“C’mon, just… talk to him, yeah?”

You were currently sat with Mikey in an empty version of The Beef. Closing was hours ago, yet the two of you seemed like you had no intentions of leaving anytime soon. Loose sheets of papers, a calculator, pens and other stationary equipment were strewn across the table in front of you — a regular sight, as you’d often help Mikey with the finances of The Beef.

And right now, it wasn't looking good.

Cicero was always on Mikey’s ass over a $300,000 debt, and honestly, you couldn’t blame him. $300,000 was a shit ton of money, and while it helped Mikey start up The Beef, he was obviously expected to pay it back.

Which he couldn’t do at the minute, as The Beef was making nowhere near enough.

“Tell him I’ll get it to him, he just…”

The words die in his throat. He shrugs, looking at the mess in front of him. It was like all the figures on the papers and the calculator were taunting him — it was gonna take months, if not a few years, to repay Cicero back.

Everyone knew the Berzatto’s called Cicero ‘Uncle’ — however, it was only you who had the blood relation to the man. And you knew your uncle wasn’t going to lay off Mikey anytime soon, but you didn’t want to tell him that. You assumed he was also aware of that fact, but if he didn’t, you weren’t going to be another person to irritate him about money.

“He’s your uncle, he’ll listen to you, right? Tell him he’s gonna get it. At some point. I just… need some more time.”