Page 51 of Misadventures of a Biker

I made a beeline to Teddi’s office. Once inside, I shut the door. “You’re not going to fucking believe this.”

She looked up from her computer monitor. “What?”

“Vinnie’s out there with almost eighty-four million and a half Brunei dollars in ten-thousand-dollar notes. He wants to know if we can take—”

“Oh. My. God.” She leaped up from her seat. “You’re kidding me!”

“I’m serious.”

With one hand covering her heart and her eyes as big as saucers, she tugged the hem of her dress down. “Tell him yes.”

I was sure she misunderstood. Maybe in my excitement, I didn’t convey it properly. My eyes narrowed in opposition. “It’s not US currency.”

“I heard,” she said with a nod. “It’s Brunei. BND. It’s not as uncommon as you think. They’re one of only two countries that make a ten-thousand-dollar note. Singapore and Brunei. They’re locked at one to one in exchange. Money launderers use Brunei money all the time. It’s easy to hide, travel with, and transport.”

“So, I tell him okay?”

“Absolutely.” She cleared the edge of the desk and walked toward me. “We’ll need to verify the authenticity of the money and count it, of course, but we’ll accept it without question.” She turned toward her desk. “I don’t know what the exchange rate is right now. What’s that equate to in US dollars?”

“Sixty-two million,” I said.

“Two million over ask?” Her hands shot to her cheeks. “You’re kidding?”

“I’m not.”

She coughed out a laugh. “Who is this guy?”

Herb told me Vinnie had more money than sense, but in my wildest dreams I wouldn’t have imagined something like this ever happening.

“I’m beginning to wonder.” I gestured toward the door. “He thinks I’m in the bathroom. Give me, I don’t know, five minutes. After that, just wander out there and ask how it’s going or something.”

“All right, I’ll come out in five minutes.” She gave me a kiss. “I can’t believe this. I’m so proud of you.”

I turned toward the door. “It’s not over yet.”

Attempting to act indifferent regarding the all-cash transaction, I returned to my desk and let out an exaggerated sigh. “All right, where were we?”

“You were going to ask Bahbie if she could accept Brunei dollahs,” he said with a dry laugh. “What’d she say?”

I chuckled. “She said yes.”

He slapped his hand against the countertop. “I contanti, per favore.”

The goombah dropped the bag onto the counter, unzipped it, and began slapping banded stacks of bills onto the marble surface, side by side. When the stack was so high I could barely peer over the top of it, I shifted my attention from the money to Vinnie.

“Do I want to know where this came from?” I asked with a laugh.

“The money’s clean,” Vinnie said, seeming irritated that I said anything. “There’s one more thing, though.”

I doubted his response regarding the cash was completely true. There was a reason he had sixty million dollars in Brunei ten-thousand-dollar notes. I didn’t press the issue. If Teddi was okay with the deal, I needed to be, too. I scanned the stacks of bills in disbelief and met his stone-faced gaze.

“What is it?” I asked. “The other thing?”

He tilted his head toward Paulie. “The house goes in Paulie’s name.”

“I’m not sure if we can—”

He waved the back of his hand at the display of cash. “O mangiar questa minestra o saltar questa finestra.”