by Hope Stone
As I was throwing the contents of the box onto the bed, my mind started to wander to that makeout session with Ryder. What the hell was I going to do about him? Rocky had said he was bad news, and the last thing I needed was to get emotionally involved with some biker.
Sure, Rocky wasn’t the most reliable source on the planet, and Ryder didn’t seem like just “some biker.” He was smart and funny and seemed like a really nice person.
A really nice person who does all kinds of illegal stuff, Paige. You need to stay away.
But as many times as I told myself to leave it alone, I always found myself wanting more.
“Found it!” I grabbed the cobalt blue top and took it into the bathroom. I was meeting my parents and Bailey for dinner up in Verde Hills to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I hadn’t seen them since that day with Bailey and I was definitely not looking forward to the judgmental questions that were sure to come.
“Things are going great, Mom and Dad. I got sent home from my waitress job after I tried to serve soy sauce with pancakes because I was thinking about this hot biker. Oh, and I ended up making out with him later that day.” I grinned at myself in the mirror, imagining the conversation. “The apartment? Oh yeah, it’s fabulous. It’s like a combination dispensary and night club. But at least the prostitutes are quieter than the sorority girls who come to party.”
Part of me wondered if I shouldn’t just pack up and go home. I fluffed up my hair, smacked my lips to distribute my lipstick, and grabbed my purse. I had to get to the club by seven, and LA traffic is the pits.
“You’re late.” My mother was sitting in her usual spot at our usual table at the Los Verdes Country Club. The clock over the bar said 7:07 pm.
I went over and kissed her on the cheek, getting a whiff of her martini. “I’m sorry, Mom. The freeway was a mess.”
“You wouldn’t need to take the freeway if you didn’t live in that place.”
“Give her a break, Mom. She lived on campus at SC. You act like she never left home before.” Bailey was having what appeared to be a sparkling water. My guess, though, was that she’d spiked it with some vodka when Mom and Dad weren’t looking. She learned that little trick from me.
I pulled the chair out and slid in between my parents. I kissed my dad on the cheek and put my napkin on my lap just as Miranda came up.
“Good to see you, Paige. Can I get you started with a drink?”
I ordered a glass of wine and then asked my mom about tennis, what was new with her friends, and other small chit chat. The whole thing took about ten minutes and then I was out of things to say.
This was going to be a long-ass dinner.
I had a mouthful of linguini carbonara when it happened. Honestly, I was surprised it took so long.
“So, Paige.” My dad cleared his throat. “How is your little adventure going? Have you found a job saving the world yet?” He had the audacity to chuckle at his perceived wittiness.
My mother wiped her mouth and set her napkin down before getting up. “Excuse me a moment.” She then went in the direction of the ladies’ room.
“What’s with her?” I asked, hoping to change the conversation.
“You know that she’s not happy about your life choices, Paige.”
I swear these people must live in a bubble. My “life choices” were moving to a disadvantaged neighborhood and trying to find some way to help. It’s not like I joined a gang.
Imagine if they knew about Ryder…
I took a sip of wine and said, “As a matter of fact, things are going great. I had an interview with the Californians for Social Justice.” It was true. I did have an interview. Scheduled. That I missed. I made a mental note to call Elizabeth Maroni again tomorrow.
His eyebrows went up in surprise. “Oh really? I’ve never heard of them. Who heads them up?”
I didn’t want to get into it, and fortunately my mother came back and saved me by changing the subject.
“I ran into Gladys Weinstein in the bathroom. That woman had another face lift! Her face is already so lifted she could reach the space station.”
My dad chuckled and Bailey and I shot each other a glance.
“Your sister tells me that you and she are going to a concert together?” My mom held her martini glass up to indicate to Miranda that she was ready for another.
I knew nothing about this and glared at Bailey. “Uhhh, yeah!”
Bailey jumped in. “Yeah! My favorite band, My Chemical Romance, has finally gotten back together for a reunion tour, and they’re playing at the La Playa Convention Center of all places. You remember we saw Gerard Way a few years ago, but this is the whole band!”
“What a stupid name for a group,” was all our mother said as Miranda set her third martini down in front of her.
“Well, you girls have fun, but be safe. You know better than anyone what that neighborhood is like, Paige,” Dad said.
“Actually, the convention center is in a really nice neighborhood.” Not like where I lived, I thought.
The whole time we were having this conversation, I was shooting daggers from my eyes at Bailey. I hoped she didn’t really expect me to go sit through some concert with her.
“Let’s hit the little girls’ room, Bail.” I stood up and she sheepishly did too.
“What the hell was that?” We were washing our hands in the marble sinks.
“Sorry, Paige. I thought I texted you. I’m going to the concert with that chick I met at the market the day I stayed with you.”
I figured I’d better check my texts and see if maybe she did text me. I’d been a little distracted lately. “That chick you met?”
“Yeah. Lily?”
I scanned my mind and vaguely remembered her telling me about it. “Oh yeah.”
“She’s great. Totally real and normal. Gets good grades and everything.”
“Why not tell Mom and Dad the truth?” As soon as I asked the question, I knew the answer. If she didn’t live in Verde Hills, my parents would think she wasn’t good enough to be friends with their precious daughter. They were so elitist!
“You know why. Anyway, I thought I could just spend the night after. If that’s okay.”
I was reapplying my lipstick and said, “Sure, that’s fine. Maybe we can get dinner before the concert or something. Does she drive?”
“I don’t think so. She’s sixteen but hasn’t gotten her license yet. We talked about doing it together.”
We headed out to the dining room and I said, “Sounds good, Bailey. Just make sure I know about this kind of stuff before I hear about it from Mom and Dad.”
She hugged me and said, “Thanks, Paige. You’re the best.”
Ryder
I could hear the shouting and things crashing as soon as I turned off my bike. I locked it (never forget to do that) and ran to the door.
“I’m not goddamn kidding, Chalupa. Shit is missing and I’m not gonna stop until I find it.”
I heard a huge crash and some glass shatter. “Padre, stop! There’s nothing missing! I took inventory myself.” Chalupa sounded desperate.
“Padre.” I used my most commanding voice. “What is going on?”
The man that looked back at me was not the man I knew. His hair was wild and out of control and his dark eyes showed panic. The shop was completely trashed, with tool cabinets dumped out and shattered glass everywhere. At least the customers’ cars seemed to be untouched.
I went over to him and grabbed his arm, gently but firmly. “Padre. Let’s go into your office and talk it through.”
“You think I’m going to trust you?” he said.
“Padre. Ryder just wants to talk.” Chalupa stood there running his hands through his hair.
At that moment, Swole walked in, and behind her was Moves. Our private security team. “Padre. Listen to them. You need to stop.”
“The fuck I do. This is MY shop and I’ll be damned if people are stealing from me.” Padre lunged for another tool box and Swole a
nd Moves rushed to grab him and pin him back.
It wasn’t until Yoda came in the back door that Padre stopped struggling. “Paul,” he said, using Padre’s given name. “Let’s go for a walk.”
He nodded to me to come and to Swole and Moves to let him go. Yoda walked to the door and said, “Come on. The fresh air will do you good.”
The day was warm and sunny, and if you didn’t know what had just gone down it would seem like another perfect day in Southern California.
I stayed a few paces behind, close enough that I could hear what was being said, but far enough that they could talk just the two of them. We walked down Berry Avenue in the direction away from the Blue Dog.
“What’s going on, Paul?”
“My people are stealing from me, Ming.” His voice sounded gravelly and upset.
‘How do you know?”
“Things aren’t where I left them. I go to look for a tool and it’s not there.”
“Have you talked to the guys about it?” His tone was compassionate.
“I did, but they just lie about it. I won’t tolerate this kind of thing, Yoda. You know that.”
“Of course. Can I ask why they would steal from you? You’ve been nothing but loyal to everyone at Ortega and Outlaw Souls.”
“I know. That’s the thing. I just can’t believe it.”
“Is it possible you’re mistaken?”
He stopped and looked at Yoda, totally unaware that I was there. I stopped, too.
“It is possible. I’ve noticed some…changes.”
“What kind of changes?”
“In me. In my mind and my memory and stuff. I get so mad. Just explosive rage over stupid shit. I turned my television upside down when some guy won on Wheel of Fortune when he shouldn’t have.”
“Have you been to a doctor?” Yoda started walking again, slowly, and Padre and I did too.
Padre shook his head. “No. I don’t wanna know. My mom lost her mind and I don’t want it to happen to me.”
“Paul. There are all kinds of medications and things nowadays. You can slow the progress, even if you can’t stop it. Not finding out isn’t going to make it better.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew something was up with Padre. I just hoped he’d get help before someone got really hurt.
“Where is he now?” Pin was sitting to my left. “We don’t want him walkin’ in.”
I’d called an emergency meeting of the Outlaw Souls, and we were in the back room of the Blue Dog. Everyone was here except for Padre, because he was the subject of the meeting.
I had the two prospects Kimberly and Carlos outside guarding the door, and we had a signal for if Padre walked into the bar. I didn’t think he would be there, honestly. He’d had a rough day.
“I think he went home. We cleaned up the shop and it was a lot of physical labor. He’s gotta be tired.”
“So what are we gonna do about Padre?” Hawk asked. “We can’t have a president who loses control like that.”
“I know. It’s a tough situation. I think we have some time, though, before we have to confront it directly. He promised Yoda he’d see a doctor and we have the Vegas run coming up. Plus, we’re doing security for that concert down at the convention center next week. We have a lot to keep him busy with. Let’s just make sure that one of us is always with him, except for when he’s at home. This way if he starts thinking crazy shit, we’ll be able to talk to him. Or at least alert each other.”
It was a temporary solution and one that I hoped would work. Time would tell.
Paige
My alarm went off, and for a moment I had a sinking feeling of dread. Another day waiting tables at Tiny’s.
It wasn’t that I hated the job. It was honest work, the customers tipped well (although not as well as the ones Rocky got for letting them grab her ass), and it wasn’t exactly hard. I just felt I was wasting my passion taking orders for today’s special and lemon pie. As much as I hated to admit it, my parents were right: I didn’t get a degree from USC to be waiting tables at a diner in North La Playa.
Almost as soon as the dread set in, though, it lifted as I remembered. My alarm wasn’t for work, it was for a job interview!
A couple of days ago, Rocky asked if she could pick up a couple of extra shifts. She wanted to save up for concert tickets and needed the extra money. I called Elizabeth Maroni at the Californians for Social Justice job and finally rescheduled that interview and got Rocky to cover my shift. It was some kind of miracle that the position was still open and that Elizabeth was willing to still consider me after my missing the interview with no warning.
I practically leapt out of bed. Even the mess of Banner Manor couldn’t ruin my mood today! It took just a few minutes to shower, fix my hair and makeup, and put on my interview outfit. I’d already stopped by FedEx Kinkos last night to print out my resume, and so I downed some coffee (being really careful not to spill!) and headed out the door.
The office was in downtown La Playa, not far from city hall and the convention center. As was typical for La Playa, traffic was a mess this time of day. But I didn’t care. I was interviewing for a job!
By the time I finally got to the building (GPS took me to the wrong place), the regular parking lot was full and I had to pay $20 to park three blocks away in one of those valet lots. It was a warm morning and I wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to walk that far in my heels right before a job interview. But what else could I do?
The sun was shining and there were seagulls cawing as the ocean breeze took a bit of the warmth off my face. If I got the job, this would be my workplace every day. That would be a Subway sandwich place I could go to at lunch. There would be my new Starbucks.
I really wanted this job.
The sign over the doors that said “Californians for Social Justice” was small. It was clearly not a big-budget place. I didn’t care. It was better than Tiny’s.
I pushed open the glass door and went inside. There was a small reception desk, but no one was at it. The walls of the waiting room were covered in posters about making a difference in the community. There were old magazines strewn about and a few metal chairs lined up against the wall.
I wasn’t sure what to do since no one was at the desk, so I stood there for a few moments. When no one came out, I said, “Hello?”
No one answered and so I said it again. “Hello?”
I looked at my phone to see if maybe Elizabeth had called or texted to reschedule. Nothing. Maybe this was her way of getting even with me for standing her up? I doubted she would be that childish.
So I just stood there, looking around, wondering what to do.
Finally, a small woman holding a plastic box full of papers came walking in the room backwards. Her brown hair was in a braid and she was wearing a long denim skirt with flats. She appeared to be struggling with the box, so I said, “Here. Let me help you,” and started to walk over to her.
Evidently I must have startled her because she jumped and said, “Oh!” and then dropped the box, spilling the papers.
“I’m sorry,” we both said at the same time.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she said.
“Yeah, I called out but no one was here.”
“I was in the back getting these…” She spread her hands out and looked at the floor. She then looked up at me. “I assume you’re Paige Anton?”
I nodded. “I am. Can I help you clean this up?” It was a rhetorical question as I bent down and started grabbing papers.
“These are all our old rejected grant applications for the past five years. We’re in the process of re-applying and wanted to pull some information off of them.” She looked at me. “You don’t have any experience in grants, do you?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I’m a fast learner, though.”
“No, we need someone who has experience getting grants. Our funding is running out and we need to source additional grants if we’re going to stay afloat.”
&
nbsp; We finished putting the papers back in the box and she turned and started walking away. Was that it? The whole interview?
She then turned to look at me and said, “Come on. Follow me back here.”
I did as instructed and followed her down a small hallway that led to a room that looked like it used to be a single office. There were four cubicles stuffed in it, one on each wall. It was insanely cramped and not at all what I’d been expecting.
“What did you get your degree in?” she asked, setting the box down on top of several others just like it.
“Sociology. My GPA was…”
“Too bad. We really need someone with a business background. Everyone on staff has a MSW.”
That was the exact degree I’d been thinking of getting. But maybe a masters in social work wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Okay, so no grant experience. No business background. Do you know anything about fund raising? Or accounting?”
“I took an accounting class one summer in high school.” This was not going very well, I could tell.
“I seem to recall reading that you grew up in Verde Hills. Do you have any contacts up there that might be a potential donor?”
Honestly, even if I did, I wasn’t exactly going to call them and hit them up for money. I got that this place seemed to be hard up for funds, but I wanted to make a difference in the community, not raise funds for some organization. My goal was to work hands-on with young people.
I was starting to think that maybe this wasn’t the job for me after all.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”
Elizabeth stood up and we both realized that the interview was over. “Well, Paige, as you can see we are really short-staffed and we need to find someone who can help get us the funding to stay afloat. We would welcome you as a volunteer, but…”
I smiled and extended my hand to shake hers. “Thank you for the interview and the opportunity, but I think I’ll keep looking.”
