“Please don’t call him Guido. His name is Richard, and he’s an American,” Juno said.
“I was just kidding. But this guy looks like he’s seen one gangster movie too many. He should know we have a much better sense of style,” Remi told her, making Cain and Muriel laugh. “It’s the bad-girl image that drives the women wild.”
The car pulled to the front of the Capri Casino, and Mano opened the car door. Remi pulled his goatee as a greeting and waited for everyone to get out.
“Did everyone make it?” he asked Remi.
“At least from our end. Is Richard up there?”
“Yes, and already in a pissy mood.” He pointed to the trucks in the far section of the front parking lot, ready to start taking the Capri signs down.
“I could give a rat’s ass about what kind of mood Richard’s in,” Cain said. “I’m sure he’ll cheer up as soon as he gets the check.”
“I left some of Muriel’s staff with him in case he had any questions,” Mano told them as he pressed the up button on the bank of elevators. “Think of how surprised Guido will be when we shut the place down for a couple of weeks once the sale goes through. There’s no way I’m putting any of our people in there until we inspect the facility and check personnel backgrounds.”
“Good, since Richard was running more smack here than dice,” Cain said. “We don’t need that kind of heat. The less often we have to go before the gaming commission, or give the feds any more ammunition to make our lives miserable, the better.”
Their group moved toward a private elevator that went to the third floor where the management offices were located. Once they boarded, three of Cain’s men stayed by the doors to deter anyone else from going up.
Chapter Eleven
“Cain.” Richard Bowen stood and extended his hand when she entered the conference room first. “And Remi, you look good enough to eat.”
Ramon puffed his chest out, ready to call the man down for his obvious sexual comment when Remi beat him to it.
“Hello, Richard, you’re looking good yourself. Love the suit. It’s so shiny. You rented Good Fellas again last night, didn’t you?” She slid into the chair to the right of the head of the table, which she waved Cain into.
“I’m sure we all have better things to do than discuss how great everyone looks,” Cain said and smiled broadly. “How about you sign the papers so we can give you the check?”
“I find the changes to this contract totally unacceptable. My firm was supposed to provide security for the hotel and casino for five years, with an option to renew,” Richard said, slamming the papers down on his end of the polished table. “Muriel and Mano agreed when we did the initial sit-down.”
“The hell we did,” Mano said.
“That’s not going to happen, and I’d appreciate it if you kept your delusions to a minimum,” Muriel said. “You and everyone down to the guy who cleans the ashtrays are out as soon as we hand over the check.”
“I repeat, that’s unacceptable. I have friends in this town who you don’t want to piss off. It could be bad for business.”
“Is that a threat?” Remi countered. “Because if it is, Slick, you’ve just rolled snake eyes coming out of the box.”
“No threat, and you don’t have the balls to keep that promise. You and Cain don’t want to take me on, so tell your peons to put that into the agreement,” Richard told her as he slid the contract back to them.
“This is a waste of time,” Cain said as she stood up, followed by everyone at the table but Richard. “Our offer’s off the table.”
With that Remi picked up both copies of the contract and tore them in half, letting them fall to the floor.
“Sit the fuck back down,” Richard said, pointing at Cain.
“And I suggest you lower your voice and your finger before I have Simon snap it off for you,” Remi said. “We want what we want, and you do as well.” She kicked the torn papers in his direction. “This proves there’s no middle ground.”
“There’s nothing else for sale around here,” Richard said in a softer tone.
Everyone on the other side of the table laughed. “Everything’s for sale, Richard,” Cain said. “If you think otherwise, then Muriel’s right—you are delusional.”
“Walk out and you’ll regret it,” Richard screamed.
“You need better lines than that if you want me to take you seriously, Richard, because you sound more pathetic than threatening,” Cain said.
“I mean it.” Richard put his hands on the table and leaned forward in what Cain took as a more menacing stance.
“You had an offer and now you don’t,” Remi said, mirroring him. “Make sure you get that part of the story right when you report in. We weren’t the ones who backed away from the table first.”
“Sounds like you might be the one who lives to regret something today,” Cain said seriously, before she walked out. “Or if I know your boss, you might not live long enough to regret anything.”
“That went well, don’t you think?” Ramon asked, making everyone laugh as they got in the elevator. “Mano, call our friend with the DEA. It’s time to play our part as good citizens and give our government friends some hints as to what’s going on at the Capri.”
“Anonymous calls are one of my specialties.”
Ramon put his hands on Remi and Cain’s shoulders. “We haven’t heard the last of this.”
“You’re a gambling man, Ramon,” Cain said. “I say we’re back here in a couple of days and someone else is sitting next to Richard’s chair with a gun pointed at his balls. Remi was right to call him on it. There’s no way Nunzio gave him the okay to walk away from this deal.”
“If that’s the case, then the guy’s got cojones,” Mano said. “The Luca family isn’t known for their forgiving nature.”
“It’s the only thing we all have in common,” Ramon said, the three of them smiling at the truth of his observation. “But only when it’s truly deserved. None of us would’ve let someone else talk for us today, no matter whose name’s on the deed.”
“Like I said, stupid is a way of life for some people,” Cain reasserted. “Our problem is that Nunzio’s not only stupid, he’s also cruel. We just have to wait to see how he entices us back to the table and what the fallout is if we don’t agree.”
*
“Our guys on the street say the storekeeps in the ninth ward want to know when we’ll be back online,” Muriel said. They’d arrived back in town early enough to go to Cain’s office. “They’re having to deal with one of the local suppliers and they’re getting squeezed.”
“Sure, now they see the benefits of working with me.”
“You know all those guys love you, so cut the shit.”
Cain put her feet up on her desk and folded her hands over her stomach. “They’re going to have to hang on. We’ll get back to business as soon as I shake your girlfriend off my ass, and since she’s keeping us both in the dark as to when that might be, I have no choice but to lay low for now.”
The sound of Muriel’s pen on the page stopped and she looked up. “Not funny.”
“You’re not kidding.” Cain threw a paperclip at her and laughed to bleed all the sarcasm from her statement. “But we both know it’s true. Unless I want to do some jail time, and I don’t, there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it right now.”
The fact that Shelby and her partners were listening to “Can’t Get No Satisfaction” over and over again made Cain smile.
“I know how you feel about this, and I’m going to take care of it.”