. “What’s the point of building something if you have someone else’s name attached to it?” I ask.
“You’re right, sir,” he says. “And we’d only enter a deal if your name was on the tower. But if you want to go ahead with construction on this, we need to raise money. It’s either that, or we lay off a hundred workers. It will not be pretty.”
“It never is, is it?” I ask, shaking my head at the tan suit in front of me. Why the hell did I ever buy a tan suit, anyway?
“No, sir. I guess—”
I wave my hand at him, and he stops speaking. “You don’t need to answer that. You don’t have to appease me all the time. You can speak your mind here. What do you really think of the project?”
He chokes for a second. All my workers are worthless when they’re around me. It’s like I’m their emperor. They feel like any false statement could cause the destruction of the company.
But I need answers. I need to know how the hell I can get enough money to end this hotel crap.
I motion for him to continue. “Spit it out. I want your real thoughts on this one.”
“I think you should work side by side with the Napolitano Family,” he says. “I saw that you met with Madison yesterday. I thought that was a powerful move on your part.”
“Powerful how?” I ask him.
Our meeting was a little more than business. It was our business. I didn’t even think about any deals until much later that night.
Work with the Napolitano Family? That sounds like an awful idea. Still, I listen to what he has to say.
“It’s a big statement, right?” he asks, eyes lighting up. “You two are coming together to connect all of Detroit. You could donate a certain amount at the end of the year, to Detroit education, or to the workers who were laid off in the last recession. You know, for philanthropic purposes. I’m telling you, this could generate some enormous buzz.”
I find a suit I can wear. It’s black with red threading. Looks good enough. “The Napolitano Family? Are you serious? You know who they are, right?”
“I’ve heard some things,” he says, nodding. “But they’re legitimate, right?”
“Who the hell knows?” I laugh. “Let’s just call it out in the open. They’re criminals. Syndicate types. When you’re in that business, you can’t get out. You’ll always have those connections.”
“I’ve, uh, seen the Sopranos, sir,” he says.
Did he just say that?
“Son, you’ve seen nothing. This is real life. Go do your research. We can’t do business with them.”
“Then why are you meeting with the daughter of the company?” he asks.
“It was… an option,” I lie. “But it didn’t pan out. Byron, the new owner, is not someone I’ve ever gotten along with.”
“I see,” the young man says. “Well, you must think of something soon. The city wants to see your plans as soon as next week.”
“Next week? Are you shitting me? Fuck, that’s soon.” I bite my tongue. I need to get started on this. “All right, thank you. I need to get ready. I’ll be in the next meeting in a few hours.”
He nods and shuts the door. At the peak of Detroit’s economy, the Napolitano family was one of the biggest organized crime families.
Nowadays, they only engage in legitimate business. Apparently. I’m not sure if I believe it.
Byron, however, is another beast entirely. Seeing him laughing at that fundraiser made me sick. He’s a shrewd business man, one of the worst to work with in all the world. If I were to go into a deal with that snake, he’d put his name on everything and direct all the money to him. Worst of all, I wouldn’t be able to see Madison again.
That reminds me. I have a meeting with her soon. I text her.
“Sorry about last night. I must have fallen asleep. Are we still on for today?”