Healing Inc. (2 page)

She sang on as he stood there drawn to her every word, every movement, unable to budge.  The situation was bordering on scary for him.  Control was something he thought he had learned to master a long time ago.  Control was power, which translated into the ability to succeed, to run his businesses efficiently and to basically get whatever he wanted.  He knew that loss of control in any situation thus equated to a loss of power, and he considered that to be major sign of weakness.  However, he could not control this emotion stirring within him that was alien to his being.  He knew compassion, had felt it and knew this was similar.  What he was experiencing now was somehow different. 

His brief paralysis was not all for naught.  It saved him from what could have been a very embarrassing moment.  It kept him from showing his appreciation of her talent where he otherwise would have been applauding and whistling unrestrained.  Unbeknownst to him at the moment, he had walked in on a memorial service.  He observed the woman leaving the stage and walking straight into the open arms of an elderly couple.  They all hugged each other for several minutes, while the rest of the participants bowed their heads and remained silent. 

At the conclusion of the performance, Anita felt a presence behind her.  She looked back to see a tall handsome man standing there.  She recognized him from some of the magazine articles that she had seen him in. 

“Oh, you made it.” she whispered as she came to stand beside Tyler.  She had been sitting in the very back booth of the room in case he showed up for their meeting.  She was supposed to be listening out for the phone or him to come in but had gotten caught up in the ceremony, savoring the sound her best friend’s wonderful voice.  “Why don’t we go to the office.”  She turned and left the large hall with Tyler following closely behind her.

Once they entered the office, she quietly closed the door behind them.  As she turned to shake his hand he noticed that her soft green eyes were filled with emotion.  He could tell that she was trying to keep them in check for the sake of the business they were about to discuss.  It made him feel better to know that he wasn’t the only one who had been affected by the spellbinding vocalist. 

He couldn’t help but take in Anita’s long brown hair, which she currently wore in loose curls down her back, and naturally dark tan skin.  She was no doubt of Puerto Rican origin as a hint of her accent could be detected when she spoke.  Standing about five foot ten in her three inch heels, she had an attractive, healthy figure which she accentuated by wearing a high end navy blue business suit that clearly stated ‘I’m good enough at what I do to afford such attire.’

“Hi, I’m Anita but please, call me Nita,” she said as she motioned for him to have a seat.  She sat on the opposite side of the modest desk.  “Pardon me for not hearing you come in.  It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of hearing Evy perform.”

“After hearing her I can’t say that I blame you.  She’s good!  She doesn’t usually perform?” he asked incredulous.

“Unfortunately not,” she sighed.  She caught her thoughts wandering toward her friend and immediately refocused on the task at hand.  “I don’t mind meeting with you tonight.  My manager usually handles the bookings but she said that you wanted to see me about another matter.”

“Yes.  But, is there any way I could request that Evy, did you say her name was, sing at my daughter’s party?” he asked, still distracted by the singer.  “I know the band that will be playing for my daughter‘s celebration is more of a contemporary group, but I plan to attend and would love to hear something more mature, even if it is just one song.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Moriatti but I have to abide by her wishes.  She doesn’t do performances,” was all Nita could offer him.  She knew from his reputation that he was a man who was not used to hearing the word ‘no’.  Rumors labeled him as a borderline lunatic because he packed heat and could be quick tempered on occasion.  His family’s reputation as mobsters didn’t help his case.  However, she refused to be intimidated by him.  Some of her brothers had reputations of their own, not to mention she would not allow such nonsense to sway her commitment to her friend which ran much deeper than anything this man that sat before her desired. 

A thought occurred to her, sending up a red flag.  “Did you intentionally come here to ask if Evy would sing?” she managed to ask calmly, hiding the slight panic creeping up on her.

“Ummm, actually no,” he replied with a bit of caution.  Nita had asked the question gently enough but the slight change in her mannerism told him that he probably should relent. 

He put on his business face and moved on to the next topic.  “I know this might sound peculiar coming from someone like me but I was hoping for a chance to invest in your establishment.  My daughter has informed me of some of the things that you do for the community and I must say I find them rather appealing.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Moriatti…”

“Tyler,” he corrected continuing to keep his temper in check.

“With all due respect… Tyler, such actions would have to be approved by the board.  You see Chanelle’s belongs to Healing Inc., which is a very tight knit group.  It is extremely rare for them to allow other members in.  Although I am a member, alone I am simply the overseer or CEO, as you would have, of the corporation.  My position does not allow me to make such consequential decision.”

“Then I would like to have a meeting with the board!” he demanded.

“Again, I must apologize.  The board does not meet with the general public.  I handle all their public affairs.”

“Wow!  Tough group.”  He sat bewildered, yet intrigued by the mystery that surrounded Healing Inc.  He had heard rumors about the secrecy of the corporation but now he was witnessing it firsthand.  Nita had been nice enough to him but she had in not so many words made it clear why she wore that power suit so well.  For the second time that evening he knew he needed to back off.  He actually found himself full of envy toward her employers, wishing he had someone as good as her working for him. 

“I hope this doesn’t change anything as far as your daughter’s party is concerned.”

“Not at all,” he assured her.

The two of them sat in the office and went over the final arrangements for the pending occasion.  Nita gave him more detailed information about some of the philanthropy that Healing Inc. participated in.  She offered him the option of donating to such causes out of his own pocket or volunteering at some of the places that they funded.  By the time they concluded their little meeting all the other occupants of the building had departed, including the talented singer.              

Evelyn Stone, (Evy), was grateful for the way the Sunday before Labor Day had turned out.  The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold.  She started the day with her usual routine, a four mile run, practicing martial arts forms and ending it all with fifteen minutes of essential meditation.  Figuring on being alone and secluded, she quickly showered, threw on comfortable clothing and headed for the shop.  

Shelly, who also managed the night club Chanelle’s
,
had wanted to give everyone who worked regularly in the consignment shop time off for the holiday weekend.  However, she was afraid of what she would come back to on Tuesday.  Evy had volunteered to cover for them.  After all, today was her thirty sixth birthday.  What else did she have to do?  The work would be a welcome distraction and it would give her plenty of time to study for the humanities class she had just started.  She already had her MBA but it didn’t hurt to continue expanding the mind, was her philosophy. 

She smiled as thoughts of her best friend, Nita, came to mind.  To date she had never met anyone, male or female, who could rival the poise and mannerisms needed to survive as a lawyer in the corporate world only to turn around and let the most outrageous things come out of her mouth when amongst friends and family.  Nita had tried like heck to coax her into accompanying her back home to Chicago for the weekend to visit with family. 

Evy could sense Nita’s concern for her.  The growing years that bonded them together every since Nita had come and gotten her from Chicago had increased Evy’s perception of her friend’s emotions.  Nita must have remembered that today was not only her birthday; it marked twenty years to the day since she had met David Johnson. 

Nita must have noticed the slight change in her behavior after the memorial service last March and was probably worried that old habits would resurface.  Evy hadn’t informed her that the nightmares were back.  If she had disclosed this information to Nita she would have never gotten rid of her.  After tolerating weeks of Nita’s pleading, Evy was finally able to convince her that she would behave while she was gone.  “Okay, I’ll leave you alone, Evy, but the moment you start to feel morose you call me!” she had stipulated in her ‘that’s not up for debate’ voice.  Evy had agreed to the terms knowing that she didn’t want to burden her friend, and had actually looked forward to the time alone.

Mozart kept her company, playing softly in the background, while she worked tirelessly in the consignment shop bearing the same name as the night club.  It was located on the back side of the building with its own entrance and signage.  The shop seemed to take in more donations than items for consignment, especially during long weekends when people had time to de-clutter their closets, attics and such.  What she found most interesting was that those giving donations came in all shades of color and spoke a variety of languages.  Diversity truly made it a community as far as she was concerned.  She enjoyed meeting the people who came to give just as much as those who came to receive.

As she sorted through the abundance of clothing, separating them into different bins, she started to reminisce about her past life in Chicago and the night she met David.  She and Nita had become friends in the first grade.  They both always got straight A’s in school, even though Nita had a bit of an edge to her and a mouth that didn’t quite fit her angelic face.  Evy was the opposite, more of an observer who would assess the situation before commenting on it.  Some would even go as far as to call her shy.  The two of them managed to keep each other out of trouble most of the time.  The few times trouble called Nita’s older brothers would step in and save them.  Because their protectors were notorious in the neighborhood, there weren’t too many foes willing to take them on. 

Although Anita came from a large family, the two of them had always been more like sisters than friends, even spending most of their time at each other’s houses.  Perhaps it was due to Evy being an only child and Nita being the youngest and the only girl out of seven siblings.

No one was a greater fan of hers than Nita.  She was always trying to get Evy to join a band, believing her voice to be that good.  “You should be making records chica, instead of wasting your time in front of that stupid mirror!” she would say, praising her every time she opened her mouth to sing. 

On her sixteenth birthday, Nita had planned what she felt was the ultimate surprise for her.  She convinced her that it was time to stop being shy and audition to be in a band.  That day, she presented Evy with fake IDs for each of them. 

Evy could still feel how nervous she had been when she handed hers to the huge Latino man guarding the clubs entrance.  He was really tall, built like a linebacker.  He had slightly darker skin than other Latinos and could easily be mistaken for black.  His eyes mimicked those of a hawk, piercing right through her.  As she drew closer to him, she realized that her nerves had kept her from recognizing Nita’s oldest brother, Miguel.  How could she not have recognized him after all the time he spent at her house?  Growing up she always suspected that Miguel had a crush on her mom.  This added to her surprise when knowing they weren’t old enough he let them enter the club instead of telling them to go home. Knowing Nita, she was probably blackmailing him.

Entering the club, her eyes were drawn to the huge sign on the stage that read ‘Singing Contest’.  Immediately her stomach had begun to do flip flops.  She had turned to Nita, who stood behind her with a sinister smile on her face as her eyebrows rose and fell.  Evy decided that she had nothing to lose.  She stood on stage waiting for her cue, her stomach mirroring the competition between her mind wanting to flee and her heart telling her this was where she was supposed to be.