McGrath waved Spencer to a seat and then sat back at his desk. Much of the wall behind him was devoted to a map of Detroit and its suburbs. The map was stuck on an enormous whiteboard and covered with an irregular, hand-drawn grid. Seemingly random pairs of letters connected the top and bottom of the vertical lines. Numbers on the sides of the board marked the horizontals. Spencer surmised the whiteboard arrangement allowed the letters and numbers to be changed.

“How’s things, Spencer?”

“Eventful, Dom, eventful.”

“Eventful can be good or . . .” McGrath shrugged, left it hanging, waited. He sensed the man in front of him was locked, loaded, and good to go.

“Well, initially I thought bad. But now, I’ve come to realize the situation could offer opportunity.” Spencer had gotten to launch sooner than anticipated. He’d kind of expected, hoped for, some small talk, to reestablish the connection they’d shared breaking the sound barrier on Gratiot Avenue. But McGrath seemed to be listening intently, so Spencer figured he may as well cut right to it.

“Johnny Boy came by the dealership the other day, just after I wound it up. Literally, just after. Ended up giving me a ride home.”

“No shit, really? You closed down?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t ask. Turns out my silent partner’s a gambling addict. I closed a ton of sales, didn’t wait for the payments to come through before I brought in new stock. Just wanted to keep the wave going, you know? It’s the best way to keep the closing happening.”

Spencer was so far into the zone, he read McGrath’s smile as one of understanding. McGrath sat back, put his feet on the desk, and steepled his hands under his chin. This was going to be entertaining.

“Anyhow, great guy Johnny Boy. Liked him.”

“Yeah, he’s . . . he brings a broad skill set to my operation.”

Spencer nodded. “I can imagine. Anyway, he had a lot of good stuff to say about you too.”

“He did?”

“Absolutely. That you were great at seizing opportunities, the whole carpe diem thing.”

McGrath nodded. “I’m guessing you’ve got one for me?”

Spencer enjoyed the feeling of being on the same page. “Well, Dom, I think it’s a definite yes on that. Best opportunity and idea to go along with it I’ve had for a long time.”

“Lay it on me.”