I’m an asshole.
Honey sighed.
C H A P T E R
11
“WHAT ARE THE GIFTS FOR?” ANTONIS ASKED.
When his uncle called him to his office, Nikos already had a feeling it would be about this and had already been prepared to answer his question. He would rather it be about this than his uncle giving him a task. He was tired of threatening and beating people up for money. His knuckles were always bruised, and he didn’t want to spend all of his time in New York beating people up.
“I just wanted to gift the girls with something,” Nikos said, not wanting to get too much into the details because it wasn’t important. “They deserve it.”
“Don’t spoil them too much,” his uncle told him, his back turned to him as he gazed down at the club from his office window. “They’ll start wanting that all the time.”
Nikos nodded, though he honestly didn’t mind gifting the girls every once in a while. He truly meant it when he said that they deserved it. After learning that they had to pay for most things out of their own pocket, he thought it was unfair. If this were his club, the dancers definitely wouldn’t have to pay for clothes and makeup. It would already be provided for them. But it wasn’t his club, so he could only listen to his uncle.
His uncle turned around and sat down in his chair, giving his undivided attention to him, and Nikos knew then that this conversation would be about more than his gifts.
“Tonight, you need to prove yourself,” Antonis said, “and Christos will give you the task.”
Nikos slowly nodded, processing his uncle’s words. It wasn’t unusual for his uncle to give him tasks, but it was unusual for his uncle not to tell him the task beforehand. He wondered what would be so different about tonight from the other things his uncle had him do before.
“You’ve been doing good with other things,” his uncle admitted. “Christos has been informing me of everything, and he says you’re very smart. You handle situations on the spot exceptionally well. You’re also a leader.”
Nikos lifted a brow. He had never heard that before, and though he knew Christos had been updating his uncle on every task they took, Nikos hadn’t known Christos had been praising him, which was surprising for someone like Christos. He didn’t easily give out praise.
“But you need to be in the trenches more to prove your loyalty to me and this organization. You need to prove thatyou’re the son of Giannis Drakos and the brother of my favorite nephew,” his uncle said. “When your brother was here, he displayed some of your capabilities and more, and he quickly rose up the ranks here. In my opinion, he deserves your father’s position more than you and your brother do, blood or no blood.”
Nikos couldn’t disagree with that and was positive that his father thought the same thing, which was why Nikos never understood why his father was so hell-bent on him joining the family. Aris had everything it took to take over after him, unlike Pierce, who was way too hotheaded for such a position. But his father was adamant and even more stubborn than him, and now he was here, hundreds of miles away from his home.
Now that the pact was over between his family and the Petrakis family, Nikos hoped that his father would reconsider his decision, especially after learning of his performance down here, that Aris should be the one to take over his position. He knew that his father considered Aris to be his son and that though Pierce complained, he considered Aris to be his brother. Once his father realized he wasn’t built for this lifestyle, maybe he would be able to go back home.
“But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. You’ve only been here a month, and you still have more time to prove yourself. We’ll see what you can do tonight.”
Nikos had a feeling he wouldn’t like ‘proving himself’ at all.
Before his uncle could say more, a knock interrupted their conversation, and soon someone stepped inside. Nikos could tell who it was without even looking over his shoulder. His uncle only wore this expression whenever she was in his presence. It wasn’t a look of love or even admiration but one of pure desire, almost as if his uncle couldn’t help himself. And Nikos was starting to realize that when his uncle spoke of every man havinga woman in their life that was a thorn in their heart, Honey was that for him.
Nikos watched as Honey came to a stop next to him. She was no longer in the mesh dress she had worn earlier when she had been onstage. She now wore a pair of sweats and was probably picking up her pay before she left. Unlike the other girls here, who stayed much longer, Honey was in and out as soon as her set was over. The only reason Nikos knew this was because, for the past few days, he had been trying to figure out a way to apologize to her.
He had felt like shit after their last conversation at the mall. He hadn’t meant for his words to come out the way they did, but they had, and he had offended Honey and all the women at the club, even if they didn’t know it. After getting scolded by her, Nikos knew he had to apologize, but he knew with someone like Honey, a simple apology wouldn’t be enough. Otherwise, she would have accepted it when he first said it.
Now, she stood in front of him, and Nikos looked at her, wondering if she had forgiven him. As his uncle reached into his desk for Honey’s pay, Nikos looked into her brown eyes, searching for any sign of forgiveness. But Honey still wore the same cold stare that she had given him the past few days. And Nikos wondered if she hadn’t accepted the apology because she didn’t believe him, which he hoped wasn’t the case because every word he said he meant.
Antonis passed Honey her check, and Honey stuffed it in her purse and turned to leave before she sighed and paused. Nikos lifted a brow as he watched Honey face him, a stubborn glare in her brown eyes.
“You’re right,” Honey said, her voice icy cold. “You are an asshole.”
Nikos grimaced. So, she had gotten his note. He couldn’t deny that.
Her frown remained a permanent fixture until suddenly, the tightness in her jaw loosened, and though she wasn’t smiling, she wasn’t glaring at him anymore either. Now, it was the regular blank stare she usually had given him before, one that showed she didn’t particularly care for him, but she also didn’t feel hostility towards him either. Nikos found that he liked her best this way because he knew this was the best he could get. He would never get a smile from her in this lifetime.
“But your apology is accepted,” she said coolly, and Nikos laughed, happy to be forgiven.
“I’ll try not to be an idiot anymore,” Nikos joked, “but I’ll mess up sometimes.”
“Don’t do it often,” Honey said, frowning slightly, and it made Nikos smirk. There was something about Honey that honestly made him want to push her buttons like he was a child again, tugging on pigtails to get attention. Now, he was starting to realize that her frown was pleasing to him when she only mildly disliked him.
