Chapter 6 #2
“If we have to do something like this again, we’ll take the club from you,” Christos threatened, and Diamond’s eyes widened abnormally large.
“The only reason you still have this club is because of your connections and respect in your community, but you’ve been taking advantage of that, and Antonis won’t tolerate it any longer.
Another late payment from you, and Uptown will have a new manager. Take two bags for our troubles.”
Diamond’s mouth hung agape as they left the backroom, heading out onto the floor where the party continued.
Most of the people here were Black, and the strippers were too.
The atmosphere was very different here compared to the Gentlemen’s Club.
The dancers here seemed more athletic on the pole, doing moves that Nikos had never seen before.
On the way out, Nikos glanced at the wall on his left and saw photos posted up.
It seemed to highlight moments when rappers and other celebrities had been there.
Nikos’s eyebrow rose when he noticed someone familiar.
“Honey used to work here a couple of years ago,” Christos said as they exited the club. Once they got outside, they got into their separate trucks. Christos put the money in his trunk while Nikos got in the passenger seat, and Jackson hopped in the back. Everyone else departed in other trucks.
“You’re smart,” Christos said as he started the car up. “I liked the way you handled that back there. I was surprised.”
“You were surprised?” Jackson said, disgruntled. “I was surprised. I was this close to killing his bitch, but you jumped in the way. We do things by order here.”
Nikos shrugged. “It wasn’t any point. He barely cared about that girl. If he did, he wouldn’t have put her life at risk over money anyway. The only thing you can threaten him with is money.”
“Still, the stupid nigger and his bitch should have gotten what they deserved,” Jackson argued.
Nikos turned in his seat and looked back at Jackson.
He didn’t really know the guy too well and hadn’t spent as much time with him as he had with Christos and his cousin.
But from what Nikos knew of him, he didn’t like him, especially after what he just said.
“My sister-in-law is Black,” Nikos said, turning a serious glare on Jackson. “Watch what you say about Black people around me.”
“Your sister-in-law?” Jackson repeated, frowning. Nikos continued to stare, waiting for Jackson to say one wrong word about his family. It wasn’t just Mia, but Evelyn and even Raelyn. He wouldn’t tolerate disrespect on their names.
Finally, as Jackson leaned back in his seat, he said, “my bad.”
Christos chuckled as he pulled off. “Don’t bother with that asshole back there. He’s just always itching to fight. I forgot that Aris got married. Antonis wanted to go, but he had been too busy with everything happening down here.”
“He got married about a year and a half ago,” Nikos said as he turned back in his seat. Jackson pulled out two cigarettes, lighting one for himself and Christos. He offered one to him, but Nikos declined. He didn’t like smoking.
As he thought about Mia, it made him think of Honey, reminding him of the photo he had just seen her in.
“What’s the relationship between my uncle and Honey?” Nikos asked curiously. Their interactions had seemed strange to him, almost like Honey didn’t like his uncle at all. Nikos rolled his window down, not wanting to inhale too much smoke.
Christos glanced at him as he took his cigarette from Jackson. After taking a long inhale, he spoke through the smoke escaping his mouth. “To be blunt, your uncle is obsessed with her.”
Jackson laughed. “I can’t blame him. She’s the only one I would fuck.”
“Obsessed,” Nikos murmured. He wasn’t shocked. He expected as much, but this confirmed it.
“Antonis is constantly offering to give Honey a better life if she’ll be his, but she hasn’t given in yet,” Christos said as he looked thoughtfully.
“What? Has it been about three or four years since he first saw her at that club?” He pointed back to Uptown, which was disappearing in the distance as they continued down the road.
“Your uncle won’t even let Honey perform backstage,” Christos said.
“He won’t even let her perform on the floor,” Jackson added.
“When she first started working at the club, I was thinking about getting a lap dance myself, but Antonis held a meeting and said that if anyone touched her, he would break all of their bones before killing them, and he stayed true to his word. I had to break a couple of bones before.”
Nikos’s eyes widened upon hearing that.
“It’s a good thing for your uncle but not for Honey because she probably isn’t getting paid as well as the other women there,” Christos said. “To be honest, your uncle should give up.”
“What?” Jackson barked. “He’s already put in so much time. She’ll give in soon. That bitch just wants more money.”
“She won’t,” Christos said, exhaling again. “I know women like her.”
“You want to bet?” Jackson asked.
“You’ll lose,” Nikos said as he drummed his fingers against his thigh. “You said it’s been four years? If she only wanted money, she would have taken it by now. Four years is a long time to hold out, especially when most would lose interest.”
“Exactly,” Christos agreed.
“Y’all don’t know women,” Jackson argued, disgruntled, and Nikos shook his head.
Clearly, they knew women way better and judging from the way Jackson spoke about women, he probably barely had relationships with them beyond one-night stands.
But Nikos knew women, and he could still remember the expression on Honey’s face when she was in the office with his uncle.
She looked disgusted with him. His uncle had no chance, but it seemed that his uncle’s desire for her held no bounds.
“Is this all we’ll be doing?” Nikos asked after a moment of silence. It was as if Christos read his mind because there was an empathetic look in his eyes.
He shook his head as he flicked the cigarette out of the car. “There’ll be much more to do than this. Much more. Better get ready for it.”
Nikos sat back and held in his sigh. He wished he could just keep managing the clubs and shadowing. He looked down at his bruised knuckles and wondered how much more of this he could take.