Chapter 11 - THE MAN WHO KEPT THE DOORS OPEN
“Then we need to speak with Manny.”
Luca answered immediately.
Frank shook his head.
“I don't want you offering him money just because you're upset.”
Luca stopped.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Ask him what he needs.”
The following morning, we gathered around the same long dining table.
This time, there were no engagement decorations.
The white roses had been removed.
Only coffee, warm bread, and the garage's old ledger sat between the chairs.
Manny Ortega arrived wearing a dark work jacket with grease beneath his fingernails.
He was fifty-four, broad-shouldered, and clearly uncomfortable in the mansion.
Frank stood when he entered.
“Manny.”
“Morning, Frank.”
The two men shook hands.
Then Manny looked toward Luca.
“Mr. Moretti.”
“Luca, please.”
Manny nodded.
He didn't sit until Frank asked him to.
I brought fresh coffee.
He thanked me, but he barely touched it.
Frank took a breath.
“I'm sorry.”
Manny looked surprised.
“For what?”
“For letting you think the garage was closing.”
Manny studied him.
“Frank, I asked you three times what was happening.”
“I know.”
“And you kept saying you'd figure it out.”
“I know that too.”
Manny glanced toward the ledger.
“I've got people depending on me.”
Frank nodded.
“That's why I'm not angry you took another job.”
Manny looked down.
“I didn't want to leave.”
“I know.”
“I've spent more years in that shop than I spent in my first marriage.”
Frank laughed softly.
“Don't tell your wife you said that.”
Manny managed a smile.
Then his expression grew serious.
“But I can't keep wondering whether I'll have a paycheck next Friday.”
Luca leaned forward.
“You shouldn't have to.”
Manny looked at him.
“I appreciate that.”
“I'm not going to ask you to trust another vague promise.”
Luca opened the garage ledger.
“What would make the job worth staying for?”
Manny seemed surprised.
“Honestly?”
“Please.”
“Regular pay. Health insurance. Equipment that won't put someone in the hospital.”
Frank lowered his eyes.
Manny continued.
“And I need to know Frank isn't going to keep working twelve hours a day because he thinks nobody else can handle the place.”
Luca glanced at his father.
Frank gave a reluctant smile.
“I suppose that's fair.”
Manny nodded.
“It's more than fair.”
He looked toward Frank.
“You've taught me everything I know about this business. But you've also got to let somebody else carry some of it.”
Frank stared at the old ledger.
Then he slowly pushed it toward Manny.
“I think I'm finally ready.”
Manny looked up.
“For what?”
“To make you the working shop manager.”
Manny went completely still.
Frank continued.
“I'd still own the building. I'd teach and help with customers. But you'd run the repairs and supervise the mechanics.”
Manny studied him.
“Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“And you'd actually go home at a reasonable hour?”
Frank hesitated.
Luca laughed.
“That's going to be the difficult part.”
Manny smiled.
But then he looked toward Luca.
“What happens if another development deal comes along?”
Luca's expression changed.
Manny continued.
“I'm not being disrespectful. I'm asking because yesterday Frank believed he had to leave his own building.”
Luca nodded.
“You have every right to ask.”
He looked toward Frank.
“The garage belongs to my father. Any decisions about its future go through him.”
Manny didn't look entirely convinced.
“And the roof?”
“An independent contractor will inspect it. We'll authorize the repairs directly, with Frank's approval.”
“Not through Rinaldi Development?”
“No.”
Manny nodded slowly.
“That matters.”
Frank turned toward me.
“Claire, what about keeping track of everything?”
I looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“Orders. Schedules. Apprentice applications.”
Luca smiled.
“I was wondering the same thing.”
Frank leaned forward.
“Would you consider helping us organize the program?”
I hesitated.
“My mother's bills depend on my income.”
Luca nodded.
“Then any position would have to pay properly.”
“And I don't know how to run a training program.”
“You know invoices and scheduling,” Frank said. “Manny knows the shop. We can bring in someone experienced to help design the instruction and safety requirements.”
Manny nodded.
“And we can start small.”
I looked around the table.
Yesterday, Vanessa had threatened to fire me for helping an elderly man enter his son's dining room.
Now that man was asking whether I wanted to help build something.
But I didn't want charity disguised as employment.
“May I ask something?”
Luca nodded.
“Anything.”
“Would this be a real position, with responsibilities and a salary? Or are you offering it because of what happened last night?”
Frank looked surprised.
Then he smiled.
“That's a fair question.”
I held his gaze.
“Because I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I want to earn whatever job I have.”
Manny nodded approvingly.
“That's exactly the kind of person we need.”
Luca smiled.
“Then we'll work out a proper job description and pay. You can decide whether it's right for you.”
I felt something loosen inside my chest.
For the first time in years, I could imagine a future that wasn't just about holding on to the job I already had.
Manny reached for the ledger.
“There's one thing we need to settle before anybody starts making plans.”
Frank looked toward him.
“What?”
“The equipment.”
Luca nodded.
“We'll inspect everything.”
Manny shook his head.
“There's one piece I already know we can't keep using.”
Frank's expression changed.
“The lift?”
Manny nodded.
“The old hydraulic lift in the second bay.”
Luca looked from one man to the other.
“What's wrong with it?”
Manny's voice became serious.
“It's been losing pressure for months.”
Frank looked down.
“I've been careful.”
“That isn't enough.”
Luca stared at his father.
“Dad?”
Frank didn't answer.
Manny continued.
“I stopped letting the younger mechanics use it. But Frank kept saying he'd worked with it for thirty years.”
Luca slowly closed the ledger.
May you like
Manny looked directly at Frank.
“The roof can be repaired. The shop can reopen. But that lift has to go, Frank. And until it does, I'm not letting anybody work beneath it.”
