Chapter 7
COLE
She kept walking our way. The jeans outlined her curves beautifully; her heels were just the right size. Her stride was firm and sexy at the same time. Her confidence was undeniable.
“Is she going to be a stripper?” I asked.
“No, no. Don’t be silly. She’s going to help me manage the escorts,” Moretti replied. “A girl like that wouldn’t be caught dead doing that. My father told me she’s the granddaughter of one of his best longtime employees. I need to take good care of her.”
I want to take good care of her, too.
She finally arrived where we were. She looked around for a moment and seemed pleased.
“Nice place you have here, Vincent,” she said while looking at me.
Moretti took the comment in stride and shrugged.
“Umm, yeah, no, umm.” I got tongue-tied. “I’m not Vincent,” I finally blurted out. “My name is Cole, Cole Bennett, at your service.”
I extended my hand, and she shook it. She had a nice, firm grip.
“Ahem.”
Moretti cleared his throat.
“I’m Vincent Moretti,” he said clearly. “Are you Clarissa?”
Clarissa. What a beautiful name.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m Clarissa,” she answered while still looking at me and holding my hand.
The moment felt awkward. The bartender came over and interjected.
“What would you like to drink, Miss?”
She let go of my hand and turned her attention toward the bartender and Moretti.
“I’ll have what they’re having. It looks healthy enough. I need to take care of myself.”
“You surely do,” I muttered.
“What did you say?” she asked, turning her attention to me.
“Oh, nothing really. Please have a seat.”
Moretti just chuckled. He seemed very comfortable in this type of situation. I, on the other hand, had never met a woman as beautiful as her. Her beautiful smile just filled the room. Her brown curls, just down to her shoulders, made her look so sexy, and those blue eyes just mesmerized me.
We all sat down. The bartender came back, served her drink, and took away ours. We had finished.
“Would you care to have anything else?” he asked politely.
“I’m good,” Moretti answered.
“I’ll have another Diet Dr. Spencer, if you don’t mind,” I replied.
The bartender nodded and left.
“So you’re Vincent,” Clarissa said with a smile.
Oh, she’s such a tease.
“That’s right, I am. But please, call me Moretti. Everyone does.”
“But how are people going to know the difference between—”
“Moretti is perfect. Moretti is just fine,” I chimed in.
Clarissa gave me a surprised look. I nodded gently.
She adjusted herself on the seat, put her purse on the table, and took out a red lipstick. She already had some on her lips but made them even redder. She closed the lipstick and put it away. She put her purse on the floor.
“How does it look, boys?” she asked.
“It looks just fine,” Moretti said.
“Yeah, just fine,” I added.
The bartender came back with our drinks and glasses. He poured them and left.
She smiled. Her teeth looked as white as they could be. Everything about her was simply perfect in my eyes. I was definitely smitten.
"I'm going to marry this girl," I said to myself.
“I’m here for the job,” she said softly.
“Yes, I know. I was thinking that you would be better suited to help me manage the escort service than working as a bartender, as my father suggested.”
Clarissa was taking a sip of her drink.
“You want me to do what?” Clarissa asked, spitting out her drink. “You want me to manage hookers, ladies of the night? What is wrong with you? I’m not that type of girl,” Clarissa added.
She was pissed. Her eyes turned a darker blue.
Moretti was cool as a cucumber. In the meantime, I thought this idiot was going to ruin everything for me.
“Relax, Clarissa.”
“How can I relax?” she asked. “You’re offering me this job in front of a stranger. What is he going to think of me? What is my mother going to think of me when I tell her I manage hookers?”
Moretti simply smiled. I could not believe it. This guy was not rattled in any way, shape, or form.
“First of all, Cole is not a stranger. He’s a good friend of the family, and we do business together. As for the escort service, you call them hookers; I call them expensive company for lonely wealthy men. And good company is hard to find.”
She calmed down.
“If the ladies want to entertain the clients in some other way, that is totally up to them, but—and here’s the big but—if I find out any of my girls were forced into doing anything that they didn’t approve of out of the goodness of their hearts,” Moretti said.
There was a pause.
“I’ll break their legs, capisce?”
He made the famous “capisce” hand gesture with the pinched fingers.
Clarissa took a deep breath. She wasn’t completely sold on the idea, but her demeanor had softened.
“I came here to pursue my dreams of being an actress,” Clarissa said.
“That sounds great,” I interjected. “You can teach the girls how to act with their clients. You know, be whoever their clients wish them to be.”
“There you go. Problem solved,” Moretti answered. “Tell you what, why don’t you freshen up, meet the girls, and have dinner with Cole here tonight? On the house. Just get a feel for the place. You’ll like it. It’s a fun atmosphere. You’ll meet a lot of wealthy people who have good connections.”
Moretti took out his handkerchief and dabbed his forehead. Clarissa had made him sweat a little bit.
“Fine,” Clarissa said. “But I will not be doing any of the escorting myself. And as for dinner with Cole…”
There was a pause.
“That’s fine. I’m getting hungry, and I can use the company.”
It was getting close to 8:00 p.m. The club was going to open its doors soon.
“I’ll freshen up. Where is your ladies’ room?” she asked.
“It’s down the hall and to your right,” Moretti instructed.
She grabbed her purse from the floor, got up, and left for the restroom.
“Boy, she’s a firecracker,” I said.
“Yes, she is. Do me a favor, Cole. You seem to like her. Have dinner and then show her a good time around town. I need her to calm down. I promised my dad I would take good care of her. I would do it myself, but I don’t mix business with pleasure,” Moretti said.
“I’ve learned my lesson a few times, and it’s costing me. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Capisce. I, umm, capisce, right?” I asked.
“Now you’re getting it. Welcome to the family,” Moretti said.
He extended his hand, and we shook hands.
All of a sudden, a rush of beautiful girls started coming through the door. Blondes, brunettes, redheads, white, tanned, brown, Latinas, Asians—you name it; they were all hot. And I mean hot. I was smitten.
Where have I been all my life?
“Those are the girls who work here. The show starts at 9:00 p.m. They need an hour to prepare,” Moretti said.
“Wow, where did all these beautiful girls come from?” I asked.
“From different places, you know, from all around the country,” Moretti replied.
“How so?”
“They were all interested in becoming actresses at some point or another.”
Moretti shrugged.
I understood why he was so calm, cool, and collected when Clarissa was going off. He had dealt with this many times over.
“Hey, New York is expensive. It beats waitressing for minimum wage and some tips,” I said.
I couldn’t believe it. This is the side of life my father had always wanted me to avoid. That was a bad idea. I liked it.
“I think you are going to like your membership here,” Moretti commented.
“You’re right,” I whispered. “Clarissa is coming back.”
Clarissa came back from the ladies’ room and sat down.
“What did I miss?” she asked.
“No. Nothing. It’s all good,” I said.
Moretti nodded and winked.
“Our dinner special will be served soon for both of you. And—and Cole will be taking you out for a night on the town. How does that sound?” Moretti asked.
“I like it,” she responded.
She turned her attention to me and winked. I winked back.
This is going to be one memorable night for both of us, Clarissa.