This choice: Gina sets in motion a plan to out manoeuvre Gloria’s expansion plans • Go Back... After a good night's sleep following the big announcement dinner of her fully inheriting the Bianchi family enterprises, Gina had dreamt up some schemes to block Gloria Vandergast's efforts while furthering the family's brand. Partial to Turkish coffee when she was brainstorming big plans, Gina placed a few calls while her coffee warmed.
"Ciao, Fiona," Gina greeted to her co-conspirator. "Yes, I know you said no further calls but don't worry, I'm calling from a burner phone. I wanted to ask you about those properties listed in the files. Just how much was her bid?"
After some brief minutes of terse talk, Gina had the further intel she needed as her coffee had finished brewing. Dressed only in her bathrobe, the Italian belle took her coffee out to her apartment's balcony overlooking the central courtyard. The Mediterranean fresco design and roof tiles of the apartment complex had reminded Gina of her family's ancestral home when she was first looking for her own home. She took aim with the burner phone and hurled it into the courtyard fountain.
"Oops, ~sorry Fernando~" she giggled to herself, as the groundskeeper would have to fish that out at some point. Reclining on her patio furniture, Gina savored a sip of her strong coffee as she made a string of other calls throughout the morning.
"Hi Papa!" Went the first call. "I know it might be gauche talking business so soon, but I wanted to make sure we had the funds set aside for that planned expansion. I think we should move up the timing..." The Bianchi holdings, while renowned, were surprisingly small compared to the fast franchising moving of Gina's generation. There was the historic original family restaurant, the second location much like the first, the third where Gina had started out cooking with her fusion cuisines, and the fourth was the eatery of an old town grocery store. Marlon, one for family and communal ties, had been unsure about aggressive expansion of the family restaurants but Gina knew just how to twist him around her finger.
"Heeeeey Iz~!" Went the second call. "Aww, your fat pants aren't fitting? I'm shocked," she teased, as her sister Izabella had been just under 300 lbs before the amount she had eaten last night. "Listen, sis, we can talk sisterly woes later, I've got a question for your hubby Benito. Hush, I wouldn't dream of it, you know he loves every fiber of your being! Enough teasing, I actually wanted to ask about his friends on the building contractors' Union..." Benito, Izabella's darling husband, certainly had a hand in her growing size beyond the family's cooking. As a construction worker, after a hard day of working with boards, nails, I-beams and concrete, he loved coming home to a plush wife. The sisters were so close that they teased each other relentlessly and were openly candid about their respective love lives.
"Hello, is this the Huerta residence?" Went the third call. "I'm calling about your recent sale. My name is Gina Bianchi. Yes, Marlon Bianchi's daughter, I've recently picked up the reigns of the family business...oh, your grandkids were at the event? Wonderful! Family is important to me, and I've heard yours is in a spot of trouble..."
Gloria Vandergast did not need this week to continue.
In the aftermath of the corporate spy discovery, Gloria had yet to determine who had wronged her and nothing appeared to be going right. She had her hunches but no proof, just a series of conveniently timed obstacles to the growth of her restaurant empire. Monday's revelation was followed by bad news on Tuesday; Gloria had been out-bid in a prime land scale from the city recently commercializing some undeveloped land. Wednesday's woe had the workforce renovating her original bistro after an 'accidental' fire (ostensibly for insurance purposes) walk-out on strike as she apparently hadn't filled the right union paperwork.
Thursday was proving to be just as terrible. For Gloria's diet, that is. The stress of finding her plans for expansion foiled, obviously the work of whoever got that stooge hired at main restaurant for half a year, had gotten Gloria on a fast food kick. No, she wasn't buying fast food, she was making it!
Gloria had never 'eaten out' since she she had become a big name chef, unless it was for business reasons like sussing out the competition. Becoming a bit of a snob about her food, she wouldn't eat anything she didn't have a hand in nor that of her own talent. So as she was driving her cobalt Jaguar out to the site of her next meeting, wearing her designer sunglasses and a navy suit, she was eating her concoction of a Wendy's Baconator combo meal. That being: a triple patty gourmet burger with jalapeño bacon and garlic aioli mayo; truffle oil double-crunch fries with rosemary; and a horchata-milkshake. The 84 oz Pepsi was store bought.
"At least I've still got the Huerta property in my clutches," Gloria mused as she parked her car, inhaling the last bite of her burger. Crushing the wrapper she had gotten for it, Gloria checked herself in the mirror for any signs of spilled food on her suit. Seeing none and nursing a long swig of horchata-shake, she got out of the car with a grunt.
Casa Su Vecindario was a mom and pop Mexican restaurant that had fallen on hard times, owing to an unfavorable market shift. Most of the old neighborhood had dried up as department brand stores and a mega mall off the interstate drew the crowds out of the area. The family that ran the restaurant, the Huertas, could no longer afford to run the restaurant given a price hike in ingredients. Having discovered this fruitful opportunity, Gloria had intimidated the Huertas into a private sale. What she promised them was an absolute steal from her perspective. She had ambitions for an experimental Tex-Mex joint to replace it, heavy emphasis on the Tex.
"Hola, Señor Huerta," Gloria greeted, eager to get the papers signed over. Upon removing her sunglasses as she entered the empty restaurant, there was an unexpected fresh face standing next to the aged owners.
"Ah, so you're Gloria Vandergast!" Gina Bianchi had opted for a low cut but tasteful pinstripe business dress that accentuated her sleek, sexy curves. The olive-skinned Italian bombshell was all smiles to the heftier Gloria's simmering hatred.
"Gina Bianchi," Gloria returned the false pleasantries. "Heard you just stepped up into the big leagues."
"Hmm, I've seen bigger," Gina had a private chuckle at the thought of how her sister outweighed the dumpy physiqued Gloria by a hundred pounds.
Feeling insulted, Gloria addressed Oscar Huerta. "If she's offering to buy your place, remember that she's young blood to the game. I doubt without her family's constant support she'll keep a new restaurant open more than two years."
"Oh, I'm not trying to buy Casa Su Vecindario," Gina said. "I'm the Huerta family's new business partner."
That caught Gloria completely off guard. "What?"
Oscar nodded along with Gina's assessment. "Senoirta Bianchi wanted to sponsor the restaurant in trust. Our grandchildren have been inspired by her recent success and want to keep the restaurant in the family."
"And I provide them some fresh recipes and initial support staff until they create their own crew," Gina smiled. Latin cuisine was her favorite after that of her Italian heritage, a cornerstone of her Americana inspired fusion dishes. "So we figured our first order of business would be telling you in person that the Huerta family rejects your offer of sale."
Gloria had just enough composure to leave the disastrous meeting on civil terms, although she was all rants and rage when she returned to her Jaguar. Stuffing fries into her face, Gloria placed a call to her home office.
"It was the Bianchi Bitch!" Gloria fumed, having found her saboteur. "I want everything that can be dug up on her unearthed! I want horrid reviews on all her eateries! I want her head on a pike!" The last demand was hopefully hyperbole. "She's going to to rue the day she messed with Gloria Vandergast! SHIT!"
Added to Thursday's troubles, Gloria now had to contend with getting Pepsi stains out of her car mats.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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