Chapter 3: Smart, Beautiful, Annoying

Matteo

Manhattan, New York, United States 2019 - autumn

When he got into Hamilton College in New York, Matteo didn't even react. He wasn't aware that he had applied in the first place. His father had suggested America to him when he just turned fourteen in 2013, about to start his last year of middle school in Palermo.

"Why America?" Matteo asked. He liked his life in Italy. He had friends, activities, and nothing ever stressed him out. That was before he discovered the drug greenhouses in their backyard and saw his father pointing a gun at someone on Christmas that same year.

"It's an international private boarding school. It's better than anything you're going to get here in Italy. You're better than Sicily, Matteo. I think you'd benefit from attending an international school and meeting people outside your hometown. If you don't like the first year, I promise you we'll find something else. But public high school in Palermo shouldn't be your first option."

Matteo listened.

He met Allison at school in 2014, and she quickly became his girlfriend but got on his last nerves quite often. The main thing was that she was jealous of his friendship with Isabella, who was a year below them. By the time they'd broken up Matteo had been emotionally detached for months.

Long story short, he did in fact like his first year of boarding school in America because he had learned a lot: if you're smart, you can get ahead quickly and be one step ahead of people because they're easy to read. If you have money, you can do anything you want. And if you're smart and you have money, you're already winning.

In 2018, right after graduation, his father pulled him into his office in New York and told him he had a graduation present.

"I want you to take over one of my clubs in the city as a manager."

It didn't even take one second for Matteo to think it through. School was done, and the past two weeks had been boring.

"Which one?"

"Either The Candy Club or Redlight."

"I don't need a strip club. Too much work. I'll take Redlight."

He went to New York for the summer and his father bought him an apartment in Upper West Side Manhattan so he could be close enough to go to the club. When he found out that he would attend Hamilton College and study Economics, he didn't even question why. He knew his father had talked to someone without bothering to check with him. It should've bothered him, but it didn't because he would've ended up somewhere studying Economics anyway. At least this way he was spared the stress of admission.

Since Hamilton College is all the way up north next to Utica, his father also got him an apartment there, so he could attend classes and split up his time. Nearly all of Matteo's friends from school who chose this college were staying in the dorms on campus. But he didn't mind; he liked having more freedom and being able to move from city to city whenever he wanted.

He got through the first year okay, passed all his exams and managed to get more foot traffic into the club, so his father was proud of him.

It's the last week of October and Matteo is sitting in his chair in the staff room, trying to roll a joint. Vinnie and Marco are also there, with Marco being a new addition since he just started his first year of college. Their father wanted Marco to also learn how things worked with the family business, so he got them a bigger apartment in Manhattan so they could both fit.

"What are we doing for Halloween?" Marco asks, not looking away from the TV screen where he's currently playing a video game.

Matteo's confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's Halloween next Thursday."

"And Isabella's birthday is on Friday the 1st." Vinnie says. "I already talked to Isabella about setting up a Halloween party on the 31st, then having a second night which would also be her birthday. We can charge twenty per ticket for Halloween and have a costume contest, and Friday can be a theme night for the club which could easily be ten-fifteen per ticket." Vinnie adds.

Matteo stops rolling. "Was this Isabella's idea?"

"Yeah."

"Tell her the club will pay her a grand a night if she puts on a good Halloween event and a good theme party. If it's her birthday, her table will be on the house." Matteo tells Vinnie, smiling.

Matteo likes partying, but he doesn't like planning any further than setting the date and time. He likes showing up and partying. Then, he does the math and splits the money the way he was taught and spends his cut the way he sees fit.

***

Isabella comes over to their apartment on the upper west side of Central Park the next Monday to discuss event planning. She had texted that morning that Valentina had some appointment in the city so they would drive down to Manhattan in the morning and she would come for lunch.

Matteo was planning out being at the club anyway, because Vinnie usually attends classes and then Matteo just looks through his notes whenever he has time. Right now, his job at the club was promoted from 'general manager' to 'general manager also in charge of money laundering'.

It's not that hard: the money that comes from the organized crime business in cash gets divided throughout all the businesses his father owns. One of those businesses is the Redlight club in Manhattan. Matteo's job is to count the money, take his cut, then split it evenly throughout the entire month when he does the accounting.

For example: last week Vinnie brought in a suitcase which contained 500.000 dollars in cash. Matteo's job was to take 10%, which was his cut, then divide the remaining 450 thousand into four parts. Those parts would then be spread equally throughout the weeks of December and added to the balance sheet.

Overall, most of the money generated by the club went back into his father's investment company, which was the biggest shareholder when it came to the club's business activity. Years after moving away from Palermo, Matteo realized that the restaurant he used to hang out in every day as a kid was probably the first ever business his father laundered money through. And since it was too close to home, he had to expand internationally.

"I have a few ideas." Is what she opens with and sits down in the chair across from Matteo in the office.

"You've got a binder and everything." Matteo teases and watches her open the binder. She ignores him trying to make fun of her for caring about this and proceeds to tell him the bullet points

"On Thursday we can do a Halloween Party and have a costume only dress code. Then we charge twenty for each ticket and say that 10% of earnings from the tickets will be the total prize for the costume contest. And we can do single costumes and couple costumes, split it evenly and that'll be it. Your maximum capacity is four hundred fifty, you do the math. Plus what you'll earn at the bar-"

Matteo smiles. "You don't have to convince me that it'll make money, Izzy, I already know that. Convince me it will be fun."

Isabella looks confused for a second before she closes her binder. "Fine. We can decorate the club and the upstairs lounge to give it a Halloween scary vibe and use fog machines. It will be fun. Then, for my birthday, after I've decided on a theme, I want to give out glowing neon bracelets at the entrance so people who are single can have green and people in a relationship get red. It'll make things more interesting. And the VIP area can have customized menus and everything."

"Sounds good. Can you do it?"

"I mean, not alone. But I can find people who can help me, that's not a problem."

"You've talked to Vinnie about the whole payment thing?" Matteo asks, shifting in his seat.

If there's one thing that makes him uncomfortable, that's talking about money with friends who aren't part of the business. He would never let them do it for free, but he also won't beg someone to take his money.

"Yes."

"Hold on." He opens one of the desk drawers and takes out a credit card, then holds it out to her. "Take this and try to find decorations and whatever else until tonight."

"What's tonight?"

"I'm going to be at the club but find someone inside and ask them to bring you to the staff room. You know, where we go for a break during parties."

Isabella rolls her eyes. "I know where your little crack den is located." She jokes. "But I'll come with Valentina, because she's driving us home."

"I didn't know you two were close."

"We're in the same building and she's actually one of the very few real people I know."

"She didn't look like that to me." he snorts.

"Just because she's hot and beautiful doesn't mean she's like the girls you go for."

Matteo crosses his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the only good-looking girls you've ever encountered had sex with you and most of them only wanted your money. And while them wanting your money doesn't necessarily bother you because you have loads, them not being smart makes them boring and shallow. But that doesn't mean there are no real women out there who also look good." She takes a breath. "I mean, look at me."

Isabella's dark blonde hair and green eyes have always made her beautiful, and she has always been the smartest person Matteo knows by default.

"Yes, but you're one in a lifetime." Matteo jokes and watches her put the credit card in her wallet. "Code is 1107."

"You shouldn't use your birthday as a code to everything, you know." Isabella advises. "Thanks for the advice, I haven't been robbed yet. So..."

"Okay this discussion is becoming counterproductive, so I'm going to head out and go shopping. When will you be there?"

"I'll text you when I get there."

"Alright." And with that, Isabella stands up and leaves.

---

My update schedule will be 5-6 chapters a week, Tuesday through Sunday :D

To see more about the story/chapter photos/previews you can follow the story account on I*******m @gamesweplayseries

You can get in touch with me on:

- I*******m: ronniebennett94

- TikTok: ronniewrites

- G***l: ronniebenett22@g***l.com (with just 1 'n')

Feel free to share you thoughts/ideas about story, let me know what you like/didn't like and so on. I always love hearing from readers :)

Have a good day!

xoxo,

Ronnie