Chapters - Episode 6 (The One Where Albie Introduces Denise to the Gang)

Albie's birthday was a perfect disaster. At the last minute - the very last minute - the birthday boy, Meg's best friend, decided he wasn't in the mood for fondue.

"What do you mean you're not in the mood for fondue?" Meg asked as she drove her car in the direction of The Melting Pot.

"What's he saying?" Emma, seated beside Meg in the front seat, asked.

Meg waved Emma's question away with her hand as she strained to hear Albie's answer over the background noise from the bar he was at with his new girlfriend, Denise.

"I'm...we're...not really feeling the whole fondue thing tonight," Albie said, loudly. "I mean, it is my birthday, right? I get to choose?"

Meg swung her car off the ramp she'd been on headed toward Station Square and the restaurant.

"Of course you get to choose but damn, Albie, we're like two seconds away from there."

Albie effectively ignored Meg's irritation and suggested a little restaurant a few blocks away.

"The food there is great," he promised, "and they usually have some kind of band. I'm just not in the mood for the whole song and dance at the fondue place."

Meg sighed and then turned her car around. "Fine, we'll be there in ten minutes."

"Give me a little longer," Albie said, "I'm not as close as you are."

Meg disconnected the call and tossed her phone into a drink holder.

"Where are we going?" Emma asked. "You completely overshot The Melting Pot."

"No kidding," Meg said, sarcastically. "Prince Albert has changed his mind. We're going to some place called Seven now."

"We always have to do what Albie wants...go where he wants to go. I swear, he has no consideration," Emma fumed.

"Well," Meg began, "it is his birthday so I guess he's entitled to choose the place. But I guarantee you - this is what Denise wants," Meg said, unnecessarily stressing Denise's name. "Albie loves fondue. She's the one who doesn't want to go there."

"Did he say that?" Emma asked, as she checked her lipstick on her visor mirror.

"He started to say he wasn't in the mood for Melting Pot and then he changed it to 'we'."

"Yeah," Denise rolled her eyes, "it was her. Glad to see she's already in charge."

"You know how Albie is," Meg said, "he's always about the girl in the beginning but then he gets bored real fast. Denise is like all the rest - the sun will rise and set around her for a few weeks and then 'bam'...crash and burn."

Emma shook her head. "And to think I was once interested in him. Thank God I didn't go down that road."

Meg laughed. "But he does make quite a friend, doesn't he? I mean, we get all the good and none of the relationship drama. Win-win."

The two girls laughed at their spot-on assessment of Albie Barton.

*

Meg and Emma pulled into the crowded parking lot of Seven.

"God, this place is packed," Emma noted, straightening her dress as she stepped out of the car.

Meg looked around the parking lot and spotted a few women exiting a limo that had pulled up in front of the door.

"There must be some sort of bachelorette party going on, too."

They filed inside and instantly spotted their friend Tom who was surveying the crowd. He greeted both girls with a kiss.

"I thought I'd be the last one here," he said, "Albie called when I was on my way to the other place."

"I know," Meg said, "nothing like a last-minute change."

They approached the hostess and asked if there was any possibility of them getting a table. The hostess appeared doubtful but she studied the seating chart and reservation book anyway.

"I think I can squeeze you into a booth. We usually put four there but you can fit five if you'd like to try."

Meg looked at Tom and then Emma who were both in agreement. "That would be fine," she said, "whatever you have."

The three of them followed the hostess through the crowd and to their seat.

Moments later, Albie arrived with Denise.

"How'd you manage to get a table so fast?" he asked as he stepped aside to allow Denise to slide into the booth first. Tom, Meg and Emma sat quite scrunched across from them.

"This was the best they could offer," Tom said, a bit irritated. "I think you need a reservation in a place like this...especially during the weekend."

Albie shrugged. "Well, it all worked out and here we are. Everyone, this is Denise," he said, finally introducing his date. "Denise, this is Emma, Tom and Meg. My personal entourage."

Emma rolled her eyes. "At least that's what he thinks. Nice to meet you, Denise."

They all made their acquaintances and proceeded to look over the menus that were delivered by their server.

"The first round is on me," Albie said as he ordered two dirty martinis - one for himself and one for Denise.

"Oh my God, Albie," Meg said, "since when do you drink dirty martinis? You hate green olives."

Albie gave her a dirty look. "You must have me confused with someone else. I love green olives and all that...all that olive juice they add."

Meg stared at him and stifled the urge to shake her head.

"It's one of a million things we have in common," Denise said, leaning forward as if prepared to offer the group brand new insight on Albie. "The first time we went out for drinks I ordered a dirty martini and it was the craziest thing - Albie told me that was his favorite drink, too and I was like, karma."

"Karma?" Emma repeated not understanding her use of the term. "Don't you mean..."

Tom put his hands at his side and then reached over and lightly pinched both Emma and Meg on the leg, willing them to be on their best behavior and to silence Emma.

"Karma indeed," Tom said. "So what is it you do?"

"I'm a nail technician," she replied. "I work over at Vila Cera's in North Hills."

"Vila Cera's," Emma repeated, "I know that place. I used to go there, I don't know - about four years ago I guess. I stopped when I moved to the other end of the city."

"You should come back," Denise said, "I could fix up your nails for you - you'd love it."

Emma stared at her hands. "I just had them done..."

"So anyway," Meg interrupted as she turned her attentions to the menu. "What's good here?"

Albie sat up straight. "I've only been here once, with a client. I had the halibut and it was de-licious."

"Eww, yuck, babe," Denise said with a wrinkled nose as she sidled closer to Albie. "I don't eat fish."

"Yeah, me either, really," Albie lied. "The doctor I was with recommended it and I agreed to be nice. And to get him to buy my drugs," he laughed at his own joke referring to the prescription medication he sold to physicians.

Meg glared at her best friend, not quite recognizing the bumbling idiot he was channeling.

The server returned and they each ordered their entrees with the exception of Denise. She looped her arm through Albie's and told him she'd have whatever he was having. Meg knew Albie and she knew he loved seafood but she watched as he ordered two bacon-wrapped filets with baked potatoes on the side. Denise nudged him when she heard 'baked potatoes'.

"No baked potatoes?" Albie asked her.

She shook her head.

"Rice?" he suggested.

Meg gave Tom a sideways kick under the table and then made eye contact with Emma.

"Rice is good," Denise said, satisfied.

"Change that to rice," Albie told the server.

As soon as they'd finished ordering, Meg asked Albie if he'd go to the bar with her and help her choose another drink. She said she didn't like the one she ordered, which was a lie. In reality, she was looking for an excuse to have a word with him, alone.

"Wait until the guy comes back," Albie told her. "He'll get you something else."

Meg was losing her patience so she poked Albie's leg under the table with the toe of her pointy stiletto.

"Hey!" Denise cried out. "What was that?"

Meg sat up, looking and feeling mortified. "I'm sorry," she said, "I was just trying to cross my legs and I guess I stretched too far."

Denise leaned down and rubbed her leg dramatically. "That's okay," she said.

Meg couldn't understand how Denise's leg have been in the way but then she realized she must be practically sitting on top of Albie.

Meg looked over at Emma who started to laugh.

"I'm sorry," she lied, "I was just thinking of something that happened at work today."

"I'm going to the bar," Meg said, standing up.

"I'll come with you," Tom said, sliding out of the booth next.

Meg shot a look at Albie who finally picked up on what had happened. "I'll be right back," he told Denise.

"Yeah," Emma said, doing her best to appear pleasant, "all of you - hurry back."

Meg led the way through the crowd up to the bar. As soon as they reached it, she turned to Albie.

"Denise, huh," she said. "Really, Albie?"

Albie reached into his pocket to retrieve cash for her drink. "What do you mean?"

Meg looked at Tom for help.

"She's interesting," Tom said.

Albie sighed. "Meg, what do you want to drink?"

"Anything," she said, "nothing. I don't even want a drink. I wanted to talk to you without your appendage."

"Whatever," Albie said and then looked at Tom. "I suppose you don't like her, either."

Tom, who was always level-headed, always cool, shrugged. "Dude, I really don't care. Hey, do you guys think that girl over there with the nose tape is hot? In a weird, messed-up face kinda way?"

"Nice," Albie said, totally ignoring Tom's question, "you guys have known her what? All of five minutes and already you have her all figured out?"

Meg and Tom looked at each other and then nodded. "Yeah," Meg said, "that's usually the way it works."

"Well you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. She's a nice girl and I don't want you ruining anything for me."

Albie retrieved the glass of wine he'd ordered for Meg and proceeded to hand it to her. "Be nice," he warned.

"Or what?" Meg asked.

"Oh man," Tom said, "are you going to be sorry."

"I'm not the one who's going to be sorry," Meg huffed.

"No, no," Tom said, looking across the crowd, "not you. Albs," he said, "isn't that Alice over there?"

"What?" Albie said, turning around, "Where?"

"Over there," Tom subtly pointed. "Right. By. Our. Table."

Meg stretched her neck to get a look. And Tom was right.

Shocked, they watched from afar as Alice spotted Emma and proceeded to approach their booth.

Albie was gonna be in serious trouble.

Chapters - Episode 5 (The One Where Albie Decides Alice is Out of the Group)

Things were going well for Meg Landry at Chapters. She'd quit her moaning and groaning and all the second-guessing that went along with it and finally declared her grand opening a success.

She'd sold over a hundred books within the three-day time span. Sure, a large part of that was due to a few 'star' customers who'd loaded up on cheap paperbacks but nevertheless - sales were sales and Meg wasn't about to look a gift-sale...

Gift sale...gift-horse...what is that expression? she thought.

It didn't matter - she wasn't about to balk at her sales and that was that!

On Monday, Meg received a phone call from Madelyn Harold, the woman who was looking for new space for her book club. The all women's group (well, not entirely all women - they had one lone man to speak of) decided they'd like to meet every other Thursday. Through their conversation, Meg learned that their group is primarily mystery-focused. Madelyn agreed to provide Meg with a list of books they'd already read so Meg could make recommendations for future selections.

The Sassy Sleuths, as they were known, read one book per month but met twice to discuss it. It was apparent that their book club was as much a social gathering as it was a literary project and Meg began to think of ideas of how she could enhance their meetings.

Meg loved their name - The Sassy Sleuths. One book club, booked.

*

For all intents and purposes, Meg's new employees were working out better than she'd hoped. Ev was a spitfire, Clare was the clever voice of reason, Lisa was young and energetic with lots of creative ideas, and Leslie was a calm and methodical presence. They all brought something different to the table but at the same time, they were all very complementary. A good balance, she'd chosen.

While Lisa worked the floor, Meg sat behind the counter and got to work on placing orders for "new" books. Used books were the backbone of the store but she knew she'd be missing out on an opportunity to make money by not at least offering those on the best seller list.

Alice, Albie's ex-girlfriend, texted her to let her know she'd be at Albie's birthday dinner at The Melting Pot - a trendy fondue restaurant Meg had chosen for the occasion. Alice said she'd call her later in the day to touch base about the plans.

Meg pulled up Albie's number in her cell phone and texted him to let him know that she'd finally heard back from everyone regarding his birthday dinner - Alice, Tom and Emma. Seconds later her phone rang and she saw it was him calling her back.

"What's up?" she asked as she slid from her chair and went in the back room to talk.

"Meg," he began, "you know I love you, right?"

Meg smirked. "That's an interesting way to start the conversation."

"Whatever," he said, "I'm telling you that so now I can yell at you."

"Yell at me?" she said. "For what?"

Albie told her to hold on. She could hear people talking in the background.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Hold on a second," he said again.

Meg waited for the background noise to die down and then Albie spoke again.

"I was just leaving Dr. Sunil's office," he said. "I was dropping off samples when you called."

"You called me," Meg clarified.

"Yeah, you're right," Albie said, as she heard his car door close and the background go quiet. "I swear, I am so busy today I don't know if I'm coming or going. I hate this job."

"No you don't," Meg said. "You happen to love your job."

"Yeah, most days I do but I can't stand running around like this. I need an assistant."

"You have an assistant," Meg pointed out. "Her name's Jackie, remember?"

Albie sighed. "She's the office assistant, not my assistant. There's a difference."

"Anyway," Meg said, in an attempt to get him back on track, "what are you calling for?"

"That's a nice way to talk to the man you love," he chided.

Meg laughed. "Take it or leave it."

"I read your text," he said. "Please tell me you made a severe typo."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Alice," Albie said. "Did you invite her to my birthday dinner?"

"Yeah," Meg said, "of course I did, why?"

"Because," Albie stressed, "when you told me you wanted to go out to dinner and that you'd already spoke with Tom and all that, I decided to ask Denise."

Meg helped herself to a piece of Dove chocolate from a bag she kept in the refrigerator and sighed. "Who the hell is Denise?"

"Denise is the girl I met at the dry cleaners, remember?"

Meg thought for a moment and the sad thing was, she did remember Albie saying something about a woman he'd met while dropping off eight work suits to be cleaned.

"You're actually going out with her?" Meg asked. "I thought that was a fleeting moment type thing."

"I'm not 'going out' with her. Not technically, anyway. I'm just sort of seeing her. The point is, I thought I could bring her to dinner so you guys could check her out."

"Check her out, huh," Meg said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, you know, give me your opinion."

"If you're not serious with her, then what does it matter what anyone thinks?"

Albie sighed audibly. "Do you always have to understand everything? Pick apart every detail? All I know is Alice can't go."

"Then you call her and tell her," Meg said.

"I'm not the one who invited her!" Albie exclaimed.

Meg laughed. "We invite Alice everywhere. We see her more now than when you two were dating. And that was all your decision to include her so much."

"Yeah, because I felt bad for her. C'mon, Meg. Just tell her you screwed up the dates and that we're going next week instead."

Meg shook her head. "Are you serious, Albie? Why can't you call Denise and tell her you screwed up?"

"I could but I don't wanna," he said, childishly.

"I figured as much," Meg said, as she peeked her head out and watched Lisa ring up a woman with four books. She loved seeing books make their way out the door.

"Look," Meg said, "I'll tell her - this once. If Alice is out of the loop, you'd better decide and let everyone know. It's not fair to impose your friends to include her and then discard her when it's no longer convenient to have her around."

"You know how she is," Albie said, "I could care less if she came with us but I don't think she'd be able to handle it."

"Because you're such a heart breaker," Meg said, giggling. "No woman can resist your charms or forget you when it's over."

*

Meg hadn't heard a word from Dan Keagan since their last encounter. She'd seen him in the back parking lot earlier that morning but instead of waving, he quickly looked away, pretending he hadn't noticed her.

She also thought she saw his wife the day before, same time, getting out of her car. Meg assumed it was his wife but since she hadn't actually met the woman, she couldn't say for sure. She wanted to walk over and introduce herself and see if she was in any way a reflection of her two-faced husband but unfortunately, the woman scurried inside the back door before Meg could make her way over. Was Mrs. Keagan avoiding her? Perhaps. Maybe her husband had instructed her to. In any event, Meg wasn't the least bit put off by the situation.

She had bigger fish to fry. And worse calls to make. Fooling Alice was not going to be easy. She had a way of knowing when Albie was lying or hiding something.

Chapters - Episode 4 (The One Where Meg Puts Dan Keagan in His Place)

"I thought the grand opening was wonderful," Meg's mother said to her on the phone later that night. "You have a great group of women working for you."

"Yeah, they're great but I'm not sure if I agree about the opening. I think it could have gone a little better."

"Meg," her mother said, "this was your first official day of business. I think you need to give things a little time. It sometimes takes years to get a new business off the ground and turning a profit. You knew this getting into it."

Meg rolled her eyes and leaned against her kitchen counter. "I know, it's just that I'm not sure I chose the best location anymore."

Her mother sighed. "I think you chose the perfect location. You're thinking too much. What you need is to rest and prepare for tomorrow."

Meg ended her conversation and retreated to her bedroom which was at the far end of her condo. The layout of her home was a one floor, two bedroom unit with two full bathrooms, living room, dining room, eat-in-kitchen and laundry room. She also had her own private balcony where she kept a small table and two patio chairs and one outdoor lounge chair for the rare occasion she was able to lie out in the sun.

Meg's home was a reflection of her personality - warm and inviting while at the same time cool and relaxed. Her wall colors were muted shades of grey and almond, alternating in each room. Her style was somewhat 'sixties mod', her furniture designed with clean lines and simple patterns. Her favorite pieces by far were the Herman Miller table and chairs in her kitchen. The table was a severe rectangle surrounded by molded wooden chairs with chrome-plated steel legs and a subtle veneer. Meg prided herself on furnishing her home slowly, carefully choosing each piece at a time until she was satisfied that it would complement the rest of her decor.

She decided to iron her work polo and khakis for the next day. The grand opening was scheduled to last the entire weekend and she figured there was no need to dress up or put on airs. She actually liked the polo shirts she'd ordered for herself and the staff. They were solid black with white embroidered lettering and logo and judging from earlier in the day, she thought they looked good on everyone.

Her mind went back to the conversation she had with Albie earlier in the day regarding Dan Keagan. She still couldn't get over how nervy it was of him to approach a virtual stranger and start bad-mouthing her business. He and his fake muffins - she should have thrown them in the trash.

*

The next day was Saturday and she arrived at work a little early to put out more cookies, water and coffee. She started her computer and reviewed her sales from the day before. She'd sold a total of sixteen books. Not great but it could have been worse. Her current price of used books was exactly half of the retail price listed on the cover. As soon as she'd move out some of her inventory, she planned to get the new books in.

Clare and Ev, her two oldest employees, arrived at 9:45. They walked in through the back door, chatting and both carrying the 'Chapters' tote bags she'd given them.

"I love that you're using those," Meg said, pointing to their bags.

"Are you kidding?" Ev said, "this bag is great! It holds everything but the kitchen sink. You wouldn't believe what I have stuffed into this thing."

"It's really cute," Clare said. "My sister already told me she wants one."

"I think we can arrange that," Meg said. Actually, having more tote bags made wasn't a bad idea. She thought perhaps she could offer them for sale down the road.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Clare asked.

"Well," Meg began, "it's the three of us until this afternoon. "Leslie will be coming in later and I'll close with her. Are you both comfortable with the cash register?"

"Absolutely," Clare said and Ev nodded in agreement. "You have everything organized so well in the system. When I sell a book, I pull up its record inside your master list and mark it 'sold'. Then I do the sales transaction. You really couldn't have made it any easier."

Meg was pleased. "I'm glad. It's my own home-grown system and I wanted to make sure it was as user friendly as possible."

"Even I thought it was easy," Ev said. "And I'm not your typical computer-type if you know what I mean."

"Since you're both comfortable, I'm going to take a bit of an extended lunch later. I have a couple of things I need to get done before it's just Leslie and I holding down the fort tonight."

As Ev and Clare busied themselves, Meg signed onto the Internet to pay a few personal bills and to check her email. She realized that Albie's birthday was coming up and she wanted to plan a dinner for him. She jotted a few ideas in her notebook. She'd call her other closest friend Emma along with their good friend Tom. She'd hesitated to write down Alice, Albie's ex, but for all intents and purposes Alice and Albie have remained fairly close. Meg thought that was mainly due to Alice's adoption of Albie's friends as her own, herself included. Alice had completely forfeited her own identity while they were dating and that was part of the reason Albie broke up with her. Albie was a strong personality and it took a strong personality to match him. He had no interest in dating a 'yes' woman. In fact, he enjoyed a good argument. And Alice enjoyed peace and quiet and was completely adverse to conflict. A match made in heaven, those two did not make.

But, Alice was kind and sweet and if you really got to know her you began to realize that she was also a bit selfish and narcissistic. She hid her more distasteful qualities well when she had to and that seemed to be all part of her strategy to make herself as attractive as possible to the male species. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Meg never tired of watching her try, though.

Predictably, Alice Greene was jealous of Meg solely because of her close relationship with Albie. Alice was sure Meg harbored a crush for him and quietly sabotaged his relationships. Although Meg had her word to say about anyone Albie dated, she never purposely interfered in an effort to snag him for herself. Meg and Albie had been friends for more than a decade. In a strange way, she could understand how his girlfriends might be intimidated by such history.

As she jotted down the guest list, she began to question why she'd bothered. It was always Tom, Emma, Albie and herself whenever they went out. The addition of Alice wasn't set in stone - she'd have to run that by Albie - but the four of them were core friends and rarely did anyone infiltrate their little group. Unless, that is, one of them was dating someone. At the current time, everyone was single.

Meg made a note to call Albie later and choose a restaurant for his birthday dinner. She looked up as two older women entered the store and were greeted by Clare. Meg smiled and walked over to welcome them.

"Hello, dear," the woman with up-swept grey hair replied.

"Would you ladies care for some coffee or cookies? Or both?" Meg asked with a wink.

The ladies approached the refreshment table and helped themselves to the coffee.

"I'm Madelyn Harold," the grey-haired woman introduced herself. "And this is my sister-in-law, Frannie Meikle. We've been waiting for you to open for weeks."

Meg smiled, her eyebrows raised. "Really, is that so? You must be book lovers then."

Both women nodded. "So much that we have our own club. We choose a different book every month then meet and discuss it."

"That's wonderful," Meg said, genuinely enthused. "I don't know where your club usually meets but we have two spaces perfect for such gatherings."

The women looked at each other and smiled. "We'll need to talk to the rest of the club but we have been considering the idea of moving it out of our homes and into a regular meeting spot."

"Why don't you talk it over and give me a call," Meg said, handing them her business card. "I'd be happy to work something out with you."

"That's wonderful," Frannie said. "We'll be in touch with you this weekend."

Meg returned to where she'd been standing behind the cash wrap and felt good about the ladies' book club. If she could get a few clubs to hold their meetings in her store, she might be able to sell them their books and receive a little return business in the process. She made a note with their names so she'd be able to address them correctly when they called.

More customers made their way through the store that morning. They'd sold fourteen books by noon - five of them were to a woman on her way to a relaxing beach vacation. She'd bought the books and planned to devour them while sunbathing in front of the ocean. Meg felt a pang of jealousy. She hadn't had a vacation in a long time and with the opening of 'Chapters' it was going to be quite some time before she'd have the chance again.

The store seemed to clear out around twelve-thirty. Meg wrapped up some of the papers she'd been working on and decided to leave for lunch. Ev and Clare had each taken thirty minute breaks so the store was covered.

Just as Meg went to grab her purse and keys, she saw the front door to the store open again. In walked Dan Keagan and Meg's stomach lurched at the very sight of him. In typical fashion, he held another gift basket.

"Hello, ladies," he greeted as he walked through the door. "How's business today?"

Meg walked out from behind the cash wrap desk and forced a sickening-sweet smile. "Excellent," she replied. "We're off to a great start."

Dan introduced himself to Ev and Clare and handed over the basket to them. "Just a few baked goods," he explained. "Cinnamon rolls, a few muffins..." he trailed off.

Great, Meg thought. More of his damn muffins.

"So what's in demand today?" Dan asked, attempting to appear friendly. "Shakespeare? Twain? Harlequin Romances?" he said with a laugh.

Meg squinted her eyes and gave him another fake smile. "Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that...your basic literary shit."

Clare and Ev looked at her, shocked. Clare laughed a little, possibly out of nervousness or possibly because she didn't know what else to do.

Dan chuckled, uneasily. "Well, that's certainly an interesting way to describe it."

Meg shrugged. "They're just books. Used books," she insisted. "How would you describe it?"

Dan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I love to read," he said, lamely.

"Do you," Meg said, more of a statement than a question.

There was an awkward silence and then Dan spoke up. "Well, I just wanted to drop by and say hello. The place looks great. It was good to meet you, ladies."

"Yes," Ev said, "you, too."

"Bye," Meg said, sweetly.

As soon as Dan was safely out of earshot, Clare and Ev turned to her.

"What was that?" Clare spoke up.

Meg took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry to have done that in front of you," she apologized. "It's just that, that man is not exactly how he seems."

"He seemed nice enough to me," Ev said, defensively. "Look at all this," she said, uncovering the baked goods inside the basket. "It was a very nice gesture."

"I know," Meg said, "and I wish he was as nice as he appears but the truth is, Dan Keagan would like nothing more than for me to fall flat on my face and close up shop."

"Why?" Clare said. "What makes you say that?"

Meg proceeded to explain the whole story. They were her employees and more than that, they were nice people. The last thing she wanted to do was give them the impression that she's downright rude for no good reason.

"Ah, so the 'shit' comment was your little way of telling him you know what he said about your store to your friend Albie."

"Precisely," Meg said. "So please don't think I go out of my way to attack any do-gooders who walk through the door. That's not me."

"Hell, Meg," Ev said, "I knew something had to be going on. I know you're not that type of person."

Meg felt relieved that Ev and Clare understood. And she was furious that Dan Keagan thought he could waltz into her store under false pretenses so he could do nothing short of 'case the joint' to use an old expression.

Hopefully after their short little run-in, Mr. Keagan would realize that Meg was no push-over. If he planned to try and run her out of business, he'd be met with a fight.

Chapters - Episode 3 (The One Where Meg Hosts the Grand Opening)

Meg woke up the day of the grand opening a full hour before her alarm clock was set to go off. Instead of rolling over in an attempt to gain a few extra minutes of sleep, she literally felt ready to jump up and start the day. She sat on the edge of her bed arching her back and stretching out her arms. At the same time, she spent a few reflective moments silently praying that her day would go well and that God would be on her side with her new venture. Meg Landry was not superstitious but she did work at keeping herself both spiritual and centered.

Meg was a girl who loved a good bath but today she'd forgo her morning soak in lieu of a brisk shower. She'd poured - literally poured - over the outfit she'd wear to the store that day. Her typical jeans or chinos with new trademark 'Chapters' polo shirt would not due. She'd struggled with her wardrobe choice because on one hand she wanted to keep things casual and real by donning her embroidered work shirt but at the same time she was the owner of a used bookstore and she would be representing her business for the first time to an area of town that could be described quite accurately as 'high end.' Chapters would have to prove itself - and so would she.

*

Lisa was the first to arrive for work. Meg felt an instant sense of pride upon seeing her in her official 'Chapters' uniform polo.

"How are you?" Meg greeted her with a smile.

"Good," Lisa said. "I'm really excited about today."

"Me, too," Meg agreed, barely able to contain her energy.

"Here," Lisa said, handing her a cup. "I don't know if you're a coffee drinker or not but it's iced caramel. My favorite."

Meg accepted the plastic cup gratefully and poked the straw through the tiny 'x' in the lid. "Wow," she said. "That's delicious."

"My favorite coffee shop is just a block from here - The Dusty Rose. Have you ever been there?"

"Never," Meg said, "but I'm going to have to make it a point to stop." Meg was no stranger to the city but she was definitely unfamiliar with her new block. It was a bit on the fancy side and that was the primary reason she believed she had more to prove about her store.

One by one, the rest of her small crew arrived, each wearing their uniform polos. Their outfits gave her the impression that they were all a part of her little army and she liked the feeling of being surrounded by their support.

True to old-fashioned form, Meg had ordered dozens of chocolate chip cookies to put out for the customers. She'd also ordered bottled water with the 'Chapters' logo for the occasion and set out traditional coffee in insulated carafes. She hoped that by providing a relaxing atmosphere with refreshments, people would feel encouraged to stay awhile to peruse the aisles and aisles of books.

"Everything looks great," Ev said. "I really like the bookmarks. They add a nice touch."

Meg picked up one of the many paper bookmarks she'd ordered. The front showed the 'Chapters' logo and website and the reverse side listed random author quotes.

"The more we can get our name out there, the better," she added.

People slowly began to filter in during the morning. Some were ecstatic about the opening of a privately-owned and locally-operated bookstore while others were simply curious. Somewhere in the middle were those who were less than enthused at the notion of a used bookstore in their midst.

"Where are you from?" one particularly snobbish woman asked Meg as she stuffed a bottle of water into her expensive handbag.

"I'm from here," Meg replied. "Born and raised."

"Whatever made you decide on a used bookstore?" she asked. "With Barnes and Noble and Borders just around the corner, what makes you think you'll be able to compete?"

Meg shook her head. "I'm not looking to compete with them directly," she answered. "It would be foolish for me to think that a small store like this is going to give them a run for their money. I'm here to offer people another option and to be honest, used books are a large part of the modern market."

"How so?" the woman asked, reaching for her second cookie.

"I've been selling used books on the Internet for years. There's a big demand."

The woman looked around, assessing the store. "Well, you certainly have a nice place, here. I just don't think you're business is going to last long enough to enjoy it."

Meg squinted at her and had to hold back the instinct to kick the woman right out of the store. Working with the public in retail for years had given her the patience to deal with difficult or down right rude individuals. "Well, feel free to have a look around," she said. "Have a good day."

She turned on her heel only to bump straight into Albie. "Hey," he said, jokingly, "watch it." He smoothed his shirt. "You almost wrinkled my brand new Armani ."

Meg smiled, relieved to see her best friend. She looked at him up and down, taking in the new shirt he referred to. "Very nice, Albs. What's the occasion?"

"What's the occasion?" he repeated. "This is the occasion!" He approached the refreshment table and grabbed a cookie. "Free cookies and bottled water is the occasion," he winked at her.

Meg smiled, grateful for Albie's support. She felt empowered whenever he was around because his confidence was nothing short of contagious.

"How's it been going?" he asked.

Meg looked around and sighed. "It's been slow. I think we've sold maybe six books all morning."

Albie assessed the crowd and nodded. "It's your first day. What did you expect?"

Meg shrugged. "I don't know...maybe to completely sell out my entire stock of books, receive and accept an offer to buy the store from a disgustingly rich, retired exec who's dream it was to retire in a bookstore, and then board a plane to St. Bart's where I'd live out the rest of my years without a care. Too much?"

Albie smiled. "Never too much. I like the way you think, sister."

Meg greeted everyone that walked through the door and introduced herself as the owner and operator. She thought it important to make personal connections in the hopes that they'd feel welcome and eventually return. Her family was there to help but they did more talking amongst themselves than any real work. If she added up her family with her employees, they vastly outnumbered the customers inside the store.

Albie had stepped outside to take a phone call, undoubtedly about his stocks. Meg could see him through the large window pane. She smiled as she watched him pace about in front of the store. He was in 'buy' or 'sell' mode...Albie always paced nervously when he was about to make a trade.

Thankfully, business began to pick up a bit around lunch time. She had several people come in to take a quick look around the store. One woman who worked nearby told her that she'd seen the grand opening sign and told a few of her co-workers about it. Word of mouth went far in the way of advertising.

About twenty minutes had gone by before Albie returned. He had a strange look on his face - a mix of irritation and confusion.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, leading her toward the back room.

"What's up?" Meg asked, trying to assess Albie's expression. "You look pissed...what's the matter?"

"Your next door neighbor's a dick, that's what's the matter," he said.

"What?" Meg asked, laughing. "Who are you talking about?"

"Dan Kerrigan or Keagel...Mr. Fancy-Ass Caterer."

"Keagan," Meg corrected. "Dan Keagan. I met him the other day. He seemed perfectly nice to me."

"I'll bet he did, the snake."

Meg leaned back against her desk. "What happened?"

Albie opened the refrigerator and helped himself to a bottle of iced tea. He shook it before unscrewing the lid.

"I was outside on the phone with Tom," he began referring to his broker. "I was just about to sell my shares of Tirell Gold. Remember I've been wanting to unload that?"

"Yeah, Albie but get to the point."

"Anyway, so I walked to the back lot where I parked my car earlier. By the way, I'm assuming it's okay to park back there, right?"

Meg nodded. "Yes, it's fine."

"So I'm on my way to my car to check on a few notes I'd made about Tirell and when I finished the call I began to walk back to the front. As I reached the sidewalk, I pass this guy up and he says he knows me."

"Who? Dan?"

Albie nodded. "He asks if I golfed with Jeff Dunn earlier this month at the country club and I said yes. He tells me he's good friends with Jeff and proceeds to make all this small talk b.s. with me as if I care. Then he asks me what I'm doing over this way and I tell him I'm here to check out the new bookstore. Then the guy's face gets all screwed up like he needs to spit or something."

"What?" Meg exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

"He says not to waste my time going in because it's a shit-shop full of used books. He then proceeds to tell me that his brother-in-law owns this whole plaza and that he was supposed to get the contract to take over this space for an off-shoot of his catering business. He wanted to put a small restaurant in here."

"He called this place a 'shit-shop'?" Meg repeated.

"That he did. I told you the guy's a dick. Anyway, so he tells me that he and his wife had a recent falling out with the brother-in-law and that the brother-in-law leased it to you out of spite."

"Shut up," Meg said, in disbelief.

"No, he said you were literally the first person to come along after their blow-up and that Davidson...that's your landlord's name, right?"

Meg nodded.

"That Davidson nearly gave you the place."

"That's a lie," Meg defended. "I'm paying top dollar here, believe me."

Albie nodded. "I know, I know. I'm basically out there just letting this asshole dig his own grave with his big mouth."

"Wait," Meg said, putting a hand up to halt Albie's tirade. "What would make possess him to tell you these things? You're a virtual stranger to the guy."

Albie laughed. "That's where it gets good. He's going on and on, and all of a sudden I realize - he thinks I'm a lawyer like Jeff Dunn. He's telling me this story, as if it's just casual conversation but at the end of it all, he asks me what I think. And I say, 'I don't know, Guy...sounds pretty complicated.' And then he says he wasn't asking me my personal opinion...he wants to know if I think he has any legal recourse over the breaking of the verbal contract he had with his wife's brother over the commercial space."

"Oh my God, I cannot believe him," Meg said, pacing. "And do you know he had the nerve to stop here the other day with a basket of muffins? What a two-faced creep!"

Meg grabbed the bottle of iced tea from Albie's hand and took a long swig. "Did you end up telling him you're not a lawyer?"

"Hell no," Albie said, taking the tea back from her. "I wanted to keep the guy talking. If I told him I was here as your friend and that I'm actually a pharmaceutical sales rep and not a lawyer, do you think he would have said any of that to me?"

Meg shook her head. "What a presumptuous asshole."

Albie nodded. "Right. That all being said, what are we going to do about it?"

"Do about it?" Meg asked, confused. "There's nothing we can do about it. From what I can tell it's a family drama that we're no part of. Plus, I have a contract to be in this space. A legally binding contract. There's no way they can kick me out even if they wanted to."

Albie sat on her desk and squinted his eyes, deep in thought. "I wonder," he said. "Especially after all the hard work you've done to get this place presentable. I mean, it looks like a museum!"

Meg smiled. "Thanks for the compliment but I don't plan on letting that two-faced jerk reap the benefits of my work anytime soon."