Mom.
I wasn’t sure how you would handle it.”
“We’ve both spent plenty of time worrying about you the last
few years. We’re just glad to see you happy. Oh, lord…. You
may want to get a hotel room with curtains next time, though.”
“Mom, get off the iPad. I thought that you didn’t read
that crap.”
“I didn’t read it. I just looked at the
pictures. Very tasteful, Jack, your father will be so proud.”
“On that note, have a good day, Mom.” I hung up the
phone and shook my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe my mother
sometimes.”
“Well, at least she has a sense of humor about it.
That’s more than I can say for mine,” Kate replied as she began fidgeting
nervously.
“I’ll talk to her if you want me to,” I offered.
“No, that’s fine. I’m planning to call her
tonight. I’m sure she will have already heard about it from
somebody. That way, she’ll have had some time to cool off,” Kate replied
looking preoccupied.
“Yeah, she’s probably going to need a little time to
adjust.” Like a year or two…
As I looked out the window, my thoughts began to drift as
well. I knew the paparazzi stunt was tied to the other strange things
that had been going on the past several weeks. Someone had been
threatening me ever since they caught wind of our little Made in America clothing venture.
I’ll bet it’s the Ricci brothers. Their father,
Alfonso, was one of the largest contract manufacturers in the U.S. for the
clothing industry. More than a dozen designers had switched from using
his services to my outsourcing platform in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
His business declined to the point where he ended up selling what was left, and
his boys had turned to less honorable business dealings. They did not
intend to ever revive their father’s business, but at the same time, they were
determined to cause as many waves as possible for me. I’m going to get
in touch with a guy that I grew up with. These two punks need to be shut
down. If I hadn’t put their dad out of business, someone else would’ve
done it. All of the old-school manufacturers are gone. It was
nothing personal for Christ sake.
Kate
Judging by the intense look on his face, Jack was
contemplating something pretty serious. I began to think about Jack’s
weakening heart and wondered if that was his concern. Tim stopped by my
place so I could change into some fresh clothes. I didn’t want to show up
at the office in the same outfit that I had worn on Monday.
Jack said he was going to make a coffee run while I changed,
but instead he stopped by Café Boulud. Between his love of beef, and his
fascination with French cuisine, it was easy to see why he would choose stem
cell therapy instead of following his father’s strict regimen. On the way
to the office, I enjoyed Brioche French toast with orange butter and passion
fruit syrup, while he had short rib hash with caramelized onions and eggs over
the top . Heavenly…
“I thought the reason you stayed in shape was because you
ate very light during the day and saved your appetite for dinner time,” I teased
him.
“It’s been a rather stressful morning, so I needed a full
stomach,” he countered with that sexy smirk.
“Alright, I’ll let this one slide.” I gave him a wink
to let him know that I was only half-serious.
~~~
The second we joined Brandon, Jayne, and Brenda in the
conference room, we knew the cat was out of the bag. Brenda was acting
normal, but the other two looked like they were both struggling to contain
themselves.
“Did you guys have a good night?” Jayne asked with a
not-so-subtle look of disapproval.
“Where did you stay last night, Dad?” Brandon added. “It
wasn’t the Atrium Room was it?”
“Alright, I’m not going to take any shit from you two this
morning. We were set up,” Jack replied flatly, as he slapped his
briefcase on the conference
I wasn’t sure how you would handle it.”
“We’ve both spent plenty of time worrying about you the last
few years. We’re just glad to see you happy. Oh, lord…. You
may want to get a hotel room with curtains next time, though.”
“Mom, get off the iPad. I thought that you didn’t read
that crap.”
“I didn’t read it. I just looked at the
pictures. Very tasteful, Jack, your father will be so proud.”
“On that note, have a good day, Mom.” I hung up the
phone and shook my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe my mother
sometimes.”
“Well, at least she has a sense of humor about it.
That’s more than I can say for mine,” Kate replied as she began fidgeting
nervously.
“I’ll talk to her if you want me to,” I offered.
“No, that’s fine. I’m planning to call her
tonight. I’m sure she will have already heard about it from
somebody. That way, she’ll have had some time to cool off,” Kate replied
looking preoccupied.
“Yeah, she’s probably going to need a little time to
adjust.” Like a year or two…
As I looked out the window, my thoughts began to drift as
well. I knew the paparazzi stunt was tied to the other strange things
that had been going on the past several weeks. Someone had been
threatening me ever since they caught wind of our little Made in America clothing venture.
I’ll bet it’s the Ricci brothers. Their father,
Alfonso, was one of the largest contract manufacturers in the U.S. for the
clothing industry. More than a dozen designers had switched from using
his services to my outsourcing platform in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
His business declined to the point where he ended up selling what was left, and
his boys had turned to less honorable business dealings. They did not
intend to ever revive their father’s business, but at the same time, they were
determined to cause as many waves as possible for me. I’m going to get
in touch with a guy that I grew up with. These two punks need to be shut
down. If I hadn’t put their dad out of business, someone else would’ve
done it. All of the old-school manufacturers are gone. It was
nothing personal for Christ sake.
Kate
Judging by the intense look on his face, Jack was
contemplating something pretty serious. I began to think about Jack’s
weakening heart and wondered if that was his concern. Tim stopped by my
place so I could change into some fresh clothes. I didn’t want to show up
at the office in the same outfit that I had worn on Monday.
Jack said he was going to make a coffee run while I changed,
but instead he stopped by Café Boulud. Between his love of beef, and his
fascination with French cuisine, it was easy to see why he would choose stem
cell therapy instead of following his father’s strict regimen. On the way
to the office, I enjoyed Brioche French toast with orange butter and passion
fruit syrup, while he had short rib hash with caramelized onions and eggs over
the top . Heavenly…
“I thought the reason you stayed in shape was because you
ate very light during the day and saved your appetite for dinner time,” I teased
him.
“It’s been a rather stressful morning, so I needed a full
stomach,” he countered with that sexy smirk.
“Alright, I’ll let this one slide.” I gave him a wink
to let him know that I was only half-serious.
~~~
The second we joined Brandon, Jayne, and Brenda in the
conference room, we knew the cat was out of the bag. Brenda was acting
normal, but the other two looked like they were both struggling to contain
themselves.
“Did you guys have a good night?” Jayne asked with a
not-so-subtle look of disapproval.
“Where did you stay last night, Dad?” Brandon added. “It
wasn’t the Atrium Room was it?”
“Alright, I’m not going to take any shit from you two this
morning. We were set up,” Jack replied flatly, as he slapped his
briefcase on the conference
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