Wildflowers

Chapter 9

Chapter: 9

I glance at clock and its almost noon time. I pull out Mrs. Fleming's file from my drawer and look over it one more time. A few minutes later I hear the door open and a small blonde haired women who is in her late 50's come in. She had her hair pulled back into a pony tail and was wearing a white tennis skirt, white polo shirt with a hot pink sweater around her shoulders. She has a black and gold Chanel bag over her arm.

'Hi, Mrs. Fleming how are you today?' I ask as I get up and greet her, smiling 'Can I get you anything to drink?'

'Jo, how are you dear?' She asks me 'I'll take a cup of coffee if it's fresh. Black please.'

'I'm good thanks for asking and coffee will be no trouble. I'll bring it in to you in the office' I tell her knocking on the door of the office.

I open it slowly and tell them that she is here. I lead her into the office and leave the door open. I grab the good coffee cup we give to clients and fill it up with coffee. I walk into the office and set the coffee on the desk in front of her. I sit down on the chair in the corner to listen and take notes.

Mrs. Flemming goes on and on about how her husband is screwing the new maid, Lucinda. They haired her to help take care of the house and do the cooking. At first she would come in everyday and leave to go home in the evenings. Now she lives there in the guest house in their backyard. Dan goes to work I the mornings around 9 am and she wakes up early to make sure the maid is doing her work and makes breakfast. During the day she runs errands and goes shopping leaving Lucinda do the chores around their large house.

One day last week, she forgot to grab something from the house and circled back to grab it. She thought she saw her husbands Jaguar parked on the street. She goes in the house and calls for her husband thinking he was home for lunch or something and when she gets no response she shrugs it off. She goes on about her week and then a few days later she hears her husband and Lucinda talking in hushed tones outside by the pool. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she knows they were up to no good and that's when she called us. She decides she wants the whole shebang which includes everything under the sun. Photos, paperwork, video recording and interviews and anything else the guys can dig up.

Mrs. Fleming leaves the office after writing a check for their services. Normally she pays half upfront and the rest including expenses when they find something. The guys walk her out and I give her a smile and a wave. I walk back into the office to clean up her coffee cup. I wash it out in the sink with a little soap and water and place it back in the cabinet. I take my seat back at the desk and begin typing up my notes from the meeting and the guys go back into the office to talk about what to do for her. After I am done typing up the report and place it back into her file and place it in the lower drawer of my desk. I try to keep all active cases close by incase we need to reference someone or something.

I walk into the office and ask the guys 'You want me to pick up lunch?'

'Yeah sounds good, Joey' Willy says calling me Joey like he has since I was a child 'You wanna run to the deli and get sandwiches or order pizza?'

My dad shrugs 'Doesn't matter to me. Jo you have a preference?' He asks

'Deli it is. Do you know what you want?' I ask them grabbing a notepad and pencil that's on the desk.

I jot down their orders and walk back into the other room to grab my purse. The phone rings but I let the guys pick it up. I walk back in to the office and my dad hands me a few bucks from his wallet as he is on the phone. I also steal a cigarette from his pack before leaving. As soon as I am outside, I light the cigarette and walk down the block back to the corner store. I stand outside to finish before I go to the back of the store and I order our food. Willy gets a pepper and egg, my dad gets a ham and cheese and I order and turkey and cheese for myself. I grab another Fanta from the cooler and pay at the counter. I walk back to the office and I hadn't them their food. I grab two cokes from the fridge and hand them those as well. I sit down with my lunch at my desk and eat lunch.

After that, the day seems to fly by. Mr Hartford comes and meets with the guys. He is the owner of a few grocery stores. He is in his 40's and looks like a regular guy. He is tall and has a short brown haircut. He's wearing a brown suit with a yellow shirt. He thinks his wife is cheating on him with his brother. Yikes, Talk about family issues. It seems like an easy case. He just wants proof so he can divorce her and she won't take all his money. Mr. Hartford decides that he wants the guys to get as many pictures and videos as they can get so he will have no issues in court.

Next in, is Mrs. Dennings who was the women who I spoke to on the phone. She seems really nice I kinda feel bad for her when she tells us her husband has cheated on her before and she thinks its happening again. She is in her early 30's with blonde hair that's curled with a white and blue bandana. She's wearing a pair of his waisted jeans and a white top with blue flowers on it. She tells the guys that he has cheated before but they went to talk to a therapist to work though it and she believed that it was over. Now they are thinking about having children and she wants to make sure everything is okay before doing so. He works as an accountant in a small firm and she is a teacher. The guys take her case but she tells them that money is tight right because they just bought a house because they wants more room if they have a family. My dad tells her that she can pay if and when they find something. He has a soft spot for people. He doesn't do this for everyone but sometimes he does it to be nice. He would rather get a good outcome than have someone pay him for nothing.

After she leaves, I clean up the office a little and type up the reports for the last few clients. By the time I am done with that, it's almost 5:45 and I need to get ready for my date.

I grab my duffle back and head into the bathroom. I change into my white dress and vest and then change from wooden clogs to my white leather heeled, braided boots. I fluff up my hair and look under the sink looking for something. Hairspray (Thanks Uncle Willy) I spray some in my hair to make sure the curls are still intact. I reach into my duffle and grab small makeup bag. I put on a little powder and blush and do a small winged eyeliner. I put on some rose colored lipstick to complete the look. I put everything back in my duffle and walk back to my desk. I grab my purse and walk into the office.

'Hey, I'm leaving soon. My friend is taking me to dinner' I tell them.

They both look up and my dad says 'You look beautiful honey. We got things covered from here.'

'I'm guessing you have a date?' Willy says winking and smiling.

I cross my arms and glare at him 'Even if I did, do you honestly think I would tell you?' I tell him 'Hey dad can you take my duffle home with you?'

'Sure honey and Dick cut it out. She knows if we wanted to find out about this boy we could' my dad says, laughing a little and Willy lets out a chuckle 'Got that right, Ace.' Willy says.

I roll my eyes and set my bag down on the chair in front of the desk. I walk around and give my dad a kiss on the cheek. I flip Willy off as I walk out of the office and I can hear them laughing.