Lex sat down at the desk, and Denny placed the large black duffle bag in front of him. Lex unzipped the bag, and his surprised eyes went from Denny to me, and back again.
“Holy shit!” I was sure he was expecting us to have some stolen iPhones or some cocaine or heroin like usual, but he’d never anticipated us having what was in front of him then. “Y–you knocked off Louie the jeweler, didn’t you?”
“Well, we didn’t rob the tooth fairy,” I joked.
Lex reached into the bag and took out a diamond-studded bracelet. “The balls on you two. You do know Louie’s connected?”
“No risk, no reward,” I responded.
Lex smiled at me. “Kid, you don’t have balls. You have fucking coconuts between your legs. I’m impressed.”
“Enough of this petty chit chat,” Denny snapped. “You gonna take this merchandise off our hands or what?”
Lex continued going through the bag, taking out a jeweler’s loop and studying several of the pieces. “Hmmmmm. It’s a possibility.”
“Possibility? Man, you full o’ shit. This is good shit and you know it,” I argued.
Lex looked up and sat back in his chair. “You’re right. It is good shit, but where the hell am I going to unload it? You think the cops don’t have a description of this shit?”
Denny glanced over at me with raised eyebrows as if to say, He’s right, Roman.
“Look, Lex, you gonna make an offer or what?” I was quickly growing impatient, mostly because I knew what he was about to do.
“Tell you what. I’ll give you fifty grand for it,” he said nonchalantly, as if he were sitting at the final table of the World Series of Poker.
“Fifty grand? What the fuck? Are you crazy?” I gave him the finger. “This shit is worth at least five hundred K. Fuck that and fuck you.” I reached for the bag and zipped it. “Come on, Denny.”
“Hold up, Rome.” Denny put his hand up to stop me. “Let’s not be hasty. We’re all businessmen here. We can negotiate a fair price. Right, Lex?”
“Hey, I told you what I was willing to pay.” Lex shrugged as if it were no big deal. His nonchalance irritated me even more, especially since I knew he had to want the merchandise.
“Fifty grand seems a little low for product of this quality. How about seventy-five?” Denny sounded like he was pleading, and I wanted to reach out and smack him.
Unlike my friend, I wasn’t willing, nor in the mood, to haggle with Lex. I looked over at Denny and said, “Man, let’s go. We can find another buyer. One who ain’t tryna lowball us.”
“You can try,” Lex replied confidently.
“Lex, I’m trying to work with you,” Denny explained. “You know us. We been bringing you stuff for years.”
“That’s the reason that I’m willing to give you fifty grand for this shit.” Lex finally sat up and looked alert, leaning against the desk as he spoke. “This shit is hot as hell.”
“Are you kidding me? Everything you get is hot!” I was amused by his statement. “You buy hot shit, you sell hot shit. That’s what keeps you in business, because it damn sure ain’t hardware.”
“You fellas don’t understand the severity of the situation. Everybody and their mother is talking about this fucking robbery. It’s been all over the local and national news. I’m gonna have to sit on this shit for six months before I start to unload it. Now, you either take the fifty grand and walk out of here with some money in your pocket, or you can leave and be stuck with it. Because I can promise you this: nobody’s gonna offer you that amount. Hell, real talk, ain’t nobody gonna wanna touch it until that shit cools down.”
The reality of what Lex was saying changed any leverage I thought we had. There had been some talk about the robbery, but we’d been so proud of the fact that we’d pulled it off that the possibility of not being able to get rid of it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
“I guess we’ll see,” I said sternly, unwilling to admit he had a point. I took a few steps toward the door with the bag in my hand. “Come on, Denny.”
“Wait! I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you sixty, and you can each take any piece you like as a parting gift. But this is a one-time offer. You leave outta here with this shit, the price will be thirty when you come back,” Lex said firmly.
“Just give us a sec to talk,” Denny pleaded, pulling me aside.
We stepped into the corner, and he whispered, “Look, I need you to take this deal. I need the money, bro. My ass is broke, and I can’t be waiting to find another fence.” I could see in his face he wasn’t lying.
“He’s robbing us. You know that, right?” I stared at my friend hard.
“Yeah, I know, but sixty grand’s the biggest payday we’ve ever seen.”
“A’ight, man.” I nodded. “But I get the jewelry.”
“Bet. I already took out a bracelet.” Denny turned to Lex. “We’ll take the sixty.”
Lex gave him a satisfied smile then walked over to one of the large safes and pulled out a duffle bag similar to the one holding the jewelry. He pulled out six banded stacks.
Denny and I stared at the money.
“It’s all there. You wanna count it?” Lex encouraged.
“Nah, we good,” I said, picking up three stacks and shoving them into my hoodie pocket. Denny did the same. I took two pieces of jewelry out of the original bag, then we shook Lex’s hand before exiting the same way we had entered.
“So, what’d you think?” Denny asked, getting into his sister’s car. We’d had Li’l Al, our driver, ditch the stolen
