Mic the Dic

Carla wanted to finish up a few things in the office before going to Murphy's. I decided to go so we could get our seats before the happy hour rush.

Sylvia greeted me at the door in her usual fashion.

"Hiya Pheury! Murph! Look who's here."

When Murph saw me, you'd have thought we were long lost brothers. He came out from behind the bar, something he usually does not do just to greet someone. He gave me a big bear hug.

"Mick, buddy. How are you?"

"Murph. Good to see you. Uh, why the, ahh, why the attention."

"I just had a phone call a few minutes ago."

"From?"

"Your friend."

"My friend? I don't have any friends."

"The friend you introduced me to."

"I introduce you to all of my friends at one point or another. You know Murph, this could be a long game if we keep up this way." I knew who he was talking about, I just wanted him to tell me.

"Mrs. Armacost."

"That's nice. How is she? I haven't seen her in, ohhh, about 4 hours."

"She's doing fine, fine."

"Good. Can I have my seat?"

"You can have any seat in the house, 'ol buddy." Murph headed back behind the bar to retrieve my favorite bar stool.

I looked at Sylvia, "What the hell is he smoking?"

"I don't know. He had a phone call, took it in the office, and about five minutes later he came out yelling, cheering, he even did a jig. He started singing some kind of Irish folk song about you being his best friend in the world." Sylvia shrugged her shoulders.

Murph came back around with the stool and carried it all the way down to my favorite corner at the far end of the bar. Then he came back to where Sylvia and I were standing, watching in amazement.

"He always curses you every time you come in here because he has to pass that stool over the bar to you."

"I know."

"Mick, my buddy, will your gorgeous secretary be joining us for happy hour?"

"Yeah, in a little while. How long do I have to wait before you decide to tell me what's up?"

"Well, you know that little piece of property behind me? I may be the owner of it in about a month or so."

"Really?"

"That's what she said. She is having the paperwork drawn up for my lawyers to look at."

"That's great. Can I ask how much?"

"A lot cheaper that we talked about. It turns out, SHE has the controlling interest on that piece of property. She is letting me have it for the assessed value, $275 thousand."

"You're kidding me? Damn! I'd have bought it for that and sold it to you for the 450 we talked about."

"Yeah, well hold onto your hat, PARTNER."

"Partner?"

"Yes, PARTNER. She wants me to name you as a partner in some way shape or form. WE have to decide on how."

"Murph, I don't want to be your partner. Nothing personal. I just... well... I like what I do. I don't want to get into a bar and restaurant."

"I think it is like a silent partnership thing. You get some of the income and benefits of the property, but none of the headaches of managing the business. You keep doing what you're doing."

"That doesn't exactly sound fair."

"Actually it is. You see, I still run Murphy's, which I want to do. We make you a member of the board of directors, which is comprised of my brother, my sister, and me. We cut you in for 20% of the profit of the property business and that's it. You get to choose an office. We meet once a month or more often if necessary."

"Wait a minute. This still doesn't sound fair. All of you have pitched in lots and lots of money to become part of this...

"Wait a minute, PARTNER. You just kicked in several million dollars worth of interest, whether you know it or not. If this goes through as Teresa and I just talked about, you will have saved me millions, while giving us the opportunity to make a whole boatload of money with the expansion of Murphy's."

"What will your brother and sister think of this little plan?"

"I just got off the phone with them. Once I told them what we were gaining, they had no problems with adding you to the family." Murph laughed as he put his one arm across my shoulder. "Welcome to the family, PARTNER. We are about to make a lot of money. Oh! There is one other catch..."

"I knew it. I knew there had to be a catch in there somewhere."

"Oh, it's not that bad of a catch. We also have to make Holly a partner. That's why there was that 20% of the take, not 25."

"Holly? I get it. That way Teresa can still have a say in what happens while taking care of her kid."

"Yep! Hey, having her around is not a bad thing, is it?"

"No, I guess not."

"She's finishing her degree in Mass Com, right? That could be something we could use."

"I guess. That and Journalism. We could start our own newspaper and make her the editor." I laughed.

"No, but we could use a public relations person."

"That's a good point. Especially with the P.R. aspect of trying to refurb this area."

"I better get back to work. Yipee!!!"

I didn't exactly know what to say. But, knowing my luck, something would screw up the deal. Murph went back behind the bar as I walked to my corner. When I got there, Murph had already set up my beer and bourbon.

I started thinking about the deal. Why would Teresa want to take care of me in the deal? Maybe she is giving me too much credit on freeing her from Benjamin. After all, all I did was catch him, I didn't set him up with Stacy Schmidt.

Charlie and I talked about what was new in the area while we killed time waiting for Carla to show up.

At around 6:30, Carla finally made it. I saw her come in with the normal gawks from the men in the joint. She made her way back to me, gave me a kiss, gave Charlie a kiss, and sat down on the stool we had been saving for her.

Murph didn't waste any time bringing her tequila. "There you go, Carla. And how are you this wonderful evening?"

"I'm fine." Carla looked at me with a puzzled look.

"And can I get you anything, partner?", he asked, looking at me.

"No, I'm fine for now, but I think Carla wanted to get something to eat."

"Why sure." He handed Carla a menu. "I'll just give you a minute to look that over."

Carla looked at Murph as he went back down the bar. "What's his story tonight? I've never seen him so nice, or happy."

"He has a new partner."

"Yeah, I heard him say that. What? He called you partner."

"It looks like Teresa is going to sell Murph the Wharf."

"That's great! So why did he call you partner?"

"Well she is making one of the conditions that I become a partner."

"In Murphy's??? That's terrific!"

"No. Not Murphy's. In Murphy's property."

"Oh! Well that's still pretty good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well... I guess so."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, I guess. I just feel like I'm being pushed into this deal without putting anything up front. Murph is going to be putting up $275 thousand bucks to..."

"That's a pretty good deal. Is that what's she selling it to him for?"

"Yeah. Like I was saying, he, or his company, is putting that up. Meanwhile Holly and I are being made partners in the corporation."

"That's cool. Wait a minute... Holly and you???"

"Yeah. Not together or anything like that. Teresa is kind of setting her up with a job when she graduates. Murph said it will be good to have a public relations person for the area."

"Okay, so what's bothering you?"

"Well it's just not fair that everybody is putting something up, except me."

"I don't get it. If it hadn't been for you, this deal wouldn't have happened. You're the one that brought everybody together. If it hadn't been for you, that old wharf would be there forever, or at least until it falls into the river."

"Yeah, I know, but..."

"You probably saved Murph a couple of million dollars..."

"Several million..."

"That's money Teresa doesn't want or need. It unloads a piece of property she probably wouldn't be able to sell otherwise. It's protecting this area of the city from development. And it's probably going to make you a wealthy man."

"I don't know. I guess I just have a hard time accepting success."

"Would you have to close up the P.I. agency?"

"No. That's another good thing. As a partner, Murph tells me, I get an office down here. We meet once a month. Other than that, I just sit back and collect money."

"Well it sounds to me like it's a dream job."

"Yeah, but you know my feelings about things too good to be true."

"I think you should relax and think about it. I'll be right back, I have to go to the ladies room."

Carla pushed herself away from the bar and walked towards the bathrooms. Although she made a lot of sense, I was still having a hard time thinking about what was being offered to me. I tried to weigh things in my head. There was more money, some independence, money, a little more responsibility, some more money, some power, some money, involvement in some real estate, money, being able to preserve some history, and a little extra money. On the bad side... I couldn't see anything either.

I was twiddling with a straw when Carla came back.

"Still worrying about it, huh?"

"Yeah. I just wish I knew why Teresa was being this nice to me."

"Maybe she wants a nice son-in-law."

"Naa, I don't think that's it."

"Maybe she just really appreciates what you did for her. Maybe it's her way of keeping your mouth shut about that tape."

"What tape?"

"The tape she sent you."

"What tape she sent me?"

"See what I mean."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Murph came over to us, "Did you decide on what you want to eat? Oh, Mick, by the way, How much money do you have on you?"

"Right now? About 50 bucks in cash, but I have my card. Why?"

"Give me a buck."

"A buck?"

"Yeah, a buck."

I went into my pocket and pulled out a one dollar bill and handed it to Murph. He took it and stuck it in his pocket. "Okay, what do you want from the kitchen?"

I looked at Carla, deferring to her, "I'll take the steak sandwich.", she said.

"Any extras on it? Cheese, onions, mushrooms...?"

"Ooo, onions and Swiss."

I just stared at her. "Ahh, you better hold the onions.", she corrected her order.

And you, partner.

"I'll take the steak sandwich too. Can I get a piece of cheese on that?"

"Sure, American, cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella, provolone, Jack,...

"Wo wo wo! Cheddar. Please. I always knew you were good at cutting the cheese, but..." I laughed.

"Okay, I'll have them up in a few. Do you need another round?"

"That will be good.", I answered.

"Be right back."

"Ahh, Murph."

He stopped and turned back towards me.

"What was that thing with the dollar?"

"Oh, your part in the cost of being a partner."

"My what?"

"You said it wasn't right that everybody had to put up money to be a partner except you. Now you can't say that." He smiled and walked away.

"There you go, Mick. Now you've invested in it."

"I've got news for you, I've been investing in this place for years."

"So, when do we come down to pick out your new office?"

"That's a good question. I guess I'd better check with Murph on that."

"Do I get to help? Or is that another of Holly's jobs."

I cracked up laughing. "I'm glad I'm not the only one with a jealous streak."

"Did that sound catty? I didn't mean it."

"Sure. Like I didn't mean the comments I made about John, right?"

"I'm sorry, that was mean. But do I?"

"Sure. I guess so. I mean, if you want to."

"Well, I'd like to. It will be my new office too."

"You're right."

"What happens if you don't find one you like?"

"Not find one? Down here? Well on the outside chance, I guess we'd stay where we are. But frankly, there are a couple of places down here I'm really interested in. The one is two doors down. It's the five story building. The office I saw is on the fifth floor. It's quite a bit bigger than the one we have now. That way I could bring back all of those boxes of files I have stored in my garage. This office is the one towards the back of the building, so when the wharf is gone, it will have a nice view. And, of course, if Murph ever decided to expand into the next building, that would put us right next door.

"Ooo! A penthouse office? That would be schweet, schweetheart.", Carla said mimicking my Bogart shtick.

Sylvia brought our sandwiches around to us. Murph's steak sandwich is a piece of real steak, not that paper thin sandwich or sub stuff. Mr. Antonio does a nice job. Not only are they done properly, just slightly pink on the inside, there's nothing worse than bighting into a bloody sandwich, and all of the condiments, lettuce, and tomato are laid out on the plate instead of piled up on the sandwich. Carla's even had one of those little cups with some grilled onions.

"Thanks Sylvia.", I said sarcastically.

"You're welcome, Mick."

"I meant for the onions."

"Oh, did you want some? I'm sorry, Murph didn't say you wanted then."

"Oh! So that's who did it to me."

"Did what?"

Carla just snickered. I said a little louder hoping Murph might hear me, "I look at kissing someone who just ate onions like kissing someone who just finished a cigarette. Yucky!" There I go with that technospeak again.

"I won't eat any. Thanks anyway, Sylvia.", Carla said with a note of dejection.

"Go ahead and eat them. That's why they invented mouth wash.", I said.

"No, no! That's okay. I won't eat any. But that means you have to kiss me longer. You won't have an excuse."

"Ah, okay. Don't twist my arm so hard." I laughed, so did she. As a matter of fact, so did Sylvia and Charlie."

Murph walked over to us with our round of drinks. "Darling, any time you get tired of his bullshit, just come to me."

"But aren't you married?"

"Yeah, but I'd leave the old bat I'm married to for you any day." We all laughed.

We finished our meal. And I do mean meal. We took our time finishing our drinks. Murph finally caught up on the folks at the bar, temporarily of course.

"Hey Mick, why don't you stop by tomorrow, during the day, maybe before lunch, and I'll show you some of the offices we have open."

"I'd like that."

"Even if the wharf falls through, I think I can save you a few dollars on rent and probably give you a better office."

"Okay. I'm always in the mood to save money. What about the 5th floor two doors down?"

"The whole floor?"

"No, just that back office."

"Oh, the one with the terrace? There's actually two rooms up there. The other is a conference room."

"Terrace? I didn't know it had a terrace up there."

"If it's the one I'm thinking of. It's kind of the roof, but it's been fixed up to serve as a terrace. It's very nice, but nobody wants it because all you see is that wharf."

"But if the Wharf goes away..."

"I'll show you that one first."

"Okay. It's a deal."

Murph had to go back to work and it was time we depart. I motioned to Murph that I was ready to settle up. He asked me to pass him my bar stool, which I did.

"Settle with me tomorrow when you come in."

I knew he was trying to pick up the tab again. "I'd rather do it now, if it's okay."

"Okay, make it 20 dollars."

"Oh, come on Murph. I know I owe you more than that."

"Let's not even get into who owes who what. Alright let's make it 20 and you take care of Sylvia with any extra you think it should be."

"Alright. No point in arguing between partners, right?"

"That's the idea. I'm glad you're catching on fast."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear ya."

I threw 30 dollars on the bar. We headed towards the door. As I got to Sylvia I handed her 20 dollars.

"Mick, wait a minute, that's a twenty."

"I know. That's what Murph said I was to do. Now that I'm a partner, I better have a talk with him about how he handles money."

"It won't do you any good."

"No? How come?"

"He thinks he knows everything about money."

"After today, I question that. After all, he's the one that wants to make me a partner."

Sylvia, Carla, and I laughed as we moved closer to the door. I could see Murph looking our way obviously wondering what we were laughing about. I just looked at him, told the girls that he was watching us, and all three of us looked at him together and laughed. I think he was getting a complex.

Sylvia gave me my good-bye hug and kiss. Carla made her way outside and waited for me on the sidewalk.

"So, you going home, or you following me to my house.", I asked her.

"Oh, I don't know. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of tired. I haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep he last couple of weeks."

"Yeah, me too."

"Why don't you walk me to my car. I'm around back."

"Sure. I would anyway."

Carla took my hand in hers as we walked around to the rear of Murphy's. "You know something Mick, It is really going to be nice getting rid of that old wharf. It is such an eyesore. It's probably loaded wit rats."

"You're probably right."

Carla looked up at the rear of the buildings. "Is that the one you've been talking about? Up there?"

I turned around and looked, "Yup, that's the one. I didn't even know it had that terrace on it."

"Yeah! That could be neat. I could spend my lunch out on the terrace working on my tan. There aren't too many points higher around here, at least where they can see this side of the building."

"What, would you do it in the nude?"

"Well, probably not totally. It would all depend."

"That office is looking better and better all the time."

I looked around at the other buildings. She was right, all of those that could look down onto the terrace are on the front side of the building. The only buildings taller on the back side either were too far away or didn't have windows facing the rear of these. That makes it convenient for more reasons than just sunbathing.

"This really does have some potential.", I said to Carla.

"Yes it does. I hope it works out. Not just for Murph, but for you too."

"Yeah, at least that way you'd have a reason to stick with me, my money."

"Good night Pheury. On that, I'm going home." She kissed me goodnight and got in her car.