Invested - 1. Invested

Invested

“Listen, this is serious Morgan. If we don’t find a hundred grand somewhere for the balloon payment, we will lose the business.”

“I know it’s serious. I’m trying to think of some way to get the money. Maybe I’ll ask my sister if she could help,” Morgan Taylor-Phillips said, looking hopefully at his husband, Drake Phillips-Taylor. “I’m sure she’ll help if she can. We’ve helped her out.”

“She doesn’t have a pot to piss in. Grady had to get a job to help pay for college. Sure, Em would help but you know she can’t help.”

Morgan was stirring the oatmeal cooking on the stove and thinking about their predicament. Four years ago Drake had been offered a buyout at his job with IBM. They’d taken a risk and decided to open a coffee shop and bakery. It had been their dream as long as they’d been together to start a business. It had been a smashing success. They were making more money than they had before the buyout and Morgan had even quit his job as a county surveyor. Then, they got too ambitious.

Morgan’s Cup and Saucer had done so well, they wanted to open a second store. Drake found a prime location, right at a point in the new light rail at one of the stops. They did all their research and figured this would be a sure thing. Drake and Morgan mortgaged everything to the hilt, signed a ten year lease and gutted the storefront bringing in beautiful new equipment, new tables and chairs, and great décor. Problem was, the light rail construction had been delayed and their second location had just opened. The business was picking up, but now they had a giant payment due and no money to pay it.

“So, the banker isn’t willing to give us more time?” Morgan asked again. He could see Drake was getting frustrated. They’d been over this twenty times in the past couple of months and they had no way out. The only solution seemed to be finding an investor or they’d lose the new location and all their hard work.

“What about a second mortgage on the house,” Morgan asked.

“I tried that. We’re still underwater on this place. The real estate recovery hasn’t happened for houses in this price range yet,” Drake rubbed his face and looked at his husband with a troubled grimace. “I just don’t know where else to look.”

Morgan pulled the oatmeal off the stove and dished it into two bowls. He placed one in front of Drake after adding brown sugar, apples, and a dash of nutmeg, just the way he liked it. Morgan then grasped his hubby’s shoulder and gave him a hug and a kiss on the neck. “We’ll figure this out. We’ve been in worse spots than this and made it work.”

Drake nuzzled him back and gave him a tight, forced grin. “I know. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Let’s see if we can think of an investor then. If we offer a cut of the profits, someone with money will be willing to take a gamble on us,” Morgan said after sitting across from Drake and mixing his cinnamon, blueberries and honey in his bowl.

“I just don’t know,” Drake hesitated. “This is our business and I don’t want someone trying to take over and wreck all we’ve done.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Morgan took a spoonful and smiled encouragingly at his love. Drake just grunted in reply.

After they finished breakfast, Drake got ready to go to the stores. Morgan had some housework to do and then he’d join him for lunch at the new store after Drake went to the bank. Drake gave him a kiss and rushed out the door. It was later than he’d thought.

Later that morning…

Morgan answered the phone.

“Darling, I’ve figured out how to fix our problem,” Drake was breathless.

“Yeah? What did you think of?”

“I think I found our investor,” Drake was so excited he’d practically shouted into the phone.

“Really? Who?” Morgan asked feeling his heart pounding.

“I got to the old Saucer and was about to do the deposits when guess who came in?”

“Don’t tease me. Just tell me who,” Morgan gushed. He couldn’t help but hug himself he was so thrilled.

“Roland Jacobs came into the store and bought a pie,” Drake said.

“You’re kidding. THE Roland Jacobs, the famous romance author?” Morgan asked. Then Morgan paused. “How is that gonna help us?”

“We got to talking and he loves your pies and cakes. So, I invited him to dinner,” Drake said, his voice a register higher than usual.

“Does he have money he wants to invest?” Morgan asked.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but that got me thinking,” Drake said happily.

“What do you mean, that got you thinking?” Morgan asked, keeping his voice low.

“Janice Odegaard loves romance novels. We can invite that hunky Sven Odegaard and his wife to dinner and get the rich anchorman from Channel Nine to invest,” Drake said.

Morgan wanted so badly to believe this was their saving grace, but something sounded a bit off about it. Drake was a hard-headed businessman but sometimes his little schemes didn’t pan out so well. Morgan’s Cup and Saucer had worked, but the second store had become an albatross and this sounded like a wacky kind of plan.

“I don’t know Drake,” Morgan said. He was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. There seemed to be an awful lot of moving pieces to Drake’s plan.

“C’mon. This is perfect. Call up Janice and invite them to dinner telling her about Roland. You’ll make one of your fabulous dinners and the anchor guy will be putty in our hands.”

“Okay. I’ll do that, but I’m getting a little nervous…”

“Hun, gotta run. Just run out and get something amazing to make for tonight and we’ll use the old Phillips-Taylor charm on these guys. One of them will be writing a check by the time you serve dessert.”

Morgan thoughtfully tugged on his ear and agreed to Drake’s plan. His husband was off the phone and Morgan rushed around cleaning up the morning paper and their dirty dishes. He was just about to put the newspaper in the recycling when he saw a flyer for Target. On the front was an array of men’s shoes in a row. He wondered if Grady was in the picture. That’s the job his nephew had gotten to help pay for college. Thinking of Grady, he decided to call the boy. He was almost out of college and perhaps he and his girlfriend would be a nice addition to the dinner party tonight.

A party of eight would be better than a party of six and Sven Odegaard and Roland Jacobs wouldn’t know what hit them.

Morgan smiled and finished up his chores. He needed to get to the store and start cooking. Getting a nice dinner ready before tonight would be a tight fit if he didn’t get started right away.

Morgan got to the grocery store and had just selected a beautiful standing rib roast with a beautiful crown of bones. It cost a fortune but it was worth it if they were going to persuade Roland Jacobs to invest with them. He’d just about finished filling his cart with some vegetables when his cell phone rang.

“Yellow,” he joked as he answered. It was Drake’s special ringtone, “I’m Too Sexy,” by Right Said Fred.

“Did I catch you at the store?” his husband asked. Drake sounded nervous.

“Yeah, I’m just picking out the prawns for an appetizer,” Morgan said biting his lip. What was up? He wondered.

“We have a slight change of plans, for the food.”

“What?” Morgan asked waiting for the other shoe to drop. Drake was using his ‘honey, I love you but…’ voice.

“It’s about Roland Jacobs’ wife.”

“What about her?” Morgan asked suspiciously. Then his husband, the man he’d lived with for twenty two of his 51 years told him the thing that no host of a fancy dinner party wants to hear. It was the three most dreaded words any foodie could ever experience.

“She’s a vegetarian,” Drake said and Morgan heard the sound of waves crashing over them.

“What am I...?”

“Gotta run. Thanks Hun. Talk to you in a little bit. Gotta call the Odegaards.” Drake then was gone.

*****************************

Across town, Sven was looking at their caller ID and frowning. It was that annoying, slimy gay guy they met at a fundraiser last month. Janice always dragged him to those events and usually some creepy old gay man would hit on him. That Drake guy had been pawing at him like he was a male stripper practically stuffing dollars bills in his waistband. But, his husband/partner, whatever he was, Morgan, had been pretty cool. Janice had sat and chatted with him for most of the night. She slipped him their home number to Sven’s discomfort. Now that middle-aged perv was calling them.

Sven let it go to voice mail. He listened to the message, something about a dinner party and some romance writer. Sven was about to erase it when he heard Janice’s voice from the other room.

“Who was that? Was it my new Cartier necklace since you forgot my fucking birthday,” she screamed. He had forgotten, just two days ago. Janice was so pissed and she waited until that night to remind him and she’d ragged on him ever since. Getting her off his back was going to cost a fortune. The only thing she liked more than expensive jewelry were those stupid romance novels from that weird guy with two first names. Sven looked over at the bookshelf in the entryway. He looked at the name on the spine and stood with his finger above the delete button.

Sven listened to the message again from that Drake guy and a grin plastered his face.

“Jan, honey, have I got a surprise for you,” Sven said after double checking the name on the book with Drake’s message.

Meanwhile, miles east over in St. Paul…

“I’m not going to another of your boring dinner parties,” Elise Jacobs said carefully hiding the Big Mac wrapper in the bottom of the garbage. She really didn’t like eating meat, but she absolutely loved the taste of it. And, McDonald’s was her secret vice. Roland didn’t need to know. There were lots of things she didn’t need her rich, very boring in bed, husband to know.

“Honey, these are nice guys who own that bakery where I get those scones you like so much,” Roland called from the other room. “They were nice enough to drop everything to have a dinner party for us.”

More like some adoring fans of his, Elise thought. The guy was a walking, talking cliché of what an artist craved, attention and adoration. She was sick to death of these things, though once and a while she did get a phone number of some guy who was interesting enough. But, then Roland said these were gay guys so what was in it for her?

“Listen, come with me tonight and I’ll take you to Paris in a few weeks,” Roland was standing in the doorway.

Elise thought about it for a second. “Why do you want this so badly?”

“I don’t know. I just enjoy making my fans feel good.”

“I’m tired and I think I’m a bit under the weather dear,” Elise said, patting her husband’s cheek. “Maybe next time.”

Roland thought about her reluctance and knew what she was really planning. He wasn’t a stupid man and noticed little things, like condoms in the garbage and how the washing machine was always running when he got home from events. He loved his wife but knew it was getting close to being over. Maybe a little trip to France would bring back the romance. Roland sighed. He wasn’t going to let her out of this one. This time she was going. There was one other thing that could pique her interest, though he didn’t like using something like that to cajole her.

“Well, if you’re not feeling well, I’ll just have dinner with Sven Odegaard and his wife without you.”

Roland looked at his wife’s face. Her expression changed as the name of the Channel Nine local anchor registered in her eyes.

“If it means that much to you, I’ll go,” Elise said looking away from her husband but an evil smile forming on her lips. “I mean, your fans mean everything to your career.”

Roland sighed and smiled forlornly. “Yeah, my fans do.”

Later that evening at Drake and Morgan’s house…

“So, what’s on the menu?” Drake asked standing behind Morgan who was furiously grating carrots for the salad.

“Out of my way,” Morgan barked. He was nervous about tonight. You never know what you would get putting people together who didn’t know each other. All day he’d had this nagging feeling this was a recipe for disaster. First, the whole dinner party scheme was a bit out there. Next, the vegetarian element threw him off his game. Finally, Sven Odegaard had called and said they’d be late. Morgan hated being rushed like this and worse not knowing how this would pan out.

“I’m not getting in the way. I’m just watching,” Drake pouted.

Morgan looked up and gave his husband a smile. He worked so hard for this new store and now he was afraid it would come crashing down on them. Morgan couldn’t stay annoyed with him looking at his sad little boy face on a fifty-something man.

“We’re having red pepper and provolone timbales to start. Then we’ll have a roasted squash soup with thyme and lemon butter. Main course is the roast beef, but I also made a vegetarian cassoulet for Roland’s wife. We end the meal with some vanilla bean shortbreads and chocolate crème anglaise.”

“You are a miracle worker,” Drake said pulling Morgan into his arms. He kissed him and Morgan moved into him. Even after twenty some years, this man made his pulse race. Sure there were times when things weren’t so hot, but Drake’s embrace always fixed it.

“Okay. Now, get into the dining room and set the table. Grady and Kristie will be here any minute.”

“Why is your nephew coming early?” Drake asked as he released his man.

“Because, they offered to help out. You’ll need it if you don’t get started on that dining room,” Morgan gave Drake one more kiss and shooed him away. Drake laughed and pinched Morgan’s butt. That made him squeal and yell at Drake to get busy.

Grady and his girlfriend showed up a little later and sure enough, Drake didn’t have the table set, the flowers arranged, or the bar ready. Morgan gave his nephew and Drake their marching orders and Kristie joined him in the kitchen.

“Everything smells awesome,” she said waving her hand above the simmering cassoulet of beans and aromatic vegetables.

“Thank you,” Morgan said. “I’m glad you could come on such short notice. You know, we never have gotten much of a chance to visit.”

“I’m glad you invited us. Grady thinks the world of you guys. He’s really proud of you,” Kristie said carefully dicing a tomato.

“Well, Grady is the best. I’ve always adored him,” Morgan said. “Be careful with that knife. It’s sharp.”

“Grady always talks about how you and Drake have the best relationship. His mom hasn’t been so lucky and his dad is a mess. He thinks you guys have it all figured out.”

Morgan stopped pouring the timbale mixture into the crocks. “Really? I guess I never thought of us as having figured out anything. We just love each other and make it work.”

“You’ve been together longer than my parents were. Most of our friends have divorced parents too. You and Drake have something special. How do you do it?” Kristie said finishing up the tomato and starting on a cucumber.

“I don’t know. Sometimes Drake makes me want to throw things or scream, but in the end, we just talk it out. He’s so stubborn though,” Morgan said smiling about their last stupid fight; it had been about a red light blinking.

“Who’s stubborn?” Drake asked stepping into the kitchen.

“You, that’s who,” Morgan said grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m not stubborn. I just like to get my way,” Drake laughed.

“I let him think that,” Morgan giggled at Kristie. “It’s easier to let him think he won, but most of the time he just does what I wanted in the first place.”

Kristie looked at these two guys teasing each other and grinning. If she and Grady could be as fun and comfortable with each other as Morgan and Drake were, they had a future together. She could see why Grady proudly bragged about his uncles.

“I heard the doorbell,” Morgan said to Drake.

“Let the games begin,” Drake said and Morgan hoped that wouldn’t be the case after all.

****************

“So, when did you start working at Target?” Elise Jacobs asked Kristie.

“Um, I don’t work at Target. I’m a model in Target ads. I work for the Sunderman Group ad agency,” Kristie explained. “So does Grady. He models shoes and some other stuff. I model pants mostly.”

“Oh,” Elise said looking around confused. “I thought Morgan said you worked for Target.”

Morgan and Drake looked at each other and shook their heads. The Jacobs weren’t the easiest people to converse with. Roland was being so quiet and Elise wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Hell, the woman was more like the butcher block you kept the knives in, dull and dense.

“Don’t mind my wife, she has trouble understanding these things,” Roland said sullenly. He was looking at his wife with obvious disdain that she didn’t seem to notice.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the little group and Morgan returned to the kitchen only to find he’d overcooked the timbales. He pulled them out of the oven and swore under his breath. Morgan heard the doorbell. Drake was answering it and finally the Odegaards had arrived, even later than they’d said.

Finally, there was some conversation in the living room. Morgan listened as people were introduced around and that began putting his mind at ease. At last, something was going right. There was laughter and talk coming from the other room. Maybe this night wouldn’t be a complete disaster.

Then came dinner.

Morgan was mortified because the timbales were as rubbery as a garden hose. But, no one seemed to notice. Just as they’d planned, Janice Odegaard had hit it off with Roland Jacobs. The two of them chatted about his books; Janice seemed to have memorized them as they talked about the details of his characters. In fact, the two seemed oblivious to everyone else at the table.

“I think when Clifton and Maryanne had their argument about the sensual nature of love, it made them both understand what real love truly is,” Janice said looking at Roland with adoring eyes.

“That’s what I was trying to do, exactly,” Roland said soaking up the attention.

Meanwhile, Elise Jacobs had latched onto Sven Odegaard. She listened to his every word as though it were something special. The blond anchorman was talking local politics and she agreed with him nodding and mooning. Morgan and Drake looked at each other and shrugged. This wasn’t exactly as they’d planned. When would Drake get a chance to ask about the investment?

“I’m looking forward to your dessert, Morgan. Drake tells me all the recipes at the bakery are yours,” Roland said grinning happily as Janice nodded and giggled.

“It’s nothing fancy tonight. I just made a chocolate crème anglaise and some shortbreads as an accompaniment,” Morgan said, watching the two of them closely. Elise’s hand was noticeably absent from the table and Sven’s face was flush. What the hell was going on?

“I’m sure it will be divine,” Janice said, her face tinged with red. “Sven said they get your pastries at the station all the time.” Morgan noticed her hand was also missing from the table. But it wasn’t her husband who Sven was smiling and leaning toward her. It was Roland. The author’s cheeks were a bit pink as well. Morgan wasn’t sure but he thought they were witnessing their own episode of ‘Wife Swap’ right now, only not the general audience rated version of it.

Drake seemed completely unaware of the scene playing out in front of them. He was talking animatedly to Grady and Kristie. Morgan saw Kristie was looking at the other two couples with a questioning look on her face. She wasn’t missing what was rapidly becoming a very uncomfortable situation.

“Let me get dessert ready,” Morgan said, standing up.

“I’ll help,” Kristie said and followed him into the kitchen.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” she asked Morgan as they got safely behind the door.

“I think so. What have you seen?” Morgan asked.

“Did you notice Elise got up to go to the bathroom and suddenly Sven had to get something from his coat? When they came back, her hairdo was screwed up and he had lipstick on his neck,” Kristie whispered to him.

“Oh no,” Morgan groaned. “Janice went to get something from her coat in the bedroom. Roland suddenly had to get up and when they returned, he was definitely not excited about just the roast beef. It was pretty obvious.”

“I noticed,” Kristie said scowling. “This wasn’t exactly what you were hoping for, was it?”

“No, definitely not,” Morgan said pulling the chocolate cream from the refrigerator. He pulled off the plastic wrap and tasted it. “Shit, I scorched it. What am I going to do now?”

Kristie also tasted it and made a face. “You’re right. Sorry, Uncle Morgan.”

Morgan pushed the dish back and thought for a second. He opened the freezer and searched around grabbing something from the back. Kristie saw it was a handful of pudding pops covered in frost.

“What are you going to do?” she asked Morgan.

The older man unwrapped them and threw them in the microwave. “Horny and dreamy won’t know the difference.”

Kristie laughed and went back to the dining room. Morgan thought about how this night couldn’t get any worse. “Damnit all to hell,” he whispered to the humming microwave.

“What did you say?” he heard Drake ask from behind him.

“Nothing. Listen, I’m sorry this isn’t going so well…”

“What do you mean?” Drake said. “It’s going great. Everyone’s having a wonderful time and the food is great. Well, the timbales weren’t your best effort, but…”

“Are you kidding me?” Morgan interrupted. “For fuck’s sake, Drake. I’m no prude, but Janice was playing footsy with Roland and practically holding his hand most of the night. Right in front of her husband and he was so busy playing with Elise’s hair he didn’t catch on. How are you gonna ask these people for the money when they’re busy humping someone else?”

“No,” Drake said quietly. “I didn’t notice that.”

Drake paused as the impact of the words hit him. What was he going to do to save the business? Morgan was right, and Drake knew something weird was happening, he’d just tried to ignore it. What if this didn’t work? Oh crap. Drake wallowed in self-pity. Worse part was he was dragging Morgan down too. Morgan didn’t deserve this. Not at all.

“Just serve dessert and I’ll pull Roland and Sven into the den for a quick discussion. Maybe I can pry the ladies off them long enough to get one of them to listen to my sales pitch,” Drake said hopefully. Morgan looked at his husband and sighed. Maybe they could salvage something from the wreckage of this night.

Morgan served the melted pudding pops and shortbreads to their guests. Janice tittered happily as Roland took a bite of the crème anglaise. Elise giggled as Sven took a big spoon of the pudding and nibbled on the cookie.

“This is wonderful,” Roland said and grinned at Janice. Janice batted her lashes at him and he chuckled.

Suddenly, Sven made a choking sound.

What the..?

“Are there nuts in this?” the blond newscaster sputtered.

“I don’t think…” Morgan stuttered. “Oh no. Are you allergic to nuts?”

“He’s deathly allergic,” Janice said quickly. “I need to get him some Benadryl or something.”

“Wait,” Elise said stroking Sven’s arm. “I think I have an EpiPen here in my purse.” She shuffled around in the bag as they all stood up watching Sven’s face turn red and his cheeks puff out. He looked positively horrible.

“There it is,” Elise said pulling something from her bag. “Roland is allergic to bees so I always keep one handy. Owwww!” she squealed.

“What happened?” Roland asked. Morgan just stood there, completely shell shocked as the scene unfolded. Drake’s mouth was wide open in surprise. It was like a nightmare.

“I just stuck myself with the stupid EpiPen. Oh, God, my heart is racing,” Elise moaned. “Honey, I think we need to go to the emergency room.”

“Sven needs to as well. Can you drive Roland?” Janice cooed. Roland looked at her and nodded.

Drake listened as their guests made their hasty exit. He couldn’t face Morgan right now. What a terrible night? He went to the den and sat at his desk murmuring to himself as he heard the shuffling out the door.

Drake was holding his head in his hands, trying not a sob. It wasn’t like he really felt like crying anyway. He felt empty inside. All their hard work would now just vanish. Then, he heard a hesitant knocking at the office door.

“Come in,” he said.

“Honey, come out and join us,” Morgan said quietly after opening the door. He was looking at Drake with such love and concern. Drake didn’t feel he deserved it.

“I thought everyone left,” Drake said softly.

“The Jacobs and the Odegaards left but Grady and Kristie are still here. Come out and sit with us,” Morgan said and gestured to his hubby. “I’m so sorry honey. I didn’t know about the allergy and…”

Drake got up and followed Morgan to the dining room, hushing Morgan’s apologies as they went. It wasn’t Morgan’s fault. It was his. Grady and Kristie were still seated at the table looking a bit confused at the two of them. Drake couldn’t meet their eyes. He felt defeated.

“So, that didn’t go so well,” Morgan said sitting down and looking at his nephew and girlfriend sadly.

“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know,” Kristie leaned across the table and patted Morgan’s hand. “Everything will be all right.”

“No it won’t. Might as well tell them,” Morgan said to Drake. Drake just stood there and hung his head. “They’ll know soon enough.”

“We’re losing the business,” Drake said, his voice was grim and shaky.

“Why?” Grady asked. “What’s happening?”

Drake explained the new store and the balloon loan payment in a voice that was steadier than he felt inside. Grady and Kristie listened and Morgan picked at the table cloth. Drake noticed the dessert plates and coffee cups were still on the table. He wanted to get the mess cleaned up and just forget about tonight.

“So, if you had a hundred grand, the business would be fine?” Grady asked looking at his uncle and then at Kristie. Morgan nodded but said nothing. Kristie whispered into her boyfriend’s ear. He nodded.

“How about we invest in the Saucer?” Grady said. Morgan and Drake looked up and grimaced.

“That is so sweet. But, you don’t have any money. You don’t even have a job yet, Grady,” Morgan said with a half-smile.

“He has a job,” Kristie said. “So do I. Our modeling agents both got re-signed contracts with the ad agency. I got a nice bonus.”

“In fact,” Grady grinned, “we were going to ask you about what we should do with our money.”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. I just meant we need a hundred grand and Grady’s shoe modeling and your little bonus isn’t going to help with that,” Morgan smiled at them. It really was sweet they were trying to help.

“But we do. We do have the money,” Grady said grinning. “I’ve made a lot of money modeling over the past three years. Kristie made even more. You guys helped me that first year buying my books and buying me dinners and groceries. It’s time I repaid you.”

Drake and Morgan looked at each other in shock. “You’ve made a hundred grand?”

“Well, I don’t have all that, but between the two of us, we’ve got the money,” Grady said proudly holding Kristie’s hand and beaming. “Target loves us and the contracts are very generous.”

“You two have got that kind of money?” Morgan said loudly, his mouth dropping open.

“Yeah. You guys need it and it would be a great investment for us. We’ve been talking about getting married anyway and this would seal the deal. The Saucer is the family business. We’d be happy to become part of it,” Grady said.

“I’m in too, if you’ll have me,” Kristie nodded enthusiastically.

Drake and Morgan just looked at each other. This couldn’t be happening. All their schemes and plans had been in vain and now Grady and Kristie were offering to help them keep the business afloat.

“Are you sure about this?” Drake asked.

“Listen, you guys have been the best to me. I want to do it. Well, we want to if we get to be part of the business. This is an investment, right?”

Drake and Morgan couldn’t hug the two of them fast enough. Drake ran to the office and got the papers and the presentation he’d prepared. This was going to work out. Having Grady and Kristie in the business would be much better than some strangers. It was going to work out in the end.

Morgan and he had invested well. It was paying off.