M y laptop went to heaven a few weeks ago and while I saved enough $ to get a new one, I've been working on my stories. I made great progress for 'Ranger's Date' (I decided to add one last chapter to that one) and 'Mañoso' updates.
But, this little AU story formed in my mind and the first chapter practically wrote itself. I've taken some liberties with a certain man in black's family and history. It is AU afterall…
Let me know if there's interest. Thoughts, comments…
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.
After a depressing conversation with my mother about my brother's predicament, I decided a little shopping spree was called for. I live in Miami, but every time I visit my parents here in Newark I love to pay a little visit to one lingerie shop in particular.
As soon as I parked in front of Plum's I realized that something wasn't right. A huge 'everything must go' sign was plastered on the front plate glass window. I felt my heart sink at the realization. When it rains it pours. Why? Why is my favorite place of all time going out of business? I felt like crying.
"Mariela!" The curly haired owner greeted me with a smile, but the spark that usually adorned her blue eyes was gone. "It's nice to see you."
"Stephanie, hi." I returned the greeting and gave her a hug. It looked like she needed it. Okay, I was the one who needed a hug. "What's going on here?" I scanned my eyes over the glass counter by the cash register and walls. The place was slowly emptying out.
Stephanie blew out a sigh. "It's a rough time." She shrugged, waving a hand towards my favorite section: thongs. Even from my position I could tell that a lot of the good stuff had gone first.
"You know what?" I gave her my best conspiratorial smile. "How about some girl time?" Over the years we've formed a friendship of sorts. She's probably the only non-family person I visit when I'm in Jersey.
"I-Uh..." She hesitated for a moment.
"It's lunch time." I upped the wattage on my smile. "You gotta eat, right?"
"True." Stephanie walked towards the register to grab her purse and keys. "I might need a margarita, though." She added with a tiny grin.
A small laughed escaped me. "I think I know a place." The way the day was going I might need more than one margarita.
We walked two blocks to a local Mexican bar and grill. We settled in a booth by the corner and ordered Chicken Fajitas and a pitcher of lime margaritas.
"Spill it." I commanded as our drinks arrived.
Stephanie groaned as she warned me that it was a long story.
"Start from the beginning." I said as I took a sip of my margarita. Ahhh! That was just what I needed.
"As you know from your last visit, I caught my husband boinking a slut." She took a generous gulp of her drink. "On our dining table."
"Oh, yeah!" Geez, and I thought I had problems. "How's the divorce thing going?"
"We were married for about 15 minutes before he had the affair." She snarled at the memory as she refilled her glass. "Our divorce was quicker than our time in the bedroom."
Maybe I should keep her away from too many margaritas. "Well, that's done."
She nodded vigorously. "It so is." And then she huffed out what almost sounded like a tiny wail. "But, I'm so in debt that I've got to let the lingerie shop go."
No! "You love that place." It was my turn to gulp a margarita down. "I love that place." In fact, my husband loves it just as much.
Stephanie smiled sadly.
And that's when it hit me. She was the solution to my brother's problem and he in turn would be the solution to hers. Maybe the tequila was talking, because I suddenly formed and cemented the idea in my head. "Maybe you can save your shop." I blurted out.
She gave me a funny look. "Did I finish that?" Immediately she flagged down the waiter and asked for more. "How?" She finally asked.
"I'll hire you." Yup, the tequila was definitely talking.
Stephanie snorted out a laugh. "Doing what?"
"To marry my brother." I've lost it. My tongue is acting out of its own volition.
The waiter brought over another pitcher and she was quick to refill her glass. "I already had a husband. I didn't like it, remember?" Her goofy laugh told me she was already bordering the tipsy line.
In order for my newly developed plan to work I needed a woman I could trust. Stephanie is that woman. And she just might be desperate enough to accept. Desperate times call for desperate measures…
"And besides, what kind of man needs to pay a woman to marry him?" Stephanie was definitely on her way to getting real drunk. "Is he short, bald..." She leaned forward, close enough to ask in a conspiratorial whisper, "What's wrong with him?"
"My brother is actually quite handsome." I gave her the quick version: that my brother's legal status in the US is in jeopardy. He's got everything to lose, even the company he's worked so hard to build and maintain.
Our food arrived and as soon as the waiter left Stephanie leaned closer once again. "Nope." Very vehemently she shook her head no. "I don't need to add problems with immigration to my list of troubles."
Stephanie's POV
I awoke with a killer headache the next morning. "Ungh!" I groaned, but quickly thought better of it when the sound made the headache worse. I stayed sprawled on my bed with my eyes closed for a few minutes.
I bolted upright when I remembered my conversation with Mariela. I must have been real drunk because towards the end of our meal her plan became somewhat appealing. "Hell no." It had to have been the tequila talking because there's no way in hell I'll ever get married again. Ever.
Life with my now ex-husband Dickie Orr wasn't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, I'm actually glad it ended before children were involved. Not that I ever saw myself having kids with that dick...
With a sigh, I got out of bed and stripped out of yesterday's clothes. I padded barefoot towards my bathroom and adjusted the water to take a nice and refreshing shower. My cleansing was speedy and basic. When I stepped out of the shower, I passed the towel over the important places and blow dried my hair. I swooped some mascara on my lashes and added some lip gloss. I dressed in comfortable jeans and stretchy tee.
By the time I reached the kitchen I realized that coffee wasn't going to help me today. Nope, this hangover called for THE CURE. Salty fries and a cold Coke from McDonald's has never failed me in situations like these before.
"Don't ever drink if you can't handle your alcohol."I said to my pet hamster Rex as I dropped some food pellets in his glass tank of a home. He stuffed his cheeks and disappeared inside the soup can he loves to sleep in. "Yeah, that's my plan too." Grabbing my keys and purse I headed out of my apartment before I decided to crawl back into bed.
I angled inside my car, a cute little Miata I'm going to have to give up pretty soon, and drove to my nearest Mickey D's. I hit the drive thru, ordering large fries with extra salt and a large Coke with lots of ice.
By the time I reached my shop both the fries and soda were long gone and I had to pee like crazy. I parked on the curb right in front of my shop and dashed inside, only stopping to make sure I relocked the door. It was a miracle, but thankfully I made it to the restroom in time.
After taking care of business I felt somewhat relieved and decided to get started with the day. And just as my luck would have it, I spotted my Miata being loaded onto a flatbed by the repo guys. Shit. I didn't even step outside when I unlocked the front door, accepting it with grace.
Business was slow since I haven't brought in new merchandise in weeks. I'm just waiting for the lease to be over. I've got about a week left to sell whatever's left, cut my loses and move on.
"Hmmph." The sound escaped me and I decided to stop mopping about what was and could have been. I've neglected my purse for a while now and I thought it was as a good a time as any to sift through the clutter and get rid of the trash.
And as if on cue a pristine white business card rested on top of the pile. Mariela Mañoso. Just below her name was a phone number with area code 305.
"Oh shit." I muttered to myself when it dawned on me that I was dialing her number.
"Hello, Stephanie." Her voice greeted me over the phone, sounding happy to hear from me.
"Stephanie?"
It was then that I realized I'd been holding my breath. "Run your plan by me again?" This time I can't even blame the alcohol for the conversation.