Page 7 of Teddy Sinatra: Go Your Own Way
“I don’t see him much anymore. I want Daddy.”
“I know, baby girl. It’s just tough times at work. But he’ll be here soon.”
“With bells and whistles on?”
Nikki smiled. It was the way she used to describe Teddy’s entrance whenever he would come home, and it would make Kimmie laugh. “With bells and whistles on,” she said. And that seemed to be enough for Kimmie. She cuddled against her mother and, within minutes, was fast asleep.
But Nikki was wide awake. They had problems at the docks. A series of threats they couldn’t trace were decimating their bottom line and ships were unable to sail because of those threats. And then, just a couple days ago, three of their capos supposedly committed suicide. That was a farce and everybody in the organization knew it. But it all went down while Mick and Roz were on vacation out of the country with the twins, who were going away to college after the trip.
But Mick’s absence made it look as if she and Teddy, who ran his entire syndicate, didn’t have their acts together, and it was all falling apart under their watch.
In that climate, there was no way she was going to fault Teddy for working his ass off to get to the bottom of what was going down. She was working her ass off, too, trying to find answers. But one of them had to be there for Kimmie. And since Teddy was the boss and she was his underboss, she was the logical choice.
Kimmie had a live-in nanny around-the-clock and a security details too, but none of them could substitute for her parents. Nikki was there for breakfast every morning and dinner every night no matter what was going on. As for Teddy at breakfast and dinner? He was there whenever he could manage to get away, which of late was rarely ever. But they both were still going to feel the wrath of Mick when he returned no matter what they did. Which was a lifestyle that was getting unsustainable to Nikki. It was like they were killing themselves for what? His ungrateful ass?
Not that she didn’t love and respect Mick Sinatra. She had nothing but love and respect for him. But his heavy-handed presence in their lives was so overwhelming that he was getting to be too much. It was getting to the outside of too much.
She tried to forget all of that craziness that surrounded them and tried to go back to sleep. But just as she was getting there, her phone rang. When she looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was Quinn, she almost didn’t answer it. But Quinn was her girl. Maybe her best friend outside of Roz and Teddy’s kid sister Gloria. She answered.
“Hey, Quinn, what’s up?”
“I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No I was . . . What’s up?”
“You know I’m no gossip girl.”
She was, but Nikki needed to know what she wanted. “Okay.”
“And you know I hate telling the news.”
“Quinn, what is it?”
“Is Teddy home?”
Nikki’s heart dropped. Somehow she knew it was going to be about Teddy. “No. Why?”
“I saw him at this bar tonight.”
“At a bar?”
“Yeah. Ann and I went out for drinks to talk about maybe getting a couple’s trip together for later this month.”
There was no way Nikki and Teddy were going to be able to go on any trips any time soon, but Nikki needed to know what she saw. “And?”
“And we saw Teddy girl. With a girl. Or should I say a very attractive woman.”
Nikki’s previous anxiety had already factored in that it would be a woman involved. “Okay.”
“I wouldn’t have mentioned it because I know Teddy has to deal with many women in the import/export business he’s in.”
Nikki’s friends knew the rumors about Teddy being named the boss of his father’s crime syndicate and Nikki the underboss, but they all pretended as if it was just bad rumors and they actually were one hundred percent legit down at the docks. “You would not have mentioned it,” Nikki said, “but you’re mentioning it because why?”
“Because she drank from his same glass.”
That did surprise Nikki. But she knew Quinn. That could have waited until tomorrow. “And?” Nikki asked.
“And he kissed her, Nikki. He kissed her on the lips!”
