My chest feels squeezed so tight, I can't breathe.
This proof should exonerate me, but with one week left to the deadline, it means very little if I can't get the shipments around.
The second recording confirms the plan to feed false data to the Turks.
That one draws a glare on his part and he sits straighter now.
He's really listening, tuning his ear to hear the lies Gerard and his men have been spreading—lies he has been believing for months. And now the wool is coming off his eyes and he's fucking pissed.
Kemal listens to all three messages without interrupting.
When they finish, he sets the phone down and glares at it for a long moment.
When he starts speaking again, I turn to his interpreter and listen intently.
"This proves Antonelli deceived us, but it does not clear you completely. The shipment is still missing." His overly proper Italian makes me want to chuckle, but I get the gist of what he's saying. "Whether you took it or he took it, the product is gone. We expect compensation."
"I'm working on securing a replacement shipment," I say. "I have the channels and the resources to deliver what you need. But I need time." I wait patiently while the words move through Eren to my supplier and listen to his thick Turkish accent as he gives his directive straight to me, no translator necessary.
Kemal's eyes narrow. "You have three days."
"Three days?" I almost gasp, but I manage to hold it back.
I'm supposed to have seven, and now he's shortening that time.
What the hell am I supposed to do in three days’ time?
Kemal speaks in rapid Turkish and Eren translates.
"I want a clean shipment in under seventy-two hours, and you will prove to me that you are worthy of being an ally in this business. You are either foolish or manipulative if you think one phone message can erase that lost shipment."
Damn, his interpreter is so good at conveying all of those words to me without the hostility I see on Kemal's face.
I know I heard a few expletives the man didn't share.
"Be realistic, Kemal. Three days is a very short time to produce what you're asking for."
Eren's Turkish is more rushed, but he understands me.
Kemal leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.
He speaks again and Eren translates.
"Three days. If you succeed in moving a replacement shipment and proving you have control of your operations, we will consider restoring the partnership. If you fail, make sure your allies understand that you've been skimming from them…"
"I understand," I grunt, and my whole body tenses.
I don’t have a choice.
This man still holds the guillotine rope over my head.
Whether or not Antonelli fucked me over, I did myself no favors by letting the skimming be found.
I have no one to blame but myself.
Kemal stands and buttons his jacket.
He speaks one more time and Eren translates.
