They rode in the limousine across town and were seated in the VIP section of the exclusive restaurant.  Trina Gabrini, to Kari’s disappointment, had not arrived yet, but that didn’t seem to bother the men.  Busy people were busy, and they were probably accustomed to waiting.  Kari was, too, but she wanted to meet this lady that caught Alex attention to such a degree that he had to warn Kari about it, and get it over with.

But as the drinks were served at their table, and as Alex and Reno engaged in small-talk about golf (Reno hated it), and business, Kari also noticed that Reno Gabrini kept taking peeps at her.  It was as if he was trying to figure out what Alex might have saw in her.  It was a little disconcerting to have the man Alex said was known as the most powerful man in Vegas sit across from you staring at you.  Kari wasn’t used to that.

But Alex, without even realizing it this time, came to her rescue again when the conversation shifted from general talk to specifics.  Alex asked if Reno had made a decision about joining his Apple Valley board of directors.

Reno leaned back at their table and folded his arms.  He placed the back of his hand on his cheek and began rubbing the stubble on his unshaven face.  Then he spoke up.  “That’s problematic,” he said.

Alex didn’t seem bothered by that response, it seemed to Kari, as he leaned back too.  “In what way?” he asked.

“In every way.  It’ll be like a major-leaguer joining the minors.”

Kari was stunned by that reference.  Was he calling Alex Drakos, the head of Drakos Capital, small potatoes?

Alex had the very same question, but he grinned while asking it.  “Are you calling me a minor-leaguer?” he asked Reno.

“You?  Hell no,” Reno responded.  “I’m not calling you a minor-leaguer.  Your business empire is bigger than mine, you think I don’t realize who you are?  But this is your first time getting into the casino business.  I’ve been king of casinos since I was eighteen years old.  Your ass just got here.  What the fuck I look like joining your board?”

Kari thought Gabrini was excessively blunt, but Alex seemed to appreciate his forthrightness.  She could tell, just by their body language alone, that they were two men who, begrudgingly perhaps, respected each other.

And what Kari liked about Gabrini was that he came hard, but he didn’t stay there.  He had an addendum to his outright rejection of Alex’s offer.  “But if it’s my expertise you need,” Reno said to Alex, “then we can talk.”

Alex smiled and extended his hand.  It was exactly what he was after.  That board offer was just to get the conversation started.  “Your expertise,” Alex said happily, “will be greatly appreciated.”  And the two men shook hands.

“You know how this joker and I met?” Reno asked this of Kari before he released Alex’s hand.

Since Kari didn’t know, she shook her head.  “No,” she said.

“We met because his horny ass had the hots for my wife,” Reno said bluntly.  Then he released Alex’s hand.  “I thought his ass had kidnapped her.”

Alex continued to smile, but he could tell Reno still harbored resentment over that incident.  But it was the kidnapping part that concerned Kari.  “You thought he kidnapped her?” she asked.

“I thought so, yeah.  It was fucking crazy!”

“But, of course,” Alex chimed in, “it was no kidnapping at all.  She went with me willingly.”

Reno looked at Alex with what Kari could only describe as a sharp look.  Now both men were staring at each other, as if it was some kind of test of wills.  This was turning out to be a tough day.  It was too much testosterone for Kari!

Not that it was new to her.  She was used to guys duking it out all the time.  Vito used to duke it out with the best of them.  But she wasn’t used to this gentlemanly way of getting that upper hand.  It was too taxing on the mind and spirit all at once.  Especially since it involved another woman.  She thought about excusing herself to the restroom, just to get away from it all.  But just as she was about to do so, the star of the show arrived.

Both men rose to their feet when Trina Gabrini arrived, and Kari was happy that she had a ringside seat and could size her up before she made it to their table.  And what she saw was impressive.  Like Kari, Trina was African-American, too.  She had a fast gait, a curvaceous figure, and a look about her that made it clear she was the boss.  Even a bombastic drama king like Reno Gabrini, it seemed to Kari, was more than happy to turn the stage over to that one.

Reno, in fact, was smiling when he first saw his wife, but when she approached, his words didn’t seem to match his eyes.  “About time your ass made it,” he said, which surprised Kari in its harshness.

“Fuck you, Reno,” Trina responded, which surprised Kari even more.  These two, she thought, fought dirty.  But then they gave each other a very passionate kiss, and smiled the warmest smile at each other.  They might have fought dirty, Kari decided, but they probably loved dirty too.

But then Trina looked at Alex and Kari.  “Sorry I’m late, guys.  Hey, Alex,” she added with a smile, as she sat beside her husband.

“Good to see you again,” Alex said as he sat down.  “I want you to meet somebody.”

Trina smiled and looked at Kari. “You must be the great Kari Grant,” she said.

Kari was surprised that she knew her name.  Especially since her husband had known nothing about her.  “I don’t know about the great part,” she said, “but I’m Kari”

Trina laughed.  “Oh, don’t sell yourself short.  Alex certainly hasn’t.  We’ve only spoken a couple of times since he met you, but he spoke very highly of you both times.”

“And I still didn’t do her justice,” Alex said.

“See,” Trina said with a smile.  “Alex thinks you’re great.”

Kari smiled.

“He offered my wife a job in his conglomerate,” Reno said to Kari.  “I don’t know if he mentioned it to you.”

“He did, yes,” Kari responded.

Reno was pleased to know it.  At least Drakos wasn’t keeping that much from her.

“That’s why we were communicating,” Trina pointed out, as she took a sip of the drink her husband had already ordered for her.  “I had questions about his offer, and would ask how he was doing just to get the conversation going.  But then he’d launch into this long discussion, not about his job offer, but about you.”

Kari laughed.

“He really likes you,” Trina said.  “And that’s saying a lot for Alexander Drakos.”

“Now that’s the truth,” Reno agreed.

“I would say,” Alex said, disagreeing with them, “that it says more about who Kari is, and what she’s made of.”

Kari’s heart melted inside.  She’d never, not ever, met a man who treated her in public with the same level of affection he treated her in private.  No matter where they went; no matter who they were around, Alex made it his business to put her on a pedestal.  She was so not used to this.  It made her feel so special that it scared her.

She had been so worried about this meeting, and how he would treat her when Mrs. Gabrini showed up.  She was worried that he would ignore her or treat her rudely, and elevate Mrs. Gabrini to prove that he was still available if she wanted him.  But just the reverse happened.  He elevated Kari the way he always did, Trina or no Trina, and even the Gabrinis seemed impressed.

But Kari was also a realist.  She also knew Alex could be elevating her this way to get back at Trina for her earlier rejection of his advances, and Kari was just a pawn in his more elaborate scheme.  She didn’t know Alex well enough to say whether or not he had that in him, but she would be shocked beyond words if he did.

And after dinner, when Kari and Trina excused themselves to the ladies’ room, Trina made a pronouncement.

They were both at the vanity mirror, freshening their makeup, when Trina stopped and looked at Kari.  “I’m going to turn down Alex’s offer,” she said.

Kari didn’t stop putting on her lipstick, but she did look at Trina through the mirror.  “Are you?”

“I’ve decided to, yes.”

“He’s going to be very disappointed.  He believes you will make a great CEO for his startup.”

“I know.  And I’m honored, believe me.  We, as black women, don’t get that kind of offer every day.”

“Word,” Kari agreed.

“But I have to refuse it.”

A thought suddenly occurred to Kari as she closed her lipstick tube.  She looked at Trina.  “I hope it’s not because of his attraction to you,” she said.

Trina looked at her.  She wasn’t sure that he had even mentioned that to Kari.  But she was glad he had.  She liked Kari.  She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she had a sneaking suspicion that, someday, they were going to be good friends.  “From my perspective, no,” she said.  “Alex is so over me it’s not even funny.”

Kari grinned.  “I wouldn’t go that far!”

“I would!” Trina said with a smile of her own.  Then she leaned against the vanity.  “But from my husband’s perspective,” she continued, “it’s a definite no-go.”

“He’s opposed?”

“He says he’s not.  He says he wants what’s best for me and turning down such a generous offer could be tough.  But if I know anybody on the face of this earth, I know Dominic “Reno” Gabrini.  And I know that man will not want me around anybody who once harbored those kinds of feelings for me.  For his sake, I’m turning it down.”

Kari appreciated her loyalty to her husband.  But . . . “You said it yourself.  Black women don’t get these kind of offers every day.”

“I know.  But a woman doesn’t get a man like Reno every day, either.  I’d rather keep Reno.”

Kari smiled.  She already felt that way about Alex, too, but wasn’t ready to reveal that publicly yet.  Even though, she had to admit, she really did like Trina Gabrini.