Hello all, thank you to those who have reviewed. I am getting a lot less reviews with this story, so I appreciate if you take the time and let me know what you think. Your reviews really do help and motivate me.
Picking Up
On Monday morning, I looked up bonds agencies in Trenton. I was a little surprised to discover that apart from Vinnie's there was currently only one other agency: Sebring Bail Bonds. Going by the location and size of the advertisement in the yellow pages, I was guessing it was a bit bigger and more successful than Vinnie. I considered ringing to make an appointment but decided I would go and scope it out in person. I drove over about ten o'clock and found a street park. The agency had a professional-looking shop front and looked clean and calm. It was located near the courts, and I guessed that made it pretty handy for the felons.
I walked inside and was greeted by a receptionist. I asked if I could speak with one of the bail bondsmen, and she indicated that she would see if he was available. Five minutes later, I was ushered into an office decorated in calm, soothing, blues and a stocky man in a pin-striped suit introduced himself as Les Sebring. I introduced myself, and he asked, "How can I help you Ms Plum?"
I began a spiel about researching for a company, currently operating in Florida and looking to expand into New Jersey, providing bond recovery, commercial, and personal security services. This earned me a raised eyebrow. I guess he was expecting me to be looking for bail or something. I was dressed in a khaki skirt and short-sleeved beige shirt. I hoped that I looked somewhat professional, but maybe he thought I was dressed for court.
I told him that the person I was researching for was considering setting up in Trenton, so I was looking for opportunities for him and wondered if he needed any help with bond recovery. Mr Sebring looked at me considering for a minute and then asked, "It's not for you? I mean, you're not looking to do bond recovery?"
I was taken aback but shook my head in negation. "No, Ranger Manoso is an ex-Army Ranger and he has a company called Rangeman Inc. in Miami, Florida. I understand that they do bond recovery for three bond agencies in Miami. If you wanted to check him out, I can get you the names of the agencies. I'm sure Mr Manoso would also be willing to meet with you in person."
He nodded and replied, "I understand. I was a little concerned because I have had one female agent in the past and she was injured by one of my more violent skips. I'm a little leery of employing another, particularly one as… petite, as you. I smiled politely but was not really impressed at his chauvinism. He went on, "I do occasionally get clients that are outside my current agents' skill sets. I may be interested in employing your… boss… in those cases." I suppose since Carlos is employing me to do this research, technically he is my boss. I let it go. He finished, "Why don't we set up a time for him to come and meet with me and we'll see where we go from there."
Recognising the dismissal, I rose and shook his hand. I asked for a business card, which he handed me, and I told him I would be in touch. I walked out a little ambivalent about how the meeting had gone. On the one hand, it seemed like there may be work for Carlos from Sebring. On the other hand, his attitude toward me had grated. Maybe I should let Carlos do the follow up meeting alone; I might be tempted to kick Sebring in the nuts if his misogyny got any more blatant. I also decided that would definitely be talking to Vinnie with Carlos. No way was I going to take any sexist crap from Vinnie, and Carlos might hold me back if I tried to kill him!
I found a café nearby and had a coffee and a donut to soothe my ruffled feathers, before heading off to the library again. Once there, I saw the same librarian on duty. I introduced myself and asked for her help finding some books on business plans. She was friendly and introduced herself as Tricia. Tricia helped me find two books on the basics of business plans and another on New Jersey state laws applying to business. We chatted for about twenty minutes about what I was researching and doing, and Tricia quickly relaxed enough to ask me about the 'gorgeous' man who had come in with me last time. I explained that we had just started dating and she fake-swooned and called me lucky. I could only agree. I mentioned briefly how we met, and I saw her eyes light up in recognition.
"You were on the tv news!" she exclaimed. I admitted we were. "Wow! I know it must have been really scary, but what a romantic outcome." Tricia grinned at me. I couldn't deny that either.
Eventually I left the library but told Tricia I would be back to get some of my own reading material. I felt like Tricia could become a friend, she was so easy to talk to and very kind and sincere. I went home then with my books to start studying up on business plans.
By Tuesday afternoon, I felt like I was ready to present the research report to Carlos. I had made an appointment to see Uncle Joe on the Wednesday morning and I called Carlos to let him know. I had spoken to him twice since our date, but I was anxious to see him again. I hoped he could come down to the meeting.
"Yo, Babe." I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it incredulously. What kind of greeting was 'Yo'? I shook my head.
"Carlos, I've set up a meeting for tomorrow at nine-thirty with Trenton Police Chief Joe Juniack. Did you still want to come down and go with me?"
"Of course, Babe. I'll be there by eight and we can grab some breakfast together?"
"I'd love to have breakfast with you. There's a little diner on Hamilton that has great food. It's a bit of a greasy spoon, but the food is really yummy."
"Babe," was his dry response. He went on, "How is everything going?"
"Really well. I've got a draft report to give you tomorrow. I think I've covered all the basics, but I wanted to wait until we talked to Uncle Joe to finalise it completely."
"Sounds amazing, Babe, I'm proud of you. I think it must have been my lucky day to meet you." I felt like a balloon of light and happiness expanded in me at his words. "I'll see you tomorrow, Babe."
He hung up without any further conversation and I rolled my eyes. I think I'm going to have to teach him some phone manners.
Carlos arrived promptly at eight the next morning. He looked delicious to me, wearing black pants and a black button-up with a jacket but no tie. I wondered if I could start introducing him to the wonderful world of coloured clothes. I smiled a little to myself at that thought. At least I hadn't said it out loud!
I directed Carlos to the diner I had mentioned. It was only a few blocks from Vinnie's office. Despite what I had said to Carlos about it being a greasy spoon, they did have really good food and I'm sure he'd find something to suit his diet. We perused the menus, and I ordered eggs Benedict and a side of bacon, while Carlos ordered a mushroom and spinach egg-white omelet with no cheese. Sigh. The man has no taste buds.
We chatted casually over breakfast. At nine o'clock, Carlos paid the tab and led me out to the car. I directed Carlos to the parking lot behind City Hall, where the Chief's office is located. We were a little early, so we sat in the car for a few minutes, talking about what we each wanted to ask the Chief. I warned Carlos that Uncle Joe was likely to be informal with me. I told Carlos we would have to sign in and I didn't think he would be allowed to keep his weapons. Carlos locked his weapons into a lockbox under his seat, and he escorted me into the building.
We signed in, and we were escorted to the Police Chief's office. I knew his secretary, somewhat, since I had met her on several occasions. Carol Zambini was a contemporary of my parents and married to the owner of a car repair workshop in the Burg. She greeted me sweetly, and Carlos curiously, before escorting us into the Chief's office. Uncle Joe stood up and came over to greet me with a hug and kiss on my forehead. He shook Carlos' hand as I introduced them and ushered us to a grouping of armchairs around a coffee table. Carol came in a minute later carrying a tray with a carafe of coffee and cups, as well as cream and sugar. She set the tray down, and Uncle Joe assured her we would serve ourselves. She smiled and left. We helped ourselves to coffee and Uncle Joe asked me about the elevator incident in Newark and what was happening about it. Carlos and I explained a little, and I indicated that was how we had met.
I segued into our reason for the appointment and explained what I had been researching for Carlos and what Carlos was looking to achieve. Once again, I invited Carlos to explain about his business in Miami, which he did, succinctly. Uncle Joe was impressed by the research process. "Stephie, you are quite the businesswoman! It sounds like you have really done your homework."
"Thank you, Uncle Joe. It has been interesting and exciting for me. I'm really hoping Carlos will want to set up shop in Trenton if I can make it sound worthwhile." Carlos smiled at me.
"I can assure you both that I am seriously interested in doing so," he replied. "While Steph has been researching the potential customer base and environment, I have been looking into real estate in Trenton. I think there is serious opportunities from both a business and infrastructure standpoint." I was a little surprised, since Carlos had not mentioned to me that he was looking at real estate in Trenton. But I was also thrilled. He was going to move here; I was sure of it!
Uncle Joe smiled at us kindly. "Carlos, is it?" I had introduced him as Ranger.
"Yes sir, Ricardo Carlos Manoso." He handed Uncle Joe a business card, which he accepted graciously. "Ranger is my street name. I was an Army Ranger for about seven years. And I still contract with Special Forces on specific missions and operations as needed." Uncle Joe looked even more impressed at that.
"It sounds like you would be an asset to law enforcement in Trenton, Ranger." He looked considering for a moment. "I don't know how quickly you can get set up, but we can use your skills, if you come. Unfortunately, crime is a growing problem for us here. Prevention is a good strategy from your security angle, but enforcement is also sadly necessary, from your bond enforcement angle. There are parts of the city that have deteriorated sadly, so your street name and reputation will also do you well." I had to stop myself from dancing in my chair from excitement at Uncle Joe's endorsement.
Uncle Joe looked back at me and smiled. "You'd do well to sign Stephie up too. She obviously has the business acumen to be an asset to you." I blushed crimson at that and heard Carlos' low chuckle. We had not talked about employing me beyond the research I was conducting. But I would be lying if I said I had not thought about continuing to work closely with Carlos as he established himself in Trenton. Maybe 'hoped' was a better word.
We finished up our pleasantries and Uncle Joe hugged me again, before telling Carlos that he hoped to see him again in Trenton. We left the office, thanking Carol again for the coffee on the way out. We made our way back to Carlos' car and sat for a minute just looking at each other. Carlos had his trademark lip-tipped smile, but I was grinning like a loon at him.
"That went well," I said.
"Babe," was all he replied.
I am still writing slowly on this story, and it's getting hard to write two stories at once (the details are quite different - makes it complicated) But I have to follow my muse and she fluctuates! I am still writing, so that's the main thing! :)