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Dex was there, sans Prince, and after he’d shaken every hand, Dante took a seat and Sel sat next to him. “Well, gentlemen, I wanted to thank you not only for coming today, but for coming here at all. I know this is an immense shock for some of you, who’ve never been out of the city except for vacations.”
Marius nodded and followed that. “This isn’t the city, but it will be. Nothing like we’re used to, but the potential for growth, for money, is bigger than any of us will find in our separate cities.”
Dex cleared his throat as his lips twitched into a small smile. “Uh, no disrespect, Dante, but how is that?”
“They asked the same thing of Walt Disney when he first approached with the idea of his dreamworld in California. Now look at it.”
“You’re comparing this place to Disneyland?”
Dante loved the skepticism. In fact, he lived for it. What was better, Sel looked terribly uncomfortable, as his skepticism was equal to the others.
Dante got up, pacing in front of the couch. “Well, gentlemen, we not only have a full ranch at our disposal, with organic meat that we can charge three times what ranches charge for non-organic, but we also will have men paying thousands of dollars for a very few days simply for staying here.
“Then, there are the pieces of the restaurant, the clothing stores. The kink clothing? We’re not only getting a piece of the store, but for the advertising of the Slutae line, being we’re using them exclusively in the club, where we will sell even more.”
The men mumbled amongst one another for a moment until Dante heard the crescendo of their voices, the excitement.
“The saloon, the top shelf liquor, cigars, entertainment, including…” He waited until he was sure they were ready for him. “The hookers.”
He saw them smiling, including the two newest additions from the Denver Aztecas, Rico Padrone and Indio Baca. Marius asked, “Hookers? Dante, come on, I thought we were trying to, at least on the surface, be legit on this deal.”
“We will, Marius. The hookers will work for tips only. And we, of course, get paid as well. For men to take one, they pay a fee to us, strictly for the meeting.”
“Like the escort service game,” Indio said.
“Exactly. We’re putting people together, which is, after all, the whole point of the place. To bring men together.”
Marius asked, “The citizens here, Dante, like my guys, Jace, Tango, what are they gonna say about all this?”
“I’ve spoken to Jace. He’s aware. We’re not doing anything illegal, Marius. Not to mention, we have a big meeting with certain factions in this state. I am being introduced to the senators and congresspeople, both state and federal, that will…play ball with us. Like anywhere we do business, we’ll grease enough palms to make any trouble that might come our way disappear.”
For the first time, Sel spoke up, and what he asked was what most were thinking. “Dante, what about that? A resort for gay men in a very conservative state. How will that go over?”
The others moved their eyes right to him as he sat back on the couch, casually setting one leg over the other. In the anticipation, their interest was given a chance to pique.
“Why do you think most of this is happening in this country? The rich want a bigger piece of the pie. As always, greed drives those in leadership roles, gentlemen. That’s all this is. Greed. Morals are simply for those without money. If you don’t have money, all you have are morals and beliefs. To be poor is virtuous. We’ll kick money upstairs, which is what we’ve all done our entire lives, right? In bike clubs, street gangs, and family organizations, we kick up enough to make our lives easier.”
Sel was staring at him, but he asked, “We aren’t taking advantage of…of that moral code, are we?”
“Of course not. We will make enough that the poor will no longer have to worry about morals, because they will share in the wealth. Everyone here will make money, Selestino.” To everyone, he said, “The biggest lobbying group in this area are libertarians. They’re all about freedom. They get to be free, so do we. We don’t cross paths more than needed, and everyone wins.”
Sel smiled, nodding along with the others. “Yeah, Dante. We’ll all win.”
Chapter Seven
Sel hung on every word Dante said during the meeting. Still, he couldn’t help but notice the asshole biker that had been in the SUV with him during the trip from the airport.
Seeing him fully, besides half his face hidden behind his full, dark brown, bushy beard, Sel was drawn to the harshness in his truly light-colored green eyes.
They were shamrock green on the outer rim, getting progressively lighter and lighter until the color near the pupil was nearly white.
Never having seen eyes quite like that, Sel caught himself looking whenever he saw the guy not looking over at him, which, surprisingly, he did often.
“The bike clubs up here are helping us with security and construction. We’re in talks now about them opening up clubhouses here. The Devil’s Rebels and Aztecas, which are now close brother clubs, I’m told, have two clubs to negotiate with to make their move here.”
Marius nodded over to the bikers in the room. “Are your presidents from Denver still expected to come up?”
Sel listened closely to the man as Indio said, in a gritty voice, “Eight is due here this week.”
