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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Eighty Two
Let's do Lunch
Carly and Jordan take Michael into a hot new eatery down by the docks. "I've had the food here before but it was delivered to the house." Carly informs Jordan. "Cook says that her son has some fancy French chef. I don't know about that. I've been to Cafe Matisse and a) the food is unrecognizable and b) I swear they use folding chairs. If you're going to spend so much money I really think that you should get what you want and not have your chair grinding when it's pushed in, you know?"
"What's the plan for the rest of the afternoon." Jordan asks already exhausted by trying to keep up with Carly and Michael after AJ left for work and they ditched the reporters.
"I really want to go up to the property above the Deception Spa." Carly looks down at her jeans and boots. "I dressed for it."
"Did you like any of the vehicles you saw this morning?" Jordan asks.
Carly bites her lip. "Okay, I've only had a couple of lessons. I think it's going to take me years to get comfortable behind the wheel. The car shopping was something that I thought might make you more easy in town. You're the one that is going to be driving it at least for now. And I still haven't been able to talk Emily out of a motorcycle."
Jordan makes a note in a small journal he pulls out. "Thanks for the thought but it's going to be your vehicle. Automatic transmission. What kind of things are you doing now?"
"Getting the house set up, riding lessons with my brother, I want to start hitting some estate sales. AJ already said that he would go with me this weekend."
"Big."
"What do you mean big?" Carly asks in dismay wrinkling her nose.
Jordan starts ticking off on his fingers-- "Me, you, AJ, Michael and all his stuff, your brother, maybe your mother-- a two seater isn't going to cut it. And it is a pain to not be able to haul things or wait on them to be delivered. And from a safety aspect you need to have something that can hold up around you. Maybe even take a hit."
"Avoiding a hit is my goal." Carly demands.
"Surviving a hit is my goal." Jordan corrects. Jordan falls silent as he holds open the door so that Carly can push the stroller through the door. The hair on his neck goes up as he hears the raised voices in the back room. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Carly listens carefully to the voices and recognizes one of them. "Oh yeah, that's the owner's mother. Everything is fine." Carly picks out a table as the wait staff seem to be distracted. "This looks like a good table."
Jordan assesses the room and decides it's okay. "Good pick."
"Hey I didn't live with a mob boss for a year for nothing."
"Mob Boss?" Jordan raises a brow.
"AJ's brother." Carly flags down a waiter and gets some menus. "Could you tell Ms. Cook that Carly Benson is out front when you get a chance too? Thanks." Carly leans forward on the table to speak softly to Jordan. "Okay alledged mob boss. Jason's never been busted for anything-- that stuck. I think that I'm the only one that has ever been convicted of something and that was unlawful discharge of a firearm or something." Carly shrugs.
"And what was that?"
"I shot the man that kidnapped my son." Carly takes a sip of the water that the waiter had delivered moments before along with the menus. She watches Jordan carefully for a reaction.
"Did you kill him?" Jordan asks calmly.
"No, there was a doctor in the courtroom when I did it. Saved his bacon. But everyone tells me it was a good shot. If he just would have bleed a little bit more my life would have been more complicated but my mother's would be infinitely easier."
"Your mother?" Jordan looks up from his menu.
"Yeah, it was her ex-husband I shot. And one of the reasons AJ and I had to get back from Jakarta so fast. Mama is still in the midst of a custody battle with the jerk about my little brother, Lucas."
"He didn't go to Jail?" Jordan is confused. "But I thought he kidnapped your son."
"Oh the fix was in on that; he got community service and a fine, I think. He didn't even have to get counseling. I wasn't thinking that clearly when I heard what sentence was being handed down." Carly takes another sip of her water and closes the menu. She looks up as Cook approaches the table. Cook is looking flushed. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. If I didn't have to deal with idiots. Where is Miss Emily?"
"We dropped her at school this morning since you seemed to disapprove so heartily of me taking her into bars." Carly points at Jordan. "Jordan, Cook, Cook, Jordan."
"Thanks for the dog. He's doing a good job keeping the press at bay." Jordan says politely.
"Thanks for taking the damn thing. If he got in the garbage cans one more time I was going to do bodily harm to either Luke or Lucky Spencer. Can't blame the dog-- it's his nature but the owners..." Cook shakes his head. "Oh hell."
"What?!" Carly looks around and sees a frazzled Judge Porter racing through the front of the restaurant.
"Margarita, where is she?" JD demands. ("Margarita." Carly mouths silently then bites her bottom lip to keep from smiling.)
"She's in the back scrubbing pots and pans. Sit down, JD." Cook demands. "She's not going anywhere right now, and she is fine. Although after the stupid thing that you did this morning ..." Cook shakes her head.
"What happened?" JD asks quietly taking a seat nodding absently at Jordan and Carly.
"Well you see-- she didn't follow Johnny to work here." Cook emphasizes.
"She went to the coffee warehouse." Carly interjects curiously. "Who is she?"
"My daughter." Judge answers.
"None of your business." Cook answers at the same time. "Have you decided what you want to eat anyway or you just here to butt in other people's business?"
Carly is fascinated and not going anywhere. "Whatever as long as it isn't fish and it isn't smothered in some sauce so that I can't see what I'm eating." Carly turns back to the Judge. "AJ told me you had kids but it didn't really register. How old are they?"
"One hamburger and cheesefries coming up." Cook sniffs rising from the table. "And JD, don't answer that. It's none of her business. Let her hire a private investigator like the other nosy sonofabitches do."
Judge winces. As soon as Cook is out of hearing range Carly starts in. "Am I to assume that you are the nosy sonofabitch that hired a private investigator-- to find out about Cook and... Johnny?"
"You know what they say about assuming."
"You're ducking the question and not well. But I'll let you off the hook. Margarita huh?" Carly grins.
Just then the waiter arrives with lunch, Cook having ordered for all three of them. Beef Burgundy in a bread bowls for the adults. And for Michael chicken tenders and a selection of fresh fruit. All cut bite sized to his little frame and a decorative garnish that is both cute and edible. A young girl slinks out of the kitchen wearing an apron over her school clothes and carrying a bus tray. She starts clearing tables from the lunch crowd that had already left and trying to avoid being seen. "Rita." Judge says sternly. Carly mouths that name too with a hmm in her undertone. She starts as she recognizes the young girl from the riding academy. Jordan is sampling the beef stew and finding it excellent rips into it. Carly tears off a portion of the bread bowl and gives it to Michael who has been soaking up everything around him.
"Hi Daddy." Rita say sheepishly. "Hi Ms. Benson."
"How do you know Ms. Benson?" Judge demands momentarily distracted.
"Her little brother takes riding lessons with me. I told you, she was helping me with my jumping."
"Lucas's sister. Right." Judge looks over at Carly putting the pieces together before he focuses again on his daughter. "Ditching school. Nobody knowing where you were. Not calling to check in. Damn it, Rita. I don't care how old you think you are-- you are twelve years old. The rules are there for a reason."
Rita closes her eyes and decides to get it all out in the open knowing that her father always finds out anyway. "Participating in a drug bust. Learning a bunch of words that I'm sure aren't going to be in the dictionary."
"Grounded." Jordan mutters. "I'm sure that the proper definition isn't in the dictionary but I think that's what comes to mind."
"Yes, it does occur doesn't it?" JD looks over at Jordan. "Who are you?"
Carly answers. "Security trouble shooter for ELQ."
"Babysitter." JD translates easily. "I seem to be in need of one myself." He looks over at his daughter significantly.
"More than you know." Johnny interrupts coldly. "Your daughter announced to the PCPD, the warehouse workers one of whom is surely a spy for Moreno and my bosses that she was my sister and your daughter."