Business Before Pleasure

Richie & Frank Parker

by Atonia & Layne

Walking into the tavern, Frank Parker pulled down his dark glasses and eyed the women sitting at tables around the dim room. One thing he'd noticed during his time in the Glen--there sure were a lotta nice-looking ladies around this little town. He was so absorbed with checking them out that, for a moment, he forgot why he'd come here in the first place. Then, he noticed Richie Roberts grinning at him from a stool at the end of the bar.

Returning the grin, Frank walked over to him, sliding his glasses into an inside pocket. As he sat down next to Richie, he casually unbuttoned his jacket.

"What are you grinnin' at, Richie? Don't tell me you haven't been checkin' out every female in the place while you waited for me?"

“Watchin’ you in action Frank, how ya doin’?” Richie grinned and motioned to the bartender.

"I could be better, but it'd cost me more." Frank replied with a smile. "Not that I'm bein' cheap, you understand-"

He ordered a brandy from the bartender. "Just haven't had much of an opportunity. You gettin' in the mood for any of that shopping we talked about in your office?"

Frank rested his arms casually on the bar, taking a drink from the brandy snifter that had been placed in front of him, and glancing around the room once more.

“Always in the mood Frank, you know me,” Richie grinned and turned around on his barstool surveying the room. “Check out the two by the window, whatcha think?”

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Frank's eyes moved appreciatively over the two women talking to each other over the table.

"You know what I really think, though, Richie?" His gaze came back to the man sitting on the stool next to him. "Just the other day, I was thinkin' to myself, 'No wonder Richie likes this little town. Man's got himself a harem.'"

Frank took another sip of his brandy. "In the time I've been here, I've seen you with a brunette, that redhead that runs that new shop downtown, and that little blonde reporter from the paper. No wonder you haven't been interested in shoppin'!"

Richie dipped his head and picked up his glass, “I guess I ain’t had time for shopping if you believe everything you hear. You left out one, my ex wife. You know how it is Frank, you make a lot of friends in a small town.” He took a sip of his drink, “no harem though.”

"Oh, that's not what I hear, Richie. Just what I've seen." Frank grinned at him. "If I believed everything I heard, I'd be wonderin' how the hell you ever had time for the law!"

"Friends, huh? You're just friends with all of 'em?"

Richie wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, “most of them,” he said, “well maybe all ya know, you spend time with somebody you gotta like them, you have to come up for air sometimes,” he grinned.

"Uh-huh." Frank could tell that Richie wasn't telling him everything. So there was one he might be serious about. But which one?

"Before we get too carried away with the fairer sex," Frank continued. "Been wantin' to ask you how that case with Sid Harbor is going so far."

“Oh, yeah well that’s not proving to be so easy. I had Miss Peeg run the usual on him and nothing came up other than his purchasing the property here in The Glen, which he paid cash for and there’s no mortgage on the house. He got married in Sydney, it was in all the papers but nobody knew who he was to get such attention by the press so we figure they were paid well. Thing is he’s rich as all get out with no visible means ya know, the man doesn’t work. We couldn’t locate his wedding license either, the bureau says they must have lost it…hey I wonder if they lost mine,” he tilted his head.

Frank chuckled, almost choking on his brandy. "You can't afford the kinda luck Sid can buy, Richie."

He turned serious. "You really want to watch yourself around Sid, man. Listen- There's a few things I can tell you. Don't know if they'll help any or not, though. First, you won't find anything on Sid Harbor. Not his real last name."

Frank was unsure of just how much he could reveal to Richie without putting someone in serious danger. "You'd be hard-pressed to find anything on him in LA either. Things were kept quiet on everything to do with him out there."

Lighting a cigarette, Frank said speculatively, "You might turn up something more by investigating this 'brother' of his that's turned up. This Bar Harbor. Never knew he was anywhere in the picture myself, until I heard he'd turned up here."

“You know it just kills me that you know stuff I need to know and can’t tell me. If Bar Harbor, and what kinda name is that? If he’s around here nobody has seen him or they’d be talking about him. He was in some kind of auto accident and that’s the last I know about him.” Richie drummed his fingers on the bar.

“I gotta find something on Harbor or my client is not going to be very happy with me. All we got going is a blood test and hoping for a DNA when the kid is born.”

"I can tell you Richie that your client's DNA'll match. That's a sure thing." Frank ordered another brandy. "Can't tell you how I know that- But it will. As far as anything else- You and your client could both be in real danger going up against Sid. But I hope you win your case. Just the thought of him raising a kid-!"

“You don’t think Sid can father a child? That could be in our favor if the DNA checks out…might even sway the mother.” Richie thought about it a minute, “Unless Sid’s money speaks louder. You really don’t like him do ya Frank?”

"Don't like him?" Frank chuckled again, this time a mirthless sound. "That's puttin' it mildly, Richie."

His fresh brandy arrived and Frank lit another cigarette. "Now, let's change the subject, before I say somethin' I shouldn't."

Frank faced Richie with a grin. "You say you're just friends with that pretty blonde reporter? What's her name?"

“Um Libby, Libby Tyler and yeah…friends,” he finished up his drink and pushed it toward the bartender for another, “why you interested?”

"Maybe." His handsome face unreadable, Frank asked, "So are you tellin' me she'd be free if I wanted to ask her out for drinks...or something? No problems there?"

“Not from me…she’s a good friend, Frank, that’s all.” Riche stirred his drink and took as sip, “what you don’t believe me?”

"Oh, I believe you, Richie." Frank's eyes twinkled at him. "It's just that you've seemed downright...protective...of her. Didn't expect you to be so agreeable to somebody with my reputation with the ladies-" The smile on his dark, handsome face widened. "-seein' her."

“I know where to find you Frank, like I said she’s a good friend I would expect you to be the gentleman I know you can be. The kid’s had a hard time, you don’t fuck with her,” he raised a brow.

"Now, Richie-" Frank's voice was teasing. "You know I can be every bit as much of a gentleman as you can, my man."

“You’ve been here how long Frank and you haven’t found a honey pot yet? You obviously haven’t been looking.” Richie scanned the room again hoping to direct his attention from himself. He was a little touchy about Libby and feeling a little guilty too that he’d been avoiding her lately.

"Been waitin' for a friend to help me out, but he's been a little busy with his own," Frank told him sarcastically. There was something Richie wasn't saying about Libby Tyler and how things were between them, but he didn't know just what it was--yet.

" 'Sides," he said with a joking look in his eyes, "Maybe I'm a little more selective than you."

“Hah, since when,” Richie laughed. “As long as she’s willin’ you’re selecting” Richie’s eyes teased him over his glass. “You’ve evidently been pretty busy yourself.”

"Only with work," Frank replied. "Figured it was about time to get out and have a little fun. What do you say we introduce ourselves to those two by the window?"

Richie slid off the barstool and followed Frank over to the table, he realized on the way over his heart really wasn’t into this but for Frank’s sake he’d keep up appearances. He smiled catching the eye of the brunette.

Richie was going through the motions, but Frank Parker could tell that his mind was elsewhere. After chatting with the two women for several minutes, Frank excused them from the ladies and led Richie to a booth in the corner.

"Okay, pal," he said, with his easy, charming smile. "You wanna tell me what's goin' on? Is this something to do with Libby Tyler? Or someone else you've been seein'?"

Richie’s eyes widened, “is it that evident? To tell you the truth I’ve met someone,” turned his head looking out over the room and then back, “I don’t know where it’s goin’ yet but she’s got me ya know? I’m not talking about Libby, Libby and I have an agreement, we had the rules out up front and kind of a friends with benefits thing evolved. No strings ya know,” he looked up and met Frank’s eyes.

"I knew it was somethin'." Frank grinned. "You just wasn't talkin' to the ladies like the Richie Roberts I know."

"So, somebody's got you again! Don't you know when to give up, man? No offense, but you and romance just don't seem to go together!" His grin widened.

Richie grinned, “oh we go together too well, that’s my problem.” He sipped his drink. “I dunno, Frank you’d think I’d know better but this one is…different. Okay don’t say it, I know they’re all different that’s what makes it so interesting. Nonnie is uh…I dunno…never met anybody like her before.”

"What you need, man, is a buncha ladies who ain't jealous of each other and don't mind sharin' you. This Nonnie anythin' like that?"

Frank gave up on women for the night, as he saw a couple of other men sitting down with the ladies across the room. Oh, well...

"And you know I gotta say it, Richie, or I wouldn't be your friend. Yeah, they're all different. If they weren't, you'd still be married." He waved to the waitress for more drinks. "Again, no offense, man, but different is what you said about Laurie. And Toni."

“I wasn’t lying about it either, they were different, Toni was probably the best thing that ever happened to me but I fucked it up. As far as Nonnie goes, she says she doesn’t share her toys so that’s the problem with me right now, got me all tied up in knots.”

"Her toys, huh?" Frank looked at him questioningly. "That's an interestin' way to put it. You think maybe that's all she's doin'? Playin' around?"

“No, Frank I think she’s playing for keeps and that’s what scares me a little. I’m not sure I’m ready except when I’m with her.”

"I'd be scared too," Frank told him honestly. "I don't know, Richie. Keeps ain't ever been your style, man. Not sayin' you couldn't do it, but you just got out of one situation that was supposed to be for keeps."

Richie laughed a little, “Keeps does not include marriage, I’m not going up for the third strike I’m already out of that league.” He saw another drink in front of him and picked it up, Frank must be buying, he thought, wonder what he’s after?

"So you think 'keeps' might be easier without a marriage license?" Frank watched him pick up the new drink, smiled a little.

“You sure are stuck on that word, keeps.” Richie took a drink from his glass. “I wouldn’t mind keeps to tell you the truth, it might have been keeps with Toni if the kid thing hadn’t come up.”

"Kids, yeah." Frank looked thoughtful. He'd lost one daughter years ago in LA. Had another one that he hadn't seen in years. Keeps hadn't been very good for him either.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he grinned at Richie. "Well, I ain't one to tell anybody what to do where women are concerned, man. You gotta make up your own mind about that. But if I were you, I wouldn't be too anxious to jump back into anything. You got lots of time, Richie. Enjoy!"

Richie took another drink, “that’s what I’m trying to do, that’s why we came out tonight what are we doing talking serious anyway?”

"Beats the hell outta me." Taking a drink from his glass, Frank turned to survey the room. "You were the one couldn't keep his mind on the business at hand, Richie. Why don't we go meet those two at the bar?"

Richie grinned at Frank and followed him over, the man never quit.