Josie

by Beth Gildersleeve

  He pulled open the desk drawer and searched for a few antacids. Darlene had stashed a fresh supply in his office, Duncan’s office, and in the conference room. She’d divided the rest of the bulk purchase between the two break rooms and human resources. HR ate them like they were M&Ms.

  No more Chinese for me, unless its Senor Wu’s in Haven, he thought as he popped a few of the stomach-soothing tablets. Now that was an idea his stomach would support. Both the food from Senor Wu’s and being back in Haven.

  He couldn’t wait for the ink to be dry on this deal. His marriage to Josie had been on shaky ground from day one and working late every night while she commuted back and forth or worked from one of her shops wasn’t helping the situation. If he wasn’t such a selfish bastard, he’d tell her to stay in Haven, but he slept better when she cuddled next to him.

  Plus, her paranoia about Witz Holdings wanting Jo’s Joe had amped up after she’d found out about his meetings with Elle. He’d needed to know more before they approached Josie with their proposal. Gabe didn’t know what it would take to convince his stubborn wife that he wanted her not her business.

  He wanted her and he needed her because the sad fact was, he was in love with his wife. It was the reason he’d left Haven right after they’d decorated the Christmas tree. He was afraid and he didn’t know what to do about it. He didn’t know he’d be giving her his heart in exchange for the CEO position.

  Witz Holdings had already filled his plate, and then he’d added a relationship, a wife, on top of it. Instead of it being like the cherry on top of a sundae, he felt it was more like a spoonful of meatballs on top of a flimsy, marinara-soaked paper plate. It was only a matter of time before the whole thing collapsed on him. After all, he was Gabriel Kyle Kane, business genius and relationship idiot.

  He was lousy at relationships, except for with his parents and a few of his select cousins. Relationships didn’t work for him. Or, as one disgruntled girlfriend had pointed out, he didn’t work at relationships. He hadn’t disagreed with her. It had never mattered before, but now it did and damned if he knew what to do about it.

  How could he make both Josie and Witz Holdings a priority? And what the blazes would he do once they had kids? Gabe scrubbed his hands over his face as his phone beeped. Hopefully, it would be Josie with something funny to relate. He missed her and he could use a good chuckle right about now.

  Wednesday, 7:30 PM

  Josie: Going back to Haven. I can’t do this anymore.

  Gabe scrunched his eyes, opened them, and reread the text. Nope, he’d read that right the first time. He clenched his phone as he paced the conference room. Duncan and Anna looked up from their laptops. Be easy. Be breezy. Maybe she’s not saying what I think she is.

  Wednesday, 7:35 PM

  Gabe: Can’t do what? Shop? I thought that was in your DNA?

  Josie: I’m driving with Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on. I’ll see your message when I get where I’m going.

  Josie: If this is urgent, reply ‘urgent’ to send a notification through with your original message.

  Is this urgent? My wife’s leaving me and the damn phone wants to know if it’s urgent?! Hell, yes! Gabe’s fingers itched to respond, but he stopped. He took a deep breath and looked out the window. Loser, his reflection said back to him.

  “Problem?” Duncan asked from the other side of the room.

  “No. Just trying to get a hold of Josie. She’s driving back to Haven tonight but she’s got the do not disturb on.” Gabe mentally kicked himself for sharing that much information. He should have stopped after he’d said no.

  “If she’s driving, let her be. You said yourself she hasn’t been feeling well and that drive at night has to be a drag. Let her concentrate on getting there alive.”

  “Thanks for the image of her in a ditch, Duncan.” Gabe slumped in the chair next to his cousin.

  “What are friends for?” Duncan smirked. He seemed pleased to have further rattled Gabe. And Gabe was thoroughly rattled. His wife had left him. He’d sent a stupid text message instead of one begging for another chance. And his cousin had been the voice of reason.

  What was it Duncan had said? Friends? Maybe there was an underlying truth buried beneath his sarcasm. They’d been buddies until grandfather dearest had pitted them against each other in middle school.

  He looked at Duncan out of the corner of his eye. True, Duncan could be a royal pain in the ass, what with the massive chip on his shoulder from grandfather’s treatment and from having Aunt Sandra as a mother. If she was his mom, he’d also walk around like he had a permanent toothache.

  Gabe knew he’d had no right to lecture Josie about delegating when he himself hadn’t done it. Coward. Delegating required trust, which was something his grandfather had discouraged. But if he was going to salvage his marriage, he’d need to delegate more at work.

  And another friend wouldn’t be bad either, even if it was his cousin. Gabe had enjoyed the camaraderie in Haven with the Woodworks’ employees and with his new brothers-in-law, although he had more in common with Josh than with Jamie. Duncan might solve both of his problems.

  “Hey, Dunc. Do you have plans for tomorrow night?”

  “I’m meeting Danielle at the club for a late dinner. Why?” Duncan asked as he fished through the pile of papers in front of him. It wasn’t hard to miss the suspicion in Duncan’s voice.

  “How about I meet you for a drink beforehand?” Gabe asked as he flipped through a report.

  Duncan’s hands stilled for a moment before he replied, “If you’re buying, I’ll be there.”

  “I’m buying.”

  “But not rail. My body’s a shrine and I won’t pour rail into it.” Duncan said it with a straight face, which worried Gabe. His cousin was either an egomaniac or he was wasting his acting talents.

  Gabe played along. “Wouldn’t think of tarnishing your shrine with rail. You’re a top-shelf kind of guy.”

  Duncan pulled a report from the pile, and Gabe saw the corners of his mouth twitch. “Damn right. Now hand me that highlighter so I can finish this and get home to Danielle.”

  Gabe tossed the highlighter to him and it landed smack dab in the middle of the page.

  “Lucky toss,” Duncan muttered as he uncapped it.

  Gabe snorted and pulled out his phone.

  Wednesday, 7:50 PM

  Gabe: Ignore previous message. Under the influence of bad Chinese takeout. I hope you’re feeling better. Let me know when you get home. Please.

  Duncan finished the report and tossed it at Gabe. He scanned it. “Not much highlighted,” Gabe said with concern.

  “I know. There wasn’t much new information in it. More like a compilation of old info with a smattering of new stuff. I only highlighted the new. I thought it would save you time. And ink.” Duncan attempted to neaten the piles in front of him.

  “Thanks. See you tomorrow,” Gabe said as he returned to the report.

  “Not if I see you first,” Duncan said as he walked out of the conference room toward his office. Gabe envied him, not for his lousy joke, but that he was going home to the woman he loved. Gabe, on the other hand, was stuck here with several more hours of work while his wife drove away from him.

  He settled back in his comfortable ergonomic chair, which he had started to hate, and began to read the report Duncan had just reviewed. About halfway through, he admitted his cousin was right. The report was redundant. All right, Duncan, I’ll trust you, he thought to himself as he focused on reading only the highlighted text.

  Wednesday, 9:45 PM

  Josie: Home in bed. Goodnight.

  Gabe breathed a sigh of relief as he read the message. He wanted to text back, but she’d said goodnight, which he interpreted as “I’m all done for the day. Leave me the hell alone,” or something along those lines. Well, at least she’s safe, he thought as he turned off his monitors.

  15

  Gabe signaled the bartender for another drink as he checked his w
atch for the umpteenth time. He nodded his head in thanks as she slid his drink in front of him. He frowned as he watched the ice cubes settle into the heavy crystal tumbler. Duncan had stood him up, and Josie hadn’t responded to any of his texts today.

  Maybe this was the end, and he wouldn’t be able to solve this mess. As Gabe saw it, he had two choices right now: he could enjoy a pity party for one, which was rather appealing, or he could nurse this drink and work on Plan B.

  A solid smack on the back interrupted his debate. “Sorry I’m late, Gabriel,” Duncan said as he slid onto the stool next to him. “I was on the phone with a client, and he was stuck tighter than a tick.”

  Gabe’s shoulders relaxed and he took a sip. “No worries.” He studied the bar while Duncan flirted with the bartender and placed his order. There weren’t too many patrons, and he knew the bartenders were discreet so they could stay perched on their stools and not move their discussion to one of the booths.

  “Seriously? It’s like twenty degrees outside and you’re drinking a margarita? What happened to your body is a temple?” Gabe asked.

  “Shrine,” Duncan corrected with a straight face. “And a Juicy Lucy burger and fries for lunch is what happened.”

  “Ah.” Gabe nodded his head in understanding and his stomach rumbled with jealousy. A cheese-stuffed hamburger sounded good right now. “So, your shine is now a flophouse?”

  Duncan chuckled. “Something like that. Better choices start tomorrow.”

  “To better choices,” Gabe toasted and Duncan joined him.

  They sat in silence enjoying their drinks for several minutes before Duncan broke the silence. “So, Gabriel, what’s this all about?” Duncan sounded uneasy.

  “In a nutshell? I’m tired of being the family’s designated asshole.”

  “Don’t know what you mean,” Duncan said as he looked away from Gabe.

  “Yes, you do,” Gabe said. “Grandfather wasn’t liked even by his own family, and he groomed me to fill his shoes.”

  “Yeah, well, tough to be you,” Duncan said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

  “Sometimes it is. I’m actually a nice guy. Ask anyone in Haven or any of the other locations. Gabe Kane is a nice guy.” His voice had risen so he stopped and took a drink. The last thing he needed were spectators at his meltdown. “It’s like when I’m out here, I’m expected to be Gabriel The Jerk so I put on my jerk persona.”

  “If I’d known this was going to be a pity party, I would have brought a gift.” Duncan drained his icy drink and stood up.

  “Dammit, Duncan, I’m asking for help,” Gabe growled under his breath. Duncan dropped to his seat as if his knees had buckled.

  “Can I get you another margarita, Mr. Murray?” the bartender asked.

  “No, I’d better have what he’s having.” Duncan pointed to Gabe’s tumbler.

  “Yes, sir. One bourbon on the rocks coming up.”

  Duncan didn’t speak until his drink was in front of him. “What do you need?” he asked Gabe.

  “I’m not sure. I thought I would get your thoughts first. I’m guessing you and Aunt Sandra have had ideas for restructuring over the years.”

  Duncan didn’t deny it. “If my mom had her way, Witz Holdings would strictly be a minority shareholder. Nothing owned one hundred percent.”

  Gabe wasn’t surprised. She’d been very vocal about that goal ever since Gabe’s father’s heart attack. “Nothing new there. What do you and Danielle think?”

  Duncan was mid-drink, and he coughed when Gabe mentioned Danielle’s name. “Danielle thinks I should be home every day by five, have my weekends free, and the checking account should be bottomless.”

  “So, she’d like you home more.” Gabe frowned. Duncan working less wouldn’t help him.

  “I think she only wants me around because she gets lonely. You’re lucky your wife is passionate about something other than you.”

  Gabe ignored the dig and asked, “Why isn’t she working?” He’d always wondered why Danielle didn’t use her graphic design talents and skills.

  “It’s being discussed. I think Josie has been a good influence on her.”

  “Really? Because Josie and I both have the impression that no one in your family likes her.”

  “I think Josie’s made Danielle see that she didn’t need to adopt the stereotype just because she married into money and status. So, yeah, she’s kicking around ideas.” Duncan hadn’t denied disliking Josie but Gabe let it slide. They needed to stay on track and defending his wife wouldn’t help them in the long run. And Gabe had a sneaking suspicion the only reason they didn’t like Josie was because she’d married him before his thirty-seventh birthday.

  “The Kanowitz Foundation logo could use an upgrade,” he suggested.

  Duncan snorted. “Bring it into this century? Yeah, I’ve mentioned it more than once.” The men sat contemplating the ramifications of agreeing on something.

  “What do you think? What do you want?” Gabe asked.

  “Let me ask you this,” Duncan said as he leaned back and looked at Gabe. “And I want you to be honest. How much of your time at work is spent reviewing and double-checking what’s happening on the investment side?”

  Gabe rubbed his chin and tried to remember what normal had looked like before they’d started courting Howm Industries. “Twenty-five, maybe thirty percent of my time.”

  Duncan didn’t look surprised. “And, tell me, how often do you find a mistake?”

  Gabe didn’t hesitate. “Never.”

  Duncan nodded his head in agreement and looked at Gabe expectantly.

  “So, I’m wasting several hours a day,” Gabe summarized. Time that could be spent elsewhere, like with Josie. Idiot, he thought.

  He studied Duncan who looked rather smug at Gabe’s admission. Their grandfather had taught him to trust no one, but he’d broken that rule. Gabe trusted Josie. Breaking that rule once with Josie would make it easier to break it again with Duncan. To get the life he wanted, Gabe needed to trust Duncan.

  “I’m not sure if this would fit into your plans, but how would you feel about joint leadership?”

  “Co-CEOs?” Duncan asked.

  “Something like that. You’d officially oversee the investment part of Witz Holdings, and I’d oversee the real businesses,” Gabe said with a smirk.

  Duncan rolled his eyes at Gabe’s dig about investments not being real business, but he let it slide. “What if we disagree?” Duncan asked.

  Gabe shrugged. “There isn’t much overlap so I don’t see that being a problem. And we can always take issues to the board to decide if we’re not in agreement.” Gabe grabbed a cocktail napkin and made some notes. “If we rough this out now, Uncle Bruce and Hallie can transcribe it into legal wording and finesse it and the board could vote on it at the January meeting.”

  “Seriously? We’re restructuring the company on a cocktail napkin?” Duncan asked. He seemed excited and appalled.

  “I penned my best deal ever on a napkin. Trust me.” Gabe and Duncan hashed out a few more details and Gabe noted them on the napkin.

  “And one more thing,” Gabe said as they stood to leave. “After this Howm deal is finalized, I’m working from Haven several days a week. I’ll use the office at the Woodworks and hire a full-time assistant. Darlene’s been hinting at retiring but I think I can convince her to stay part time until things are settled.”

  “Be in Haven and work remotely?” Duncan asked. It looked like he’d swallowed a bug.

  “That’s the plan. Most of Josie’s staff does it several times a week and it seems to work. Thought I could be the guinea pig for us.”

  “You really love her, don’t you? The marriage wasn’t just for convenience.”

  “I do. And believe me, marrying Josie has been anything but convenient.” He wasn’t an idiot or a saint so he’d felt no guilt in twisting Duncan’s words. He wouldn’t admit to the truth behind their union. But Josie had turned his well-planned world upside down and ha
d forced him to face some uncomfortable truths about himself.

  Until her, he hadn’t minded being King Gabriel and staying in the role his grandfather had crafted for him, a role that his family had supported. It was easier for everyone that way. But having Josie in his world had made him want to be a better man. Made him question who he was and where his priorities lay. And now that he had, he couldn’t go back to being the family’s designated asshole. They’d all have to adjust and get use to Gabe Kane, designated nice guy.

  “Great,” Duncan said with little enthusiasm as Gabe tossed a pile of bills on the bar to cover their tab and a generous tip to cover the bartenders’ silence. He didn’t want their private discussion about restructuring Witz Holdings to become public knowledge. “Now I owe R and R.”

  “You bet with the cousins about the business?” Gabe wasn’t surprised.

  “No. Your marriage, sorry.” Duncan winced at the admission.

  “What’d you lose?” Gabe wanted to know how high the stakes were on his love life.

  “Other than bragging rights?” Duncan asked. Gabe knew how costly that could be. Growing up, the cousins had always run friendly bets, like who could hold their breath the longest, who could sled down the hill the fastest, who could burp the loudest. Stupid stuff like that, but they took bragging rights very seriously, especially Rachel and Rebecca, the youngest of the cousins.

  “Yeah. Other than bragging rights, what did you lose?” Gabe asked as they walked out of the bar.

  Duncan looked at the ceiling and huffed. “Custom-made cowboy boots because it would remind them that they’d kicked my ass every time they wore them.” Gabe laughed at Duncan’s plight as they approached the hostess stand where Danielle waited.