2019-08-13 - Fifteen Percent

Felix keeps odd hours. That's just part of being a crime-lord in a city full of psychics. So when he wants a meeting with someone, it typically starts around nine-thirty at night. Thus, around nine-thirty at night, he's waiting in his office at the top of the stairs, doing his typical Felix-thing: sitting in his nice chair behind his nice desk, working quietly while the club thumps busily outside the one-way window behind him.

A few minutes before that nine-thirty appointment, Graham (one of the back-door bouncers tonight - Andre is the other one, but he's busy trying to blow the biggest bubble ever) puts his head out into the bar area. "This fella here yet or what?" he calls Dahlia-wards, tapping the face of his watch importantly.

Dahlia has been doing so good, in her mind at least. Keeping her head down, working her shifts. Doing everything she was told. Including making sure Antonio was here before 9:30 to be able to do this meeting thing. And he is! Likely sitting at the bar so they're ready when they're called. Dahlia looked over as Graham called to her. "Yeah he's here. Ready for us?" Dahlia asked. She was a touch nervous about her Boss meeting her other boss, but hopefully Antonio would keep in mind everything she told him. Her attire is a little nicer than her typical attire. A pair of hiphugging dark jeans and a sleeveless black button down. The top few buttons undone, but once they're heading upstairs she's going to rebutton them back up.

Antonio is clearly more comfortable on his own home turf, judging by the beads of sweat that have formed on his forehead. He stands from the bar with a dirty martini in hand, inclining his head over toward Dahlia and moving to follow her upstairs. "Time to pay our respects, eh?" He's attired in a dark gray suit and bright pink necktie, his shoes looking just a touch more polished than usual.

Graham drops a momentary look to that pink necktie, holds it there while he says, "Must be," in response to Dahlia's question about Felix being ready for them, and then waves a thisaway-hand at the two of them. He flashes a perfectly-calibrated smile at Antonio, one that conveys all kinds of trustworthiness and likeability and just how totally not a huge liar he is, and holds the door open with his back.

Andre looks up from his gum-blowing and says cheerfully, "Your tie matches my gum, look!" He sticks the wad of gum between his bright-white front teeth, showing everyone. Also, he adds, "Hi Dahlia, you look pretty tonight," then pushes himself forward to pat-down Antonio with some murmurs of apology for having to get so frisky when they just met.

Dahlia gives Graham a bit of a look, maybe seeing his reaction to Antonio or something. Then she looks to Andre and flashes him a bright smile. "Thank you Andre." If only Felix was as easy going as Andre was! She tries not to let her nerves run haywire, pushing a hand through her hair lightly and waiting patiently while Andre pats Antonio down. Glancing up towards Felix's office and then back to the men. It's all gonna be fineeee.

"Yeah, good color. Good fashion sense, my man." The strip club owner extends his arms to either side as the pat down proceeds -- he's not packing anything other than his wallet and iPhone. "Good to see you, good to see you." Antonio attempts to play it somewhat cool, at least, although the nerves in his voice are obvious.

The wallet and the phone go unmolested, though Andre does tell Antonio some story about how he tried to plug his phone into a computer that his friend Hannah made for him and it did something to his phone but she's gonna fix it for him, so he smiles again. Leaving Graham to lead them up the short flight of stairs, knock on the door, do the whole "Antonio and Dahlia are here, boss," thing, and then beckon them into the office.

Where, as previously mentioned, Felix is waiting. "Come in. Have a seat. Whiskey?" It's Graham's job to stand by the door, look pretty, and pour drinks. So he'll be doing that while Felix gives Antonio a once-over that does not get hung up on his pink tie.

Dahlia walks into the familiar office, trying to keep some kind of air of confidence. "Good evening Mr. Monaghan." Dahlia says. Antonio gets a brief, encouraging smile before moving to sit in one of the empty seats across from the desk. "I would love a Whiskey. Thank you." Ever so politely, try to relax some. So far, so good?

"A pleasure to meet you -- Antonio Williams, at your service. And I never turn down a proper whiskey, you know what I mean?" Antonio seems to relax ever so slightly, shooting Dahlia a glance before he moves to take a seat in the chair that's placed next to hers.

It would take an act of Congress to get Graham to snicker at Dahlia being all 'Mister Monaghan,' so just know that he thinks that shit is hilarious. He passes a glass to each - here, here, and here - and then retreats to his place by the door, arms folded loosely across his middle.

It's Felix that answers, "Why are you in Gray Harbor, Mister Williams?" Mincing words: not on his agenda.

The day Dahlia feels comfortable calling the man Felix to his face, pigs will probably start flying. So she accepts the whiskey with a smile and settles back. Staying quiet for now. This is now the Antonio show.

"Takes a lot more money to open my type of business in Seattle, right? But I found a nice piece of real estate out by the highway, and found some good staff so far. That, and I think there's no shortage of folks in this town who want to take the edge off in various ways, you know?" Antonio manages a slight smirk as he takes the glass to his lips and sips, maintaining eye contact with Felix. "So -- business. Money. I suppose that's true of most of us."

NB: Graham just calls him Boss. He and Dahlia can have that conversation at a later date.

Felix/Boss/Mister Monaghan holds his attention on Antonio while the man speaks. Which kinda begs the question why he bothered to have a whiskey poured for himself, since he obviously has no interest in it, but who in this room is going to ask that begged question? His bet's on no one. "Various ways," he repeats flatly. Inhaling, "What you do on the books is your business. What you do off the books is my business, though. Mostly meth?" He casts a glance to Dahlia, inviting her to share what she knows.

Dahlia casts a glance to Antonio and then to Felix. Straightening up a touch. "I personally I have noticed mostly cocaine and weed. There's prostitution as well, but that is not on Mr. Williams. He doesn't pimp the dancers out. If they wish to go that extra mile - that's on them. It's an all cash operation, the dancers keep all their tips, half the dancers fees." So if some of the dancers do go that extra mile and they keep honest about the dancer fee they charged, Antonio gets some profit from it. "If I'm correct though, it's primarily drug trade." She glances to Antonio, as if to let him clarify anything.

"Coke, meth, weed," Antonio confirms, raising his whiskey glass and taking a sip as he offers a smile across the desk to the crime lord. "And yeah, that description is accurate. If a dancer wants to sell a blowjob in the VIP Room for three hundred, that's her business. Although I suppose you could say I'm supplying the opportunity and the fake leather couch, right?" Antonio manages a nervous laugh at that, taking another sip of his drink.

Felix has never laughed ever. That's the impression he gives off, anyway: laughter is just no in his repertoire. Flat, expressionless interest shifts between the two of them when they speak, and he nods faintly to acknowledge Dahlia's contributions. "Are you hooking?" He probably means Dahlia, since that's where he's looking when he asks. Also, it would be a weird question to ask Antonio, no?

If Dahlia was offended by the question, it doesn't show. But also, she isn't offended. Especially because even her maybe-kind-of boyfriend also suspected she was 'hooking'. "I am not." Dahlia offers simply, in the end. "Dancing only." Not to say that some patrons haven't tried. Especially the ones that recognize her from her videos and not from growing up around here.

"Mileage is a strange concept in my sort of business." Antonio broaches the subject with a chuckle, swirling the brown liquid in his glass before taking another sip. "I leave it up to the entertainer to set her own boundaries. After all, my interest is in the bottom line figure at the end of the night, regardless of mileage. I'm not running a brothel, you know?" Antonio arches his eyebrows as he looks across the desk.

For a second, while Antonio is answering questions that were never asked, Felix looks at him as if surprised. He lets him speak his piece uninterrupted, then returns his attention to Dahlia to conclude a nod in her direction, like that's all he needed to know, thx. Back to Antonio; "Fifteen percent of your off-the-books business. Continue to employ Dahlia." WHO WILL BE HIS SPY. "And pay me on Wednesdays."

Dahlia relaxes a little bit when Felix states his terms. Finally taking a small sip of the whiskey in her hand. Then looked to Antonio, waiting to see if he accepted the terms. He better fucking accept the terms.

"I suppose this is not a negotiation," Antonio admits frankly with a slight chuckle under his breath, some degree of nerves shining through as he sips from his whiskey again. "It's a deal, of course. Are there any, uh, benefits -- for lack of a better term -- to our arrangement? I would particularly like to keep the vice squad out of my business, which I'm sure is in our mutual interest." The strip club owner manages a smile as he largely maintains eye contact with Felix.

Felix sure doesn't seem to open the door to negotiating, just stays quiet for that not-question from Antonio, waiting for the inevitable... and there it is. Acceptance of the terms. "Benefits?" He breaks that eye contact to look back at Graham over there by the door, saying, "Other than the one where I don't have your club burned to the ground?" CUZ THAT'S A PRETTY BIG ONE. "Some of the heat will come off of you through this arrangement, of course. But you're selling drugs and permitting prostitution on your premises, Mister Williams." That's all.

Dahlia winced a little when Antonio asked about benefits. But remains silent otherwise. Her part of this conversation is done until they're dismissed or she's addressed again.

"You're right, of course. I run the hottest club in town but don't want it quite -that- hot, you know what I mean?" Antonio manages the bad joke with a quiet chuckle, shooting a glance to Dahlia before looking back to Felix. "So, every Wednesday it is. And you'll see progressively increasing returns, I think, judging by our business so far."

Felix pretends not to have noticed Dahlia's little wince there, but rest assured: he totally saw that shit, young lady. "Fine," he says to Antonio, finally reaching across the desk now to offer the guy a handshake. (Yes, he's a hard man to talk to. Apologies!)

Behind them, Graham quietly checks his phone and waits to be useful. Which never ever EVER happens in this office, but it's his job, so.

Dahlia's a little bit jealous. She hasn't gotten to do the handshake thing yet! Probably never. It's okay. She'll live somehow. She plasters on that smile and after the handshake with Antonio is done, "Thank you for the meeting." And, only when it seems safe to do so, she would start rising from her seat.

"It's a pleasure to enter into this arrangement. I look forward to it's continuation." Antonio meets the extended hand with a shake -- firm but not overly so. Finishing his whiskey, then, his smile is somewhat easier. Perhaps this encounter, at least initially, wasn't as bad as he might have thought.

Graham's never gotten a handshake, either. He and Dahlia can compare sad little notes later.

Felix holds the handshake just a hair longer than might be socially acceptable, just so he can tell Antonio, "You talk too much. Work on it." Then releases his hand and sits back in his chair, prompting Graham to open the door that leads back down the stairs.

Graham's also been told he talks too much, so he and Antonio can compare sad little notes later, too!

Dahlia waits for Antonio to stand up and then makes her way out of the office. Once out and in the stairwell, she shudders. One day maybe she'll walk out of that office and not feel like a thoughsand bricks have been lifted off her. She gives Antonio a brief look as if it say 'hold any comments a little longer.', raking a hand through her hair and continuing down the stair well.

"Of course." Antonio keeps his response brief as he rises from his seat, moving to vacate the room and head back downstairs. There's the hint of a smirk that plays across his lips as he leaves, for better or worse. (It's likely for worse.)

Once everyone is down the stairs, Andre will announce happily, "No one got punched in the face! Great job, you guys!" He offers fist-bumps all around. Just be careful, because his fist-bumps are as gentle as he can make them, but he's gigantic and strong.

"You guys all set?" is Graham's ask while he holds his phone up, making the display come back to life. He has text messages! They are from a girl! "'Cause I would kinda like to bounce outta here." He just needs to be sure they aren't about to rush the door or anything stupid.

"Just peachy." Dahlia nodded. "Go have fun. Tell Elle I said hey." Because likely they are from Elise! Those text messages. And if not...well, not her problem! "See you later Andre." Dahlia gave the bouncer/bodyguard a wave and then would lead Antonio back out into the main club area. "Well, it went better than I thought it might. How ya feeling?"

"Thanks for the hospitality, yeah. I owe you a drink sometime, if you stop by the club." Antonio offers Graham a wink as he makes his way back to the main club area, and ultimately toward the bar. "Better than I expected. I suppose the first demand might not be the last, huh? But, for starters, I think the relationship is off to an alright start." He flags down a bartender with an exaggerated smile, and orders himself another dirty martini.

"Bye, Dahlia! Bye, pink-tie!" That's Andre, with his big smile that disappears behind another giant bubblegum bubble.

Graham has fewer exclamation point sin his farewell. "You got it," he assures Dahlia of passing along her 'hey.' "And thanks, man. Depending on how 'strip club' goes over with the girlfriend, I'll keep it in mind." He manages to stroll out the back door, but the tire-squeal is real. He gots places to be!

Dahlia leans up against the bar beside her second boss. She's done all she needs to for tonight. The other bartenders got this. She orders herself a cosmo because why not. "Yeah, I think it'll be alright. Just remember, anything new you might wanna do...probably best to run it by him first." On the illegal end of things obviously. "But, I'm glad I get to keep workin' for ya at least. It's a pretty good gig over all."

Antonio takes a gulp of his martini once it arrives, exhaling deeply -- seems he's letting off a little steam, or at least relieved. "Keep up the good work and it'll be the best gig in town, y'know? We're gonna expand the business into the best little place within a hundred miles." He winks once, returning to his beverage. "Glad I'm off to a decent start with him, in any event."

"Mm, we just might." Dahlia mused, taking a long sip of her drink. "I should head out myself, but enjoy the drinks, dance a bit if ya wany." She grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow night." Taking another long sip of her cosmo before heading out, using her phone to summon up an uber as she did.