Leo stood in the doorway for another moment, watching the last of Manjula's eight children disappear into the beat up car Manjula arrived in. He let out a long breath then stepped back inside.
Back in the bedroom, Leo pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. German Green. He was a corporate attorney who had helped settle a lot of Leo's legal business in the early days of Eldian. Back when the company was still finding its footing, German had been the one to clean up the messy contracts and push back on greedy clients. He wasn't a divorce lawyer specifically, but Leo knew he had connections in every branch of law. It seemed like most lawyers did.
The phone rang twice before German picked up.
"Leo? It's been a while. Don't tell me your company is having issues."
"No, no, nothing like that. I'm actually in Springfield at the moment, but I need a favor. I've got a friend here going through a divorce. Her husband cheated on her. She needs someone good. Someone who's going to get her every cent possible. You know anyone on the divorce side of things near here?"
"Springfield? That dump? How did you end up in that place?"
"Business opportunities… originally," Leo said. And that was true, when he'd first arrived, it had been strictly about the plant contract and getting Eldian back on solid ground. But since then… well, he'd found other kinds of opportunities too.
"Originally?" German's voice came through the phone
"It's a town full of untapped potential," Leo said smoothly. An image of a woman getting changed in the dressing room flashed in his mind. "Let's leave it at that."
German let out a short laugh. "I bet. Alright, yeah… I know a guy. His name is Richard. He lives about an hour outside of Springfield, but he does take cases in Springfield County occasionally. Aggressive negotiator, solid track record. Want me to send you his details?"
"The sooner the better."
"Actually," German thought about it. " I'll just set it up for you. Don't worry about it. I'll give him a call and have him reach out to you. Consider it a favor for old times. Just make sure I'm the first you reach out to for any potential cases."
"You already were. I appreciate it, German."
"Don't mention it."
The phone call ended and Leo set his phone on the nightstand. He'd get Manjula in front of a real lawyer, someone who could squeeze every last drop out of Apu. The same way he was going to squeeze her—
His phone began to ring again.
'Did German forget to mention something?' He glanced back down, but to his surprise, the caller ID instead read Marge Simpson.
Leo raised an eyebrow, then answered with an easy tone. "Hey, Marge."
"Hi, Leo!" Her voice came through bright and warm, the kind of cheerfulness that came very naturally. "I'm sorry to bother you, I just wanted to make sure we're still on for Saturday dinner. Lisa hasn't stopped talking about it, and, well… Homer's already asking what I'm making, so I figured I'd double check with you."
Of course Homer's main concern was the menu.
"Tomorrow works perfectly. I wouldn't miss it."
"Oh, wonderful! Is there anything you don't eat? Any allergies I should know about?"
"No allergies. I'll eat whatever you put in front of me, Marge. I'm sure it'll be amazing."
While still on the phone, his screen lit up with a text notification. German had come through fast. He'd already gotten in touch with Richard, who could meet them tonight at 7 PM. He also attached the address where he would meet him in his office.
'That was quick.' Leo was impressed.
A soft, pleased hum on the other end pulled Leo's attention back to Marge's voice. "Well, I'll make sure it's something special then."
"I look forward to it," Leo said, and he meant it.
"See you then! Bye, Leo!"
"Bye, Marge."
He ended the call and stared at his phone for a moment. Saturday. The Simpsons' house. The oblivious Homer and the two energy filled kids would be eating at the same table as him. Someone who had seen their mother, or in Homer's case, wife, completely naked.
His eyes drifted from his phone and finally took in the full state of the bedroom he was in.
It looked like a crime scene.
The sheets were twisted into a damp, tangled mess at the foot of the bed, half hanging off the mattress. Dark, wet stains spread across the fitted sheet in overlapping patterns. It was the remnants of Manjula's squirting, mixed with everything else from the night before. The pillows had been knocked to the floor at some point, scattered unevenly near the walls. A faint but unmistakable musk hung in the air. Sweat, fluids, and the lingering sweetness of Manjula's perfume all blended together into something that was intoxicating.
Leo let out a slow exhale and ran a hand over his face.
If the rate at which he was having women over kept at the same pace, maybe it would've been easier to just dedicate individual rooms to each. He let out a laugh at the thought. And if he really wanted to make it personal for each of them, he could even do that too. But that would mean he would really have to get to know each of them to know what they really liked.
He shook his head at his own ridiculousness.
The house had—what, six bedrooms? Seven? It was easy to lose track. But either way, having this many rooms wasn't such a bad thing. At least he had the space for it.
His amusement faded slightly as another thought crept in. One that was less fun to entertain. The women were one thing. But a lot of these women came with kids. Manjula had eight. Marge had three. Even Maude had those two little boys with the faces that inexplicably annoyed him. If things kept progressing the way they were, the kid situation was going to become a real headache.
But no, that wasn't his problem. Those kids had fathers. Leo only wanted the moms. The dads could handle the rest. That was their job, and if they couldn't do it, well, who knew what would happen to them.
He was not about to start converting bedrooms into nurseries. That was a line even he wouldn't cross.
Thinking of the moms, one of them, the brown busty Indian, needed to be updated about the meeting with the lawyer. Leo opened his contacts.
She picked up after a few rings, her voice hushed.
"Leo?"
"Hey, good news. I've already got a lawyer lined up for you. His name is Richard. He can meet us tonight at seven. I'll come with you."
There was a pause on her end, and when she spoke again, her voice carried a weight of genuine relief.
"Tonight? That's… so fast. Leo, thank you. I don't even know what to say."
"Don't say anything. Just be ready. Drop the kids off with Apu if you can. Don't tell him where you're going. I'll pick you up at six-thirty"
The phone call ended, and Leo slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Three phone calls," he muttered, glancing at the disaster of a bed. "That was quite a rapid-fire session."
He began pulling the sheets off the mattress, bundling the stained fabric into a ball. He'd have to throw these in the wash before tonight.
*Ring. Ring. Ring*
'No way.'
Leo dropped the sheets and picked up his phone again. The screen read: Wade.
He sighed. Conversations with Wade were never exactly relaxing.
He picked up.
"Wade."
"Leo." Wade's voice carried mild exasperation. "Alright, a few things. The machine installations back home are wrapping up on the Merit job, but I need your sign-off on the final invoice before I can send it out. Also, the salary payments for this quarter went through, but we've got a new hire on the Springfield crew that still needs to be added to payroll. And speaking of Springfield, the nuclear plant progress reports look fine on paper, but the guys are saying the timeline might be as straightforward as it seems
"Uh huh," Leo said, barely listening.
"And one of the last clients we have back in our original town is claiming the installation is behind. Parts shipment got held at customs, something about a tariff reclassification. I've been going back and forth with the supplier and they're claiming we owe an additional eighteen percent on the import."
"Sounds like you've got it handled."
"I've got it identified, Leo. Handling it is a different thing entirely. I need you to actually—"
"Hey, Wade."
"What?"
Leo leaned back.
"Are you any good with kids?" Leo asked.
There was a long, confused silence on the other end.
"…Kids?"
"Yeah. Children. Small humans. Usually very loud, very messy."
"Absolutely not," Wade said flatly. "I can barely keep you on track. I can't even imagine doing it with kids. Why are you even asking me about them?"
Leo's earlier thoughts on his house rooms replayed in his head.
"I was actually trying to give you an extra promotion, believe it or not," Leo said jokingly, his voice light. "Financial officer and chief of daycare operations."
"The what? Daycare? Those two titles don't even remotely correlate"
"Haha… ok well, I was joking about the title. It seems a bit beneath you at this point. But I'm being serious about the idea. How much do you think it would cost to open a daycare?"
"A daycare?" Wade repeated the word like Leo had just suggested they pivot into launching satellites. "Are you… where is this even coming from? Do you just throw darts at a wall full of random ideas? Because I swear, I have no idea how your brain jumps to these things."
"Listen to me." Leo sat up straighter, his voice shifting tones. "Think about this town. Springfield. You've seen the reports. You know what kind of place this is. The parents here are… let's call them irresponsible. Half of them shouldn't be left alone with a houseplant, let alone children. A proper daycare is what's needed most here."
'And it frees up the moms.' He kept that part to himself.
Wade exhaled slowly. "Okay, I hear you, but the clientele in Springfield aren't exactly the type of people with cash to spend on daycare. Most of them would see it as a waste of their already low money when they're already doing it themselves, badly, sure, but still doing it."
"That's fine," Leo said, waving his hand dismissively even though Wade couldn't see it. "We won't rely solely on the Springfield residents. We can offload the cost to the government."
"The government," Wade repeated.
"There have to be subsidies for this kind of thing. Federal programs, state grants, childcare funding. And if there aren't any specifically for Springfield, then we lobby the local government for them. Wade, this place has been ranked one of the worst cities in America more times than I can count. You're telling me the federal government hasn't been funneling some kind of aid into this godforsaken city? There has to be money sitting somewhere. Either someone incompetent is at the top and it's being mismanaged, or someone's been embezzling. Either way, there's a pot of cash and we should cash in on it. Can you look into it?"
Wade let out a long heavy sigh.
"Fine. Fine. But I want it on record that this sounds like a real pain in the ass. This company is spreading its finances into way too many sectors, Leo. Machinery, photography, and now daycare? We need to make sure everything is properly covered. Don't you think we're stretching thin?"
"Don't worry about it, Wade," Leo said, dismissing his concerns with practiced ease. "Just get it done as quickly as possible."
"I think it'll really pay off," Leo said, quieter this time, almost to himself.
"You always say that," grumbled Wade.
"Yeah, and I'm usually right."
Wade didn't argue that point.
Leo decided it was time to move on. "Hey, Wade, have you ever been to The Gilded Truffle?"
"The what?"
"It's a restaurant here in Springfield. Upscale. Nice vibe, okay food but good drinks."
"No. I don't go to Springfield if I can help it," Wade said dryly. "It makes me feel dirty."
Leo laughed. "Is that so? Speaking of which, where are you even staying these days? You chose a place out of town I assume then?"
"Yeah. Extended stay spot about fifty minutes out. It's quiet. Clean. Nobody bothers me and I can drive to Springfield without much traffic."
"Sounds peaceful. But kind of depressing. You should come visit sometime. I've got plenty of space here. Maybe you'll even be convinced about our photography spending after seeing the studio here too."
Wade snorted. "Yeah, no thanks. Who knows what goes on in those bedrooms of yours. Diddy party activities and such"
Leo would've spat out water if he was drinking any.
Leo shook his head. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you even know what was happening in those things?"
"I can take a guess. It means what it means," Wade said.
At the same time, Leo glanced down at the bundled up sheets that were covered in cum and squirt stains. He sighed.
"Nothing like that happens in this house. What he was doing was something completely different by the way. This is a place of business."
"Sure, boss."
"I'm serious. " Leo cleared his throat, composing himself. "Anyway, I was going to tell you that I want to take you, Michael, and that new hire out to dinner at The Gilded Truffle. A team dinner. Because I'm a generous employer who values his people."
"Actually?"
"Yes, actually. But before that, just look into the daycare thing," Leo said. "And fix the tariff situation while you're at it."
Wade hung up without saying goodbye, which was more or less how all their calls ended.
Leo picked up the bundled sheets and headed toward the laundry room. He barely made it three steps down the hallway before his phone buzzed again in his pocket.
'You've got to be kidding me.'
He pulled it out and looked at the screen, wondering who it could have been.
Cookie Kwan.
He clicked the green button. Leo barely got the phone to his ear before her voice came through at full volume.
"Leo! I haven't heard from you in days! What, you found some other number one agent on the west side? Because there isn't one!"
Leo pulled the phone slightly away from his ear, wincing.
"Easy, Cookie. I've been busy."
"Busy! Busy with what? You don't call, you don't text. You know how many men would be lining up for me if I let them? Many! So many! But I turn them all down! For you!"
Leo rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, that's why you've had no trouble finding a husband before I arrived'
Cookie's voice dropped into something lower and sharper. "A woman has needs, and right now, mine are very unmet. So I'm coming over. Two hours. I just need to let out everything I've been holding in for you. I'm close to bursting."
Leo couldn't help but smile. There was something deeply effective about Cookie's complete lack of subtlety. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was barely past ten. He didn't need to pick Manjula up until six-thirty, there was time. Of course, he just couldn't bring her to the same room he just used.
"Two hours," he repeated, "is doable."
"YES! I'll be there in twenty minutes. Don't shower. I want to smell you the way you are. Bye, Leo!"
[A/N]: Leaving the story on a number like 19 is unsightly