Tea was shocked and disgusted when she walked into the ladies room and witnessed RJ and Sophia engaging in a nasty and obscene act of lust and passion. She looked right in their direction and said, "What do you two think you're doing?"
Sophia replies, "What does it look like?"
RJ just stood there and watched the women talking back and forth at each other. Sophia's french kiss combined with Tea interrupting them left him speechless for the moment.
Tea wasted no time in responding to Sophia's smart alec remark.
"Nevermind. Sorry for the interruption ." Tea ducked out the restroom. She found herself in a very awkward situation that wasn't worth getting into, so she decided to leave RJ and Sophia alone.
Now that Tea was gone, Sophia put her emphasis on making out with RJ.
"So, where were we?" She asked as she put her arms around his neck.
"Listen, Sophia, I think we better quit while we're ahead."
"Come on, RJ. Where's your sense of adventure? That lady's not going to rat on us. She looked like she wanted to join in. Do you know her?"
"Three's a crowd and where's your thinking cap? This is not the type of place to be carrying on like this."
"You're right. Let's go on the roof and finish what we've started."
"Later Sophia. You and I have to get back to our dates before they suspect something's up."
"Gotcha, RJ! I noticed how quiet you were in front of that woman. It looks like I have myself a partner."
"We'll talk about that later. Now you peep outside to see if the coast is clear."
"Ok." Sophia opens the bathroom and door and sees no one around. She signals RJ that it's safe to leave the restroom.
RJ walks out unnoticed and Sophia follows right behind him.
"Wasn't that fun? There's nothing like the thrill and the adrenailine rush flowing through me when the heat is on." Expressed Sophia.
"You can say that again. Listen, what happened between my "girlfriend" and you?"
"Just girl talk. That's all."
"Well since you're here, I think the both of you should get re-acquainted. Come on, I'll introduce ya?"
"That's ok, RJ. I have to get back to Joey."
"It'll only take a minute. I insist. I'll have you back before Joey has a chance to miss you."
"Alright". Sophia said in a reluctant voice. She knew that RJ suspected that much more happened to between Roseanne and her.
RJ escorts Sophia to his table while Joey and Roseanne stared in their direction and wondered what was happening with them.
"Hey Rosie! Look who I ran into on my way to the restroom. The Avon Lady!"
Roseanne realized that RJ caught him in a lie and she decided to tell the truth. Sophia gave her the evil eye while RJ was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"RJ, I have something to tell you." She paused. "I told you that lie because your friend insulted me and I wasn't going to take that."
RJ looked at Rosey and said, "You should've been real with me from the get-go." He turns to Sophia. "As for you, Sophia, you have to learn to be more respectful and considerate to my friends. Now put aside your differences and make up."
"Hell no! I'm not shaking hands with Jennifer HOE-pez."
"Well I wouldn't touch your hand either, Bimbozo the clown."
"That's enough, Sophia and Rosie. Now shake."
"Ok, but I'm only shaking her hand because you asked me to." Roseanne said.
"Sure. Why not?" Sophia rolled her eyes.
Roseanne and Sophia shake hands. Rosey felt Sophia squeeze her hand as she smiled at her. Roseanne kept her cool in front of RJ. She wanted to kick Sophia, but the Palace Restaurant wasn't the place to act un-ladylike. Rosie then told Sophia to let go of her hand.
"Ok, handshaking is over. I want my hand back."
"I just wanted to show you how sorry I was for the misunderstanding this morning." Sophia let's go of Rosey's hand and looks at RJ. "See ya around, RJ." She said as she winked at him.
Sophia walks back to Joey's table and has a seat. He asks Sophia about what was going on with her, RJ and Sophia.
"What was that all about?" Inquired Joey.
"Oh nothing. Nothing at all." Sophia brushes Joey's question aside.
Meanwhile at the bar, Tea is talking to John about what she witnessed in the ladies room.
"You wouldn't believe what I seen."
"Try me. I'm all ears." John eagerly said.
"I saw RJ and some girl that looked like a hooker in the bathroom not too long ago."
"You want me to go to talk to him?"
"It wasn't a big a deal." Tea spots Sophia walking with Joey on his arm. "John. That's the woman that was with RJ in the ladies room." She whispered in his ear.
John recognizes Sophia from the armed robbery at the Crossroads Tavern and said, "I know her. Her name is Sophia Pelligrino and she's a waitress at Crossroads. The girl looks like trash to me."
"Tell me about it. She wreaks of it as well. That cheap perfume she's wearing was making my eyes water. I think I'm allergic to it."
"Don't worry about RJ and Sophia, Tea. There are worse crimes those two can commit."
"Like what?"
"Reproduce." Laughed John.
"Now that you put it that way, you're right." She smiled as she drank her champagne.
Tea's smile turned into a frown when she spotted her niece walking with RJ Gannon. She excused herself from John and confronted the both of them.
"Rosey, what are you doing with RJ?" Inquired Tea.
RJ butts in and says, "Your niece is enjoying my company."
"Yeah, RJ and I are just having an innocent get together. Is their anything wrong with that?" Questioned Rosie.
"Roseanne, RJ is bad news and you don't need to be around a dangerous man like him."
"Aunt Tea, I can choose my own company and right now I want to be with RJ."
"Relax, Tea. I'll have your niece home with the quickness." Added RJ.
"You damn well better not hurt her or I'll make your life a living hell."
"Whatever you say, my darling she-devil.
Tea shakes her head and walks away from RJ and Sophia. John stood there and watched what transpired. He didn't want to risk RJ blowing the whistle on his dirty secrets.
RJ walked to John and made small talk with him. Prior to this moment, RJ gave Roseanne his keys and told her to wait in the car while he talked to John and Tea in private.
"Nice tie you have on, John. You belong to a Letter-man's club?"
John was sweating under pressure and answered, "Yeah I do."
"What a coincidence. Your club has my initials." RJ looks at Tea. "Tea, your man has great taste in ties.
"Shouldn't you be taking my niece home, RJ?"
"So eager to get rid of me, huh? I'll see ya around, she-devil." RJ leaves the bar and takes Roseanne back to the penthouse.
It isn't long before RJ arrives at his apartment complex. He walks toward his door and gets his key out. He looks at the door knob and notices that it's been tampered with. The door was cracked open a bit and RJ was very suspicious. He walks in and he's shocked by what he sees inside his apartment. His furniture was overturned, his stereo was smashed, his CD, tape and record collection was scattered on the floor along with his bonzai trees and and his walls had scribblings of red spray paint on them. When he walked in his room it was a complete disaster area as his bed was wrecked and his antique lamp was damaged. RJ's entire apartment was vandalized and he had an idea who did it.
There were two people that were on top of his lists of suspects. Delmarco Delgado, who broke into RJ's domicile a couple of nights back and John Sykes. RJ knew that John wanted the blackmail material he had on him and he would stop at nothing to get it. When RJ looked in his closet he noticed his briefcase was gone. He knew John was behind this.
The scene switches to the docks where John meets with Marco to obtain the blackmail material Dane stole from RJ's apartment.
"I've got what you want, big guy." Marco said while he was holding the briefcase.
"Swell." John said as he reached to take the case from him.
Marco pulled the briefcase away from John and said, "Not so fast, Sykes! You don't get the case until I get my money. Now fork over the cash."
John pulls out an envelope that has five thousand dollars in twenty dollar bills. Marco was not pleased with what John gave him and voiced his outrage over the small amount of money he received.
"What's with this?" Snapped Marco.
"It's payment for your job. Now give me the briefcase....." Demanded John.
"I oughta shove this in the river. There's no way I can work with five thousand dollars. I need more money than that."
"Be grateful for what you got. The rest of your money went to your hotel room and Lexus."
"This is definitely not going to work. I'll tell you what: if I handle Gannon for you, I want a plane ticket for two to the Bahamas."
"You greedy bastard. I should ring your neck."
"And if you do that, I'll throw this briefcase in the river. Does RJ have a girlfriend?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Cause the best way to handle your foe is to hit him where it hurts: his heart."
"I thought you were referring to his wallet. You seem to be killing my bank account."
"Well I'm doing business with you. If you want to break RJ, you have to do it through his gal."
"You're in luck, Marco. It just so happens that I have a photo of her in my car."
"Go and get it. I'll be right here counting my money and making sure it's all here."
John walks to the car and gets Sophia's police record out of his trunk. Marco slowly counts his money and makes sure it's all there.
John walks back to Marco and said, "I have the picture of RJ's ladyfriend. Marco are you paying attention to me?!" Exclaimed Sykes.
"Will you shut up for a minute. I don't want to lose my count" He paused. "All right. I'm done. Its present and accounted for." He puts his money back in his pocket.
"Here's the photo you requested, Dane." John hands the picture with the file attached to Marco.
Marco instantly familiarizes himself with the lady in the mug shot.
"Hubba hubba. I know this woman. It's Sophia. I use to date her old lady. Hot damn she's looking like her mother. Sexy!." Wooed Marco.
"Glad you like it. She only had a Juvenile record. Her priors include, shoplifting, possession of marijuana, running away from home, truancy and assault and battery."
"Well Sophia was a regular Betty Badass, but my has she blossomed."
"So I'm curious. What are you planning on doing to her?"
"You leave that to me, detective. This is going to be child's play."
"You just be discreet."
"Settle down. By the time I'm done with RJ, he won't know what killed him."
"I don't want RJ dead. I want him broken like a twig."
"Trust me. You're dealing with a pro here. By the way, here's your briefcase." Marco hands John the briefcase.
"Thanks. You just keep your nose clean."
"Why do you think I carry some kleenex with me?" Marco blows his nose. "Hold this for me." Marco playfully hands Sykes his tissue.
"The hell I will. Hold your own kleenex." He said as he moved away from Dane.
"I was just playing with ya. You're so uptight." Remarked Marco as he threw his tissue on the ground.
"Worry about yourself, Dane. See ya around."
Marco and John part ways. Sykes makes his way back to his apartment and opens the briefcase with a screwdriver. When he pops it open, a paint bomb discharged all over his face and clothing. He sees a videotape in the briefcase and walks to the VCR and puts it in and presses play. It's a Roadrunner cartoon. As the cartoon continues, RJ's voice is heard in the background when Wile E. Coyote falls from the cliff.
"Better luck next time, sucker." Laughed RJ.
John stops the tape and takes it out of the VCR and hurls it across the room. Sykes was furious that RJ pulled a fast one on him. He was also upset that he gave Marco five thousand dollars for nothing. John then resorted to drastic measures and contacted Dane about the briefcase and made a deal with him to break RJ Gannon in half.
The scene switches to RJ's apartment where he's accompanied by Bo Buchanan, Hank Gannon and Lisa West. They were tipped off about the breaking and entering by an anonymous caller.
"So you got home and you found your place trashed?" Bo asked.
"In a nutshell, yes." Answered RJ.
"You have any idea who did this?" Continued Bo.
"It beats me. Like I said, I came home and my place was smashed."
Hank jumps and says, "This is real odd, RJ. Why would someone break in and not take anything?"
"How should I know? It's not my job to be solving crimes here. Bo and Lisa are paid to do that. Why don't you all believe me? "
To Be Continued ....