Chapter 7

Tuesday morning rolled around with Brian feeling better than ever. After the usual morning clean up and breakfast routine he headed down to the garage, before remembering that he never got his car from lot at work. "What an idiot" he thought to himself as he walked up to the main floor and called for a cab with his cell.

He directed the driver to work and then read his mind for a bit while watching the city go by out the window.

"Man, I hate this job! I can't believe I went to University for four years back home to come here and drive damn cab. Go to America everyone said, Land of opportunity they said it was. Land of unemployment is more like it. Now Sonya is pregnant and wants to move into a bigger apartment or a house and buy all sorts of stuff for the new baby. I'll have to start working even more hours than ever.

Now where did this guy say he was going? Prescott-Simon Automotive or something I think. They're going to be hurting too after that Chrysler bankruptcy probably. This city is so doomed, shit the whole state is! Maybe we should move back home. The economy isn't that bad back there Jacob says."

Brian felt bad for the young man, who picked probably the worst possible time he could have to come here from wherever in the world he was from. His plight mirrored all too many people in this city and state, in the whole country for that matter. He just hoped he could keep employed through it all.

They pulled up to the company and he gave the driver his fare and a good tip before exiting the cab and walking into the building. He took the elevator to the third floor and quietly slipped into his office for a few minutes to grab a couple of things he wanted at home. He logged into his computer and read his new emails and made sure his out of office message was on and Terry's contact information was listed. He also recorded a message on his desk phone with the same info. Finally he listened to his phone messages, several that were from colleagues expressing best wishes on his recovery. A few were business related which he forwarded to Terry's phone.

With his housekeeping duties completed, Brian locked up his office and walked to Terry's office in the more elite section of the floor. He was greeted warmly by a couple of people who asked how he was doing and he let them know he was getting better and would see them in a couple more weeks. He finally got to Terry's office and leaned on the doorframe while watching Terry working with charts and graphs.

"Well, there's something you wouldn't have seen a couple weeks ago" Brian said with a grin.

Terry looked up with a frown until he saw it was Brian and his face lit up.

"Brian, what the hell are you doing here man? I thought you would be stuck in your apartment for a few weeks still!" he exclaimed as he stood up and walked over.

"I'm just here for a few minutes; I forgot that my car was here, so I took a cab over to get it. I wanted to pop in and see how things were, especially with the Chrysler Bankruptcy" Brian replied.

"Come on in, have a seat. I see you're hiding your ugly face as much as possible from the masses with the cap. That's good of you" Terry said with a grin.

"Can't scare the women and children, can I?" replied Brian as he sat down with a sigh. "I still get winded pretty easily sometimes but if I take it slow and sit down I'm ok in a couple of minutes."

"Well I'm glad to see you up and about. Sorry I haven't visited you yet, it's been hectic to say the least. The P790 program is on hold due to the bankruptcy thing so I've just finished telling all the suppliers to put a hold on what they are doing. The 650 program is still going on with GM but we're worried about that one when June 1^st comes around" Terry informed him.

"I thought that's what was happening with the two we were involved in. How is the company doing with the bankruptcy? We must have had a bunch owed to us in receivables I would think" he asked.

"A few million at least that we're probably going to lose. Dad and the accountants are figuring it out and then the lawyers are putting in the claim in the next couple of days. We do about 25% Chrysler business so it's a big hit but as long as GM doesn't go too we should be able to survive. We're going to have to lay off people unfortunately, due to Chrysler closing their plants until the new company takes over" Terry replied.

"That sucks. Here in engineering as well as production?" Brian asked.

"Probably, we have five programs with Chrysler so we'll have some people with nothing to do" he answered.

"Let me know as soon as you hear if I'm one of them ok? It's not good that I'm gone from work right now, is it?" Brian asked.

"Brian, I'll make sure you job is safe, don't worry. Dad would override any attempt to lay you off anyway" Terry informed him.

"That's a relief. Ok, do you need any help with anything while I'm here?" Brian asked.

Terry had a couple of questions that he needed some help with so Brian showed him what was going on with the GM program. They had just finished up when Mr. Simon and Heather showed up at the door.

"Brian, what are you doing here, I thought you would be out for at least another three weeks or so?" asked Mr. Simon.

"Hello Mr. Simon, Heather, nice to see you. I just popped in for a second to see how things were with the Chrysler bankruptcy thing and to see if Terry needed help. He's got things under control here so I feel better about being off. I wanted to get my car from the lot even though I won't need it much, I have a couple of doctor's appointments I needed to get too" Brian informed them.

"Well good to see you up and about Brian. How's the old noggin?" he asked.

"Healing slowly Sir, the holes they drilled are taking the longest but the major cuts and contusions are healing fine" Brian replied.

"Good, now don't rush back, your job will be here when you get back. Terry, shall we?" Mr. Simon said.

"Sure Dad, give me a second and I'll meet you out front" he replied.

Brian got up and shook Mr. Simon's hand and then Terry's and said goodbye to all of them with a smile for Heather before heading out of Terry's office to the elevator. He quickly accessed the mind stream and found Mr. Simon's mind.

Brian heard Heather hurrying up behind him as he kept walking towards the elevator.

"Brian, wait up" she said as she caught up to him. "Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Thanks for the offer Heather, but I don't want to intrude on a family lunch. Maybe sometime else" Brian answered as he hit the elevator button.

"Daddy said it was ok so you won't be intruding Brian. Are you going to make me sad by refusing" she asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Those eyes must get you just about anything you want, don't they Heather?" he said with a laugh.

"I don't know what you're talking about Brian" she said with a straight face.

"If you can say no to her after looking at them Brian, you're a better man than I am" Mr. Simon said walking up behind her. "So are you joining us?"

"Are you sure I'm not intruding on a private family outing?" Brian asked.

"Nonsense, both of my offspring would love to have you there I'm sure, and I'm not as iron fisted as my reputation would suggest" Mr. Simon stated.

"Well, in that case, I would be honoured to join you for lunch. Thanks for inviting me" Brian said.

"Thank puppy eyes over here; I'm lucky she only uses them when she really wants something or I would be broke" Mr. Simon said laughing.

Heather blushed prettily and said "Daddy, you know I'm not like that. Brian is going to think I'm a spoiled rich kid who gets whatever she wants by batting her eyes at you."

"You're right Honey" he replied. "I know you're not like that. Brian, Heather really is quite down to earth. She even drives a second hand Grand Am rather than a fancy new car I wanted to get her. She usually only uses her puppy eyes to get me to agree to help some charity she's into."

"They are a powerful instrument for good then Sir" Brian said laughing. "If only we could sic her on the economy."

Mr. Simon broke out in laughter as they moved into the elevator, with Heather moving to stand beside Brian after punching the button to the garage.

Heather asked "How have you been since you got out of the hospital Brian?"

"I was very weak the first couple of days and basically just ate and slept. Yesterday I got out for a walk and just had to rest a couple of times. I signed up for some self defence lessons at a studio down the street and watched from a chair last night. I'm feeling better every day. The nurses come in every afternoon now and check the holes in my head out and clean them up before bandaging them up again" he informed them.

"I'm glad you're wearing your cap, I cringe just thinking about them" she said softly.

"Good point Heather, we'll have to find someplace else to eat today, I'm afraid Morton's won't let Brian in there with his cap or his attire. Where do you suggest we take him?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Simon, I just popped in for a second, I wasn't planning on going anywhere today. Why don't you three just go and we can do this another time when it's more convenient?" Brian asked.

"Brian, my daughter would literally not speak to me for a week if I let you get away so easily. Heather, where should we go?" Mr. Simon asked.

"Sam's will do just fine if that's ok Daddy?" she asked.

"I haven't seen Sam in long time. Good idea honey" he replied.

"Thanks. I'm sure we can talk him into letting Brian keep his cap on" she said.

The exited the elevator and walked the short distance to Mr. Simon's Cadillac. Brian opened the front door for Heather and then got in the back. They drove around to the front of the building and Heather got out and let Terry sit in the front while she scooted into the back and gave Brian a smile.

Terry looked over the front seat and said "She used the puppy eyes didn't she?"

Both Mr. Simon and Brian said yes and Heather blushed again.

"I thought so" Terry said laughing. "You would have never gotten him to go otherwise, or get Dad to let someone into the family lunch routine. I don't even bother trying to ask Dad to have Cynthia join us."

"I don't know what you see in that woman Terry, other than her obvious physical attributes. She's obviously out for what she thinks is your large bank account" Mr. Simon said disgustingly. "I'm even less impressed with that no good brother of hers though your Mother seems to think he's a perfect match for your sister."

"I know how you feel about them Dad, so I try not to subject you to them" Terry said.

Brian looked over at Heather and she had a frown on her face, looking at Terry.

Mr. Simon huffed and then got the car started and pulled out onto the street. Brian quickly found Heather's mind in the stream and read her thoughts.

"Why did either of them bring up that jerk Ryan? One date and he thinks he's my boyfriend. Not a chance. But now Brian will think that I'm dating him or something. I'll have to let him know that it's not the case. He's looking over here and caught me looking daggers at my idiot brother. Smile girl, that's it, good he smiled back. He's got a nice smile. I'm glad he showed up today. Maybe we can make some plans to meet some more while he's off and get to know each other better. Terry said he's really shy so I better make sure I get his number and push a bit."

Brian smiled inside as he heard that she wanted to get to know him as bad as he wanted to get to know her.

They drove down the street to an older restaurant, simply called Sam's, which looked fairly busy for a Tuesday lunch crowd.

Terry asked "Sam's? We haven't gone here in ages Dad."

"Your sister got to pick it as her guest is not properly attired for Morton's. You know how she always loved this place" Mr. Simon said with a smile.

"Watch it Brian, she's really pulling out all the stops for you" Terry said with a grin.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Don't pay attention to him Brian" Heather said. "Terry just likes to have fun with his kid sister."

She opened the door and got out her side, effectively stopping the conversation. She walked around as he got out slower and walked up to the door beside him, as they trailed her Dad and Terry. The group walked in and were greeted by an older Mediterranean man.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Is it really the Simons coming to my restaurant for lunch?" he asked.

"Sam, good to see you again, it's been too long" replied Mr. Simon shaking his hand. "How's business?"

"It's been surprisingly good Dale and you?" Sam asked.

"We just took a big hit with the Chrysler bankruptcy after the automotive downturn already put a big dent in revenue, but we should survive" he answered.

"You brought Terry and Heather, all grown up handsome and beautiful, and who's this, a boyfriend or husband Heather?" he teased.

"Hi Sam, it's good to see you again. This is Brian, a friend of Terry's" Heather said.

"Welcome to my humble restaurant Brian" he greeted Brian.

"It's nice to meet you Sam. Sorry about the attire, the invite was unexpected" Brian said.

"No matter, let me get you seated and I'll get you Sammi to take care of you" he said.

"Sammi's still here? I thought she went to school? Heather asked.

"She's just back for the summer while she looks for work, probably like you eh?" Sam replied.

"Yes, just like me" Heather agreed.

Sam led them to a table in a nice quiet portion of the restaurant and left them alone with menus, while looking to find his daughter. The Simons all recommended different things as the best dishes served here, as Brian perused the menu. The fare was mostly Italian with a few American dishes thrown in for the less cultured. A gorgeous raven haired beauty came over with a smile on her face.

"Hello there everyone, long time no see" she said.

Heather stood up and gave her a big hug and they greeted each other like long lost sisters.

"We really need to come back here more often" Mr. Simon said to Terry.

"I agree whole heartedly" Terry said, staring at the Italian beauty.

"I thought you would" Mr. Simon said dryly.

"Sorry about that gentlemen, it's been too long since we've seen each other. How have you been Mr. Simon? And how is Mrs. Simon?" she asked.

"We've been well Sammi, I must say you are looking more beautiful than ever" Mr. Simon said. "With the two of you together, you could stop traffic on a 12 lane highway."

"Why thank you for the nice compliment. Terry, you are looking handsome, have you been scooped up yet by a woman?" she asked with a smile.

"Not yet Sammi, I was waiting for you to get back" he replied with a grin.

"Well, that's good to hear, I was afraid I would be beating them off with a stick" she replied. "And would this be a new beau Heather dear? He seems cute enough, though a little pale."

"This is Brian, a friend of Terry's" she said blushing.

"Glad to meet you. If she doesn't want you, maybe we can get together instead?" she said with a grin.

"It's nice to meet you Sammi. I afraid both of you lovely ladies are way out of my league" he said with a laugh.

"Oh he's modest too. Heather, you better snap this cutie up before someone else does girl friend" she advised her. "Now, what can I get you to drink and as an appetizer?"

The group put in their drink order and got some garlic bread as an appetizer. The conversation flowed freely as they discussed the economy and the automotive business in detail. Sammi was an excellent waitress as she interjected to take their food order without ruining the flow of conversation, sometimes even adding a clever insight. Terry was smitten with her and she played up to him a bit, leaving Brian alone.

"So, Terry, how's Cynthia been since you've been extra busy at work? Brian asked with a grin.

"She's been a real bitch about things. I'm coming to the realization that she's not worth the hassle. You three were right about her as usual" he said.

"Well, Sammi seems interested in you and she's got Cynthia beat in brains, personality and looks" Brian remarked. "Maybe you should see if you two could hook up instead."

"Terry, before you even think of going there, you had better make sure you're intentions are honourable. You even make her frown and both Sam and I will make you life a living hell" Mr. Simon said with a serious look on his face.

"And make that double from me" added Heather frowning.

"I know, I know. I wouldn't dream of hurting her, I've liked her for years" Terry assured them. "I've had a lot of time to think about my life the last couple of weeks and I'm going to make some changes. Cynthia is out today, I promise and Ryan won't be bothering you again Sis."

"I like the sound of that" Heather said with a smile, "on both accounts!"

"I have to say I'm in agreement also, on both accounts" Mr. Simon said.

"Can I third the motion?" Brian grinned.

Sammi came over with their food and commented "You four seem to be a great mood today. Maybe you should come back more often."

"I know that I will be over a lot more now that I know you're back Sammi" Terry said without the usual kidding tone.

She looked at him in surprise and then said seriously "I'm not into casual relationships Terry, I'm not sure if I'm the right girl for you if I read that last statement right."

Terry blushed and replied "I'm making some changes in my life and how I've approached some things. Let me show you that I'm serious before you object me out of hand. I have too much respect for you and your family to ever treat you any way except as the lady you obviously are."

She thought for a few seconds and then said "I will discuss this with my parents and give you an answer before you leave. Now, enjoy your food."

Terry had a big smile on his face as he watched her walk away.

"Terry, you better take this seriously. I don't want to wake up to a cop telling me that they found you with cement shoes in the bottom of the river, do you understand me? Sam probably knows every mob boss in the state and if you hurt a hair on her head he wouldn't hesitate to call in some favours, just like I would if Brian hurt Heather" Mr. Simon said.