Rude Boy USA (8 page)

Bernie and Ben did all of the work themselves, and Bernie felt that the load was starting to overload him. He thought Ben needed a second set of eyes. Bernie was getting up there in age, and he wanted to relax more. This would help everyone, and if they were going to have finally a woman on the team, it might as well be someone they knew and trusted, according to Jerome and John. To them, she had already been vetted. They knew that Bernie was considering hiring another person, and this would save a lot of time. Bernie caved in, but not before he expressed more concerns about the change in environment. He told the two he would consider it and asked them to let him know if she wanted it in a couple of weeks.

Finally, the day arrived when the letters from Juilliard would come for Celia and Rose. Both of them had their attention on the mailbox as they awaited the mail carrier. They were excited because those envelopes contained their futures. Both women opened the envelopes together, and the news was great for one and not so great for the other. Rose got a scholarship and acceptance letter. Celia got an acceptance letter but no financial aid. Celia was happy about the opportunity to get in, and she was also happy for Rose. However, she was crushed internally, as she would have to foot the entire bill for tuition. Rose felt awful because that would mean they would have to separate. Rose would move on from the club to concentrate on studies, and Celia would
have to find money, get a new roommate in a short time, or move back home with her ailing mother. Celia kept it together as she congratulated Rose and went into decision mode. She had to make some choices in a hurry.

Celia returned to work at the club with the goal of putting in overtime to bring in more money. That now meant six-day work weeks and sometimes twelve hours a day if they let her, to make up the rent money she would lack once Rose left. This would be a challenge for her, but she was determined not to fail. She did not want to live as the stereotype of an unmarried woman. She knew how to take care of herself and survive, but it was expensive. She was confident in her abilities because she learned these skills from her mother, who’d had to learn to fend for herself with a small child. Trends were changing for women, and she considered herself part of that revolution. Celia put up a flyer in the bunnies’ dressing room in hopes of finding a roommate replacement. She walked over to one of her shift managers and requested overtime. Celia had never had issues with bringing in more money from the club, as she was always favored by private parties and extra bunny activities. She went to her immediate shift manager and asked if there were any private events on the horizon. The shift manager looked at her in a way that she never had before and told her that there was nothing for her. Celia interpreted that to mean it was just a slow week and went on to get ready for her night on the floor.

The bunnies were changing and turning in their uniforms for cleaning at the end of the evening while discussing
their daily lives in the dressing rooms. One bunny mentioned details about a private party for a celebrity that she was working. She and a few more bunnies were scheduled to be there, and the compensation for that event was more than the regular pay scale. Celia did not say anything, although she knew she was a favorite and thought it was strange that she had not been informed of the event, despite asking her shift manager. She thought that maybe the person running the private event had a specific requirement for the type of bunnies who were to work the event. That was not uncommon, as some clients had their personal favorites and even at times racial preferences. That did not bother her because she knew of the climate in which she worked; not everyone was open to accepting all types of beauty. The other black bunny, whom Celia rarely worked with, was working the club that evening as a fill-in. Phyllis, an attractive darker-toned bunny, had a different build than Celia. She could be a clone of Claudia Lennear. Celia had recruited Phyllis into the club. Celia was always looking out for other bunnies, as the club offered incentives for bringing in quality recruits. She had earned nearly three hundred dollars from the new people she brought into the club. Phyllis worked part-time, and club employees went on a seniority system. She mentioned that she was working the event.

Celia was not a jealous woman by nature, and she always looked at the entire picture before she judged situations. However, she could not help but feel a bit bothered that a spot that would usually be given to her went to a
part-time bunny with less seniority and experience without explanation. She did not feel entitled, but she felt as if she had been brushed off. Celia went to Phyllis and asked her for the details. Phyllis told her that their shift manager had pulled her aside and offered her the job. She spoke of how excited she was about working the event. Phyllis noted that she did not know what to do in that environment since it was different from the club setting. Celia looked over at the wall and noticed that someone had removed her roommate flyer while she had been on her shift.

Celia went back to her shift manager and requested a sit-down. The shift manager told her that Bunny Mother Shirley would speak to her very shortly. Celia wanted to make sure that things were OK with her standing at the club. She was desperate for the extra work. She knew that it would be only a matter of weeks before Rose left for the spring semester, and she did not want to have big gaps where the burden of the rent would all rest on her. She could pay it, but she would not eat or have a phone, among other things.

Bunny Mother Shirley came over and sat Celia down. “Look, hun, I don’t know what else to say to you. The general manager told me to remove you from the rotation after this week. It was a matter of bunny behavior.”

Celia was stunned. “I am not sure what instance of my behavior would be in question,” she replied.

“OK, I am going to be upfront with you because I love you dearly, and you have been one of our top girls. We had
a person approach management about you. They were told that you might have been carrying on an inappropriate relationship with one of our keyholders, and they saw excessive mingling on the floor, which is the number one rule we have here. It is important to maintain a professional environment,” Shirley replied.

“The only floor issues I’ve had were with Dr. Smith,” Celia said. “He flirts with me every night he is here. I have advised him politely on numerous occasions that we were not to date or talk for too long. He is always trying to get excessive small talk from me, get my number…”

Shirley cut her off. “Celia, you are still very young and exquisite and have a great future in front of you, but I am speaking to you now woman to woman. You cannot claim harassment from one man in the same space where you are fooling around with another. We have had girls get themselves in a tizzy because they decided to pursue a wealthy client,” Shirley said. Celia sat there in disbelief. This was the worst month for her, and now she would add unemployment to the list of troubles. “You can finish your week, but after that you must turn in your tail, your ears, and your ribbon. You may keep the spare uniform you purchased for yourself, but you must turn in the original two that were issued to you,” Bunny Mother Shirley concluded. Celia stood up, gathered her things, and left for the night.

Celia made it home and went to her room. She did not see Rose, and she did not want to interact with anyone for the moment. Celia cried, as she had never been fired from a
job before. When necessary, she always aimed to transition from one place to another without ever missing a pay period. Celia suddenly went from having a plan for the future to being out of options in practically an instant. After a couple of drinks and a couple of hours, Celia picked up the phone and called Jerome. When he answered, the first thing she said was, “Is the offer still on the table?”

Chapter 4

A
few doors down from the office was a diner that the guys frequented for their sit-down lunches. They discussed important but not overly sensitive matters over plates of food. Anything that went on the record was done within the walls of the office. They used code names in public because there was always a possibility that someone around them was wired. Since they were growing in popularity, they would often walk with security guards when all four of them were in a group together. Bernie felt that it was safer that way. Lose one and the company would still run; lose them all and then Chimera would be no more. He was not ready for that. Bernie knew that the company would not last forever unless they changed focus. He did not know of many gangsters that had pensions, and he would often remind his men that they always had to have a plan B.

These meetings occurred about once a month right around pay time; however, this month would be different. Bernie decided to call a meeting in the office with a smaller security detail, as he had some important things to discuss. He felt that he could not do so in the public space. He had the food delivered to them, as he wanted the guys to be comfortable in familiar surroundings when he made his announcements. Bernie had many things on his plate. He had not divulged details about any of them to the guys before, but he planned to do so that day. He would occasionally spill personal secrets only to Red. That usually happened after they had sex and shared cigarettes or drugs. She did not care much about his problems as long as he took care of her. The issues Bernie was ready to discuss included money, crime-family problems, and new hires. He would first discuss Ambrosino-family problems, and then gambling, and finally new hires.

Not far away, Bunny had spent the morning figuring out what to wear for her first day at her new job. She was to meet her new employer by one, which gave her time to get her things together. The location was convenient, as it did not take longer than a bus ride and a couple of blocks of walking to get there. She was nervous. She had become accustomed to evening hours after working a few years at the club. Instead of fishnet stockings, ears, and a tail, dry-cleaned blouses, and form-fitting skirts became her work attire. The heels remained the same, as she loved them. She knew that she would not have to do as much
walking, as she would be returning to an office environment, which is where she got her start in the world of employment. The heels made her frame sexy, although they hurt her feet at times. Her feet were the one sacrifice she was willing to make for beauty. Confident in how she would handle herself this time, she decided to make the best out of her new start, although she was not sure exactly what to expect.

Bernie discussed wanting the men to play bigger roles and enlarge the company. Chimera was very well known and successful within city and suburban limits, but Bernie wanted to expand. Hustling the public for funds was lucrative. Bernie figured he could use his resources, mainly his brain, his friends, his staff, and his girlfriend, who could provide him with firepower if needed. He intended to move more into the legal gambling business and away from the local Ponzi structure. He had a direct connection from Philadelphia, who had already set up shop in Atlantic City. Lucca “Luci” Graziani had been part of the Philadelphia mob, but they exiled him after his behavior became questionable within mob circles. Luci Graziani directly competed with the Ambrosino family from New York City for power in contract negotiations with the steelworkers and concrete unions. He and Bernie struck up a good friendship and agreed to do business. Bernie thought of this as the company’s plan B. Bernie understood that this brought his group to a new level—and possibly a new degree of danger. He justified the entire thing by saying they were
smart. Egos and poor planning, not smart business decisions, got bosses and associates killed.

Atlantic City, New Jersey, was in the midst of a transition. In the past, it had allowed only two legal forms of gambling: horse racing and social gambling, which consisted of scattered slot machines and bingo games throughout the state. Atlantic City was currently legalizing gambling, and it was in the early planning stages of building its first casinos. Crime families in Philadelphia controlled most of the activities in Atlantic City, and many of the New York City crime families wanted a part. This setup caused some members of various families in New York City to cut deals with families in Philadelphia. Other instances of unauthorized side deals resulted in the murder of one or more members of these families. If Bernie wanted a chance to compete, he had to restructure. They could not build casinos until later on in the next decade, but Bernie felt that since it was early 1971, it was time to look into the future. First, he and Graziani planned to link up with executives that he knew were working on obtaining licenses from the Casino Control Commission. He also wanted to use his connections to see about getting the unions involved in the potential projects. This meant a lot of travel for him. Before this meeting, Bernie gave John a heads-up and informed him that he was making John the leader of New York City and its surrounding areas for the time being. He did not want Ben or Jerome to know the plan, as he did not wish to create conflict within the group. He knew that Ben wanted to advance, but he did not trust his astuteness.