"Sounds good," said Luca. "I'll have the same. And maybe a bottle of something?" He looked at me as if I had a suggestion.
"I'm fine," I said tersely. I'd noticed that Luca's account at the restaurant had been growing recently, including an outrageous order for a bottle of Dom Perignon last week. I knew he liked to show off to his buddies-all less successful than him-but I thought it would be good for both of us if we had a clear head. "Let's just have water," I said when Cherise came to take our order.
"Oh, come on," he said. "You can't have lunch without wine."
"One glass," I said.
"'Lex, 'Lex," he said, chuckling. "You treat me like a kid sometimes, huh? When are you going to let me make some of the big decisions? I'm the same age as you, huh? Don't I deserve to be making my own billions, some day?"
"You're a smart guy, Luca," I said. "So you tell me: which of the two gets to make the decisions. The guy who has a 65% stake inThe Blue Orchid, or the guy who has a 20% stake?"
Luca grinned, but I got the feeling he was a little annoyed at me. He was unusually impatient that evening. "You've got a point, I guess."
"Besides," I added. "Think about it for a second. No one makes billions just from owning restaurants. Unless you happen to be a major franchising operation or something. Restaurants have never been that profitable. It's not what we're in the business for."
Luca looked at me, and his eyes widened, as though I'd made an excellent point. "Right," he said, quietly. "Right 'Lex. Goddamn, you're smart! I always knew this guy was smart!"
"So, come on. What's the big news? Been a long time since you got me down here to have a look at something."
Luca grinned. "I had a couple of things to sort out," he said. "Few meetings. That's why I've been out of town lately."
"Where have you been?"
"Vegas," he said. "Can't you tell?"
I shrugged. Luca's skin had always been tanned-he was from an Italian family, and had grown up in the Bronx. Like me, his life hadn't always been so easy. But his deep brown eyes gleamed as he pulled out the documents and put them in front of me.
"What are these?" I said. "Planning permission?"
"All we're waiting for," said Luca, "is your signature, boss. But I want you to look through it. Take your time. I know you've got a good eye for the details. And I want to hear you out on everything."
I sighed, and looked down at the papers. There was a plan, drafted by an architect. For some kind of hotel?
"What is this?" I said. "You're building a hotel?"
"Not a hotel," he said. "Acasino."
Casino?I looked at the plans a little more carefully. There were a series of drawings. I picked up the glossy pack Luca had put down. It read:
THE BLUE ORCHID CASINO
MANHATTAN'S FIRST LUXURY GAMBLING HOTEL
I looked up at my business partner. He was grinning.
"Three licenses are up," he said, holding up three fingers, "for gambling in the city of New York. And if we sign these papers and put in the application, we could have one of them, 'Lex. New York could be ours! Just imagine! The first casino in the city, right here," he said, gesturing around at the restaurant.
"What?" I said.
"You said it yourself. Restaurant-that's a small-time game. These are the big leagues. They're finally allowing licenses for casinos in the city. This is our chance. We could make it big."
"I don't understand," I said. "Where are you building this?"
Luca smiled at me, like I was slow.
"Here," he said. "The Blue Orchid. We'll keep the name, huh?"
I stared at him.
"Let me get this straight," I said. "You want me to sign these documents so we can bulldoze the restaurant and build a casino? Here? In the middle of Manhattan?"
Luca nodded happily. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Luca, this is...I don't know what to say?"
"Exciting, huh?" said Luca.
"Ridiculous," I said.
Luca stared at me. We were both motionless. Around us, the restaurant continued to chatter and hum, as lunch service went on.
"This is crazy," I said. "Luca,The Blue Orchid'sfive years old and it's already one of the most popular restaurants in the city. And you want to just...tear it down?"
"But, the casino..." said Luca, helplessly.
"The casino's acrock," I said. "Those licenses aren't for the city. They're state-wide. And you know what that means? It means that there's no way the mayor's going to let us build a goddamn gambling den in the middle of the Upper East Side. Even if I did okay this-which I'm not, by the way, I would never, ever okay this. The Blue Orchid is my flagship restaurant. It's the most profitable restaurant in America, and I am not going to let it be broken just because you're looking for an easy fix."
"I think if you just take a look-"
"I'm not taking a look!" I snarled, and suddenly I felt like a storm cloud had gathered around me. I'd squared my shoulders in the booth, and Luca seemed to have shrunk back. "You're an idiot-you're behaving like a child. And when it was just ordering champagne and comping your buddies' tables, it was fine. But you've disappointed me, Luca. And you've nearly embarrassed yourself. Jesus, you didn't tell Zeke or anyone else about this, did you? Theshareholdersdon't know, do they?"
"No...but..." said Luca.
"But nothing. This is serious. I can't explain just what a tremendous waste of my time this is. How much did these plans cost you?"
Then, I saw Luca's body jerk. It was like watching a kid have a tantrum. He threw his hands into the papers and turned them over. There was an enormous rustling thump, as the documents went spilling over the side of the table.
"We'll see just who'sembarrassed," hissed Luca. He stood, and left the restaurant.
Cherise arrived, with a bottle of sparkling water and a glass of Gavi in her hands.
"Did Mr. Desilva leave?" said Cherise. "I've got his wine..."
"I think I'll have it, Cherise," I said, dumbstruck. "And can you get the busboy to put these in the garbage?" I said, gesturing at the stacks of upturned papers on the table.
***
"You really didn't have to do him like that," said Zeke, when I explained what happened. It was the end of lunch service, and we were sitting at the bar.
"I know," I said. "I was just...angry. This place is my home. Our home."
"I understand," he said, flipping his ginger hair to one side of his face. "But you know what I'm going to say."
"That I should apologize?" I said, weakly. "Control my temper? Take a meditation class?"
"Yup," grinned Zeke. "So, did he get anyone to work on this?"
"No. From the looks of that shoddy architect's plan, he probably designed and financed it all himself. Who knows how much money he's sunk from his own pile into R&D. Let alone how much ofours."
Zeke nodded.
"How are you guys getting on here?" I said. "How's Lola?"
"Incredible," said Zeke. "Ain't that right, Andy?"
Andy looked up from behind the bar and nodded. "She ain't too clever with her Burgundies yet. But she could go in for winesommeliertraining if she wanted, boss. Girl knows her stuff."
"Actually I think she'd be a good fit for Shift Manager," said Zeke. "Since Charley left I've been doing it myself."