Spilling the beans

"Ha-ha okay, you got me this time." Vanessa rolled her eyes sarcastically as she pulled her chair back and took a seat.

Marilyn just couldn't stop laughing.

"You see how karma is honey? We almost canceled today because of you."

The duo were on their usual lunch date at Jerry's and it had been Ness's turn to be late hence the laughter and mock anger.

Marilyn had been really lucky.

She had been in court the whole day so she had come straight from there.

"I can see you haven't ordered yet." Vanessa muttered as she eyed her friend's glass of orange juice.

"Yes, yes." Marilyn teased. "I'm not a foodie like some people who can't wait for their friends to show up before they get something to eat."

Ness just shrugged, refusing to take the bait. "Meh. You still love me anyways so..."

The two laughed.

"Okay, so now tell me how your weekend went." Vanessa stated as soon as the waiter had come for their orders.

Marilyn wished the ground would swallow her up. The question had come unexpectedly and she didn't have any time to make up any stories.

Knowing Ness, she knew she was definitely going to be subjected to some rigorous teasing.

Brazing herself she shrugged. "Oh, my weekend was... great."

Vanessa leaned in and frowned. "Just great? Oh, so we're doing short answers now huh? That's cool. Dope."

"Dope? You're spending too much time with Isabel," Marilyn chuckled, "But oh goodness, relax, would you? I'm getting there." The dark skinned woman sighed. "Okay so I took Isa to the Efua Sutherland Park to see the Sky girl's crew, we really had fun. It was great. Really great. Uh-huh. Yeah. Th... that's all." She stammered conclusively.

Ness regarded her friend carefully.

The poor woman was fidgeting in her seat. Ness smiled. She could tell her friend was hiding something and she was going to make her uncomfortable till she blurted everything out.

"Oh okay...." she dragged out. "Is there anything else you wanna tell me?" She quizzed expertly while inspecting her nails.

Marilyn gulped. She really hated it when Ness went all detective on her. It was a hilariously scary feeling and she disliked being put in such a situation. But she was going to hold on a little longer. "Uh...no...nothing else. That's uh… just about it. Well unless you want to count church on Sunday?" Marilyn managed to let out.

Vanessa sighed. "Honey. You know you're going to tell me anyways. Why stretch out the inevitable?"

Marilyn rolled her eyes. I didn't even make it past 2 minutes. She thought sadly. "Alright, I met Chris on Saturday, okay? There. Happy now?"

"Chris? Is he someone I should know?" Her friend asked thoughtfully and then gasped dramatically after a moment. "No way!!!! Chris as in Chris Peterson? That nerdy guy back in Uni who used to have a crush on you?"

"Yes that Chris Peterson." Marilyn confirmed, placing her hands on the table. "And he did not have a crush on me."

Vanessa scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that. love."

Their orders arrived and cut conversation for a few minutes.

"Chicken stew and plain rice for you, ma'am. And here's your fried rice and grilled chicken, Madam."

After the duo had received their meals and the waiter had bid them bon appetit, he took his leave of them, leaving Vanessa to continue with her probing.

"So is he bald now? Grey hair? Details girl...details."

Marilyn intentionally filled her mouth with food and signaled for her friend to give her a moment.

Oh, God. It's going to be a long lunch break. She thought dejectedly.

***********

CHRIS PETERSON'S OFFICE

"Dude, I've found a lawyer to contest the lawsuit your dad's rival filed against us." Chris informed his best friend and co-partner as they dug into the pizza he had ordered for them.

The duo had been close friends for a while now and they always had each other's backs.

His friend nodded. "I hope he's good. I just want this to be over and done with."

Chris smiled, reaching for another slice. "Now see? That's the beauty of it. It's not a he but a she… and she's damn good at her job. I've done my research on her, and, we're good... we're in safe hands."

His friend raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hmm... impressive. It looks like you seem to have the hots for her though. Please don't let that get in the way, alright?"

Chris nodded as he bit into his pizza.

"Good. I have to go, I have a meeting with the wifey. You're going to have to be the one handling the lawyer and the whole court issue though. I've got quite a lot on my plate."

Chris got up to give his friend a bro hug. "Sure dude. Extend my greetings to the wifey. And be good."

His friend laughed. "Bro, I'm always good. I can't say the same for you, however."

They both laughed as Chris watched him take his leave.

Spinning in his swivel chair, he allowed his mind to drift back to Marilyn. He had wanted to call on the beauty today, but things hadn't gone according to plan. He had hope though. There was always tomorrow. He thought to himself as he continued his lunch.

************

"Don't worry, Mrs. Grant. That's why you have us. We're going to make sure we milk as much as we can from your husband and get you custody of Junior as well, alright?" Marilyn confidently consoled the crying woman. She practically dealt with crying men and women almost once a day, at least. You'd think she was a therapist and not a lawyer with the way things were going.

Her husband had filed for a divorce after he had cheated. Marilyn knew this case would be as easy as a breeze. The bastard wanted custody of their seven-year-old son and yet, he was a drunkard who beat his wife up whenever he had a few drinks or was upset.

Marilyn's cell phone ringing snapped her out of her reverie. Signaling for a moment, she stepped out of the conference room and answered the call.

"Yeah. Marilyn Appleby here."

"Marilyn, it's me, Nate." Nate was the investigator for the firm, and though young, he seemed to be the best there was at the job.

"Oh Nate, yeah. I want you to go to Mrs. Grant's house and gather whatever evidence you can against her husband. We must make sure the bastard doesn't even have a chance of sharing custody of Junior alright?"

"I copy ma'am." Marilyn hanged up right after. She glanced at her wristwatch. It was three o'clock. She really couldn't wait for the day to end.

**********

Marilyn tiredly dragged herself to her white Range Rover. The poor woman seemed knackered. Settling in painfully she glanced at her wristwatch.

The time was 9 pm and she now had to get home. After seeing a handful of clients at the office, she had to dash to the Kempinski Hotel to meet some investors. They had just ended the meeting.

She reached out for her phone and dialed her mom's number to let the old woman know she had just finished her meeting and that she was on her way home. She was told Isabel had fallen asleep a few minutes ago. After Marilyn had hanged up and pulled out of the parking lot, she allowed her mind to dig up another philosophical question.

Which was better...being a working mom, or a stay at home one? She had given this a lot of thought before and had even wanted to stop work and stay at home, but what had kept her going was the fact that their finances would be strained if she didn't work.

As it was, she felt like she was missing out on spending quality time with her daughter and she felt guilty sometimes, but it had to be done. She was grateful for her mum though. At least she was rest assured that her daughter would be raised just right.

Marilyn turned on the radio to have some form of companionship on the long drive back home.