Starting Now

by Debbie Macomber

  Phillip exhaled as though giving the matter serious consideration. “It’s a little soon for you to think about dragging me to the altar, don’t you think?”

  “Drag you to the altar? Oh, honestly, that’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said.”

  “Okay, okay. I just want to be sure we understand each other. Is this sweater your way of saying our relationship shows … promise?” He cocked his eyebrows with the question.

  “Well,” she murmured, hesitating. “Truth be told, I could easily see the two of us making a life together. We aren’t kids. We both know what we want in life. Right?”

  Phillip responded with an agreeable nod. “I definitely know what I want.”

  She waited for him to continue and when he hesitated, she prodded. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”

  Smiling, he gathered her into his arms. “It should be obvious by now, Libby Morgan. I want you.”

  Chapter 36

  The next day, Libby was busy at her desk when her receptionist announced that Hershel Burkhart was on the line for her. Straightening, Libby stared down at the phone, hardly able to think. Well, there was no time like the present to find out what he wanted. Libby reached for the phone. “This is Libby Morgan.”

  “Libby.” Hershel greeted her warmly. “How good to hear your voice. I’m checking in to see how everything is going for you.”

  Though their last two conversations had been strained, at best, Libby still felt plenty of respect for this man who’d mentored her. After a brief hesitation on her part, she updated him on recent events. She felt proud to be able to mention the two new clients she had recently acquired. She didn’t mention anything about the failed adoption.

  “I’m so pleased to hear how well you’re doing,” he continued. “Martha Reed was in recently and she told us how very proud of you she is.”

  Libby hadn’t always thought kindly of her time with her former firm, but she was getting beyond the disappointment and bitterness she’d experienced when Hershel had reluctantly let her go. For one thing, she was a survivor. The last six months had proved as much. And for now, she had plenty of work and more coming in every day. Already she had retainer clients and more were sure to follow. Word of mouth had spread quickly. Her rates were more reasonable than those of the larger law firms with higher overhead. If she continued to take on new clients, then she would need to think about hiring a paralegal.

  Knowing Hershel hadn’t phoned to exchange chitchat, she asked, “What can I do for you?”

  “Would it be convenient for you to stop by the office one day this week?”

  This was getting all the more intriguing.

  “For?”

  “The other partners and I would like to have a chat with you.”

  Libby sat up straighter. “About?”

  “I’d rather not do business over the phone. I think you’ll be pleased, Libby. Now what day would be convenient?”

  Libby hesitated and then, smiling to herself, she said, “Let me check my schedule.” She placed him on hold and kept him waiting for a couple of moments. When she reconnected she said, “I could stop by Friday, say around five.” She’d made it deliberately late in the afternoon so she could work for as long as possible.

  “We’ll see you Friday at five,” he repeated. “As I said, I think you’ll be pleased.”

  Libby replaced the phone and immediately contacted Phillip, who was out of town at a physicians’ conference in Las Vegas. Unable to reach him directly, she left him a message on his cell phone.

  Next she sent Robin a text. Thirty minutes later Robin texted her back and suggested they meet for a glass of wine. Libby agreed to meet her that afternoon. Robin came back with a location and time.

  Three hours later the two of them sat sipping merlot in a wine bar off Fourth Avenue near Libby’s office. “I think he wants to offer me my old job back,” she mused aloud, holding her wineglass by the stem, resisting the urge to twirl it as her mind buzzed with possibilities.

  “Clearly he needs you for something,” Robin muttered, tapping her fingers while her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  “But why?”

  “The answer is obvious,” Robin said, relaxing against the bar stool. “Mrs. Reed. Would you go back?”

  This was the same question Libby had been asking herself since Hershel’s call. The very same question Phillip had posed in a text message he’d sent in response to her voice mail. Would she go back? “The truth is, I don’t know,” Libby admitted. She held the stem of the wineglass with both hands, as if she needed the goblet to center her.

  “You’ll go back,” Robin said decisively.

  “Really? And what makes you think that?”

  “Well, for one thing, Hershel hasn’t gotten where he is without a few persuasive skills. From what you’ve told me he’s always been fond of you in a fatherly sort of way. Also, I suspect Mrs. Reed is still unhappy.”

  Libby had more or less reached the same conclusion herself.

  “And,” Robin continued, “because of the difficulties with Mrs. Reed, Hershel was able to convince the other partners that nothing would satisfy the older woman unless she worked with you.”

  “Do you think they might offer me a partnership?” Libby whispered, hardly able to believe the firm would be willing to go that far.

  Robin sipped her wine, her look pensive. “They might. It depends.”

  Libby shook her head. They were both leaping to conclusions. She hadn’t even met with Hershel yet. Still, the thought was there. Partner. Her heart beat just a little faster. Could it actually be possible they would want her desperately enough to offer her a partnership?

  “Is this what you want?” Robin asked, leaning toward her slightly. “You’ve made a lot of positive changes. Are you sure you want to get back into the same old grind?”

  Libby didn’t need to think twice. “I do. I deserve to be a partner. I worked for this.” In her mind everything would change once she’d achieved the goal that had driven her for the last six years. Being a partner would make all the sacrifices worth it. Besides, she was a different person now. She would balance her work life and her personal life and avoid the mistakes of the past. It’d be difficult, but she could do it, especially with the support system she had built over the past few months and with Phillip at her side.

  “All you can do is wait and see what Hershel and the others have to say,” Robin said as she glanced at her wrist. “Gotta scoot, I’m meeting Roy for dinner.”

  Libby nodded. Robin had changed from the career-driven workaholic she’d once been. These days she left work at six and spent most of her free time with Roy. The two were the talk of the courthouse, from what Libby understood. Seeing Robin this happy thrilled her.

  Her friend left money on the table for the wine. “Have you talked this over with Phillip yet?”

  “He’s out of town. I left him a message and he texted back. We haven’t actually talked yet.” Smiling, she had to wonder just how much of the conference he was attending. Every time he phoned all Libby could hear was jarring casino noise in the background. He’d arrive back in Seattle on Sunday.

  The rest of the week passed slowly. Finally, Friday afternoon, at two minutes to five, Libby walked into the familiar office. The receptionist, Lois, stood when she stepped off the elevator. “Ms. Morgan, welcome,” she said, sporting a huge smile. “I believe the partners are awaiting your arrival.”

  Libby squared her shoulders.

  Hershel’s office was directly down the hall and although Libby was well aware of the location, the receptionist led the way and announced her arrival.

  As soon as she entered the room, everyone stood and stepped forward to shake her hand. The other partners beamed smiles in her direction.

  Libby blinked a couple of times to make sure she hadn’t fallen into some fantasy. If this was a dream world, she didn’t want to wake up anytime soon.

  After two or three minutes of small talk, Hershel cleared his
throat. “I know you’re curious as to why we’ve asked to see you.”

  Libby nodded.

  “Basically,” Hershel said, “we’d like to offer you your old position back. Of course, you’d be working with Sarah again and we’d be willing to offer you a slight increase over your former pay scale.”

  Howard Smith spoke. He was a short man of only about five-six who wore his hair in a crew cut, most of which was gray now. “We’re hoping you’d be able to start sometime next week.”

  Libby blinked. Hershel had told her she’d be pleased and she was, but hesitant, too. Why the rush? Next week?

  She crossed her legs and after settling into the wingback chair she regarded them closely. “I’m sure you’re aware I have my own practice now.” Before she made a commitment Libby wanted more details. As for working with Sarah, the offer didn’t hold as much appeal as it once had. She didn’t feel the same about the paralegal since it’d become clear Sarah had betrayed her confidence with the partners, not to mention her failure to respond to Libby’s job offer.

  “We’ve taken the fact you’ve struck out on your own into consideration,” Hershel spoke for the group. “You can keep that office if you wish and of course the firm would pick up the lease on your behalf or, if you prefer, you could take an office here.”

  “A bigger one,” Howard Smith added.

  Oh boy, they wanted her and they wanted her bad. Interesting, very interesting.

  Glancing around the room, Libby took in the anxious looks on the partners’ faces. She was about to speak when Hershel cut in.

  “As I mentioned, one of the reasons we felt we had to let you go, Libby, was because you hadn’t been able to attract new clients. You worked hard, supplied billable hours, and were an asset to the firm, but every partner needs to bring something to the table. You’ve since proven that you are capable of doing so.”

  “So you’re offering me a partnership.”

  The men in the room exchanged glances.

  Hershel answered, “That’s definitely a possibility.”

  Howard Smith crossed his arms. “When Hershel says a partnership is in the offing we want you to know it’s a very distinct possibility. If the Buckleys and the Nyquists agree to transfer their accounts here then I feel I can speak for all of us when I say we’d be more than happy to put that on the plate.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “Six months.”

  “Are you saying that in six months you’d be willing to make me a partner either way?” Libby asked. She wanted this clearly spelled out.

  Howard grinned and nodded. “You’ve proven yourself, Libby. We’ll give you a few months to get settled back into the office and go from there.”

  “Do we have a deal?” Hershel asked.

  “I’ll want to consider your offer over the weekend.” She already knew what she was planning to do, but she wanted to talk to Phillip first. Robin, too. And she didn’t wish to appear overly eager.

  “Of course, of course. This is an important decision. Naturally we’d want you to think it over carefully,” Howard said, favoring her with one of his rare smiles.

  “We’ll wait to hear from you Monday morning, then,” Hershel said.

  “Yes, Monday.” Libby rose out of the chair. “One thing,” she said in afterthought.

  “Yes?”

  “I’d like a new paralegal. I’m sure Sarah has made a smooth transition working with Ben Holmes. I would prefer someone new.”

  “Done,” Howard assured her.

  Libby waited until she was out of the building before she sent Phillip a text. CALL ME ASAP.

  He phoned less than five minutes later. “What’s up?”

  “You won’t believe what just happened,” she said, speaking so fast the words nearly blurred together. Before he could ask she told him everything. “What do you think?” she said.

  His hesitation came as a surprise. Libby had expected him to be as excited as she was, or nearly so. “Is this something you want, Libby?”

  “Of course it is.” No need denying the obvious. “I feel vindicated after all these months.”

  “You aren’t worried that you’ll fall into the same rut you were in when you left the firm?”

  “No,” she insisted. “I’ve learned my lesson. Oh, it might be intense the first few weeks while I train my new paralegal and get caught up with the Reed account, but I promise you, Phillip, I’ll never go back to the way I was before. I have a life now, friends and …” She hesitated, her heart nearly bursting with joy. “I have you.”

  The silence on the line felt deafening.

  “Say something,” she whispered. She wanted—no, she needed—Phillip to be happy for her. Being made partner was what she’d longed for from the start. It was everything she’d strived for over the last six years and beyond. It was what her mother would have wanted for her.

  “What would you like me to say?” he asked with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

  “I want you to tell me that you’re happy for me and will support my decision,” she blurted out.

  “The decision is yours, sweetheart—yours and yours alone. I thought you were happy with the idea of your own practice, but if you want to go back with the firm then by all means, you have my complete support.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll see you on Sunday and we can talk more then,” Phillip assured her.

  “Okay …” Reluctantly she ended the call. She knew he was busy with the convention but wished they could have spoken longer.

  Libby waited until Saturday morning before she called Robin. The two met to go shopping. Robin hated buying clothes but was running out of anything suitable to wear on her dates with Roy. Her one black dress had taken her about as far as it could.

  “I hate this, you know,” she muttered when Libby met her at the downtown Nordstrom.

  “I know, but it will be painless.”

  Robin snickered. “Don’t be so sure.”

  Libby had already given her friend all the details of her conversation with the partners earlier. Sitting outside the dressing room, Libby waited while Robin tried on outfits. She didn’t appear to be having much success as the salesclerk was rushing back and forth with armloads of dresses.

  “I look ridiculous,” Robin muttered from inside the fitting room.

  “I doubt Roy would say that.”

  “I wish now I’d paid more attention to my mother. She has a sense of style, which unfortunately completely escaped me.” Having said that, Robin opened the dressing room door and stepped out in a bright red dress that looked incredible.

  “Robin …” Libby’s mouth sagged open.

  “I know. I look like an overweight poinsettia.”

  “You look gorgeous.” Libby meant every word.

  “Really?”

  Libby nodded.

  Robin looked at the salesclerk. “I’ll take it, the blue outfit, and the pink one, too.”

  Robin in pink. She probably hadn’t worn anything that wasn’t blue, black, or brown in years.

  After Robin paid and carted the garment bag to the parking garage, they decided to eat lunch.

  Her friend waited until after the waiter had taken their order before she spoke about Libby’s meeting with the firm. “Two questions.”

  “Ask away.” Libby set her water glass down.

  “What did Phillip say?”

  Libby slowly released her breath. She was having a difficult time reading his reaction. He’d been encouraging, but not overly so. She sensed that he would rather she moved ahead with her own practice instead of returning to the firm, but he hadn’t said so. “He told me he’d support my decision. He knows how important this is to me. I don’t think he wanted to say anything to persuade me one way or the other. Besides, they offered me a terrific package and he knows I’ve practically gone through my entire savings. I need this. My bank account needs this.”

  Robin frowned as she reached for a roll from the middle of the table, as if t
o say she knew this was about more than the money. The waiter appeared with their salads. She waited until he’d turned away before asking her second question: “Did you contact Martha Reed?”

  Libby smiled gleefully. She’d been waiting all afternoon to share this news. “I did and I explained that Hershel had asked me to rejoin the firm, and Mrs. Reed told me that it shouldn’t come as any surprise.”

  Robin set the buttered roll aside. “The sweet old lady decided to pull her account once and for all if you weren’t the one working on it, didn’t she?”

  “Bull’s-eye,” Libby said. “Mrs. Reed told Hershel that upon reflection—her word, not mine—that upon reflection her rapport with me outweighed her history with the firm and their offer to cap fees.”

  Robin clapped her hands. “I love it. So they are about to lose her.”

  Libby was ready to burst with a deep sense of self-righteousness. “It was exactly the ammunition Hershel needed to convince the other partners they needed me. I still don’t know that her children would have been comfortable with her bringing the estate part of her business to me, but it was definitely a concern.” It didn’t hurt that Libby had clients she would potentially be bringing into the firm, too.

  “Another question,” Robin said.

  “That’s three.”

  “It’s important.”

  Robin had gone quite sober, which surprised Libby. Libby sat up a bit straighter, and gestured toward her friend. “Ask away.”

  Robin looked her straight in the eye. “Are you sure … are you absolutely convinced that your willingness to go back to the firm isn’t an escape from the pain of losing Amy Jo?”

  A rush of fresh hot pain shot to the surface and emotion clogged Libby’s throat. She waited until it passed before she answered, waited until she was sure she could trust her voice. “I … I don’t know, but what I do know is that this is the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m grabbing hold of it with both hands. This is my chance to vindicate myself.”

  “Then go for it,” Robin advised. “Give it everything you’ve got.”

  “That’s exactly what I intend to do,” Libby said.