“There’s not much more we need to go over today, so we’ll meet back here in an hour.” I continued as they all stood stretching their limbs. I watched for a beat as they scurried away happy for the break before turning my attention back to Anthony and Victor who were huddled in a corner. They were talking very animatedly. Anthony’s hands moved with every word he uttered and Victor was pointing his finger into his chest with his reply. By the looks of it, whatever they were discussing had both of them heated.
I needed to talk to Anthony and wanted to do it before Nikki got here. She had finally reached out to me and we agreed that she would meet me here so that when I was done coaching the staff we could talk. Twelve hours ago, I would’ve been all for talking about what had happened between us, but that was before I had overheard Rico’s conversation. This phone sex thing with Nikki instantly took the back seat after that and I didn’t like it one bit. Fuck, since the moment I met him mostly because he was the guy in Nikki’s life and I wanted her to myself but also because he rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about him that I didn’t trust. I told myself it was in my head and that my head was all fucked up because of my attraction to Nikki. If Victor didn’t see there was something wrong with Rico then I was just acting out of purely selfish reasons, but after overhearing him I was certain that my gut feeling was spot on and I didn’t have a fucking clue what to do now. I didn’t know if I should tell someone what I had heard or if I should try to figure out what he was up to on my own. I knew one thing though Nikki was in jeopardy of having her heart crushed when this shit with Rico surfaced.
I walked over to Anthony and Victor their conversation coming to an immediate halt once they saw me.
“Excuse me.” I cleared my throat, focusing my eyes directly on Anthony. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
“I’m kind of in the middle of something, Mike.” Anthony said, keeping his eyes on Victor as he spoke to me.
“No we’re done here.” Victor said his tone grave. He patted me on the back before walking away from us. Anthony cursed under his breath as he ran his fingers angrily through his hair.
“I need fucking air.” He said angrily as he headed for the door. I looked up at the sound booth that was on the second level overlooking the entire club. Rico had his headphones on and appeared to actually be checking the equipment. I didn’t want him to think I was onto him figuring that I’d be able to obtain more information if he didn’t feel the need to cover his tracks.
I followed Anthony outside watched as he slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, debating whether I should even talk to him. It might not be such a bad idea to inquire about anger management classes for him. Maybe I’d enroll him as an early birthday present. He turned around abruptly and for a moment, I thought he could hear my thoughts. His cold gaze settled on me and I felt myself shrink under his angered scrutiny.
“What is it Mike?” He barked.
“If now isn’t a good time…” I started, but he cut me off much like he cut me down to size in one glance.
“Just say what you want to say.” He demanded.
“Alright, fine.” I crossed my arms against my chest. “What do you know about Rico?”
He rolled his eyes. What? It was just a question.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I told you to leave it alone Mike. No good can come from you getting involved with Nikki.”
“It’s not about that.” I said defensively. “Look, either you give me the answers I need or I find them some other way.”
“Then what is it about?” He said evenly, as he crossed his arms against his chest matching my stance.
“I don’t like him plain and simple. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him and he is the one person working this Grand Opening that I have no control over. Now I’m asking you what the fuck his deal is because it’s my ass on the line when it comes to this club.” I said with as much authority as my voice could muster. It was a valid excuse albeit a lie, but still it sounded good.
He studied me for a moment, probably trying to figure out if I was lying or not.
“I told you whatever I knew. Maybe this is a conversation you should have with Nikki.” He said calmly.
“I can’t.” I said quickly, too quickly.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“How did she meet him?” I said, avoiding the question.
“How the hell should I know?” He said losing his patience with the conversation.
“Humor me please. Just think back and try to remember.”
“They aren’t together that long.” He said before pausing. “About a year or so. I think they met at a club he was working at one night. “
“That’s all he does? I mean he’s just a disc jockey, he doesn’t have any other job?” I asked curiously.
“As far as I know.” He sighed. “Look Mike I don’t keep tabs on Nikki’s boyfriend. When she started dating him, I checked him out. He didn’t have a record or anything like that. He’s arrogant and thinks who the fuck he is but he treats Nikki good. She seems happy enough, so leave it alone.”