Bossman's List

by Ashlee Price

  “Have a good day, baby. You know I’m going to miss you.”

  He gave me one more kiss before he turned around and started to leave. I watched him walk away with our child in my arms. Glenn started to get fussy, and I was sure that it was because of his father leaving. I know that I hated to see him go.

  ***

  “So tell me about your day.”

  Scott shrugged, and I could see the tension in his features. It had been a long day for him, and it had taken its toll.

  “I don’t know, Jesse. It was just another day. I’d forgotten how much more pressure there was at Dad’s place. It was a little better without him calling all of the time with instructions, although I still have the board to deal with. They have never been my favorite aspect of the job.”

  I poured him a drink while he asked about my day and Glenn. “We had a good day. Sales were crazy like they have been. I think we may need to open another place up. It’s like the city can’t get enough coffee.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about that. Dad has some great ideas on how we can stay in the business, but pull out at the same time.”

  I wasn’t going to hear about business anymore. It was our time, and although I’d made my peace with Jackson, it didn’t mean that I wanted to listen to his business advice, no matter how good it might be.

  “How about we shelf that talk for a little while. Glenn is asleep right now, and I know that you’re in need of some unwinding time.” I handed him a glass of scotch. “Take this and go get in the shower. You’ll feel better once you’re out of there.”

  Scott cocked his eyebrow and asked me if I was going to join him.

  “Maybe.”

  Maybe meant definitely, but I didn’t want him to know that. It had been hard to juggle work and home life with our sex life. We were both feeling it, and for once I just wanted the night to be about us. I waited until I heard the shower water go on, and then I made my way to the bathroom.

  I took my time to get everything that I had on off before I got into the shower. I could hear him moving around in there, and I was happy to see his back to me when I got in. Scott was so focused on the water beating on his face and shoulders that he didn’t even hear me. I was more than a little turned on, and before I could stop myself, I was touching his shoulder.

  “I missed you today, Scott.”

  He turned around and his dark blue eyes fell on me. I shivered at the look in them, and I knew that he’d missed me as well. Leaning in for a kiss, I closed my eyes and let my lips do all of the talking. My hands roamed over his body as I did my best to calm his nerves. I knew better than anyone what kind of stress the man was under, but I also knew a way to make it all go away. All I had to do was touch him in just the right way and Scott was putty in my hands.

  “I love you so much, Jesse. I wouldn’t be able to do this, any of this, without you. Knowing that you’re here for me when I get back home makes it possible for me to do what I need to do during the day. I don’t know how I deserve you, but I don’t want to even think of my life without you.”

  “Me either.” It was all that I could get out before he was pushing me back against the tile and his mouth moved down to my neck.

  The end for now…

  Epilogue to ‘Served’

  Jesse

  “Do you really think that this is a good idea, Scott? I just don’t know about this.”

  “I know that it was my father’s idea, but what you have to understand is that he wouldn’t have tried to buy the bistro in the first place if he didn’t have a way to make his money back twentyfold. I’ll say he has changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed is his nose for money. If it wasn’t going to work, then he never would have even considered it.”

  “I know, but factories and merchandise? I just want to make some good food and good coffee. That’s what my father wanted. I don’t know how he would feel about all of this.”

  It had been a couple of months since I’d heard Scott out on his new idea. He wanted a way for me to work less but still have the business, because he knew how much it meant to me. Having another restaurant was a lot of work, and with everything else that I had to juggle, I was tired. Glenn was getting to the point where he wasn’t going to be quiet and stay in one place anymore. He was moving around now, and I had to be more vigilant. But could I really give it all up?

  “I just don’t know, Scott. I don’t know anything about that sort of business.”

  “I do, though, Jesse, and that’s all that’s needed. Just give it a chance and check it out. Everything is already put together and running. They are already making the coffee.”

  I was tempted to tell him that I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to see it, because I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to keep the bistro going, but Scott was right about it being too much. I’d just found out that we were about to increase our family size by one, and I knew that meant that I was going to be even more tired than I already was. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do everything anymore.

  “I’ll give it a chance. I know that if you think it’s a good investment, then it is. I just don’t know much about this sort of business. All I know is restaurants. I can’t imagine closing down the bistro. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself.”

  “We have to move out of there and back to my place. Glenn is getting bigger, and we need more space for him. He’s going to be ready for his own room soon, and this is a good way to keep it going without having to wake up at five every morning to go make coffee for half of New York.”

  Scott always made me smile. It sometimes felt like that was exactly what we did every day at work. I tried to think about how it would be to not go there and do that, but I couldn’t for the life of me imagine it. There was something about it all that didn’t seem right. I was going because he wanted me to, but my heart wasn’t in it, and it was going to take a lot for me to change my mind.

  “I just… I don’t know. I would miss everyone, all of the customers who’ve stuck by me all these years. What would I say to all of them?”

  “I thought about that a lot, and I think that we could maybe do like just a morning a week or something. It wouldn’t be for more than one or two days, but it would keep it going like you and your dad intended. The other bistro is running itself now. Melissa has everything taken care of over there.”

  It must have been all of the emotions that I was feeling that made me so sad suddenly. Once again I was feeling like everything was about to change. I didn’t know if it was going to be for the best or the worst, but I was going to miss the way it was right now.

  Shaking my head and rubbing my eyes so that Scott wouldn’t see me, I told myself that I was going to give it a chance. I’d told him I would, and as we finally got off the interstate, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be that much longer until I got to see the place that all of the fuss was about. “Well, I’ll see the place first before we make any life-altering decisions, okay?”

  Scott just smiled again and looked towards the road with confidence. He was sure that I was going to agree, so that made me think that there was something to his plan. I had to distance myself from the idea that it was his father’s plan, of course. I didn’t like the thought of that, but now it was Scott’s idea as well. He had added to the original concept.

  When the car started to slow down to turn off, my heart was pounding in my chest. I wasn’t sure why, but I was suddenly anxious. I could see a large building up ahead, and I had a feeling that that was the place. There was a covering on the sign so I couldn’t be sure until I asked Scott and he let me know that I was right.

  “There she is. It was an old soup factory, if you can believe it, so a lot of it was already there. I know that it’s not ideal as far as location, but the local economy is going to love the big surge of jobs that we’re bringing in. It’s going to be a lot bigger when the extra construction is done, but for now you can at least get an idea of what it will look like.”

&nbs
p; I was looking at the old brick and all of the cars in front of the place. It looked like it was running, and I could smell coffee being roasted. It was my father’s coffee, and I couldn’t help but think that I wouldn’t mind living somewhere close, somewhere I could smell that every time I went outside. I don’t think I could ever get sick of the smell.

  “What do you think so far?”

  “I think it’s big already, Scott. I didn’t think it would be so big. I mean, we haven’t made a decision on this, have we?” I had a feeling that I was the only one who wasn’t on board with all of it.

  “We’re here for you to make a decision. I just wanted to make sure that you got a full picture of what it was going to look like when it’s up and running.”

  “Who are all of these people?” I was looking at all of the cars in the full parking lot.

  “These are locals who were looking for jobs. I told them that it was going to be as a temporary placement unless we decide to really kick it up. In that case, they are all your employees.”

  I liked the scale of the place. It felt huge, and I could see how it could benefit many. It definitely had me thinking, if nothing else. Could this be the answer? So that I could be a good mom and still keep my father’s legacy alive?

  “I just don’t know, Scott.”

  “Come on, love. I have more to show you inside.”

  ***

  While I’d thought that I wouldn’t be impressed, I most definitely was. It was clear that Scott had taken big steps to make everything perfect, and in most ways he had succeeded. It felt like the bistro, and the smell was the same. The employees were all very nice and everything was clean. It was just the way I would have wanted it if I was the one who’d set it up. It was perfect, but I still hadn’t made a decision, and I didn’t want to give Scott any false hope.

  “So?”

  I shrugged, and he smiled. “I have one last thing to show you. It’s kind of a surprise, and I think now is a good time for you to see it. I know how important it is for you to keep your father’s memory alive, and I think I’ve found the perfect way to do just that. Come with me.”

  His excitement was palpable. I wasn’t sure what it was about, but I was sure that I was going to like it. How could I not, if he was so stoked just to show it to me? It had to be something good, and I was excited too by the time we walked to a part of the factory that I hadn’t seen yet. It was clear by what was around that it was the finished product side. He took me to one of the many boxes that were stacked full of what I assumed was coffee.

  Taking a nearby box cutter, he opened one of the boxes on one of the many cases, took out one of the individual bags of coffee, and handed it to me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but my eyes were welling up nonetheless. Even though my brain was being slow, it didn’t change what I was seeing. There was a picture of me and my father on the front of the package, along with the name of the bistro.

  The picture was of when I was younger and we’d just opened the place and my father was still healthy. It made me realize how much I missed him. Though the picture was altered and the color was off, because it was actually drawn in the foam in a cup of coffee, I couldn’t help but be touched beyond words. Scott had been confident because he knew that I would have to say yes to this. How could I not, when my father’s picture would be in every house that bought it? What better way to keep his memory alive?

  “I love it, Scott. I mean, this is perfect. I knew that it was going to be perfect, but this is too much.”

  “I didn’t want to show you until you’d seen the rest, Jesse. Do you promise you like it?”

  I nodded my head with tears running down my cheeks that I didn’t even bother to wipe away. It was perfect, really.

  “I love it, and I love you for thinking of it. Scott, you’re the best husband that a woman could ask for.”

  He just grinned back at me and then pulled me in for a quick kiss that made it even harder for my brain to work. He really was overwhelming in everything that he did.

  “Your father was right. This is the perfect solution, and I want you to thank him next time you see him.”

  “He’s coming over this weekend. I invited your mother and mine as well. So you can tell them about your announcement.”

  “What announcement?”

  Scott just kind of looked at me like I was being silly. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I’d just found out I was pregnant, so he couldn’t know that. Yet that was the only thing that came to mind.

  “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

  He never seemed to stop amazing me.

  “How did you know?”

  Scott’s smile got bigger and his blue eyes twinkled with the idea of it. “I wasn’t sure, but there are small changes. I was hoping that it would be that, and then I saw you getting teary-eyed earlier and I was pretty sure then. This is good news. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “I just took the test today, so I haven’t known that long. I wanted to do this first. Scott, how do you know all of this? It’s like you know my body better than I do.”

  “I’m your husband, Jesse. It’s my job.”

  I couldn’t help but pull him in for a lingering kiss. He really was just that perfect.

  ~The End~

  Hiking with My Dad’s Best Friend

  Chapter 1

  Carly had just made it home for Spring Break. While most of her friends were running off to the beaches, she was going on a mountaintop somewhere. Ever since she could remember, her father and her would go on a weeklong hiking trip and camp out underneath the stars. Even as she got older, she found more pleasure out on a cliff side somewhere, than any parties she had ever went to on or off campus.

  The plans had changed that year and Carly was still trying to process it. Her father wanted to take his long-time friend Lonnie with. He had just gotten out of the service after a full career of twenty years and her dad Saul wanted him to come along.

  Carly was not against Lonnie. She had met him a few times and he had seemed nice, but it had always been just the two of them and she was afraid it would affect their bonding time. Through the years, it had always been just the two of them. Her mother hated the outdoors, so it had always been a special time for father and daughter. With Lonnie coming though, Carly wondered if it would be the same.

  ***

  “It will be fun. I haven’t seen Lonnie in years and we have a lot of catching up to do. We were in the service together you know.”

  “I know, he saved your life…”

  “He did and I owe him a lot more than a camping trip. I think it will be fun. He knows a great place with some trails we haven’t seen before.”

  “So why don’t you two just go and I will go down to the beach?”

  Saul could tell his daughter was upset and she was pouting perfectly. Carly had used that look to get whatever she wanted and even twenty years later, it still almost always worked.

  “I don’t want you to be upset. I can just cancel with him and do something next week.”

  “No, I am being silly. It has just always been our thing.”

  “I know and it still is. We are just going to be sharing it with an old friend. You can bring one of your friends along if you want.”

  Carly snorted. Everyone she knew was already off to the beach and she doubted she could get anyone to drag themselves from the sun to go get dirty for a week climbing trails.

  “Doubtful dad. I don’t think adding more people is going to make it any better. I still want to go, so if you want Lonnie to go, I guess I am okay with it.”

  “Thanks baby.”

  Saul gave his daughter a hug and reminded her to finish packing. She ran up the stairs and it was about that time that there was a knock at the front door.

  Chapter 2

  “Lonnie!”

  Saul gave his old friend a hug. He noted the sheer size and hardness of the man. Saul himself had let his body get softer through the years in civilian life, but
Lonnie looked just like he had when they were enlisted together 15 years ago.

  “Saul, you are looking civilian brother.”

  Saul smirked. He had known it was coming.

  “Just give it some time, you will soften up too.”

  “I doubt that. You are going to love these trails, though I wonder if your little pudding ass will make it.”

  Saul blocked a punch and gave one of his own to an old wound on Lonnie’s side.

  “Yeah I think so, though you are looking rough all of a sudden.”

  Lonnie rubbed his side and gave his friend a dirty look.

  “You always were a low blow Saul. That is what I liked best about you.

  So are you ready? We are losing daylight.”

  “We are just waiting for Carly to finish packing her things. She should be down in a minute. She just got in from State for the break.”

  “Wow, last time I seen her she was ten I think. I can’t believe she is in college now.”

  “Second year. I don’t know where the time goes.”

  “It just does…”

  Lonnie’s eyes fell on the woman coming down the stairs. He could not see her as the child he had met before. Carly had grown up and there was nothing childish about her now. He pulled his eyes away guiltily and glanced over at his friend. He didn’t seem to notice the look of desire on his friend’s face, but Carly did.

  She found herself surprised to see him. She had memories of him and he looked about the same. The difference was her and her perception of him was quite different. He looked just as big, but now she was not intimidated. His eyes were just as dark brown as before, but now they held a predatory gleam that she was used to seeing. On him, it looked even better, but even more alarming.

  Her step faltered, but she caught herself before she could embarrass herself further. She felt his eyes on her as she got to the landing in front of them. Lonnie was much bigger when she stood next to him and she had to look up to see his face.