AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sounds good,” said Luca. “I’ll have the same. And maybe a bottle of something?” He looked at me as if I had a suggestion.
“I’m fine,” I said tersely. I’d noticed that Luca’s account at the restaurant had been growing recently, including an outrageous order for a bottle of Dom Perignon last week. I knew he liked to show off to his buddies—all less successful than him—but I thought it would be good for both of us if we had a clear head. “Let’s just have water,” I said when Cherise came to take our order.
“Oh, come on,” he said. “You can’t have lunch without wine.”
“One glass,” I said.
“’Lex, ‘Lex,” he said, chuckling. “You treat me like a kid sometimes, huh? When are you going to let me make some of the big decisions? I’m the same age as you, huh? Don’t I deserve to be making my own billions, some day?”
“You’re a smart guy, Luca,” I said. “So you tell me: which of the two gets to make the decisions. The guy who has a 65% stake inThe Blue Orchid, or the guy who has a 20% stake?”
Luca grinned, but I got the feeling he was a little annoyed at me. He was unusually impatient that evening. “You’ve got a point, I guess.”
“Besides,” I added. “Think about it for a second. No one makes billions just from owning restaurants. Unless you happen to be a major franchising operation or something. Restaurants have never been that profitable. It’s not what we’re in the business for.”
Luca looked at me, and his eyes widened, as though I’d made an excellent point. “Right,” he said, quietly. “Right ‘Lex. Goddamn, you’re smart! I always knew this guy was smart!”
“So, come on. What’s the big news? Been a long time since you got me down here to have a look at something.”
Luca grinned. “I had a couple of things to sort out,” he said. “Few meetings. That’s why I’ve been out of town lately.”
“Where have you been?”
“Vegas,” he said. “Can’t you tell?”
I shrugged. Luca’s skin had always been tanned—he was from an Italian family, and had grown up in the Bronx. Like me, his life hadn’t always been so easy. But his deep brown eyes gleamed as he pulled out the documents and put them in front of me.
“What are these?” I said. “Planning permission?”
“All we’re waiting for,” said Luca, “is your signature, boss. But I want you to look through it. Take your time. I know you’ve got a good eye for the details. And I want to hear you out on everything.”
I sighed, and looked down at the papers. There was a plan, drafted by an architect. For some kind of hotel?
“What is this?” I said. “You’re building a hotel?”
“Not a hotel,” he said. “Acasino.”
Casino?I looked at the plans a little more carefully. There were a series of drawings. I picked up the glossy pack Luca had put down. It read:
THE BLUE ORCHID CASINO
MANHATTAN’S FIRST LUXURY GAMBLING HOTEL
I looked up at my business partner. He was grinning.
“Three licenses are up,” he said, holding up three fingers, “for gambling in the city of New York. And if we sign these papers and put in the application, we could have one of them, ‘Lex. New York could be ours! Just imagine! The first casino in the city, right here,” he said, gesturing around at the restaurant.
“What?” I said.
“You said it yourself. Restaurant—that’s a small-time game. These are the big leagues. They’re finally allowing licenses for casinos in the city. This is our chance. We could make it big.”
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Where are you building this?”
Luca smiled at me, like I was slow.
“Here,” he said. “The Blue Orchid. We’ll keep the name, huh?”
I stared at him.
