The back doorbell rang and Georgia wiped her hands as she went to answer it. "Hi G. I just have to finish up here and then we can go." She let Regina in and closed the door behind her.
Regina followed her into the restaurant and walked behind the bar. "You don't mind if I drink some of the profits, do you?"
Georgia shook her head, "I'll be right out."
Regina poured herself a glass of wine out of one of the open bottles. Georgia watched her walk back around the bar and take a seat. She doesn't usually drink wine. I wonder what that's all about, she thought before turning and heading back into the kitchen.
She finished adding the ingredients to the pan and put it in the fridge. She was testing a new pastry appetizer on the staff tonight, but it needed to chill before it was cooked. She rinsed and dried her hands, took off her apron and met Regina back at the bar. "All set. Where would you like to go?"
Regina looked like she'd been startled out of a reverie, but she said smoothly, "I just want a quick salad, so it doesn't matter. You choose."
Georgia thought for a moment and suggested Caprese. It was a new restaurant that apparently served a similar menu, so she'd been meaning to check it out anyway. Regina said it was fine with her, so they locked up Bella Donna and drove over in Regina's car.
Georgia ordered a Panini and a soda, while Regina ordered a Caesar salad with shrimp and just water with lemon. This just keeps getting stranger and stranger, she thought.
The conversation was strained and about halfway through her salad, Regina seemed distracted and eager to leave. "I'm sorry Georgia. I just feel so restless. I took a leave of absence from the office because I can't concentrate. I think maybe I'll take a trip or something. Or maybe I'll go find a contractor and have the kitchen re-done. I don't know."
"It's okay Regina. It's normal. You need to find your place in the scheme of things now and I get it. What can I do?"
Regina didn't reply for a few moments while she looked out the window at the traffic going by, "Lunch tomorrow? You don't have so much to do at the restaurant that we can't have lunch again, do you?"
"I can do that for you. Don't worry. We can have lunch every day if you want. I don't have to be in until 3 tomorrow anyway, so why don't you come out to my house and we'll figure out what to do then."
"That sounds fine. Let's settle the bill here so I can get you back to work. I feel like a nap or something now."
Georgia thought Regina had never looked less like she wanted a nap, but she let it go. They paid the bill and Regina dropped her off at the back door before turning left out of the parking lot. Nap my ass, she thought, if you were really going home, you'd have turned right. What are you up to? Georgia mulled over that question while she pre-heated the oven and pulled the new appetizer out of the fridge.
2Regina pulled her car up to the curb in front of Leo's new townhouse. She took a deep breath and sat there for a minute. She checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror. She looked to make sure the contract was in her bag for what was probably the seventeenth time. She checked her hair in the mirror. She pushed her sleeves up and then pulled them down with a huff.
What the hell am I doing? It's like I'm a nervous teenager about to go on her first date. Pull yourself together for god's sake.
She got out of the car, shut the door and stood there for another moment. She looked around the neighborhood. It was all townhouses that looked exactly the same but for minor personalizations; a flag here, a flower garden there, crushed rock and clamshell pathways. It had a nice view across some golf course, but it was crowded here. Too many people to know your business here, she thought with distaste.
She took a breath, hoisted her back onto her shoulder and walked up the path to his door. She could already hear the dogs barking before she stepped onto the small porch, so she thought she wouldn't have to ring the bell. She stood there for a moment while nothing happened and then reached out and pushed the button.
It was another 2 minutes before Leo came to open the door. He looked surprised to see her, "Hey Kid, what brings you by?"
Oh for god's sakes, she thought, this is going to be too easy now. She put on a smile and said, "Hi Leo. We had a date, don't you remember?" He shook his head, so she continued. "Your lawyer called you to say you'd forgotten to sign the Transfer Documents, so you asked him to have one of us bring it to you. None of us have seen your new place yet, so you wanted to show it off at the same time."
He scratched his head and rubbed his cheek. "Geez, I must have forgotten that. Well, come on in." He opened the door and she breezed in.
The two dogs came right over to her and she gave them each a quick scratch behind the ears. "Looks like they're settling in fine. How about you Leo?"
"Oh sure, sure," he said. "Those movers I hired put all the boxes in the right rooms, so I just had to unpack them. The clubhouse staff had a recommendation for someone to hire to do that for me and a whole crew was here on Sunday. Looks like I've been here all my life, doesn't it?"
She rolled her eyes. "Leo, three days of you being anywhere and it looks like you've been there all your life. Let's go get something to eat, okay?"
He gave her a quick tour around the rest of his townhouse, crated the dogs and they got into her car. "Have you been to Ocean's Edge yet Leo?"
"What's that, Kid?"
"Ocean's Edge? That big place up on the hill that I had to pass to get here? It looks like it probably has a nice place to eat."
He looked at her blankly for a moment and then recognition flooded his face, "Yeah, yeah. That's the place that owns the golf course in my back yard. I haven't been there since I got here, but I've been there a few times over the years. It's not bad. Let's go there."
She put the car in gear and they pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later. They were seated on a terrace with a lovely view of Cape Cod Bay in the distance. Their drinks came and while they were waiting for the meal, Regina made her move.
"So Leo, why don't you sign this while we wait. We'll get it out of the way and then we can enjoy dinner with a view." She pulled the paperwork out of her bag. "Your lawyer said you need to initial and date every page and then sign the last page where he's indicated. He said when I return it, he'll get it filed and Bella Donna's will officially belong to Georgia and me." She handed him a pen and the document. "Initial there."
She kept talking to distract him, "Leo, I just can't believe how generous you've been to us. This is an amazing gift and I know we'll do you proud." She flipped the page, "Initial there too. Leo, your lawyer said he wants to talk to you about your other estate documents too." She flipped the third page, "Initial here. He said that besides your estate, you also need to think about what to do about the dogs."
He looked up at her while she flipped to the signature page. "What do you mean?"
She smiled at him, "If anything were to happen to you, God Forbid, who would you want your dogs to be taken care of. Sign here." She pointed to the signature line, "Those dogs mean so much to you and I'm sure you'd want them in the best home possible."
He held the pen to the signature line, but hesitated. She continued, "Go ahead and sign it Leo. It will be one less thing to think about and then you can decide what to do about the dogs. All you need to do is call your lawyer and he can talk you through it. It's really important to make sure they're taken care of."
He shook his head and signed on the line. Yesss! She grabbed the pen and the contract and stuffed them into her bag as the waiter brought their meals. Perfect timing, she thought. "Leo, I don't have time to dawdle over this meal, so hurry up and eat please. I'll get you back home and then I have to run."
He looked at her blankly again and dug in. They spent the rest of the meal making small talk and Regina was never so glad to be able to drop him at his front door and speed away. She picked up her cell when she hit Route 6 and dialed Ethan's number. She growled when she got his voicemail before it even rang, but just hung up. He'll see the missed call from me and if he hasn't called back by the time I hit the bridge I'll try again. She tossed the phone on the passenger seat and patted her bag with the precious signed contract in it. She wouldn't get back in time for her lawyer to file it, but first thing in the morning would be fine.
3"Hello?"
Christina almost lost her nerve and hung up.
"Hello?"
She took a breath, "Um… Hi Ethan. It's Christina. I'm Leo's daughter?" She paused, not really sure what she was going to say next."
"Yeah, hi. Sure. What can I do for you?"
"I'm not sure. I…um…" She closed her eyes. "I was wondering if you'd seen Leo or my sisters lately. I don't want to bother you with family business, but I know you work with them. None of them will talk to me and I just want to know if everyone is okay." She bit her lip.
He hesitated and she thought he was going to hang up on her. "I'm sorry to hear that Chris. I saw your sister Georgia this morning to, uh, go over the liquor order. She's doing fine. She's one amazing lady that can cook like no one I've ever met. She's going to take that restaurant places."
"And Regina? Oh my god, Ethan. I had to read about Ken in the paper; no one even called me."
"Man, that's terrible. I talked to her briefly last night. I can't believe she's already back at work. She's strong. She's okay from what I can tell. Before you ask, I haven't seen Leo. I don't think Donny has talked to him recently either. But I can see if Donny will give him a call, if you want?"
She sighed with relief. "Yes, that would be so great. I just want to know he's okay."
"How are you doing?"
"Oh, um, I'm okay." She felt weird about the question and even weirder about answering him. She'd reached out to Ethan for help, but she still didn't trust him. "Thanks for asking, Ethan. Will you call me as soon as you find out?"
He promised he would, so she said goodbye and hung up. The conversation had been civil and she didn't think there was any underlying meaning to anything he'd said, but she felt unsettled nonetheless.
4Ethan pulled up to Regina's house 20 minutes early. He knew women appreciated it when you were on time. The house was dark and he wondered if he had the wrong address. No, the number on the door matches.
He was pulling out his cell phone to call her when he saw headlights in his rearview mirror. He waited a minute to see where the car was going and it pulled into her driveway. He got out of his car and walked up the path. Regina had stopped her car outside the garage and was outside the car, but bent back over the driver's seat to pull a bag out. Man, she's got one fine ass. "Hey there," he called. "I just pulled up. Need help carrying anything?"
"No, I've got it. Thanks. You can take my keys though and open the door." She tossed the keys to him and he caught them in the air. He opened the front door and fished around for the light switch.
"It's on the wall opposite you," she called out.
"Ah, okay," he replied as he flipped the switch and the foyer was flooded with light. In front of him was a staircase, probably leading to the bedroom. To his right, he could see a large room with an overstuffed sectional and to his left, what must be an office.
Regina walked in the front door and headed to the left to put down her bag. "Head into the living room over there and I'll join you in a minute. Do you want a beer? Or maybe something stronger?"
He grinned and said, "A beer is fine." He turned and walked into the room with the sectional. The drapes were open, but he couldn't see any houses through the picture window. He turned around to take in the room. There was a big screen TV mounted on the wall with a full stereo setup. He sat down on the couch and ran his hand over the soft leather. Damn, this is the life. I want this. I want her. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Regina walking in with a beer in one hand and a cocktail in the other. He stood up and reached for the beer she was holding out, "Thanks."
"I poured myself something stronger."
"I see that. So, have a seat right here and tell me where we're going." He caressed the seat next to him and gave her a wink.
A small smile crept onto her face and she sat down. "Here's to a productive and mutually beneficial partnership," she said.
Partnership. Mutually beneficial. Huh. He mulled over those words for a few seconds before touching the neck of his beer bottle to the rim of her glass. "Cheers, Partner."
They each took a sip. He noticed that she grimaced after tasting hers, "What are you drinking?"
"A Vodka Martini, extra dirty. Not my favorite, but it seemed appropriate."
"And why would it be appropriate," he asked?
Regina hesitated. He watched pain, anxiety and lust cross her face before she replied, "It just is. Now, tell me why you want to spend time with me. Really."
Do I tell the truth or do I tell her what she wants to hear, he thought. This one will appreciate the truth, I think. "I'm not going to lie to you. I want to own Donny's business and I think you can help me with that."
She frowned, "Is that is?"
"No," he said without hesitating. "I want you too. You are incredibly hot and I've wanted you from the minute I laid eyes on you at Leo's party." He set his beer down and touched her earlobe with his fingers. They were chilled from the beer and it made her shiver. He ran his fingers down her neck, across her collar bone and down to her cleavage. Then, he leaned it to kiss her and she responded eagerly.
She broke it off, took a deep draught of her martini and put it down. "Tell me how you plan to own Donny's business."
"I've got much better things to talk about than Donny's business," he said as he reached for the top button of her shirt.
She slapped at his hand. "We'll get to that in a minute. Right now, I want to know how you plan on taking the most successful distributorship away from the man who's owned it for 30 years."
He sighed. "I don't have to take it. He'll give it to me eventually because he's my father." She raised her eyebrows and he continued, "But I don't want to wait for him to retire; I want it now. The commission checks are nice, but I know what his margin is and he's not paying me enough."
She looked at him incredulously, "Donny is your father? He never told us that."
He explained how he'd been able to find Donny last year and they'd developed enough of a relationship for Donny to offer him a job this past Spring. Donny didn't have any other children, so of course Ethan would inherit it. "But he abandoned my mother when he found out she was pregnant. She put me up for adoption because she couldn't take care of me herself. Don't get me wrong, the people I call my parents have been great to me. But, I'd say Donny owes me 18 years worth of parental responsibility and I intend on taking his business as payment."
She crawled onto his lap and he sat back to look at her. She put her hands on either side of his face and said, "You still haven't told me how you plan on taking it."
She was wriggling her hips and he couldn't think past how amazing that felt, "I'll tell you later."
"No. I want it now." She nipped his bottom lip and then snaked her tongue out and touch the same spot.
His breath hitched in his chest. "I need an investor and I'm going to buy him out."
"And I'm that investor."
"Fuck yeah. Uh…" She stopped moving her hips. "Oh man. Oh don't stop don't stop." He brought his hands up to her breasts but she pulled them away and pinned them to the wall over his head as she started grinding her hips on him again. He could have easily overpowered her, but he didn't want to.
She ran her tongue over his ear, breathing into it, "and what exactly will be my return on investment if I fund your little takeover?" She grabbed one of his hands and brought it down while leaving the other one pinned.
"Oh man. Anything. Anything you want. You…you… ah…" he breathed in sharply as she sucked his index finger into her mouth.
"I don't want just anything; I've got something specific in mind," she said.
He didn't care what it was. He was way past that point now.