Stephanie's POV
We arrived in New Jersey a few days ago, on Tuesday night. Since then, I've spent most of my time organizing our home. Ella did a great job of decorating and taking care of the household supplies. Still, I needed to put our clothes away, arrange our office, and get Julie's room set up. I also had to register Julie for school. She will be attending a highly rated private school halfway between our home and Trenton. Since Rangeman is their new security company, we know Julie will be in good hands.
Tonight, we are going by Uncle Joe's. It's our coming-out party, so to speak. He has invited the Core team to meet and schmooze with Mayor Orr, his sleazy son Dickie and his wife, Lisa, and TPD Chief Jim Filippelli. From what I gathered after talking to Eddie and Carl, who are both officers with TPD, Chief Filippelli is glad that we are coming aboard. He is looking forward to the support we can give his officers. Mayor Orr and his son, Dickie, on the other hand, are not happy. They wanted a different company here, apparently, one run by Dickie's college roommate. I think Dickie is more concerned that we will find out about how he sneaks his mistresses into his office.
I don't know much about Dickie's wife, though. Her name is Lisa, and he met her while attending school in California. They dated for a while, then broke up for about two weeks the Christmas before they married, later they reconciled. They got married in 2005, on Valentine's Day. Everyone was surprised that they got married, but when Lisa had a baby at the end of August, it made sense. She had the start of a decent career. Still, once she had her daughter, Layla, she was relegated to stay at home mom and housewife, as a good Burg wife should be while Dickie continued to rise through the law firm, he works in. Now, he is a partner.
Uncle Joe moved out of the Burg when he was elected Mayor of Trenton about twenty years ago to a lovely estate in Hamilton Township. He is now living in a charming colonial with a lot of space for entertaining. We pull up to the house, parKing in the spacious circular driveway, and walk up the steps to the front wrap-around porch. We ring the doorbell, which is immediately answered by Aunt Elisa. Aunt Elisa is wearing a pretty burgundy suit dress, with stocKings and sensible heels that match. Her short hair is elegantly styled, similar to the way Annette Benning's hair is styled in "The American President." She definitely has the role of Senator's wife down pat.
"Stephanie, Carlos, I'm so glad you both could make it. It is nice to have you nearby again. I daresay we are looking forward to switching over to your company for our security. Where's your precious Julie?"
"Hi, Aunt Elisa. Julie is with Ella tonight. She wasn't feeling great and has a slight fever. We thought it best to keep her home. Plus, we don't want her too close to the Dick."
"I understand, dear. Well, I know Lester here, but who are these other two imposing gentlemen?" Aunt Elisa asks after kissing my cheeks and inviting us in.
"I'm Pierre DuPont, but everyone calls me Tank, ma'am." Tank said with his Louisiana accent seeping through since he turned on the charm. "This skinny guy next to me is our company medic, Robert Brown, but he prefers to be called Bobby."
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you. Please, make yourselves comfortable out on the patio. Since it is such a beautiful evening, we decided to start outdoors. Stephanie, I love that dress. Where did you get it?"
"Thanks. I got it in a small boutique in Miami. They have the best clothes and are incredibly reasonable. Perhaps if you ever visit us in Miami, I can take you there." I tell her. I am wearing a teal dress with a modest neckline and cap sleeves. The dress hugs my curves, tight enough that it accentuates my figure but loose enough that I can move quickly, and it doesn't cling. It ends about three inches above my knees. I'm wearing a pair of matching FMPs. I don't get to don my heels often, but when I do, I make it count. My hair is down since the lack of humidity is allowing my curls to fall softly.
"Jersey, Ranger, gentlemen, it's so nice to see you. I'm glad you decided to come home to help us out here."
"Hi, Uncle Joe. You know you can call me Stephanie."
"I know, dear, but I'd rather use Jersey when we're in business mode. It will help to make the Orrs take you more seriously. Santos, nice to see you. I heard you are considering signing a new contract. I'd like to advise against that. You're too old, you need to retire while you are still healthy."
"Hello, Senator. Thank you for the advice. I'll take it into consideration. I know Jersey keeps telling me I should retire as well. Hey, did she put you up to this?"
"No, Lester. I'm saying it as someone who respects you, someone who cares for you. You always protected Stephanie, did your best to keep her safe. I'm repaying the favor."
We hear the doorbell ring and know that the rest of the guests have arrived. Aunt Elisa leaves to let them in, while I move next to Carlos, needing to be close to him to have the strength to face these ghosts from my past. Carlos, Lester, Tank, and Bobby are each wearing black suits and button-down dress shirts, Carlos is black, Les in a wine red, Tank in gray, and Bobby in navy blue with matching ties. Uncle Joe is dressed similarly, except his shirt is white.
We hear their voices before we see them, and I swear, one voice sounds vaguely familiar. "Lisa, you know where the bathroom is, we'll be on the patio."
Out walks Mayor Orr, his creepy son Richard, who everyone calls Dickie, Mrs. Orr, who has always been kind to me, and a man with another woman who I guess is the police chief and his wife.
"Mayor Orr, Chief, I'd like to introduce you to the owners of Rangeman Securities, Ranger, Jersey, Lester, Bobby, and Tank. Trenton is their third branch. They already have branches in Miami and Boston. Gentlemen, and Jersey, this is Mayor Richard Orr, his wife Delia; I believe you are already acquainted with his son Dickie. This is Police Chief Jim Filippelli and his wife, Ava."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope that this will be the start of a wonderful friendship and business partnership." I say, as the go-to people person of the group. While Ranger and Lester can schmooze the best of them over negotiations, they aren't great at small talk. Tank tends to scare people because of his sheer size, and Bobby, well he can be a little shy sometimes.
"Stephanie, right? You're Ellen and Frank Plum's daughter." Mrs. Orr said.
"Yes, ma'am, though I prefer to be called Jersey now, especially when discussing business. It's safer that way. It's a name I got in college, and it stuck."
"I understand, dear."
"Ah, here is Dickie's lovely wife, Lisa."
Carlos, Lester, and I turn to look at Lisa, and we almost fall over. "Sydney?" I exclaim. "How the heck did you end up in Jersey?"
"Oh my God, Steph? Carlos? I didn't realize that Ranger and Jersey were you. Are you both still together?"
"Yeah, Syd, we've been married for seven years now. We have a six-year-old daughter, Julie."
"Wow! That's great, Stephanie, we'll have to schedule a playdate so our daughters can get to know each other. Our daughter, Layla, will be six years old in a week. She's home with her nanny." I hear the disdain in Sydney's voice when she talks of using a nanny.
"Why are you going by 'Lisa?'"
"Lisa is my middle name. When I was in school, Dickie and I met in a class. Somehow, on the roster, my name was listed as Lisa instead of Sydney. I tried to explain to the professor that my name was Sydney, but he kept calling me Lisa. Since Dickie said that when we met, I was Lisa, I will always be Lisa to him. So, I just started using it instead."
I noticed that Syd is completely ignoring Lester and that Lester has walked as far away as possible, engaging in a conversation with Chief Filippelli. I wonder what happened between them. When they broke up, I thought it was amicable, at least, that what Les told us.
"Do you have any pictures of your daughter, Steph?"
"Yeah, I do. Just give me a minute." I grab my purse and pull out a small photobook I have in there. I brought it to show pictures of Julie to Aunt Elisa and Uncle Joe.
"My goodness, she's precious. She's the perfect blend of you and Carlos."
"Thanks. Do you have pictures of Layla?"
At that, Mrs. Orr came rushing over. She practically threw her "Grandma's Brag Book" in my hands. "My little Layla is so pretty and perfect. She has the most piercing green eyes."
I open the book and look at a pretty little girl with Sydney's face and body type. Her hair is lighter, a blend between Sydney's and Dickie's, but her eyes, I know those eyes well. There's only one person who has those eyes, and he's standing on the other side of the patio. I can tell, from the shift in Carlos' weight, that he sees what I see. Unless I am mistaken, and I rarely am, this child, Layla, is Lester's daughter. Now I think I understand why they are both ignoring each other. The question is, when did they have sex?
