Ever since their uncle’s return, there had been whispers of complaints here and there from the girls who preferred how he ran things. He had tried to talk to the girls, to get them to accept the transition of power with ease, having a feeling that his uncle wouldn’t care for their complaints, but Candy had voiced her complaints too loudly, loudly enough to get on Antonis’s radar. Though Candy was one of the top girls here, when his uncle returned, he returned enforcing his no-tolerance policy even harder than before.
“Let the girls know of her leave, and tell them if anyone else has complaints, they can leave with her.”
Roberto nodded before leaving the room to do just that.
Antonis returned to his work, eyes skimming over the pages before his nose flared with irritation, something that happened every time he saw something he didn’t like.
“It says here that Honey went on stage at eight,” Antonis said, his irritation turning into a deep frown with each word he spoke as if his saying it aloud made it more real.
Now the person fidgeting wasn’t on his right, but his left. Everyone knew that Honey was supposed to go on stage at 9:30. It was her prime time set for her. But when Antonis had gone out of commission, everything at the club had gone out of order those first few weeks.
“There are even times where she went on later than that, and on top of that, I see extra payments given to her.”
“Those extra payments are for the secretarial services Honey gave me. When you had gone out of commission, I didn’t know the rules to run the club the way you had, and Honey helped me with that.” Antonis lifted a brow before his eyes landed on Georgios. “I did ask your dear cousin for help at first, but it took some time and a couple of tough words to make that happen.”
Georgios stood stiffly, his gaze lowered to the ground. “Cousin—”
“While I was resting,” Antonis started, his frown now permanent. “You dared to put my club in jeopardy.”
“He was in charge!” Georgios exclaimed. “He put your club in jeopardy. Not me. I know this club better than him. I’m your second in charge when you’re not here, but Giannis gave him the position over me because he’s his son.”
Antonis’s frown did not change, prompting Georgios to explain himself further.
“Come on! You wouldn’t have put him in charge over me, so yeah, I wanted to see what Nikos was capable of without me and look at how he did.”
“He didn’t know the rules,” Theo interjected. “But once Honey informed him how the club was run, he brought it back in order the way Antonis runs it. Hell, half of the other club managers didn’t even want to pay up because they thought the reign was over, but Nikos made them all pay and more. You had nothing to do with how the club is running now, Georgios. You only took orders.”
“Orders? I fell in line for my cousin’s sake. Not his. I would never follow Nikos,” Georgios spat, pointing at him angrily.
Nikos snorted.
It was funny how a change of power could make someone so forgetful that now Georgios stood next to him and felt that he could say any disrespectful thing that came to his mind. But if Georgios needed a reminder, Nikos would give him one.
Nikos turned a dark glare on Georgios, his eyes as cold as ice, and Georgios dropped his hand, taking a subtle step back. Nikos could see the indignation that had given Georgios so much bravado earlier release from his shoulders.
“You’re questioning my father’s and brother’s order,” Nikos said. “But I don’t remember you voicing those complaints to them.”
“I…” Georgios’s words faded off because they all knew he wouldn’t have dared to say any of those things to Giannis and Aris Drakos. He wasn’t in a position to even have a private discussion with them. On the chain of command, whether he was Antonis’s cousin or not, he was still at the bottom.
“I definitely don’t remember you voicing those complaints after our discussion. I remember it being a very effective one,”Nikos said, reminding Georgios of the time he had his gun pressed to the back of his head. “I hope you remember it from now on.”
Georgios said nothing, clenching his jaw as he looked away from him. The room went quiet again as Antonis’s green eyes roved over them before landing on Georgios again.
“Giannis, who is like a brother to me, and Aris, my nephew, made a difficult choice with limited options. You were supposed to accept that because of the chain of command, not because of threats,” Antonis said. “You decided to spite Nikos over me and my club. You let money fall from my hands and let me look weak in my absence to my enemies, even if for a short period of time.”
“He- we immediately recovered the money and more,” Georgios argued.
Nikos shook his head, amused. He didn’t remember them doing anything together. Any extra money that came in to recouping those losses had come from ideas from himself, Honey, and the other girls, who loved to pitch their ideas in too.
“Don’t you feel embarrassed as a man taking credit from women?” Nikos drawled, and Theo chuckled. Georgios looked furious, but his expression quickly disappeared from Antonis’s next words.
“Place your left hand before me.”
Georgios’s eyes flickered from Antonis to the door before finally landing on him and Theo. Their presence alone must have felt like a taunt because Georgios gave the door one more fleeting look before he walked closer to Antonis’s desk. Antonis opened his bottom drawer, still keeping his eyes on Georgios, as he pulled out a hammer. Nikos initially thought it strange to have a drawer filled with a set of tools, but now he understood why. Georgios placed his hand on the table, and it shook againstthe wood as if there were a 4.5 earthquake happening in New York.
“Cousin, how about we talk—”
If Georgios had accepted his punishment and kept his mouth closed, maybe he would have been able to hold his scream. But Antonis had sliced through Georgios’s pleas, bringing down the hammer with no remorse, and Georgios’s scream reminded Nikos of a jet piercing through the sky. The crack against the bone resounded throughout the room. Theo cringed outwardly, looking at Georgios with pity even though he did not like him. Though Nikos took no gratification in seeing this, he didn’t feel bad for Georgios either.
