Baby Love(71)

"What time is your hearing scheduled? We can get there early to make sure we sit up front."

"It doesn't work that way baby. The dockets are called at random beginning at 8 a.m. each morning so we may simply sit there or have to hang out in the hallway until our docket gets called. It's not like a court hearing you've seen on television where the defendants sit up front at a table facing the judges and the plaintiffs sit at the table on the opposite side."

"Trey just please humor me on this one?"

"Hey you've got it babe. Just be prepared to be bored and perhaps disappointed. I think you're putting too much stock on the fact that some judge has a name similar to yours only backwards."

"I'll take the risk," I assured him.

"What are you going to do about Preston? We'll be there overnight."

"I'll have Gina come stay with here with her and then Jean can watch her while Gina works."

"Well you better get that lined up because we leave Tuesday on an afternoon flight. I'll have to make your reservation tonight."

"Thank you Trey," I smiled up at him, "I love you."

I disappeared to our room to make the arrangements with Gina and Jean leaving Trey to finish feeding Preston.

I was taking a bubble bath an hour later when Trey came in and said he had added my reservation to the same flight.

"Where's the baby?"

"I just changed her and put her to bed."

"I didn't get a chance to nurse her tonight."

"I'm sorry baby but she was tired and seemed to go down alright without it."

A feeling of sadness hit me that my baby was growing up and away already.





CHAPTER 25



Gina and I were chatting while we stocked the upstairs bar and hung the clean glassware. I had shared with her Trey's revelation as to what Libby had done Friday night. I also let her know how I got him to spill the beans.

"No shit? He probably hates me more than ever now."

"No I cleared that little detail up with him and in fact told him that you had not seen her do that but had merely commented that she seemed very flirtatious with him but that he didn't reciprocate."

"Is he going to tell Tristan?"

"I don't think so. He feels that she would likely deny it and cause a major rift between him and Tristan."

"I can't believe how many skanks there are out there can you?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Most of them don't give it a second thought about wanting to take your man either."

"You're starting to think a lot like me girlfriend."

We went back downstairs and finished up at the main bar when we heard someone knocking on the front entrance doors. It was Tristan.

(Shit! He had the skank with him.)

Gina let them in and they walked across the dance floor to come and sit where I was on a chair dusting off one of the hanging light fixtures.

Libby had tight black leather jeans on with a short cropped, black leather jacket and black leather boots. All she needed was a black leather riding crop to accent her outfit to perfection I thought.

Tristan introduced Libby to Gina.

"We met Friday night Tristan remember?" she said.

"I swear girls since he has turned forty his memory seems to be slipping. Thank God nothing else has or I just might have to trade him in for a younger model."

She was perched on a bar stool and playfully pulled him toward her for a kiss. Gina and I could read each other's minds. Right now we both wanted to puke.

Tristan asked me to give him the grand tour. Libby said she would stay at the bar and chit-chat with Gina. I saw Gina roll her eyes as she turned back to the bar to answer her phone.

I showed Tristan around the building. He had no idea that the place had such a well-equipped working kitchen for not having a menu. The only food served there was microwaveable pizzas and the usual bar snacks. I explained that the kind of crowds the Sanctuary got were more of the after 10 p.m. type that weren't interested in eating dinner.

He checked out the wine lists, drink menus and the Happy Hour menu that was in place on Monday through Friday which did discount beer and mixed drinks and had several food items such as nachos and cheese, deep fried mushrooms, potato skins, fried cheese sticks and pigs in a blanket.

He asked me if Gina would have any issue with his meeting with the accountant to go over the books. It sounded like Tristan was serious about buying in.

"Tristan," I asked, "Are you interested in a partial share of this place or controlling interest?"

"Why do you ask that Tylar?"

"Trey seemed to think that you wanted to buy me out which in all honesty I would have no problem with. It already is taking me away from Trey and the baby too much. Gina on the other hand has pretty strong convictions about how she wants to run this place. She's already talked about changing the name of it."

"Really? What does she want to call it?"

"The Shady Lady," I replied, smiling.

Tristan laughed appreciatively displaying his dimple.

"I can see the appeal of that. She's a pretty feisty little thing isn't she?"

"You have no idea," I said.

(God he would be so perfect for Gina!)

"How about this? I will talk one-on-one with Gina and let her know my interest in buying your share out to see if she's even amenable in partnering up with me. If so, I will request her permission to look at the books in advance. If I see some opportunity to increase business profits I will make suggestions to Gina. We will see fairly quickly if we butt heads or not."