by Dara Girard
Dillon started to speak, but his brother’s soft tone cut him off. “Nineteen eighty-two,” he said. “Would you like to share that picture?”
His mother bristled. “I burned it.”
Doran grinned. “I made a copy.” He rubbed his chin. “Let’s see. How heavy were you at the time? Was it two hundred—”
Vanessa glared at him. “Don’t you dare say another word.”
He met her stare, his tone hard. “Then don’t tempt me.”
Vanessa lifted her green drink. “Megan made it home safely. She was happy to see you yesterday although it was brief. She hopes to see more of you today.”
Tanna felt a knot form in her throat. “Megan was here?”
“Yes,” Vanessa said. “Didn’t Doran tell you?”
“I didn’t think it was important,” Doran said to his mother, his gaze fixed on Tanna.
“Men,” Vanessa said with a click of her tongue. “They just don’t know us very well do they?” She pinned Tanna with a significant look. “We women can’t help comparing ourselves to our predecessors.”
“There’s no need to compare,” Dillon said. “Tanna and Megan are two different women.”
“Yes, very different,” Vanessa said stressing the word very. “Have you met her, Tanna?”
“No,” Tanna said. “I haven’t had the pleasure.”
“You will today. She used to have her chef cook Doran the lightest, fluffy egg white omelet. Doran used to rave about them.”
“I don’t rave about food,” Doran said.
His mother ignored him. “Being healthy was one of the many things they had in common.”
“Actually, I also believe being healthy is important,” Tanna said feeling defensive. “Most times I just have jollof rice and vegetable salad.”
Raymond made a face. “Rice for breakfast?”
“Oh yes. It’s delicious and filling. Food doesn’t care what time of day it is.”
“I’d like to try it,” he said, dripping some puree on his shirt.
“If you’d stop talking and focus on eating you wouldn’t make a mess,” Vanessa said.
Tanna grabbed a napkin and helped him clean up. “You can hardly see it,” she said then noticed the wording on his oversized T-shirt. “The Quality Gentleman, huh? I’d stay away from there.”
The room fell quiet.
“Why would you say that?” Vanessa asked in a neutral tone.
Tanna looked around, surprised she had such a captive audience. “My brother-in-law went there once and it was terrible. Clearly the business is poorly run.”
“Poorly run you said?” Vanessa said with malicious glee.
Doran scowled. “Mom, stop it.”
“No, I want to hear what your fiancée has to say. Please enlighten us”
Tanna hesitated not knowing how to interpret the tension in the room. “He said it was too noisy, probably because the walls were thin and the items were subpar. He bought a hair gel that was rancid and when he went to return it, they said there were no refunds and turned him away. I don’t know what idiot is running that business, but I don’t think it will be around for long.”
Vanessa threw her head back and laughed uncontrollably.
Raymond, Rosemarie and Dillon continued to stare at Tanna dumbfounded.
Doran pushed back his chair and stood. “Tanna, I need to talk to you.” He left the room.
She glanced around the room. Everyone avoided her gaze, except for Vanessa who looked at her one more time before laughing again. Tanna sighed then followed him.
Chapter 22
“Okay, what did I do wrong?” Tanna asked once they were alone in their bedroom.
Doran tapped his chest. “I own The Quality Gentleman.”
She blinked. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You said that your family owns Mamma Tolino’s.”
“My family does, but I run my own business. A business I’ve had for seven years. A men’s grooming service.”
“Called The Quality Gentleman?” she said with a groan.
He nodded, his face grim.
Embarrassment and regret made her skin burn as she realized the impact of her mistake. She’d not only insulted him and his business, she’d shamed him in front of his family. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the beginning?” She pushed him in exasperation, but he barely moved. She was like a feather trying to fell a steel wall. She pushed him again, a little harder, still with no effect. “What is wrong with you?”
He rested his hands on his hips and looked down at where her hands had been on his chest. “Why do you keep doing that?”
Because I’m mad at you for not telling me about Megan! Why didn’t you tell me she was here? That you saw her? Was she the reason you didn’t come to bed last night? “Because you made a fool out of me!”
“I didn’t think it mattered at the time.”
“Of course it matters.” She threw up one hand. “Your fiancée should at least know what the man she’s going to marry does for a living! This is why we…you should have…I still hardly know you. How was I supposed to…?” Tanna briefly covered her eyes unable to gather her racing thoughts into words. “This is a nightmare.”
“I’m glad you think so. You’re suppose to annoy my mother, not make her happy. I can’t remember the last time I heard my mother laugh.”
Tanna let her hand fall and stared at him with regret. “I already apologized.” She sat on the bed. “You don’t have to make me feel worse.” She hung her head. What could she do to fix it? Should she even try? If he was going back to Megan what his mother thought wouldn’t matter anymore.
“Which location?”
Her head snapped up. “What?”
“Which Quality Gentleman did your brother-in-law go to?”
“I think it was the one in Longwood Mills.”
He softly swore. “It’s one of our low performing branches. What else did he notice?”
“The customer service could have been better. He said the sales associates didn’t really know what they were selling.”
Doran pulled out his phone. “Hey,” he said once someone answered, “I need The Quality Gentleman in Longwood Mills shut down and someone there to inspect it from top to bottom. Today. No cancel that. I’ll do it myself. Tell them to meet me within an hour.” He disconnected.
“You can’t go now,” Tanna said as Doran opened the door. “The party starts in four hours.”
“We’ll be back by then. If not, we’ll be fashionably late.”
“We?”
“Yes,” he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her off of the bed. “You’re going to help me.”
“Absolutely not!” Vanessa said when Doran told her of his plans. “You can’t rush off now.”
“We’ll be back in time,” Doran said, leading Tanna out the front door. “It’s only an hour away and I want to see for myself what’s going on.”
“This is why you hire people. You use them for things like this.”
“People need leadership. Bye,” he said, closing the door in her face.
She swung it back open. “How many times have I told you not to do that?”
Doran reached his car, quickly lifting the door handle three times before opening the door. He waved at his mother before getting in the car.
“Why do you that?” Tanna asked as she put on her seatbelt.
“Close the door in her face?” he said amused. “Because it’s fun.”
“No, that thing with the door handle. Is it for good luck?”
His tone changed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Never mind.” Tanna sighed. “I know you’re angry.”
“I am. But I’m more angry at myself than with you. If what you’re saying is true, then I’ve let my customers down and that’s unacceptable.”
“You said you started the company seven years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Then why not mention anything about it? Mo
st business owners are proud of their companies. Is it not doing well?”
“It’s a success, mostly,” he said not wanting to expand. He didn’t want to share that not talking about his business had become a habit. Women were rarely with him for conversation and he knew his priorities. First he had his image as the family dunce to maintain, plus most people weren’t impressed, especially Megan. She didn’t think it was a ‘sexy’ sounding business and urged him to sell it and join the family company.
“What made you come up with the idea?”
He sighed, it was just like Tanna not to let a subject drop. “It’s not interesting.”
“That’s not why I asked. I’m curious.”
His father had been the first inspiration for his idea. Presentation is powerful, he used to say. People are going to judge you anyway, son, you may as well direct them in the direction you want them to go. But it was at age seven when he truly figured out what his father meant. They’d gone to the city to visit one of their father’s friends. Rosemarie stayed by their father’s side, while Dillon sat dutifully in one chair and read, but Doran couldn’t keep still. He bounced from one chair to another, one room to the next exasperating their nanny until she told him to play a game of looking outside and counting the amount of times he saw the color red.
He didn’t start the game because she told him to, he thought it would be interesting to find such a bright color in the cold, rainy day. He saw a red car, and a red sign and a red bike, he stopped when he saw a woman in a red coat, beside her stood a boy about his age. The boy appeared to be shivering and looked sad. Doran kept waiting for them to cross the street, but they never did. He called his nanny over and pointed to the pair. “Why are they just standing there?” he demanded.
“They’re waiting for the bus.”
“Why not get a car?”
“They may not have a car.”
“Why not?”
She sighed, she was always weary of his many questions. “We’ve been over this.”
Yes, she’d told him about poor people before, but it still bothered him. The boy shouldn’t be standing out in the cold wearing an ugly jacket. Why didn’t his mom buy him a good one? She looked warm, he should be warm too.
When he couldn’t find his coat later that day, he didn’t care that his nanny scolded him, how annoyed his father had been or upset his mother was. It didn’t bother him that she called him ‘her little idiot’ and wished he was more like his brother.
Doran didn’t care because he hadn’t lost his coat. He‘d asked their driver to give it to the boy.
He’d watched the driver go to the woman and boy and say something. He watched the boy put the coat on and smile. His driver pointed towards the window where Doran stood. Doran ducked out of view, his heart pounding. He didn’t know why he felt suddenly shy, but he did. He didn’t want to take credit. He waited a few seconds before he peeked to look outside the window again. The driver had gone and the woman and boy still stood by the corner, but they no longer looked like a sad pair standing in the rain like they had been a few moment before.
That’s when his father’s words stuck with him—presentation is power. The coat had transformed them both. The boy carried his head a little higher, his mother did too. That’s when Doran knew he wanted to make others feel that way. That change didn’t take much.
But he’d never shared that story with anyone and wasn’t ready to now. “Men’s grooming is not a new idea,” he said, trying his best to sound bored about a topic he was passionate about, “just an industry I thought to expand on. A clean, well-groomed style is timeless. And I like to help men put their best foot forward and make a lasting impression. I apologize that your brother-in-law had the experience he did. If he’s willing to give us another chance, I’d like to offer him the opportunity to enjoy a cool beverage in our semi private stylist’s station, and give him an executive membership for one year which gives clients full access to nine haircuts, ten clean ups, and discounts on grooming services, and our retail products.”
“That’s very generous. I’m sure he’ll jump at the chance.”
“Until I get this Longwood Mills branch taken care of, I’d recommend one of our other locations.”
“That would be inconvenient for him.”
Doran nodded. “Fair enough… I’ll have to make this branch work then and find out what’s wrong.”
The moment he stepped inside the facility, he knew the problems. First, the walls were too thin where the various styling stations were enclosed. The construction crew had used a lower quality material to save cost. Doran went to one of the shelves and picked up a styling gel, hoping that Tanna’s brother-in-law’s experience would be a rarity, but when he opened the jar the smell had his eyes watering.
“Where are you getting these products?” he asked the manager, a man who looked better fit to run a library than a grooming facility. His nose hair needed trimming, his glasses needed a good clean and his clothes were wrinkled. They met in the back of the store.
The man adjusted his glasses and swallowed. “From a supplier.”
“The supplier we told you to use or one that you found on your own who would sell you items cheap so you could mark them up and make a higher profit?”
“A store like this can’t do well here.”
“What do you mean?”
“The clientele isn’t here.”
They had taken a chance with the Longwood Mills location. The average income bracket wasn’t as high as the other two locations, but their market research had made it clear their target demographic was in the area. If he didn’t want to only cater to men in an exclusive income bracket, he had to make the Longwood Mills branch work.
“This clientele deserves the highest quality. If you want to run a barbershop go elsewhere. My company caters to men who care about their appearance.” He looked the man up and down. “Did you sleep in the store?”
“What?” the manager said, offended.
“I’m trying to figure out why your clothes are wrinkled.”
The manager shrugged. “Is it really a big deal?”
“No. You can go home now. You’re fired.”
The man left and Doran followed him out into the main area where Tanna sat chatting with a young man, one of the sales associates, dressed in a sharp suit. When she saw Doran she said something to the young man then approached him. “How did it go?”
“I have to find a new manager.”
“Good, because you’re in luck.”
“I am?”
She nodded. “You already have one.” She nodded to the young man she’d been talking to. “I’ve been watching him and then asked him a few questions. He’s sharp, eager and filled with ideas. He’s got what it takes.”
And he looked about nineteen. Would anyone take him seriously? “He’s too young.”
“He’s not too young. He’s twenty-three and it’s better to promote within the ranks than bring in a newcomer. He’s closer to the problems of this branch than you are and he can help you solve them.”
Doran folded his arms, letting her words sink in. “You’re right. Let’s just hope he says yes.”
They had no trouble convincing the eager sales associate to take on the new responsibilities. Doran also let him know that the business would be closed for a week for reconstruction. After discussing a few other details and listening to some of Tanna’s tips for improving the overall appearance, they were ready to go.
“There’s not much more you can do in one day,” Tanna said to Doran once he’d finished talking to someone at the head office. “We need to get back.”
“I will once I finish fixing these,” Doran said, turning the bottles on the glass shelf so that the labels all faced out in a uniformed way.
“You’ll likely have to throw them away and get a new batch,” she said watching his meticulous care.
“Doesn’t matter. I can’t leave them like this.”
“There are so many bottles.”<
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“I’ll be done in a minute,” he said through clenched teeth, annoyed that he couldn’t stop himself.
Tanna watched him, knowing it would take a lot longer than a minute to get all the bottles in order. But since it seemed important to him, she would help. However, he still had to touch whatever she’d straightened to make sure they were perfect. “Okay, now we’re finished,” he said.
Doran went over to a sink and washed his hands and dried them. Then he did it two more times before he headed to the car where he lifted the door handle three times before opening the door.
“Does it act up when you’re upset?” Tanna asked once they’d gotten on the road.
“What?”
“Your obessive-compulsiveness?”
“I don’t…it’s not…you don’t have to be worried about me.”
“I didn’t say I was worried. I’m just curious.”
“I’ve got it under control.”
“You did great back there. I know with Liam in charge of this branch it will perform just as well as your other locations.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s okay to make mistakes.”
“It shouldn’t have happened.”
“But it did, now let it go. I know it’s hard for smart guys like you to admit, but you can’t be brilliant at everything.”
He turned sharply to her. “Smart?”
She held up her hands in surrender. “Why do you get upset every time I call you smart?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m not upset.”
“Then stop jumping down my throat every time I say that you are. Geez, another man would take it as a compliment.”
Doran tugged on his ear then said in a quiet voice, “They don’t know.”
“What?”
“My family doesn’t think I’m smart.”
Tanna stared at him for a long moment as if waiting for the punchline to a joke. “But it’s obvious.”
Doran shook his head. “Not to them and I’ve made sure to keep it that way.”
“Why?”
“It was easier than…” He paused wondering why he was revealing so much. Why did he need to tell her? He’d never told anyone before. Why not just keep it to himself as he always had? But somehow he couldn’t, he felt the need to share welling up inside him. He took a deep steadying breath and started again. “It’s easier than trying to please them…please her.”
