Author's Note: This story is completely fictional and did not happen. All characters and names are fictional and were made up. I do not make money from these stories. Please do not copy and plagiarize my work.
At long last, I am bringing this series back. It's been almost three years and I'm ready. To all my fans who have sent feedback and support over the past few years since the last chapter, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to give special thanks to Florian, Jack, Viri, John Connors and Jean for encouraging me to return to this series.
Thank you again to everyone who has followed this series since I first started writing it back in 2016. Enjoy this new chapter!
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Miami, Florida
Darkness filled the room, but only for a brief pause between reflections cast over the platinum chrone borders and metal railing upstairs. A few people shuffled up a new winding staircase that led to the upper floor of the club. A man stood in the middle, gripping the rail in one hand as he gazed forward beyond the bar and to the dance floor. The lights began to slowly blink as a group of three men stood on stage with another seated behind a drum kit. The lights moved, offering rays of purple and blue down across their white suits as the guitar player raked his pick across the strings followed by a quick vibrato bend. The note rang out clearly throughout the new PA stereo system in the club. Outside, the sun had fallen hours earlier to bring on the night. A large neon sign outside the build was glowing in bright pink and blue letters. Tonight was party time tonight at Disco Fever.
The time for grand renovations had long been considered by the club's owner. Tony Diaz felt he had a major task in his hands to step in and save his club from any bad publicity that was typed up and printed in the local Miami newspapers. Two months prior, Disco Fever had been the sight of a crime scene after an assistant at the club was murdered on her way home with one of the managers. It had not been the first time detectives and vice cops were crawling all over the club within the day. Maria's death appeared to be the final straw for Tony's younger brother Steven finally snapping. He had become burnt out from the job and managing his own demons at bay. A subtle reminder of what path he walked in life and the consequences it carried down the road.
Local newspapers had been especially brutal in their coverage of the deaths of whom they dubbed 'the Diaz brothers', partners in crime: Ramón and Carlos Diaz. While Ramón had been killed in a drug bust gone wrong, rumors swirled across town for a month as police searched for his fugitive brother. It would be a month running for the club without Steven's presence there as manager or Maria roaming the halls of the V.I.P. rooms behind the wall where the club was officially ran. Knowing that his brother was facing a mental breakdown, Tony finally stepped back into his club to work as manager. He was joined alongside his son Antonio whom had been mentored in the previous year by Steven. For the time being, father and son were reunited with a nightly job.
All during this time, Tony remained stressed at the media coverage surrounding his beloved nightclub. While it was true he had not been involved in managing the place in the past year, Tony still had a place in his heart for the club. For one month, media coverage surrounding a high profile murder had brought back the old tales of the 'cocaine cowboys' era. He could not escape the dark past regarding his family and the nightclub scene of the eighties decade where his father had made his wealth. Rafael Diaz was a name often attached to rumors of drug smuggling and activities with other players in the Miami underworld from decades gone by. The local rumors from back in the day were that he was once a drug smuggler from Colombia turned nightclub owner in the U.S. Though he had passed away twenty-two years ago to a heart attack, Tony knew his father's past all too well.
The hits continued to come from the media after that brutal month with the discovery of Carlos Diaz found shot to death in a Fort Lauderdale hotel room. Following more news, Tony had panicked and went into full damage control mode regarding his business. The doors to Disco Fever closed the next day after Carlos' death made headlines and then Tony found himself in another rough spot concerning his family. He didn't need to guess that Steven was responsible for killing Carlos out of revenge. Family bloodshed had deeply saddened him despite how troublesome Carlos was. Before Tony had the opportunity to confront Steven about all of it, his fiancé Salma Hayek intervened. Their serious relationship seen it's first cracks in the foundation when they were caught in a heated argument regarding family matters.
It was strange in Tony's mind to witness Salma going out of her way to defend Steven's actions. Their arguments escalated when she told him that Steven was the man in the family 'with the balls to do what was right'. Such a choice of words made Tony question the future as they argued on that slow night. No matter how hard he tried to explain his point of view, the disagreements were too strong. In the end, family meant everything and Tony refused to justify Steven's actions. When it came to the man himself, Steven didn't deny what he had done but was willing to accept responsibility for any additional heat. Tony accepted his indefinite resignation as manager from the club as the questions began looming if Disco Fever would recover from these current events. Nightclubs rarely ever got back on their feet again after having to be closed down due to bad media coverage.
Knowing the task that lay ahead of him, Tony called one of the few people he knew he could trust in his life to ask for advice. He had a long time on and off again relationship with Jennifer Lopez going back over fifteen years. With their history, Tony knew he could trust her when asking for advice on how to handle the future with his family and club. Thanks to her guidance, he contacted one of his lawyers and proceeded to map out a plan for handling damage control. To avoid reporters and the local media asking questions about his family past, Tony became involved in local charities. He began by donating over three-hundred thousand dollars to a non-profit organization aiding immigrant families in the U.S. and taking the time to voice his support in their rights.
Tony would go a step further in trying to repair his local image by donating another large sum of money to the construction of a new Miami-Dade hospital in Downtown. With Disco Fever officially closed for now, he set his sights on a rennovation project. The charity contributions had picked him up some new connections with financial investors who appeared to have an interest in the club. Calling up one of his lawyers, Tony began to work out a deal with an investor who had connections into the music industry as an executive with a multi-million dollar label. The effort was made to have connections that were not linked to any form of organized crime, enough to keep the vice cops from snooping around. A deal was reached for a loan of fifteen million dollars which Tony immediately put into the renovation project for Disco Fever. From there, he reached out to his son Antonio and offered him a job where they could bond as father and son in choosing new interior designs and where to go forward with the club.
Back home on the yacht, Tony had to go home to a new brewing problem in his love life. Salma began to question if he cared more about her passion or his club. She took off, leaving him to go shoot a film and not leaving with much notice. At least for now, they were still engaged but Tony couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he currently had with her. At least for the time being, he focused on his club. Among the first pieces of expansion revamping, was a new platinum dance floor to reflect and glowing hues of the LED lights that were to be installed all throughout the club. It was Antonio's idea to give the club an even better 'retro fitted' look, as he called it. An aesthetic calling back to the days of the seventies and eighties when disco truly did reign king in the clubs. Such themes had reminded Tony of his own father's old clubs, sparking nostalgia within the fifty-three year old man's heart. He gave his son a much earned pat on the back, letting him know if his grandfather was alive, he would be proud.
Much of the budget was poured into rebuilding the V.I.P. rooms, beginning with the floors and then re-modelling every individual room up to the offices. Despite Steven's resignation, Tony kept his office there and did not touch any of his brother's belongings. Much of his desk material and other belongings were stored in boxes and moved down to the basement in a storage room. For his own office, he had it extended with his own personal mini bar. Antonio was gifted his own office and then granted the position for handling music duties. The young man went out of his way to search for local talent across town, convincing his father that it was best to find a decent DJ or live band and offer them a salary for week performances. Tony intervened, eventually compromising with his son that at least for Friday and Saturday nights, they were to pay a live band who were good enough to make the dance floor move.
The last bit of the multi-million dollar budget was to be spent on a new giant platinum disco ball to hang above the dance floor, new security systems and marketing. The latter was an easy game with making a few phone calls and deals with PR agents across town. An advertisement campaign was issued for the return of Disco Fever an entire week before this eventful Friday evening. Local radio broadcast an invitation publicly naming Starlight Sons as the band to be performing on re-opening night. The guitar driven rock band had gained a local fan following after years of playing gigs in Miami Beach, beloved for their retro fitted rock and classic R&B sound. Whatever kind of money they had made previously for gigs was nothing compared to what they were offered on this special night. Outside the club, the parking lot was beginning to fill up as the clock was fast approaching 10 PM. Tony Diaz found himself standing on the railing of the upper balcony, overlooking the dance floor and band from above.
"Nice night for a party!"
A familiar voice had called out to him. Standing there in a blue suit with a matching jacket and white undershirt visible from the jacket unbuttoned, Tony turned his head. His light brown colored hair had been cut recently, slicked back revealing strands of grey while his face was freshly clean shaved. However he looked was of no matter as he gazed to the smiling face of Jennifer Lopez. She stood before him wearing a full white dress hugging every curve down below and designed in a way to expose her muscular toned arms. A gold bracelet dangled from her right arm, complimenting two rings on her left hand shining in sight. Her long brunette hair with blonde ends was curled up into a fancy pony tail, revealing her gold hoop ear rings dangling from her ears. Tony immediately smiled, moving over to her.
"Hey Jen, I wasn't expecting to see you tonight! Wow, you look amazing, babe!"
The two old friends shared a hug as Tony had this moment to embrace her in his arms. After the hug, she gripped the rail and gazed towards the hanging disco ball before her eyes shifted down at the dance floor. The band had proceeded to play a high tempo song with the singer's powerful voice wailing beyond the chords strummed by the guitarist. Jennifer's eyes glanced back at Tony and she spoke up.
"Nice work on the club. I love the disco ball and it sounds like you found a good band for tonight."
"They're local talent. This is probably their biggest gig since they aren't signed with any record deal yet. You know, I've really busted my ass lately getting this place set for tonight. I've been working myself down like a dog."
"I can tell. The sign outside? Love it! Looks a lot better than the old one that was smaller."
"Thanks babe, that means a lot coming from you."
