gagengirl entertainment

Part 9

Solvang

When we arrived at The Elskede, I headed straight for Pablo’s office with Chef, asking Victor to let him know we were there and where we’d be.

Pablo was surprised and relieved to see us when he entered his office.  “I’ve been so worried.”  He gave me a big hug, holding on to me longer than necessary.  Then he gave Chef a quick hug before turning back to me.  “So, should I fire him?”

I crossed my arms, still unsettled by the events of the last two days.  “I think you should listen to his story.”

Pablo leaned against his small desk.   “Okay.  Start talking.”

Chef took a seat in the chair, clearly uncomfortable in the small office.  “Well…”

I listened as he told the entire story, starting with when he tried to pay for his sister’s education and made the bad decision to borrow the rest of the money he needed from Pearl Tarkey.  He detailed the few payments he’d made to repay the debt and all of the bad decisions he'd made to compound the problem.

I watched Pablo as he listened to the story.  The emotions on his face ranged from sympathy to anger.

When Chef was done, Pablo turned to me.  “You went to Pearl Tarkey?”

I shook my head.  “Not exactly.”

“I’m not sure I want to wait for this all to be over for you to explain not exactly.”

I silently acknowledged that I’d made a few mistakes over the past two days.  “It’s not relevant right now.  Let’s first worry about how to help him.”

Chef shook his head.  “I don’t need your help.”

“Clearly you do.”  Pablo and I said in unison.  Then, he looked at me and smiled.  At least we were on the same page.

I stepped forward, placing my hands on my hips.  “First, you’re going to sell the house.”

“But…”

“What house?”

I let Chef explain why he was still holding on to his childhood home.  

When he was done, Pablo pulled him to his feet and hugged him.  “We’ve all suffered loss.  You shouldn’t have kept it to yourself.”

“I didn’t want to reopen your wounds.”  Chef pulled back.

Pablo shook his head.  “Brad, we would have let Aliana live with us the last two years.  That would have been cheaper than paying two rents.”

“And let her apply for financial aid.  She could qualify for scholarships or grants.  Let us help you get her through school.”  I shook my head.  “We won’t charge interest or…”

“I want to take care of her education, like my parents would have.”

“Then sell the house.  The money you’d get from that could pay some of her tuition.  You’d be letting your parents pay for it.”

Chef’s face softened as he sat down again.  “I never thought about it that way.”

“So, now we just need to handle your debt to Pearl Tarkey.”  

“I’ll take care of it.  I’ll negotiate…”

Pablo turned to me.   “Oh no, you’re not.  I don’t want you in the same room with her again.”

I shrugged.  “She wasn’t what I expected.  Pearl Tarkey was worried when I had passed out…”

“You passed out?”

“I had a panic attack outside his apartment when I exited and found myself face to face with Gus Hobbs.”

“You were face to face with Gus Hobbs?”

I forced a smile, trying to make it sound less dangerous than it had felt.  “Yes.  It was no big deal, really.  He wanted to take me to a meeting with his boss.  But when I passed out, he carried me to his car and sat me down.  He had some water for me when I woke up and he offered to take me to the hospital.”

Pablo stood there, shaking his head.  “You make it sound like it was no big deal.  But it was.  And because of him!”  He pointed his finger at Chef.  “That’s it.  You’re fired.”

“Pablo…”

“If he hadn’t been so stupid, you wouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with.”

I moved closer to him, pulling him closer to me.  “You were feeling differently just a few minutes ago.  Chef is family.”

“Well, I’m not going to fire him before next weekend’s wedding.”  He turned to Chef again.  “Room one is empty until the wedding party arrives on Tuesday.”

“You should go to his apartment and get a few more things for him.”

“I can do that.”

“Stay put!”  Pablo and I insisted in unison.

Chef stood again.  “Room one?  I’ll get settled in.”  He started to go.

“Wait right outside this door, first.  I’d like a moment with my wife and then I will get you the key.”

Chef nodded and stepped outside the office.

Once the door closed, Pablo pulled me into his arms and held me for a minute.  And then he kissed me.  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded, leaning into him.  “I’m fine.  I just need to negotiate…”

“Maybe I should go with you.”

I smiled, linking my fingers through his.  “Pablo, if I could get this far on my own, I’d like to finish this.”

“But I didn’t expect…”

“You didn’t think I’d find him.  You doubted me.”

He tried to pull away, but I held on to him.  “It wasn’t that I didn’t think you could do it.  I didn’t think…”

I let him try to finish his thought, but he remained quiet.  His face told me he knew better than to say anything else.  “I followed the trail of questions and answers.  And you know what?  I feel pretty good about what I did.”

He kissed me again.  “You do feel pretty good.”

I pulled away.  “Let me go negotiate first.”

“Tonight?”

“Maybe.  But I think that after next weekend’s wedding, we both deserve a weekend away without the kids.”

“I’ll start working on that.”  He reached for me again.  “Just be careful, okay?”

I nodded, pulling away from him again.  Exiting the office, I was slightly surprised to see that Chef was still standing there, waiting.

Exiting The Elskede, I wasn’t surprised to find Gus Hobbs standing outside his SUV.  “Why am I not surprised to find you here?”

He shrugged.  “Just keeping an eye on things.”

“Right.”  I took a deep breath and let it out.  “I’d like a word with your boss.  Should I drive myself or…”

“That’s why I’m here.  She expected you’d want to see her.  Would you like to ride in the backseat or…”

“I’d prefer the front seat this time.”

He opened the door and I got in, buckling my seatbelt as he closed the door.  I tried to pay attention to the road during the fifteen minute drive to Pearl Tarkey’s house.  The car ride was uncomfortably quiet.

“How can you stay this quiet?”

He chuckled.  “I like the quiet.”

I bit my lip, unable to take it.  “I’m not used to quiet.  I have three dogs and two kids.”

“I know you do.”

I swallowed hard, taking his words as a subtle threat.  “Do you like your job?”

He chuckled again, not answering.

“How did you even start doing this?”

He didn’t answer, since we had arrived.

I unbuckled my seat belt and helped myself out of the SUV.  It was still unsettling, knowing who I was about to negotiate with.  I just hoped that there was room for negotiation.

Pearl Tarkey was outside with her three dachshunds.  She tossed a ball and they ran after it.  Then, she turned to watch me approach.  “Ms. Michaels, back so soon?”

“I’m sure you know I found Mr. Cooper.”

She smiled.  “Yes, I do.”  The dogs returned with the ball and she tossed it again.  “I’d love to know how you handled him.”

I smacked him upside the head twice, but I didn’t tell her that.  “I’d like to negotiate with you.”

“Negotiate?  There’s nothing to negotiate.  He owes me money.  If I didn’t demand repayment on loans, I’d be out of business.”

“There’s always room to negotiate, if you know how to.”

She laughed as the dogs returned again.  She tossed the ball.  “Just what do you think you can negotiate, Ms. Michaels?”

“Did you know he borrowed the money to pay for his sister’s education?”

Pearl Tarkey tucked her short hair behind her ears.  “No.  I told you.  I don’t ask why people need the money.  That’s why they come to me.”

“You also don’t want to think of them as people, just investments.  Chef did some pretty stupid things.  Even he can admit that.  But…”

“Have a seat Ms. Michaels.”  She patted the seat next to her.  “Are you trying to get me to see him as a person?”

“I want you to know why he became so desperate that he came to you.”  I sat down and told her about Chef’s parents.  I told her about how he blames himself.  And I told her about Aliana’s wish to fix the world.

When I was done, Pearl Tarkey shook her head at me.  “I was unaware that it was Mr. Cooper’s parents who were killed in that home invasion.  But he still owes me money.  You can try to make him sympathetic to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that he borrowed money.  If he borrowed from a bank, the bank would still expect the money to be repaid.  Ms. Michaels, what makes you think that I’ll just forgive the debt?”

I took a deep breath and let it out.  “Well, I thought it was worth a try.”

“He owes me the money, plus interest.  I told him I would not give him a new deadline.  If he has the money to take Ms. Warner…”

“Then let me pay it.”

The dogs returned again.  “Mr. Hobbs, would you please take them inside?”

He nodded and whistled for the dogs, who ran to him and followed him inside.

Once we were alone, Pearl Tarkey turned to me again.  Her gray eyes settled on my face and I struggled to keep my breathing normal.  “Ms. Michaels, why are you so interested in helping Mr. Cooper after everything he’s put you through?”

“Chef is family.”

“So is your brother.”  She took a deep breath and let it out.  “There is maybe one way I’d forgive the debt.”

“What is it?”

“Do you see those trees?”  She pointed toward the Valley Oak trees at the edge of her property.

I nodded.  “Yes.”

“I want you to stop them from tearing down my trees.” 

I glanced at the trees and then looked at her.  “Why are they tearing them down?”

“I don’t know.  When I ask, they keep telling me because they can.”

“Okay.”  I shook my head.  Then, I took a deep breath and let it out, committing myself to the new quest.  “Who is they?”