What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,27
that doesn't mean she's for sale. I don't own her, and you can't buy her, buddy.”
“I didn't say I wanted to buy her. Just her time, that's all.”
DelVecchio hesitated for a long moment, glaring down at him, then he finally took his seat again.
“That's all?” he double checked, and Ari nodded. “Her legs are welded together from the knees up, and that's most likely not gonna change, and I'm fine with that. If you're not, you can get the fuck out, right now.”
Ari smirked at him.
“Like I said – I'm only interested in paying for her time. How she wants to spend it with me would be up to her.”
“Okay, so let's talk specifics. When you say 'occupy her time exclusively', break down what that means.”
“It means that she'll no longer be 'hosting' anyone else here – put her on the front door. Have her serve drinks. Or just let her flirt and dance. I don't care. But no more makeout sessions for a couple sweaty bills.”
“We're talking about a lot of money – Val brings in around eight hundred dollars a night.”
“For escorting,” Ari double checked. “No sex, right?”
“Right.”
She'd charged him a thousand dollars for just an hour of sex, when it took her all night to earn the same amount escorting.
Clever girl.
“And how many nights a week does she work?”
“Wednesday through Saturday.”
“So let's round it up and say I pay for a thousand dollars a night. Plus let's add on fifteen percent for drinks, or tips, or whatever else you'd lose out on. All of that for let's say ... two weeks. Eight work days. That sounds like a good trial period,” he tilted his head back, working the numbers through his mind. “That would be nine thousand, two hundred dollars.”
DelVecchio leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.
“I'm thinking along the lines of twenty thou.”
Ari laughed loudly.
“I understand that negotiating is part of the game, and she's a hot piece of ass – but for twenty thousand dollars, I can fly to Thailand and spend a month with the best hooker Bangkok has to offer. So with all due respect, fuck you. Eleven thousand.”
“Valentine ain't no Bangkok whore. You wouldn't be here talking to me if you didn't recognize how special she is,” DelVecchio countered. “Eighteen thousand.”
Ari narrowed his eyes. This was ridiculous. One bout of mind blowing sex wasn't worth even half the amount of his lowest offer, but he wasn't about to lose to this guy.
Time to stop fucking around.
“Thirteen thousand, and I'll offer my counsel for free and look over any of your legal issues. Final offer.”
“Who says I got any -”
“DelVecchio,” Ari chuckled, cutting him off. “Do you really think a guy like me – a potential future senator or judge – would come to a place like this without fully vetting it? I probably know more about you than you know about yourself, and I sure as shit know all about your legal problems.”
They glared at each other for a long, tense moment. From behind him, Ari could hear Serge cracking his knuckles. Finally, Del leaned forward in his chair.
“Thirteen thousand right now, paid in full, and first thing Monday, you meet with my lawyer,” he stated. Ari smiled and pulled out his wallet
“Done.”
His credit card was produced and DelVecchio snatched it out of his hand.
“And you're paying the processing fees, asshole.”
A buzzer was pushed, then a scantily clad woman sauntered into the room. She carried Ari's card out with her when she left.
“So,” Del started after another long pause. “What did Val have to say about this little offer of yours?”
“She doesn't know.”
“What!?” Del jumped out of his seat. “Goddammit, Maureen! Don't run that shit yet!”
“Run it, Maureen!” Ari yelled, as well. “Trust me, Del. Valentine is amenable to this deal.”
“Like fuck she is – she finds this whole business distasteful. If it weren't for her grandma, she wouldn't even fucking be here. I'm not about to put her in some situation that'd make her unhappy, just for some egotistical rich boy,” Del snapped.
Ari had no clue what the grandma comment meant, but he was very surprised to realize that DelVecchio cared about Valentine. Very much. He was willing to protect her, even if it meant taking a monetary loss. A foreign concept to someone like Ari.
“Just hear me out,” he said. “Because I'm not done making deals.”
“I don't have to listen to any-”
“I'll give you a thousand dollars cash, right now, for the security footage from