“That guy over there in the blue and white pinstripe suit, that’s Georgios. Do you remember him?”
Nikos looked at the man hanging in the back of the room, nearly melting into the shadows if it weren’t for the light fixture a few inches above him shining a spotlight on him. He had a deep gash on his cheek that looked like it hadn’t had the chance to heal properly, and his hairline was receding.
Nikos shook his head.
“Antonis’s cousin. He’s been running the business for these past two weeks while Antonis was gone. He works as a manager at this club, but Antonis has full power over everything here,” Theo explained as he took another sip of his drink before he pointed to the back, where two double doors were guarded by two men.
“Those are where the private rooms are for higher clientele. I’ll show you back there when it isn’t active,” Theo said, and Nikos suspected he wouldn’t be shown those rooms until the night was over and the sun was completely out. He could leave it up to his imagination for now.
“This club must make a lot of money,” Nikos said, surveying the grandeur of the room. Unlike other clubs that could only boast about the women they had there, the interior of the Gentlemen’s Club was well-designed, giving off a look of high class that you usually didn’t see in regular clubs.
“This isn’t Antonis’s only club. He owns most of the clubs in New York and New Jersey, even in the urban areas too.”
Nikos’s eyes roved over the crowd, looking at each girl. Most of them were white and Latino and weren’t darker than his own skin tone.
“Most of the men here like their women white, bright, or Asian,” Theo said before a thoughtful look crossed his face. “But there is an exception.”
“Honey,” Rickman said in passing as he attended to other customers.
“Honey,” Theo repeated, nodding.
“Honey?” Nikos questioned curiously.
Theo opened his mouth to explain, but he never got the chance to as their conversation was interrupted by the man who owned this club. Nikos watched as his uncle crossed theroom and pulled him into a tight hug, pressing a kiss upon his forehead. It had been years since he had last seen his uncle, and though Nikos wasn’t as particularly close to him as he was with his other uncles back in Greece, he was still fond of the older man.
“Theíos,” Nikos said respectfully. “Sas efcharistó pou me échete.”
Uncle, thank you for having me.
“I’m glad you came,” Antonis said, clapping his shoulder. Nikos smiled gratefully. “Follow me.”
Nikos nodded at his cousin before he followed Antonis, who led him behind a different set of double doors from the ones Theo had pointed out before. They walked down the hallway with echoes of the music following them down the red-carpeted floor.
“How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while, kid,” Antonis said as he tossed back a wink. Despite a few sparse grey hairs, he still looked young, only in his late forties. The crinkle around his eyes held charm, and he still had a well-toned muscled body.
“I’ve been good,” Nikos said, though he didn’t mean it. Antonis chuckled knowingly. They walked up the steps to the second floor.
“Sorry I couldn’t come pick you up directly. I was out on business. That’s why I had your cousin come. He showed you around, right?”
Nikos nodded.
“How do you feel working for me now?” Antonis asked as he peered over his shoulder. “Your father has been trying to get you down here for years. I’m surprised he finally managed to.”
Antonis opened a door, and they stepped inside his office. Immediately, Nikos’s eyes fell on the ceiling-to-wall windows just behind his uncle’s desk that gave him a wide view of his club. He could see everything from up here. His uncle took a seat behind his desk, and Nikos took a seat in front of it.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m happy about it,” Nikos said, shrugging as he shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable in this environment. This would be his life now, after all. “But I’m here now, and I already told my father I would do it, so I’ll stick to my word.”
“Your father told me what happened,” Antonis admitted as he leaned back in his seat, causing the chair to creak under his weight. “You must be heartbroken.”
Nikos clenched his fist, wishing his father hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t something that he necessarily wanted to broadcast to the world, especially since he wanted to keep it in the past.
“I wouldn’t say I’m heartbroken,theíos,” Nikos said, chuckling as he scratched his jaw. He tried to speak again, trying to find some joke to lighten the mood, but every time he opened his mouth, he didn’t know what to say. Heartbroken seemed too sappy for his taste, but he did feel guilt. He felt it a lot.
“I know that exact look on your face. Every man has a woman who sticks like a thorn in their heart,” Antonis said. “Ask your father. He’ll tell you. From what I hear, it’s happening to your brother too.”
Half a year ago, Evelyn Jones had gotten on a plane to Paris and left his brother, and he had become different. More wild, more untamed. And he didn’t like to hear a whisper of Evelyn’s name. The last time Nikos had mentioned her, they had gotten into a fight, so Nikos knew for certain that Evelyn was stickinglike a thorn in his brother’s heart. His brother had never been this way with anyone else before, and now Nikos was starting to suspect that his brother was truly in love, though Pierce would never admit it.
Knuckles rapped against the door twice, and Antonis told whoever was behind the door to come in. Nikos peered over his shoulder and saw three dancers come inside. He drank in their beautiful bodies, and instantly all the guilt disappeared. This place wouldn’t be so bad being surrounded by beautiful women like this.
