P R O L O G U E
IN THE HEART OF HARLEM, people lined up against the brick wall outside of Uptown Club on 59th Street. Though the popular adult entertainment club opened two hours ago, the sidewalk was still packed with people hoping to get inside the strip club that brought half of the borough in every weekend. Bright neon lights spilled from the electric sign hanging on the building, reflecting light on the cars that drove past, including the Rolls Royce that pulled up to a stop in front of the club.
Eyes followed the Greek men who stepped out of the car with curiosity and envy, especially as the three men bypassed the lineand walked straight through the door without being stopped by the bouncer, who had already sent half of the line packing before they could even step inside because they didn’t fit the dress code or the looks of who they wanted inside the club.
Antonis Tsagkarakis could walk inside Uptown without being stopped because it was his club. He owned many clubs throughout New York and New Jersey, and Uptown was just one of many that showed the power he had throughout New York— power that he had started to obtain ever since he first crossed the ocean and came to America as an adolescent.
“It’s the top club in Harlem right now, and it beat out Victor’s club this month,” Evangelos Tsiaras, his long-time friend and right-hand, informed him just as he had done the entire night as they visited a handful of clubs, doing their walk-ins to make sure everything was operating correctly and to meet up with the managers who were running the clubs in Antonis’s stead.
“Who?” Antonis asked as he took a puff of his cigar. With so many clubs, it was hard to keep track of who ran what. All that mattered to him was how much money flowed in, so he left the politics of it all to Evangelos, who had always been good at micromanaging.
“Dennis Williams, but they call him Big Diamond,” Evangelos said. “He’s well-known in the community, and he gets a lot of respect around here, along with street cred.”
They stood inside the smoky club, taking in the ambiance. Money fell from the ceiling as men and some women tossed cash up in the air, letting it fall down on the women who danced on the poles, shaking their asses to music, half or completely naked.
The vibes of his urban clubs were always different from his other strip clubs. His urban clubs usually had just as many women in attendance as they had men, and it felt more like a nightclub and a party, instead of a place for men to just be entertained by women. Strong smells of food and weed hung in the air, thick enough that it could be seen. The women danced with little sensuality and aggressively shook their bodies to the hip-hop music bursting through the speakers.
Antonis’s face did not move an inch, unimpressed. He had seen more naked bodies than most men would see in their lifetime, and this style of performance had never done anything for him. It had to take more to impress him, and right now, he was bored. He would be back in his own club across town right now if Diamond had not requested to speak to him.
“There he is,” Evangelos said.
The crowd parted for a six-foot muscular Black man who looked like he could be in the NFL. His arms were large, and his shirt looked tight on his shoulders. Diamonds glinted on his ears and the numerous chains on his neck, along with the iced-out watch on his wrist, and an entourage flocked behind him.
“Aye, Antonis,” Diamond said, grinning from ear to ear, displaying large white veneers that sparkled just as much as his jewelry. He came over with his arms raised for a hug, but when he got too close, Antonis’s guard stepped between them like a wall, stopping Diamond in his steps. Diamond stumbled back slightly before he glared at his guard.
“Come on, man,” Diamond grumbled. “I’m just trying to talk to your boss.”
But his guard didn’t budge, and Diamond’s glare faltered as he glanced back at his entourage behind him, taking in the faces that watched the situation warily. Antonis smirked, watching Diamond’s bravado dim. He had met plenty of men like Diamond, who thought they were on top of the world because business was booming at their club. They thought they could casually speak to him as if they were friends just because they were making a little bit of money now. But Diamond was nothing to him, and the success of this club wouldn’t change their relationship.
Diamond cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
“I want to speak to Mr. Tsagkarakis,” Diamond said, addressing him with the respect and professionalism that Antonis expected. His guard fell back behind him, and Diamond’s eyes fluttered up as if he wanted to roll them like a woman until he thought the better of it.
“Welcome to Uptown,” Diamond said, smiling again but not as brightly as before. Antonis nodded before he followed Diamond up on the raised platform, leading to the exclusive VIP section that separated them from everyone else. When Antonis saw that Diamond’s entourage planned on following, he gave his guard a look, and his guard grabbed the rope, closing the stanchion. A series of complaints followed as Diamond stood with only two people behind him.
“If you want to speak business, all of yourhomiesdon’t need to follow,” Antonis drawled as he took another puff of his cigar. There was tightness in the faces of the two men behind Diamond, but neither of them said anything as they looked at Diamond, waiting for him to handle the situation. But Big Diamond, as they called him, held his composure.
“Go throw some stacks and hang with the women,” Diamond told his entourage. “We’re talking business.”
Some scuffed, not hiding their displeasure, but most of them walked away, heading to the main stage where two women were grinding their private parts together as money fell on top of them.
“What did you want to talk about?” Antonis asked, wanting to get to the business. He had other things he needed to do, and he didn’t plan to be here for long. This wasn’t his idea of a good time.
“Well, you know business has been doing good down here lately,” Diamond said as he sat down, gesturing to the big crowd in the club. There was barely any walking space, and all Antonis could see was green despite the blue and red lights spilling from the ceiling.
“It has,” Antonis admitted. “You made that happen.”
Diamond grinned, flashing his pearly teeth as he glanced back at his two men, who grinned too.
“Well, that’s why I was thinking it would be great to expand the business,” Diamond said, his eyes warily taking in his expression, but Antonis only lifted a lone brow as he took another drag.
“Well, you see, I was thinking we could take the business to the next level if we started selling in here, if you know what I mean. We can make this club bigger than this and bring in more profit,” Diamond rushed out, eyeing him hard as he waited for his reaction.
“That’s a big responsibility,” Antonis said as he dragged his fingers through his wavy dark brown hair that had a few strays of grey hair from age. He wasn’t at all surprised by the topic of their conversation. Every man wanted to be ambitious and enter into that kind of market where they would make more money, but every man didn’t have it in them to handle that kind of responsibility. Managing a club was entirely different from selling, and that was why Antonis only allowed certain club owners to dabble in that. Every man couldn’t handle that responsibility, and he wasn’t sure if Big Diamond could do that, nor did he truly see the market.
His urban market was more the type to indulge in weed than hard drugs. Hard drugs worked better in his white market, where they were more willing to snort drugs and pop pills.
“I can handle it. Idefinitelycan handle it,” Diamond assured him. “Every weekend we’re bringing in more and more people. People from all different boroughs come down to this club. If we start selling here, it can only go up from here.”
