This Kiss

Chapter 92

Olivia and Natalia finally made it to St. Louis after postponing to handle Frank. It was Tuesday evening and they were supposed to meet with the sellers that evening but had to ask them to reschedule for Wednesday morning, which was agreed to. They were checking into a hotel just down the road from the property they were looking at. They were supposed to come after the grand opening in Chicago but scheduling conflicts with the seller made it impossible so they had to move the trip up. It was taking all they had to not stress about it. The grand opening in Chicago was the following Friday and they were still working on staffing. Luckily they were able to do most of the interviews via video with Andrew there to assist. Most of the staff had decided to stay on. They just needed a manager for the laundry department, a new head of security, and a new chef. Andrew said he knew of a great security team and two different chef's he felt would be great for the job. Olivia and Natalia would meet with the head of security and do a taste test with both chefs when they went to Chicago at the beginning of the following week.

After checking in, they took their bags to their room and then headed downtown to Three Sixty for dinner. After an amazing meal, the two decided to take a short walk since it wasn't extremely cold. As they walked hand in hand, Olivia decided it was time to tell Natalia what she and Rafe had talked about a few days previous.

"Honey?" Olivia started.

Natalia leaned further into her and smiled. "Yes my love."

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay. What's up?"

"Well, uh, I talked to Rafe a little while ago."

"About what?"

"School or taking some classes."

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He wanted to take some night classes, but with everything going on, he asked if it was okay that he not. He said he really wants to focus on his job, and then with everything with Frank, he missed the enrollment deadline."

"Oh."

"He was afraid to tell you. He didn't want you to be disappointed in him again."

"What? Why would he think that?"

"You were really excited for him to further his education, and he knows how disappointed you were when he went to prison. He just doesn't want to let you down again. I told him that you were so proud of him and that wasn't going to change just because he didn't go to school, but he was so worried. I told him I would tell you for him, I just haven't had a chance."

"I had hoped he would go to college and get a degree, but, he is doing so well at the hotel, and you've said it before, neither of us went to college and we're doing pretty good for ourselves. I can't be upset that he's not going when he is doing so well and changing himself and his life so much."

"I agree. I don't think it's necessary for him to go. I had thought that it would be helpful to him, but, like you, and me, and Ava, I think he will learn all he needs to on the job. He's an amazing kid just like his mom. He doesn't need a degree for me to know that."

"He really is. I still can't thank you enough for giving him this chance. He really needed something to strive for in his life and you gave that to him. I am so grateful."

"You don't need to thank me sweetheart. This is our business and our family. I'm thrilled that he and Ava are both working for us. Before we know it they'll both be ready to take over their own locations and we'll be expanding even more."

"We were on our little break when you gave him this chance, this one was all you."

"We may have been on a break, but I knew it wasn't gonna last by the time I offered the job to Rafe. We were going to be a family and I was happy to give my son a job and keep him from joining the army."