"Don’t you hate it when that happens?"
"I’m sayin’."
"Why doesn’t she just tell him that? If a woman ever said that to me, I’d stop bothering her."
"But no woman ever told you anything close to that, have they, Nick?"
"No. They haven’t."
"I bet you put on a good show." There she goes with her hand on my thigh again. "But I promised Gee I’d stop flirting." She didn’t move her hand though. "She did tell him that. Told him to his face that his dick was little and he couldn’t satisfy her."
"How’d he take it?"
"Bad. So now he’s blackmailing her."
"Blackmail?"
"That same night before she told him that, somebody took a picture of them. But right before the picture gets snapped, this fool kisses her."
"Now he wants money or he’ll show it to Chilly," I said.
"And Chilly will kill her."
"What’s his name?"
"Ben Josephs."
"Did she pay him?"
"Of course she did. At first Gee threatened to tell his wife, but he didn’t seem to care. Told her to go ahead a tell her. She won’t believe it anyway. Besides, Gee couldn’t take that chance, Chilly would kill her. So she paid him, but now he wants more."
"How much?"
"She gave him five thousand dollars the first time, and ten more last night. She just told me that he wants another twenty."
"Where would I find him?"
"I don’t know where he lives, but I guess you can find him at the car lot he owns in Brooklyn."
"Why are you telling me all this, Chésará?"
"‘Cause if you really like Gee, you’ll take this guy off her neck."
>
"Maybe I’ll talk to him."
"If you do, don’t say anything about me telling you this to Gee. She would be mad at me."
"It’ll be our little secret."
"Something we can share. I like the thought of that."
"Thanks for seeing me, Chésará." I stood up and finished my drink. "And for the drink."
Chésará stood up; her sash came free again. She didn’t bother to retie it this time. She locked her arm in mine and walked with me to the door. "You come on back when you have more time. To talk."
"I just might."