Mollywood (30 page)

“I’ll be contractually obligated to give you 25% of the profit from the merchandise as well, of course.” David explained.

“This is the coolest thing ever. I want one of the Molly shirts! Does it come in triple X?” Sanchez inquired, and I reached my hands out as if I were about to choke him.

“It’s practically triple X all on its own.” Dan giggled.

“So?” David asked, looking at me expectantly. He was waiting for an answer to the biggest question of all.

“Well, I guess I’d be a giant asshole if I said no now with all you’ve invested.” I replied, scanning the room with a leery expression. As annoying as it was that he’d gone so far without my permission, the truth was I could see the place making money. Also, I really liked the idea of writing off countless family vacations to the beach as business trips. “I need to run this all by my lawyer.”

“Of course.” David nodded, but I could tell he was jumping up and down on the inside. If he knew who my lawyer was and what he specialized in, he might have been a lot less enthusiastic. “Can I bring the wife by tonight? Dan says that you and Sanchez are cooking. I thought it might be nice to show her what we’ve invested in.”

“I’d love to meet her.” I replied, trying not to panic that we’d just been put on the spot. Sanchez nodded in agreement. By the time we parted ways, we learned we were cooking for a party of fifteen. David wanted to bring his business partner from Madeline’s and his wife, and a few employees who he planned to move from Madeline’s to Wrapgasmic once he was ready to staff it. Dan said he’d reserved a party room in his building, and they were equipped with full kitchens. We made a couple of stops on the way back to The Emerald by the Sea to gather supplies for the wraps we agreed to make. Since some of our concoctions required hours of prep, we modified a couple of them and cut the rest from the evening’s menu.

Dan busied himself preparing his secret recipe for Sangria and Wine Spritzers to go along with our casual menu, while I went upstairs to shower and change. By the time the guests arrived, Sanchez and I were practically twiddling our thumbs. We were used to a much larger prep and a much more hurried crowd. Dan had outdone himself, setting a lovely table which included a colorful tablescape.

I did my best to play polite hostess, but exhaustion won out, and left me with no choice but to sit. People couldn’t stop talking about the wraps, and everyone already had their favorite. We warned them that a few of our die hard best were still yet to come, like the Gangsta Wrap and The Sunday Brunch. Both took over 24 hours to prep. David informed me he’d already emailed me the proposal, and I immediately hopped onto my phone and forwarded it to Robbie.

“How do I get in on this project?” David’s business partner, Emmanuel, asked, after polishing off the final bite of his Cranky Carpenter Wrap.

“Join me for a cigar?” David replied. He stood and led the older gentleman out onto the balcony overlooking the infinity pool. A few minutes later, I saw David wave Sanchez out onto the patio. A silent alarm triggered in the back of my mind, and I was about to go out after him when I felt a tight pain in my side. I inhaled sharply and after a few short seconds, it vanished. I relaxed, exhaling in relief.

“Was that a Braxton-Hicks?” David’s wife asked, plopping down next to me with a long sip of sangria.

“Huh?” I asked, so tired I was having trouble focusing.

“You looked like you were having a contraction.” She smiled, and her white straight smile contrasted beautifully with her mahogany skin. “You’re probably a little dehydrated. Hold on, I’ll get you a big glass of water.”

“No…I’m okay.” I replied, but she simply shook her long mane of cornrows and in seconds she returned with an ice cold bottle of water. She nodded at it encouragingly.

“Trust me. I’ve been through this a couple of times.” She looked serene as she discussed childbirth, and I did as she demanded. She regaled me with stories of her two year old and six month old. She beamed when she heard I was having a boy and a girl, and proclaimed she was jealous, since both of hers were sons. Minutes later, I felt considerably better, though still ready for bed.

“I’m so sorry to be a poor hostess, but I really need to go lie down.” I stood on wobbly legs, and she nodded. “Could you make my apologies to David and the others?”

“Of course. Don’t give it a second thought.” She replied.

Dan sent me off with his spare key and I staggered into the elevator. As soon as I stepped inside the apartment, I went directly into the bedroom and crawled clumsily onto my bed.

I fished in my purse for my phone and selected Joe’s number.

“Hey, baby girl.” The rumble of his deep voice left me breathless

“Hi. I know I said I wouldn’t call…”I trailed off, feeling juvenile, reneging on my self-imposed exile in just over twenty-four hours.

“I’m glad you changed your mind. I miss you.” His words were like a security blanket, and I felt all the tension of my day drain away. “I have a surprise for you.”

“I bet you do.” I felt my lip curl, and I sighed. “So he offered me a deal. Robbie just texted me that he’s looking over the paperwork. It’s going to make a lot of money, Joe. We should be alright if I can’t work for a while.”

“Just put any money worries right out of that pretty head of yours. I’ve got this.” He assured me, and I closed my eyes, imagining him sitting on our bed. I wanted so badly to me home with him that I could taste it. “I looked at another house today.”

“Yeah?” I yawned. “Black mold, or Brady Bunch wall paper?”

“This one’s good.” I could tell by the undercurrent in his tone that he was onto something. “It passed my tests. Just don’t get your hopes up until you see it, alright?”

“Too late. I’m already redecorating it and I haven't seen it yet.” I joked.

“Molly.” His firm scolding tone sent a delicious shiver down my spine.

“I can’t help it, Joe. I’m anxious for us to find our home.”

“My home is wherever you are, little girl.” He said it so easily, with no premeditation. I felt my heart skip a beat.

“I miss you.” I whined, rolling onto my side and sitting up. I felt a strong kick from one of the babies. “The babies miss you too. We can’t wait to come home.”

THE SECOND I saw Sanchez’s car turn onto our street, I rushed down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk. Molly was typing on her phone, but she glanced out the passenger window as Sanchez parallel parked, and the smile that blossomed on her was a sight for sore eyes.

“I was just texting you.” She laughed, as she swung her door open. I offered her my hand and helped her to her feet. Her arms came around me and I swear I could feel the thumping of tiny baby feet or fists against me as she held me tightly, but it was probably my imagination.

“Welcome home.” I whispered, planting a quick kiss on her forehead and locking eyes with her. I heard Sanchez clear his throat, and quickly claimed Molly’s bags from him. With a silent wave, he took off, obviously anxious to get home to his wife.

Molly was halfway up the stairs when I came in the door, but she’d paused and was holding her side.

“Molly?” I didn’t like the alarm I heard resonate from my own vocal chords. She squared her shoulders without looking back at me and proceeded up to the landing.

“I’ve had a couple of contractions since we landed.” She explained, as she turned the door knob and proceeded into the apartment. “It’s totally normal. I just need to drink something and lie down for a little bit.”

“You look worn out.” I headed into the kitchen to get her some juice.

“I went to bed early last night, but when Robbie replied to my email it woke me up. Then I read it and couldn’t get back to sleep right away. He wanted me to counter offer. He thinks David is low balling me for my ideas and that I should maintain controlling interest. I didn’t put a dime into the place, Joe. But it is all based on my trucks…hell, it’s even my image he’s using for some of the t-shirts.”

“I know.” I replied, cocking an eyebrow at her. I held up the pic, which was my new screensaver on my phone. “Sanchez texted me the picture.”

“Y’all are a bunch of bastards.” She sighed, sipping the orange juice I’d handed her. I crossed to the couch and beckoning her to join me. She followed and handed me her glass so that she could lower herself down to sit beside me. It appeared to be a major production, and I was concerned when I thought about how many weeks she had left to go.

“So, did you counter offer like Robbie recommended?” I asked.

“I was planning to do it this morning, but just as I was about to drift off to sleep Sanchez knocked on my bedroom door.”

I squinted. “Should I challenge him to a duel or something?”

She snorted and wrinkled her nose. “No, but that would be some funny shit. He came to tell me that David and his business partner tried to poach him from me.”

“What?” I sat up straight and she did the same.

“I know, right? Trying to steal my chef
and
assuming I’ll agree to let him franchise my shit all in the same day? I was tempted to kill the whole deal on the spot.”

I turned a bit in my seat to face her. “What did Sanchez say?”

“’Hell no’ is what he said. David’s partner, Emmanuel, wanted in on our deal. He said so right in front of me. David took him outside and suggested he open his own franchise in New Orleans. I guess the guy owns some commercial space there already. Then David called Dirty S. over and asked him if he’d be willing to go to New Orleans to run Emmanuel’s kitchen.”

“Wow.” Stunned by the audacity of this guy, I frowned. “Wait. Why is this David guy franchising your business?”

“That’s exactly what Sanchez said. I think he probably wanted to charge me a finder’s fee or something.”

I shook my head. “So? Did you rip David a new one?”

“No. I was livid, but mostly because this is a good idea and I didn’t feel like I could just spit in their faces and tell them to piss off. You should see the place in Galveston, Joe. It’s really cool…it’s going to be a goldmine. So there I was, wide awake with my head pounding. Finally, I decided to send an email to Robbie laying out the entire situation. When I woke up this morning, Robbie called me to tell me that
he
would contact David directly. And he did. I guess Emmanuel was also on the conference call. Robbie gave them a counter presentation of how
we
thought things ought to be.”