Then I was back in Brooklyn and it was mid-April. Five months until I’d willingly allow myself to be sent to Panama.
Mundo’s father and I began negotiations, but they kinda started off slowly. Our first meeting was at his house, the weekend after I got back from Port au Prince. I honestly thought we were meeting to iron out details of my employment- start dates, salary and whatnot. But before we even started to touch on those topics, Mr. Henriques started in with all of the hopes and dreams he’d had for Mundo over the years and how hurt he was to see his only child squander opportunity after opportunity.
Then he confessed to me what a disappointment Mundo had become in his eyes, and how ridiculous he felt it was to expect someone like Mundo to take over a Central American- based business empire. And other stuff that was too personal for me to ever commit to paper.
“Well, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you see for Mundo if it’s not what he sees for himself, Mr. Henriques,” I said. “I can give you my father’s phone number if you want to discuss this with someone else who’s lived through it.”
He laughed.
“I apologize, Pierre,” he said, “but I feel like I owe it to you to give you a better understanding of what you might be walking into.”
I just let him talk it out- it was pretty much like I’d pulled a Hopeton and became Mr. Henriques’s hood therapist. Then we finally started to get to the heart of the matter.
Mr. Henriques confirmed all of the things Hopeton had told me about. It was all really boring, but basically Bolo’s exit had caused the company to implode and not only did Mundo have no work coming in, he had no idea how to salvage the current projects. The company was being bled dry and Mr. Henriques was concerned that Mundo himself was close to bankruptcy.
“And this is where you come in, Pierre.”
Here we go, yo. The moment I’d learn what I’d be cleaning up.
“I know my son,” he said. “I know how Olmando reacts the moment he feels like he needs to prove himself. He comes up with a crazy scheme and gets involved with people who could bring him down. And once he realizes he can’t manage it-“
“He drags me into it,” I interrupted.
“Yes. He drags you into it.”
“And why would I want that now?” I asked. “When I’m successful on my own terms and finally starting to feel like a functioning human being again? And why would you want that for me? I work for you, Mr. Henriques.”
“Because I‘m going to write this contract out with you, Pierre,” he explained. “We’re going to write out every single thing you want to receive and every single thing you do not want to be responsible for. And you will deal with me only. Mundo should be considered no more than white noise.”
I thought I understood what he was telling me he needed in between the lines, but I needed him to just come out and say it.
“So, in your opinion, what’s the best I could do down there?” I asked. A soft but leading opening gambit. My father would be proud. “What would be my most effective role?”
“Honestly, it’s two-fold. First off- and this is the public facing nature of your role, I need you to go down there and make Mundo give you access to all of his existing projects and see if you can get them back on the rails,” Mr. Henriques replied. He did not look happy.
“And the behind-the-scenes angle?”
“I need you to keep an eye on Olmando and let me know as soon as you even suspect he’s about to go off and do something dangerous,” he said.
“What, like the Brownsville garage?” I asked. May as well get it all out in the open.
“Yes, Pierre. Like the Brownsville garage. Exactly like that,” Mr. Henriques said. He looked me dead in both eyes as the words came out of his mouth.
“I know you wanted to go to Hopeton and alert him to the situation,” he stated.
I looked surprised.
“I’ve spoken at length with Hopeton and I have a pretty full picture of the things you’ve done over the years in an effort to keep my son from getting himself sucio.”
I nodded.
“And trust me, I fully expect- no, I need you to come to me or Hopeton the very second you see my son pulling a wrong move. No more secrets, Pierre. This is a different scenario.”
“And Hopeton?” I asked. I figured I may as well see if I’d have any on-the-ground-backup. “Will you be sending him down on a regular basis to do check-ins and run interference for me?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “Hopeton and I have already spoken about this in-depth. He’ll come down every other week for 3 days. You’ll have full access to him during that time.”
I laughed, and Mr. Henriques joined in.
“Yes, I know you two are very close.”
I nodded.
“Hopeton is a good mentor,” he said. “Stick close to him.”
That was all for that day.
We agreed to meet up the following weekend to really dig into terms and conditions.
I asked Mr. Henriques to send my regards to Mrs. Henriques, told him I’d see him at the office on Monday, and got my ass back to Flatbush.
