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Chris placed his shaky palms on the table. He never felt so close to physically attacking Mickey. “You’re playing with fire.”
“I’ve been playing with fire since before you had pubes, and what didn’t burn me made me the motherfucker I am today. Youwillcome with me to the club, and youwillconvince Tobias to invite you and Anthony to Fire Island. Then, youwillhide the recording equipment in his office, and that will—hopefully—be the end of this whole affair. I will, of course, owe you a favor, and who doesn’t want a favor from the next Mayor of New York City?”
Chris leaned back, his head hurting like another hangover—no, three hangovers.
“Oh, one more thing,” Mickey said. “Oscar might be your best chance to get an invitation. As I said, Tobias is very reluctant to open his kingdom to strangers. Oscar had asked me twice to arrange a sexual meeting between you and him, and I told him to keep his paws away from my prodigy. But now I’m thinking that we might need him on our side, if you catch my drift.”
Chris rose to his feet. His lungs weren’t working right. He needed fresh air.
“We will meet again in two days,” Mickey said as Chris walked toward the exit. “Same time as today. I will hear your answer, pretend to be pleasantly surprised, and then you and I will hit the club to get those invitations from Tobias. Easy peasy.”
9
He had been walking aimlessly for over an hour, trying to look at things logically and find a way out of this mess. That didn’t happen. Instead, Chris’s chest started to hurt, and a wave of dizziness forced him to sit down on a bench next to a homeless guy who was picking his nose.
I’m dehydrated.Even the homeless guy looked at him with concern. Chris got up and hurried to buy a bottle of water. He drank while leaning against a wall, not even sure which street he was on. His phone kept buzzing in his pocket. He’d already missed two meetings this morning, and he didn’t know how he was going to face the remaining six.
He took out his phone to decline the rest of his meetings, but the newest message was from Jay. ‘Any word from Mickey?’
Chris needed to speak with him. He was terrified of how the conversation would go, but he couldn’t pretend Jay wasn’t a part of this. Chris might be at risk of losing his wife, but Jay’s freedom was also on the line.
Because I told Mickey he was on probation. Fuck my life.
Reluctantly, he called Jay, who answered immediately. “What’s up?”
“We need to talk. Can we meet somewhere?”
“Don’t you have work?”
“This is more important.”
“Okay… I’m finishing unpacking. Let me text you the address.”
Chris didn’t like that. A public place would help keep him safe. “Let’s meet outside.”
“Can’t. I have to finish today, or I’ll drag this on for weeks. I’m sending you my address.”
“Jay—” The call disconnected.
Annoyed, Chris waited to receive the address. When he did, he ordered an Uber and hoped this wasn’t going to be another mistake in a chain of many.
*
The ride brought him into the heart of Brooklyn to a quiet street in an area called Little Haiti. Jay had moved into a two-story house, his apartment on the upper floor. The entrance was through a staircase on the side of the house. Chris’s skin itched as he got out of the Uber and climbed up the stairs, still considering turning back. A makeshift sign on the door said,Jay’s Joint.
Chris knocked. Jay opened the door holding two nails in his mouth, his long hair messier than usual, and his gray t-shirt covered in stains. He gestured with his head for Chris to come in. The place still had a few boxes that needed to be unpacked and a few shelves Jay had likely been installing before Chris arrived. Other than that, it was a simple but nice one-bedroom apartment with good natural lighting. The parquet flooring seemed new.
Jay took the nails from his mouth and went to the small kitchen. “Water or beer?”
“Water.”
Chris took his jacket off and sat on the couch next to the open window. He glanced outside to check if he could slip out in case of danger, but he would likely hurt himself from this distance. Still, it might end up being his only option.
Jay handed him a bottle of water and sat facing him, resting his leg on the table between them. He was the only person Chris had ever known who could make the scruffy look work. When they first met, he had been fascinated by Jay's self-assured demeanor and nonchalant attitude.
“What do you think?”
Chris blinked. “About?”
