Of course Samantha wants us to meet her at Bennington’s. It’s a swanky steak joint and the one place I took her on a real date. Otherwise we never even left The Fun House with her.
Marino doesn’t know that Samantha and I came here together without him, as well as to our place without him afterwards. We promised never to tell him.
He already thought she liked me more than him and that was enough to nearly fucking break him. But really she already knew she had him in the bag and had just tried harder to earn my affection so that she could get from us what she wanted.
So when she said on the phone to meet her here at Bennington’s, I was initially cautious. But she insisted it was important and that she would only tell us if we agreed to meet her here.
When we arrive she’s wearing a tight little black dress and her hair is piled into an elegant bun on top of her head, with curls falling from it and pouring down to her neck.
She looks more professional than when she was a dancer at the club. And she’s definitely gone all out trying to look her best.
But I think it reeks of desperation. And I just want to get back to fucking Jessica.
“I never thought I’d be alone with the Rossi brothers again,” she says, holding out a hand to each of us when we arrive and leading us over to a table where she’d been sitting.
“Waiter,” I call, nodding my head at one as he comes over. “We’re going to be sitting at the bar.”
“Oh no darling, I ordered us filet mignon,” she says, gesturing towards the candlelit table.
“You can take it to go,” I tell her. “We won’t be needing it.”
“Yeah,” Marino insists, heading over to the bar. “Just tell us what this is about so we can be on our way.”
I look over at him and beam. I’m so fucking proud of my little brother. I can tell that Samantha no longer has the hold on him that she once did. I guess I have Jessica to thank for that. And a lot of other things as well.
“Well I wouldn’t be in a hurry to get back to your darling Desire if I were you,” Samantha says.
Then she looks at the bartender and says, “Three martinis please.”
“I don’t want…” Marino starts to say, but Samantha waves her hand at him as if to shush him.
“Believe me, you’re going to want a stiff drink when you hear what I have to say.”
“Just say whatever it is you want to say to us,” I tell her, annoyed now. “We don’t have a lot of time. We don’t even want to be here, if you can’t fucking tell.”
“You’re going to thank me,” she says, gloating. “I’m doing you a favor.”
I tap my fingers on the bar while she drags this out. Fucking Samantha. Always the drama queen. The bartender brings us the martinis and Samantha holds hers up for a toast.
“To old friends,” she says. “And new revelations.”
“Cheers to that fucking cryptic toast,” Marino says.
We clink our glasses together and I say, “Now. What is it that you just had to drag us down to Bennington’s to tell us in person?”
“Oh Dante,” Samantha says, leaning her head back and laughing. “Don’t act like you don’t like coming to Bennington’s with me. We all know you do.”
Marino shoots me a confused look and I just shake my head.
“Samantha.”
She looks at me a little alarmed now, and I’m glad she’s finally fucking taking me seriously.
“Tell us whatever it is you came here to tell us.”
“Oh, aside from wanting to enjoy your company,” she says, rooting around in her handbag, “I just thought you might want to get a look at this.”
She hands me a folded-up piece of paper.
“What is this?” I ask her, but she doesn’t answer.
Senate Session Meeting Minutes.
I start to read it but the first sentence is all I need to see.
Jessica Mason has been assigned to lead an undercover investigation into the Rossi brothers…
“What the fuck?”
Marino comes over to look at the notes with me.
“She’s a fucking rat?”
“Looks like it,” Samantha says gleefully. “I tried to warn you. I knew something was up with her. No one from around here had ever heard of her.”
“She said she travels,” I quickly defend Jessica.
“And yet she has an apartment here and her parents came to visit her here…” Marino says, adding all the puzzle pieces together.
He sighs.
“Wait a minute,” I say, finally reading the rest of the notes. “These minutes don’t say she reported us for anything. They just say she has nothing to report. And then for the last couple of meetings, she hasn’t even shown up.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Marino says, hanging his head. “She’s a fucking spy. I knew it was too good to be true.”
“Poor little Marino,” Samantha says, shaking her head and making a tsking noise. “Always too trusting.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he asks, glaring at her.
“First me, now Jessica.”
Samantha laughs a cruel and evil- sounding cackle.
“What do you mean first you? I’m fucking over you,” Marino says, getting louder and angrier.
“Yeah but it’s only because I wanted Dante, not you,” she says.
“You didn’t want me,” I tell her. “You just wanted the club.”
“Oh I wanted The Fun House all right,” she says. “And I’ll have it. But I wanted you too and I had you. Right in this very spot, in fact. When we had those drinks and then we went back to your place…”
“Shut up,” I hiss, but it’s too late.
Marino is crestfallen, having just found out the extent of the secret relationship I’d had with Samantha. He downs the rest of his drink and then splits.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I ask Samantha. “You just like to go around hurting people, rubbing things in their faces that you know will upset them?”
“You had your chance with me,” she says, with a shrug. “And you didn’t want it. But there are things that I still want.”
“You’re not getting The Fun House,” I tell her.
“You and Dante don’t even plan to keep it,” she says. “It’s too dangerous for you. I know you have plans for different avenues of making money. So leave The Fun House to me. I even have the money to buy it. Life as a dancer at Cheeky Girls isn’t as bad as you made it sound. And I know you’ll give me a discount.”
“I’m not selling it to you,” I tell her. “And I’m definitely not giving you a discount. You’re a fucking fool if you think I’m still enamored with you in any way whatsoever. Especially after what you just did to Marino.”
“Oh, I know you’re not enamored with me anymore,” she says, flipping her crazy curls. “And the non-feeling is mutual. But you’re going to give me a discount because I have something on you.”
“What do you have on me?” I ask her. “What do you mean?”
“I have everything on you,” she says. “I know about all the coke the dancers were doing in the back room. The sex they were having in the VIP room. You might have cleaned up your act to keep your nose out of trouble and raise the level of clientele after Jessica showed up, but I still know enough about what you used to do to have you go down on drug and prostitution ring charges.”
“You wouldn’t,” I tell her, feeling so sick to my stomach that I can’t even finish my drink.
“Oh I would,” she says. “You underestimated me. I told you to give me what I wanted or else you’d pay. And I know people who know people. How do you think I got these meeting minutes?”
“Oh please,” I tell her, laughing in her face. “We all know that half of the state government frequents The Fun House.”
I can’t believe I never put two and two together. Of course the hypocrites who enjoy what we have to offer are the same ones who want to shut us down. I just never pegged Jessica as a fucking senator. She was that good as a stripper.
“Senator Sentara is more than just one of my regulars,” Samantha brags. “He’s one of my best clients in all possible ways, if you know what I mean. And he’s the one heading up this investigation. Why do you think that is?”
I just scowl at her, too upset to even speak.
“He wants to hand over the keys to yours truly,” she says. “And if Jessica doesn’t deliver the goods then I have the information that will help him do that.”
So if Jessica doesn’t report us than Samantha will, I think. Great.
“Well thanks for the nice little chat,” I tell her, determined not to show her how much she’s fucking gotten to me. “But I have a club to save.”
“Good luck trying to do that,” she laughs, as I walk out.
But even more so than saving The Fun House, I’m worried about saving my relationship with my brother. I know we can get through anything together. But only if we’re on the same side.