Family Ties

Part 38

"Pops?" Raymond popped his head into Damon's office and without waiting for an invitation, he went to sit opposite Damon.

"Pops, you're not really serious, are you?" He exploded. "Why would you take on a case like this? Why would you want me to take this case?"

"You obviously know who my friend is."

"If you can still call them your friend knowing what they've done." He wondered how much Damon knew about this case.

"Like I told you, I don't know any details. It was a favour and they've asked us to stop looking, but you always have to go digging where you shouldn't." He leaned back in his chair. "So who is it and what have they been up to that has you so, excited."

"They weren't looking for signs of embezzlement or corporate espionage, they were looking for that damn gem, weren't they?" He jumped up again. Why did he always have to go digging where he shouldn't be? "Why go through all that trouble though? Why not just ask him?"

"Stop being so vague. You're being overly dramatic about this whole thing."

"Easy for you to say. Are you sure this is a favour Pops or is there something that you want out of this?" He stopped pacing to look Damon squarely in the face. "Did you give me the case because you think there's more to this?"

"You're letting your imagination get away from you son, there's nothing in it for me. I was a little curious that's all." He shrugged. "What are you going to do now?"

"Stop everything that I'm doing to get to the bottom of this. I still can't believe you didn't know they were looking for the gem!" He exploded.

"Have you been able to find it?

"No," he sighed. "It disappeared along with his friend, but I still can't find a connection. It can't be that obvious. It's time to go out into the field myself to try and pick up a trail. So far nothing's come up."

"Are you going to say anything?" Damon frowned at Raymond.

"I... I'm not sure yet. Let me think about it."

"Well, that's settled, bring the little one over to stay while you're away. I'll tell Gillie that you'll be there Saturday."

"What do you and Dad have planned?" Damon was always eager to have Skye over and he was sure to take advantage of spending more than a week with him.

"He's got school, how much can be planned?" He snorted, ushering Raymond out. It looked like Raymond was heading in the right direction, he thought.

--

"Was that Tony I saw leaving?" Jackson automatically grabbed his apron, before stopping himself. "Is he seeing someone else now?"

"You have no idea!" Asuka moaned, resting her head in the palm of her hand.

"Did something go wrong?"

"They came in for lunch when we were really busy. I thought he'd come to look at the place, you know, surprise me, but then I saw her, a younger woman! When I saw them together, I sort of saw red." She moaned into her hands.

"And you started throwing things around and making the whole experience miserable for him?"

"You know me too well, Jack." With another strangled moan, she launched herself onto his chest. "He came over to introduce me to a colleague who wanted to see the place that everyone was talking about online." She pulled his jacket over her face. "He'd come to ask if I could lighten up and lay off him for a bit!"

"Reasonable request I'd say." He placed his finger against her forehead to push her away. "So what did you do then?"

"I offered her free meals while she was here and I sort of promised that you'd be around tomorrow evening." She blushed slightly. "Apparently you're quite a hit online. Who knew?"

"By rights, I should get all your profits. If I leave then what will there be left? The food?" He smirked.

"Shut up you louse. Make sure you're here tomorrow to dig me out of this hole!" She buried her head in her hands. "How could I be so stupid? Getting jealous because he's with another woman."

"So tell him you love him already. It's not that hard."

"I can't come out and say it." She looked scandalous at the thought. "And anyway, the guy has to make the first move. It's the way things are done."

"Tony is a softy." He sighed. "After the last time, he seemed to have lost his spark a bit. Would it hurt to smile at the guy at least once?

"What, are you his cheer squad all of a sudden?"She laughed. "Okay, I'll go easy on him, but only because of that clumsy geeky nature of his!"

"That's more like it! Soon we will both be in healthy relationships!" He grabbed her under his arm. "I have a surprise for you!"

"Jack, please, no. Don't start with me." She tried to pull away from him, with very little success.

"Come on, you're going to love me for it!" He dragged her out of the shop to the lot next to it that housed an old stoned church that hadn't been used in years.

"Jackson, I said no! I don't want this." She pushed away from him, watching as a work crew went about renovating the space.

"Wait, before you shoot down this idea, hear me out." He held his hands up to stall her. "Your little shop and restaurant were getting too crowded. Before you mainly focused on bread and cakes, which was fine for then, but now that the restaurant had become more popular, you had to scramble to come up with a simple menu and squeeze extra tables into a space that was already crowded." When it looked like she was going to argue he continued.

"You love this shop and the fact that you've built it yourself, but now, it seems as if you're trying to choose between the bakery and the restaurant. I know you've said no before, but there's no rule that says you have to choose between the two. Why can't you have both? You know you can run both, only now, the front of the current shop will still sell the baked goods, and the rest will be taken up by the restaurant." He dragged her into the building that was bright with most of the original stone walls still remaining.

"Why's the kitchen open to the rest of the place?" She asked in surprise when she noticed that you would be able to see all the kitchen activities from any vantage point.

"It's not the whole kitchen. It's basically where you do all your baking and icing. That's your being drawcard remember? People love your baking, and next door is so much fun because they can watch you work on your baking while they eat. "

"It does look nice." She said sliding her hand over the smooth stainless steel surface. "But I've never run a restaurant before, this can't end well."

"What do you think you're doing next door?" He asked in exasperation. You've got a cook that helped you work out a simple menu, you've been managing every element of a restaurant while you were running the shop. Give yourself some credit." He put his hand over her shoulder.

"This is my gift to you for being a great friend."

"Wait, what? Are you out of your mind? Who gives gifts like this?" She gasped.

"I do when it's for my best friend."

"You mean only friend." She interrupted dryly.

"Semantics. Say yes, and we'll break the walls through that separates the two and start working on the courtyard garden, if you decide you need some space outside." He excitedly explained his vision for the project and reminded her of the fact that it could all be done within a few weeks.

"I don't know Jack. It seems like this is more your thing than mine."

"Stop being so afraid of your own shadow." He prodded. "You know this makes the most business sense, and if you don't want the gift, then you can pay me back with interest at a good rate.

"With interest? What sort of friend are you?" She frowned at him. "Wait, before you answer that, I'll take the gift. My dad did say that the best investment is one where you get everything free!" She reached up to hug him. "Okay, show me around best friend."