“Hey, Jane, it’s me, Magnolia. I got your message. What’s going on?”
“Hey, Magnolia.” Jane sounded out of breath. “How was your appointment?”
“Fine. Long, but fine.”
“Yay! I’m glad to hear that.”
“So what’s—”
“Hey, can you hold on a second for me?” Jane asked, and I heard a loud clunk as she put the phone down somewhere. I continued walking down Mission Street and made a right on 18th Street so that I could head to Valencia Street. The smell of urine had assaulted me since I’d gotten off of the BART. I tried not to stare at all the homeless people and vagrants, but I felt sad seeing how bad the homeless situation was in San Francisco. The city was so rich, and yet there were so many people who couldn’t even afford a place to live. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think I could have been one of them. I’d been in the city without a job and had wondered how I was going to be able to pay my $2600 a month rent. If it hadn’t been for Anna lending me $10,000, I would have had to have gone home, and then I wouldn’t have gotten the job at Cool Credit.
I pulled out my notebook to look at my notes. Now that I was here, I was a little nervous about asking random people in the street to answer questions for me. I stopped outside of the Dandelion chocolate store and decided to buy myself something before I got to work. I breathed in the delicious smell of chocolate as I got in line and studied the menu on the chalkboard. I decided to get a frozen hot chocolate and a brown butter blondie. I’d decide on my questions while I was eating.
“Hey, Magnolia, you still there?” Jane’s words were rushed.
“Yes, what’s going on?”
“Sorry, the office is crazy today.” She sounded excited. “Tate ordered a camera for me to take some photos and videos to use in the marketing shots. He wants me to join you tomorrow and record you interviewing people.”
“Oh, okay,” I said. “I’m actually in the Mission right now. I wanted to get a headstart on the interviews, but it will be great seeing you tomorrow. I’m feeling really nervous.”
“I bet.”
“So what’s the big lie you found out?”
“Remember how Tate told us he was the sole investor in 800 Club?”
“Wow, he agreed to change the name from Cool Credit?”
“Well, no, but I’m trying to make it happen. Okay, you know how Tate told us he was the sole investor in Cool Credit?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, he’s not.”
“What?” I shuffled a few paces farther in the queue. “What do you mean?”
“He has a silent investor.” Jane’s voice was eager. “Someone invested two million dollars in the company.”
“No way. How do you know? Tate told you?”
“Of course not.” She lowered her voice. “I heard him on the phone.”
“What?”
“So I was going to his office to, uhm, see if he needed any help, and his door was ajar, and as I was about to walk in I heard him shouting.”
“Oh, shit, what was he shouting about?”
“He said something like, ‘I’m the boss and I make all the decisions. You’re a silent partner, remember?’ Then he was quiet for a few seconds as he listened to the other person and then he said, ‘Yes, I know you put in two million, and I appreciate it, but that wasn’t part of our agreement. No, no, I’m not going to do that. I hired the number of staff that I thought was needed.’” And then Jane’s voice dropped even lower. “And then he said, ‘I’m not firing anyone.’”
“What?” My heart lurched. “His partner wants him to fire us?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Jane sounded worried. “I mean, Tate stood up for us, but still.”
“What did he say next?”
“He said he had to go, and then he lowered his voice and I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation.”
“Man, that’s crazy.” I looked at the notebook in my hand. “I need to make sure that I write the best articles that I can, then. Shit, these blog posts need to go viral.”
“Ugh,” Jane groaned. “I feel ya. We need to work together. I can market your ideas and you can incorporate the brand points I’m trying to get across.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“So maybe tomorrow morning we meet for a coffee and breakfast and chat and then go and do these interviews?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“How’s stuff otherwise? Did you leave your first note for Jagger yet?”
“Oh, my God, you will not believe what I found out.”
“What?”
“Remember I told you about how Doug and my sister walked in on the night I tried to seduce Jagger?”
“Yeah, such a Jerry Springer moment.”
“Well, Jagger is the one that told them to come.”
“What?”
“Yup. He knew it was me all along that was trying to seduce him.”
“So he invited his brother and your sister to watch him smash?” Jane sounded shocked. “Damn, that’s cold. What is he? Some sort of pimp?”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” I cleared my throat. “I guess he wanted Doug to see that we wanted to be together or something, and that was his immature way of getting the point across.”
“Immature or twisted? I mean, come on, what dude wants to see his brother's dick in his girlfriend? If he liked you, he should have had a chat with you and y’all break up with your respective partners.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “That would have been much better.”
“Seems to me that he wanted to get it in and wanted everyone to know he was the man.”
“I don’t think so.” I found myself defending Jagger. “It’s more complicated than that, and remember, I was the one that wanted to lose my virginity to him. I’m the one that set it all up.”
“Did you want your boyfriend to see you bouncing on his brother’s dick, though?”
“That sounds awful, Jane.”
“It sounds awful because it is awful. One time my brother walked in on a guy feeling up my boobs, over my top, and I still felt like a slut.” She laughed. “Let’s be real. Unless you’re a porno star, you don’t want someone watching you having sex or being intimate in any way.”
“I guess.”
“Would you want an audience watching you blow Jagger?”
“No!” I laughed as I blushed. “Never.”
“Exactly, these are things we do in the privacy of our own home.” She paused. “Well, maybe not always in the privacy of our own homes.” She paused. “Although public sex can be fun as well.”
“Oh, Jane.” I giggled. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Really?” She sounded shocked. “You’ve never done in the deed in public?”
“No. Have you?”
“Does the park bench count as being in public?” She giggled. “Oh, and in the ocean and Santa Monica beach … in the daytime.”
“No way.”
“Totally. It was hot and fun.” She sounded nostalgic. “I miss having sex.”
“You miss having sex or you miss having a boyfriend?”
“Both would be great, por favor.”
“Yeah, for you and me both.” I sighed. “Oh, that reminds me. I got a message on my dating app today, I should check it.”
“Ooh, you about to hop on the train again?” She paused. “So does that mean Jagger is out, then?”
“I don’t know,” I groaned. “Yes, we have sexual chemistry, but I don’t really know if we have anything else. And I don’t know if I forgive him for what he did in the past.”
“That was ten years ago though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe he’s matured.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“For what it’s worth, I think he’s a nice guy.”
“Nice or hot?”
“Fine, he’s hot, but he also seems nice. Maybe him moving next to you was fate’s way of saying y’all deserve a second chance.”
“It was quite a surprise that he moved next to me. That’s a huge coincidence.”
“Destiny,” Jane said firmly. “You guys needed to see each other again and work this out.”
“I don’t know.”
“So how did you end things with him?” she asked.
“He said to call or text him when I was ready to chat or go to dinner or something.”
“Are you going to call him?”
“Not anytime soon.”
“Aww, I guess you need time to think.”
“Yup.” I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “I need to figure out what I want.” And then I sighed. “But I can’t lie. I want to touch him so badly it hurts.”
“By ‘touch,’ you mean fuck, right?”
“Yes,” I admitted with a smile. “This is what happens when you’ve been deprived for too long.”
“So why are you denying yourself? He’s right next door. Have some fun with him and then tell him to piss off.”
“I can’t do that,” I insisted. The idea was tempting, but that was probably just me latching onto any excuse to sleep with Jagger without feeling guilty or conflicted.
“You sure can. You’re a strong independent woman. You can do anything you want.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that.” I laughed. “I’m feeling nervous about interviewing in the street. That doesn’t bode well for me taking Jagger for a ride and then dissing him.”
“Yeah … maybe it’s not such a good idea. You might catch the feelings.”
“Honestly, I’ve already caught the feelings. Or rather, I guess the feelings never left. I guess that’s what I’m really worried about. I don’t want to sleep with him and then feel even more connected to him.” I sighed. “I can’t go through that emotional upheaval again.”
“I understand, trust me.” Jane sighed. “There’s nothing worse than catching feelings for an idiot.”
“Oh, yeah? I want to hear your story sometime.”
“Sure thing. Maybe we can go for drinks this weekend or something?”
“Sounds good to me. We can invite the girls.”
“I’ll mention it to them today, but I better go. I have some preliminary slogans to share with Tate for our first marketing campaign.”
“Ooh, good luck.”
“Thanks, girl. I’m going to need it. Bye.”
We hung up, and I got back in the queue, trying not to look at the faces of the people in front of me as I realized they had probably heard my entire conversation. I got to the counter, placed my order, and then stood off to the side. Reviewing my notes, I decided that I really had to step up my questions, especially if this silent partner wanted to let go of employees. I didn’t have a contract and I knew that as an at-will employee, I could be let go for any reason and that made me nervous.
They called my order and I grabbed my drink and blondie and headed to a community table where I took a seat next to two elderly ladies. I looked at my note pad, turned the page and grabbed my pen from my bag.
I wrote, “Cool Credit or 800 Club” at the top of the page. “Goal of the app: Teach people of all ages how to have the best credit score possible. Scores above 700 are good and above 800 are great. Only 20% of Americans have a credit score above 800. How many people know their credit scores? How many wait to find out their scores when they want to buy a car or a house? That’s too late!!!”
I stared at my notes. This was all information I’d gathered from our company meetings. I had to go further if I was going to show that I was a valuable asset to the company. Credit scores could be raised by paying off loans and credit cards on time and in full, but everyone knew that. I knew that certain cards gave better benefits than others. But there were already apps and websites that did that and did it well. That wasn’t a way to distinguish ourselves from the pack. I wanted to submit my first blog post as a press release to the financial magazines and blogs, and I wanted it to be picked up and featured, it had to be both unique and helpful to the consumer. This first post would set the tone for the office. The response, good, bad or nonexistent, would let us know how well the app was going to fare once it went live.
I took a bite of my blondie and sighed. I wasn’t coming up with any original ideas, and the books I’d bought were way too dry. I needed to think of something else before tomorrow. And then it struck me: Jagger knew all about finance. He had a business degree and an MBA and I knew he’d worked at a hedge fund for a little bit. I wasn’t sure what he was doing now, but surely he’d have some thoughts. Maybe he’d talk over things with me. Give me some ideas.
I sat back and sighed. Was I just using this as an excuse to contact him? Just this morning, I’d kicked him out of my apartment saying I needed time to think. How was I going to contact him now, not even twelve hours later? But I knew in my heart that I’d already made the decision. I sat there debating what to say when I called him when I noticed one of the older ladies looking at me.
“You all right, dear?” she asked me, her eyes kind as she gazed at me. “You’ve been doing an awful lot of sighing in the last few minutes.”
“Oh, I’m okay. Thanks.” I gave her a wry smile and nodded at my pad. “Work problems.”
“Anything we can help you with?” She nodded at her friend. “We’ve seen a lot of the world and might be able to help.”
“Not really.” I shook my head and nibbled on my pen. “I just got this job at this new startup. I’m a writer, well, a blogger, a small blogger, and this company is in finance, and I really need the paycheck and I love my new work friends, but I don’t know anything about finance and I have to write this article and I’m thinking of asking my neighbor, who was on Wall Street, to help, but he is also my old crush and I think it might be a bad idea because he had his brother walk in on us when we were trying to have sex, and I was dating his brother at the time and it was horrible—” I finally stopped to take a breath. I’d just told them both my entire life story in less than thirty seconds. “Sorry, I’m a bit of a mess.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” the other lady said. She looked to be about seventy and had kind blue eyes and matching bright blue hair. “This is better than my daytime soaps.”
“Cheryl!” The first lady chided her and then smiled at me. “It seems like you are in quite the pickle.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
“So, let me get this right. A young man you used to know who now lives close to you could possibly help with your work dilemma?”
“Yes,” I nodded and blushed. “But the other stuff makes it a bit complicated.”
“When did you, uh, sleep with him?”
“Ten years ago.”
“How old is he?” Cheryl’s eyebrows raised. “Please don’t say forty because you look awfully young, love.”
“I’m twenty-eight and he’s thirty.”
“Oh.” Cheryl looked thoughtful. “So you were eighteen and twenty?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, okay.” Cheryl laughed. “Honey, I’m going to say this nicely, but men don’t mature until they die.”
“Huh?”
“A twenty-year-old man is a fool. A thirty-year-old man is a fool. A forty-year-old man is less of a fool, but still a fool. My husband is seventy-six, and I still have to tell him what groceries to buy every single week, even though the list never changes.”
“Oh, wow.”
“My point is,” Cheryl continued, “whatever happened when you were young can be forgiven.”
The other lady nodded. “You ever heard of the author Maya Angelou?”
“Yeah, she wrote that book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, right?”
“Right.” The lady looked pleased with my answer. “Well, she said it’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”
“And I’m sure you’re not perfect, right?” Cheryl said. “You know what the Lord says?”
“Love everybody?” I answered with a small shrug.
“Well, yes, but what else?”
“Thou shalt not kill?” I said trying to remember the ten commandments. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife?”
“Well, yes, but that’s not it.” I could see that Cheryl was trying not to laugh. “The Bible also says The Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” She smiled. “It’s important to forgive. I find that when you forgive others, it also helps you to feel better.”
“I guess so.”
“I forgave Cheryl years ago.” The first lady said. “She stole my boyfriend away from me.”
“No way!” I blinked, shocked.
“Well, the joke was on me.” Cheryl laughed. “I went and married him, and now I’m stuck with him.”
“Oh.” I had no idea what to say.
“Don’t worry, dear.” The first lady laughed. “I’m okay with it. I figured out I’m a lesbian and have been with my partner for forty years.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
“You just never know what’s going to happen in life. Don’t hold grudges,” Cheryl said. “And if you think he can help you, go and ask for that help.”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true.” I paused. “I’m just nervous about what will happen next.”
“Next?” Cheryl frowned.
“She means in the bedroom, Cheryl.” The first lady grinned. “Honey, just go with the flow. That’s the problem with you youngsters, you think too much.”
“Oh.” Cheryl laughed. “Honey, you’re young, have fun. Heartbreak never lasts, enjoy the ride no matter how long or short it is. It’s the journey that makes the difference.”
“You know what.” I grinned at them. “You’re right. I’m going to call him and I’m going to ask him to help. And you know what, he can even make dinner for me too.”
“That’s it, darling. Have him work for you.” Cheryl nodded. “Trisha, we should go. The Zumba class starts in twenty minutes.”
“Oh, yes,” Trisha nodded and they stood up. “Good luck, dear. I hope it works out for you.”
“Thank you both. It was nice meeting you.” I smiled and waved at them as they left the store. As they left, I grabbed my phone and the note Jagger had left me with his number and called before I could lose my nerve.
“Jagger Scott.” He answered the phone after two rings and a smile spread on my face as I heard his deep voice.
“Hey, Jagger.”
“Who is this?” His voice was smooth, and I debated pretending to be someone else.
“I think you know,” I said softly.
“Magnolia?” His tone changed and he sounded happy.
“How did you know it was me?”
“I’d know your voice anywhere.” He chuckled. “What’s up? I'm surprised to hear from you.”
“Would you like to cook me dinner tonight?” I said quickly before I could change my mind.
“Would I like to cook you dinner?” He sounded surprised. “Of course, any day, any night.”
“Okay. I’ll come over at seven.”
“Okay,” he agreed immediately.
“I’ll also be asking you some questions related to finance,” I added. “I need to pick your brain.”
“That’s better than picking my nose.”
“Jagger!” I groaned. “Really?”
“What? Do you want to pick my nose as well?”
“I’m going now. I’ll see you later,” I said, and he laughed as I hung up.
I grabbed my notebook and stood up. I needed to go home and figure out what I was going to wear and exactly what questions I wanted to ask Jagger.