Agents of Pleasure

The next day Paige got to the office a bit late; and when she walked in, Jimmy was standing next to his desk talking to a very pretty, light-skinned, African-American woman. She looked to be in her early 20's with straight, black hair styled to frame her face. She might have been ten pounds overweight (if that,) but her clothes accentuated her figure without being obvious. Her shoes were business dressy, her pressed slacks and tucked-in, long-sleeved shirt made her look right at home in an office.

Jimmy said to her, "Oh Regina, here she is now! Paige, this is Regina Lewis; she's a friend of one of your clients Charlie Green."

Regina turned to face Paige and extended her hand; her smile was warm, but there was a tinge of amusement at the corners of her mouth. "Hello Paige! It's nice to finally meet you!"

The redhead took her hand, "Regina, yes...what an unexpected surprise!"

"Please, call me Reggie!" She glanced at Jimmy, "You too, Mr. Hannigan, the only time I use Regina is when I introduce myself."

He grinned, "Well since you clarified that, no one calls me Mr. Hannigan; around here it's Jimmy." He looked at Paige, "By a happy coincidence, Regina...I mean Reggie...is looking for a job!"

Paige's mouth dropped open, "Oh my God! Seriously?" She turned to Reggie, "How did you know we might be hiring? We didn't even advertise it yet!"

"I didn't know it; I'm taking night classes for my Master's at University of Illinois - Springfield and need something for the next two years to pay the bills. Charlie just said take a chance and ask."

"That Charlie," Paige smiled, "He's psychic or something!"

Jimmy spoke up, "I was saying to her that we could use a receptionist." Just then the phone rang, and when Jimmy saw the caller I.D. he said, "Ladies, I have to take this."

Paige said, "We'll be in my office, Jimmy, come and get us when you're ready."

Upon closing the door, Paige said, "So Reggie, have a seat and tell me how all this happened."

"It's pretty simple really," said Reggie as she sat down, "I was out with Charlie last night, and we were discussing my options. Mostly it all came down to needing a stress-free 9:00-5:00 job, and he suggested I ask if you guys needed anybody. Is that psychic?"

"I'm not sure; but your timing couldn't have been more perfect. We've been so busy lately and Jimmy was struggling to handle the office side of things. It was about a week ago that he mentioned adding a receptionist."

"If he writes a good job description, I'm sure I can handle it."

With a sly smile, Paige said, "Maybe we should skip the part about your relationship with Charlie until later. I never told Jimmy anything about that."

Reggie returned a mischievous smile of her own, "Then you never told him any of your personal dealings with Charlie?"

"Heavens no, I never talk to him about my sex life. I just got married and he probably thinks that's all there is."

The dark-haired girl's smile got bigger, "Charlie and Allie think you're terrific!"

Paige blushed, "The feeling is mutual; did they give you a full report?"

"Oh yes, it was totally hot! I think my favorite part was..."

Just then the office door opened and Jimmy poked his head in, "You girls getting along?"

"Big-time," Paige replied, "I think she should start today!"

"I agree," he returned, "Let's get the particulars done right now. I have to leave in an hour."

"Tell you what, Reggie," Paige added, "I'm going to do a little work here, and I'm meeting my friend Marie at Mannino's for lunch. How 'bout you join us? My treat! Consider it a "Welcome to Our World" lunch!

"That would be awesome!"

By the time he walked out the door, Reggie had filled out the application and was settled into Jimmy's former front desk with the phone and a very good idea of what was expected of her. Paige thought this would be an excellent time to check around and see if there were any properties available for Allie to invest in. Lo and behold the first thing she looked at was the other side of a duplex very near the zoo. It was two bedrooms/one bath and the owner was asking $89,900 for it. It took her another thirty minutes to find a second option, a two bedroom/two bath foreclosure. The price on that one was $115,000 and only three blocks from Chad's house. She printed out the listings and looked at the clock, 11:35...Perfect!

Reggie was busy vacuuming the unused office that Jimmy was going to move into. Ever the smart-ass, Paige said, "Do you wash windows and scrub toilets?"

"Jimmy's giving me $14 per hour; I expected him to say minimum wage, so I'm happy to do the bathrooms...sure!"

Paige laughed, "If you do that kind of cleaning, I'll do my best to get you get a dollar more per hour in a couple months; then I won't have to do it!"

Just then the phone rang again and Reggie picked it up. "Thank you for calling Hannigan Realty! This is Regina speaking, how may I help you?" Paige smiled.

They headed out the door and walked into the restaurant five minutes early. Allie was standing there talking to the hostess when she saw them. First, she walked up to Reggie and said, "What are you doing here?"

Paige said to the server, "Did you know Reggie was applying for a job at my office, Allie?"

"What?" She looked at Reggie, "You did?"

"It was Charlie's idea," The new receptionist replied, "but the situation is perfect for me; I'm so glad he thought of it!"

Allie gave Paige a wink and said, "So you're going to mentor her, are you?"

The redhead giggled, "Does she need it?"

"I meant in real estate, silly girl!"

They were all giggling when Marie came in; she looked at them laughing and said, "The party started without me?"

"Yes," Paige responded, "but now that you ARE here, let's order drinks!"

Marie smiled brightly and looked at Reggie, "And who is this?"

"This is Regina Lewis, Marie...we are supposed to call her Reggie. She's Hannigan Realty's new receptionist...and... she's also one of Charlie Green's sweethearts."

"Oh my God! You're one of THOSE, huh?" Marie quipped. "How's that working for you?"

Reggie smiled, "Right now it's working just fine, I'm in the middle of..."

Four more people entered the restaurant and Allie interrupted them, "Let's get you guys seated, okay?"

She led them to a booth and got their drink orders.

Marie cracked everyone up again when she said, "So Reggie, you were saying? How is it going for you in the Charlie Green organization?"

When the giggles stopped, Reggie looked at Marie and then turned to Paige, "Before answering that, I have to say your friend here has the sexiest, most feminine voice I've ever heard in my life, Oh - My - God!"

"Trust me, she's pretty sexy in other ways too; but I do agree with you!"

"Well, my degree is in communications and broadcasting; if I ever need a voice like that, I'll keep you in mind, Marie!"

"Great, but I don't work cheap!" Everyone got the giggles again.

"My situation with Charlie is pretty sweet! Being so busy with school; I like to work out at my gym, and now I have this new job...anyway, this relationship we all have is perfect at this point in life."

"How did you meet?"

"At a sorority party two years ago. He came in with a friend, and we struck up a conversation."

Marie looked at Paige and grinned, "I wonder who the friend was?"

"It was Vickie Scott, one of our group. Charlie is very self-assured when he speaks and Vickie is gorgeous! I remember thinking There must be something about this guy if she's with him. Anyway we spent an hour talking and by the time it was over, he asked me out."

"Let's be real here, Reg," said Paige, "In that first hour did he mention anything about his sexual gifts?"

Reggie smiled, "When he told me he had been seeing Vickie for about eight months, I asked him, 'So you love each other?' And he simply said, 'It's very satisfactory in every way!' THAT was a strange answer but anyway, at the end of our first date (which was fun and engaging) he asked if I wanted to go out again; and I said, 'If you want to I will,' and that was when he said, 'I do want to, but Reggie, honestly...we're both busy. Wasting our time is not in our best interests.' I said, 'What do you mean?' He surprised the hell out of me by saying, 'It's simple really; if you're not a good kisser, then building a relationship will never work.'"

Paige burst out laughing, "That is SO Charlie!"

Reggie was grinning from ear-to-ear, "Ain't it though? So I said to him, 'Are you asking for some sort of try-me-out kiss?' And he says, 'Yeah, I guess I am!' I said, 'That's pretty audacious!' And he says, 'THAT'S why I'm hoping you're a good kisser; any woman with a vocabulary like yours is worth knowing, and if she can kiss, she's worth dating!' I looked at him and said, 'Are YOU a good kisser?' and he says, 'You won't be sorry!'"

Just then Allie returned with their drinks; Marie laid her hand on their new friend's arm, "Reggie's telling us how she met Charlie."

"Fascinating stuff, right?"

"Quite, she's up to the first kiss part."

"Oh my God, okay...but before she does, have y'all decided what to order?"

They gave Allie their orders and she said, "Okay, Reg...tell them quick, I want to hear it, then I have to keep moving!"

The pretty, black girl giggled and said, "So I said to him, 'So what if I don't think YOUR kisses are up to my standards?' and he says (just as cool as anything,) 'Only one way to find out.' He puts his hands on my upper arms and pulls me closer and says, 'Don't either of us hold back.' He was looking me right in the eyes and I can't really find the words for what I saw in there. So I just thought, 'Fuck it, I'm gonna see what this guy is about!' We kissed... and I about died right on my front porch."

Paige turned to Marie, "Told ya!"

Marie looked at the ceiling, "God, when am I gonna meet this guy?"

"Don't mind her," Paige said to Reggie, "she's balancing two boyfriends of her own!"

"It's my understanding," Reggie said with a wink, "you're both balancing boyfriends AND girlfriends!"

The redhead blushed and Marie slapped her on the arm, "Word gets around, Luv; do you think we better slow down a little?"

Paige looked at Allie, "Maybe we should have a big party one of these days so everyone can meet everyone?"

"Sounds okay to me," she replied, "but I think I need to submit your orders first," and she scurried off.

Things settled down after that. When the food arrived, Marie got a phone call about an incident with one of the leopards so she had to pack up her lunch to-go.

"Oh my God, that girl is really something!" Reggie said. "Is she always like that?"

"Mostly, but she's an amazing friend; my life wouldn't be the same without her. But say, we don't want to take an extended lunch hour on your first day. That wouldn't look good; let's pack ours up also and finish them in the office."

Allie brought more boxes and Paige paid the check. "By the way, Allie, I found two properties you might want to look at."

"Oh my God! You did?"

"Yes, when are you free to take a look?"

"I'm meeting Charlie and Joy for breakfast tomorrow; how about after that...like 10:00? I'm also fairly certain they'll want to come along for the tour. Will that be okay?"

"Sure, I don't work a lot of Saturdays, but in this case I'll make an exception for the three of you."

"Thanks, text me the address?"

Back at the office Paige helped Reggie move all of Jimmy's stuff into the 2nd office. He came back around 3:00pm and got right to work getting reorganized. By the time they all left at 5:45, things were looking almost ship-shape again. When she walked into her kitchen a little after 6:00 everyone was seated around the table, including Tom Brecher.

"Wow, look at this! Hi everyone, hello Tom! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, we were doing the last painting in the bathroom; and when we realized it was going to take an hour to finish, all of us decided to stay the extra hour and finish today rather than clean the brushes and rollers to use on Monday. Then...just my luck, your mother said there was enough food for me to stay!"

"Yes, you ARE the lucky one!" said Paige with a wink at her mother.

"Speaking of luck," he continued, "I think the work will be completed by Monday night! Maybe you wanna go take a look before sitting down to eat?"

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed.

Before she could go out the side door, Tom said, "No Paige, go down the hall; your new bedroom door is unlocked!"

"Sophie and me saw it, Mom," Olivia interjected, "You're gonna LOVE it!"

The redhead looked at Tom; he was grinning from ear to ear. "Go on...take a look!"

Paige stepped inside her new bedroom and literally gasped. From the doorway the finished room looked huge; all their new furniture was in place, the bed had been made, the lighting was perfect! The only way she could see there was still work to be done was that the baseboards and crown molding had been stacked along the sidewall, presumably for installation on Monday. She walked into the bathroom and started humming happy songs. This was a bathroom most women could only dream about! Paige made herself laugh when she thought, "This is a "River Oaks" bathroom!" She would have liked to sit for an hour or two and "bask," but she forced herself to return to the kitchen.

The look on her face must have been amusing because everyone immediately began laughing! Tom said, "You like it, huh?"

Without saying a word, Paige walked over behind Tom's chair, threw her arms around him from behind, and gave him a three second kissy smack on the cheek. Then she spoke, "It's so beautiful I could cry!"

"I'm glad; when you get a longer look at it, let me know if anything needs adjusting."

"I can't see how that will happen; it looks perfect to me."

"Good, and here's more good news; on Monday we'll also start on your mother's bathroom!"

"Oh, my God!" Paige looked over at a beaming Trudy, "I almost forgot about that!"

There was a lot more chatter around the table about how things were going. Paige had some trouble eating because she was so excited. When things started settling down they finally got the young ones to bed around 7:30 and after Paige changed into shorts and a tank top, she joined Trudy and Tom out on the porch. Her mom had poured them three glasses of hard lemonade.

Tom said, "So, how about a toast to the end of phase one and the beginning of phase two?"

They touched their glasses together and Paige said, "I can't wait to see it, it's gonna be awesome, Mom!"

"I'm sure it will," she agreed. "I thought I had a visual of how your bedroom would be, it's much better than I imagined!"

They sat back to relax and just take it all in. When they finished their lemonades, Trudy leaned against Tom and he put his arm around her. Paige was smiling and thinking life couldn't be more perfect than this when her cell phone rang. "Hi Chad! I have you on speaker; Honey, wait til you see the bedroom! Awesome doesn't cover it!"

"I know, Tom sent me pictures!"

"Do you have a few minutes to come over and look at it?"

"No, that's why I'm calling. I'm really sorry, but our marketing guy Al Schaefer came down with something and corporate says I need to replace him at the Home Show in Chicago this weekend. I'm packing right now and leaving at 7:00 tomorrow morning."

"That doesn't sound like fun. Couldn't someone else do it?"

"Not on such short notice. I'm really the only person here who can handle it cuz it requires a certain amount of expertise. I'm not as good as Al, but...oh well!"

"When will you be home?"

"Monday, around lunch time. But hey? When are we gonna sleep in our new bedroom?"

Paige looked at Tom and he spoke up, "Pending the inspection on Wednesday...you can be in that night!"

"Sweet! Okay...Paige take me off speaker for a sec."

When she did so, she said, "Okay?"

"Sweetie, I needed an assistant; Sylvie's going with me." Paige didn't answer. "Babe?"

The redhead replied, "Hold on," she got up and went down the stairs to the front lawn where Tom and Trudy wouldn't hear. "This is kind of awkward. I really wanted to celebrate this weekend."

"I know, what can I say?"

She was reflective, "Honey, I like Sylvie, you know that. So you do what you must and call me throughout the weekend."

"I will, for sure."

"Are you going to fuck her?"

"I'm not going to say it won't happen."

"You know we were talking about going to the McCullers' house-warming' on Sunday night, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Babe. We'll just have to try that another time, I promise!"

"Chad, what would you say if Marie and I went anyway?"

There was a long pause, "I would say now I REALLY wish I was going with you!"

Paige's smile was painful, "Well, you go and do Maxpro proud, we'll all muddle through somehow. Call me when you get there tomorrow."

"I will, I love you!"

"I love you too! Save some energy for me on Monday night, you big fuck!"

Chad laughed, "You bet your sweet ass I will!"

When she returned to the porch, Trudy said, "Now that's disappointing!"

"Yeah, it sucks...kinda takes the shine off the moment."

"We've all been there," and Trudy looked at Tom and said, "but then the good things in life have a way of turning it all around!" She kissed him on the cheek!

Paige looked at her mother; he eyes softened and filled with tears, "Uh, are you two in love?"

Tom's arm tightened around Trudy, "Big-time! Do we have your blessing?"

"Oh my GOD!"

Twenty minutes later Tom left. "Mom, I'm so overjoyed for you I could explode!"

"Who would have thought?" Trudy replied. "Two months ago I could not have predicted this. It wasn't even on my mind. Now? I'm just happy! VERY Happy!"

"Have you two been planning now?"

"Not yet, it's all new. We'll see."

Paige looked at her watch, it said 8:30. It would be dark in forty-five minutes. "Mom, I'm going for a walk. Maybe down to Marie's. If I don't come back in a hour, you'll know where I am."

"Okay, One of my shows is coming on soon."

Instead of going straight down to Marie's, Paige decided to take the long way around the block. It was a gorgeous fall night, and even better the colors would start turning in another few weeks. Her mind was a jumble of so many things. Most of them were good; some just needed processing. Halfway around the block she was feeling more settled and the idea of her mother getting married again was talking center-stage. THAT was a great feeling!

"Hello Paige!" The call-out startled her.

"Pernell! Hi, How are you?"

"Doin' great! Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"It's wonderful, I haven't taken a walk in a long time. But tonight it seemed like the thing to do!"

"Going anywhere special? If not, c'mon up and set a spell!"

Paige climbed the steps and sat down on a rocking chair opposite Pernell's glider. "So, how is the whole process going?"

"Perfect!" he replied, "Maxpro has a team starting on Monday. We're redoing the new house first, then this one. I just signed the contract Wednesday."

"Great news! Who's directing the job, do you know?"

"Tom Brecher, I understand his guys just finished your addition."

"It's unbelievable, Pernell! Their work on my house is just beautiful!"

"That's good to hear, Paige; if you're happy I know I will be too!"

"Who's your interior decorator?"

"Lily wants to try it; I see what she's done at her house. I like her style...we'll see."

Paige smiled, "A measure of trust is always a good thing to help heal the past, right?"

He nodded, "I'm very positive she and I will get back on track. This business venture we're doing is just the thing to help that!" Pernell stood up, "Hey, by the way, I just finished putting the photo album together for the Chad/Ava fun; wanna see it?"

"Absolutely!" Disappearing into the house, he reemerged a minute later and handed her the album along with two small boxes. "What are these?"