“Oh, all right, because if you need money, all you have to do is claim your inheritance. Dad left a pocket of cash and the beach house in California for you.” Don put the car in motion.
Tamara was intrigued. She hadn’t been concerned with the details of her father’s will and as a result didn’t know her worth. Independence had been on her terms. Broke and needing cash, Tamara had to consider outlets she’d previously smashed in the past. “I’m not asking for handouts.”
“Your inheritance isn’t a handout. It belongs to you. Twenty million isn’t a handout. It’s a gift from your father.”
Twenty million versus nine hundred, she thought. The temptation to accept was alarming.
“Just so you know, when I left town, I didn’t want Dad’s money either,” Don told her. “I was determined to make it on my own. I didn’t want him to get any credit for my hard work, especially after he slighted me for Joel. So I definitely understand how you feel. But after I allowed myself time to begin thinking clearly again, Mother convinced me that I should take the money and make good use of it. I did, and I offer the same advice to you.”
Made sense, but she’d wait before getting in too quickly with the family rites of passage. She couldn’t be blinded by the money. “For now, let’s start with a salary.”
“Fine, name your price.”
“No favoritism. Pay me what a new employee would get.”
“Come on, Tamara, you’re not the typical new employee. You are a Mitchell heir. You have a fifteen percent stock ownership in the company. You can’t expect me to start you on a forty-thousand-dollar salary.”
“Is that what people make at my level?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then there it is, forty thousand.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll go along with it.”
Tamara was thrilled to get the forty thousand. Having money coming in instead of constantly pouring out allowed her stress to lessen. In the short term, she might still have to relocate to the discounted motel until cash was in hand. “Couple more questions: how soon will I get paid, and can it be in cash?”
Don cut his gaze her way and let silence speak. She knew that he knew and kept silent too.
chapter
24
Abigail waited for Don in her office. He’d called around seven o’clock after finishing dinner with Tamara. She was reading a contract when Don walked in. “How was dinner?”
“Weird. I mean it’s great having my sister here, but it’s an adjustment for both of us. I’m not sure what to say around her.”
“You kept in touch while she was away. I’d think the two of you wouldn’t have a problem talking. Maybe she would with Madeline, but not with you. Everybody gets along with you.”
“Is that right?” he said.
“That’s the way it looks from my vantage point. As a matter of fact, there are those who get along better with you than they do with anybody else.”
“Anyone in particular?” he said, sitting on the edge of her desk, facing Abigail.
“I plead guilty as charged, Mr. Mitchell. What are you going to do about it?”
“So, the heck with small talk, you’re jumping right into the conversation,” he said.
Sitting back and keeping quiet hadn’t worked. “You got it, time to put our feelings out there and decide where this is headed.”
“Abigail, it’s no secret that I care about you. You are and always have been a special friend to me. What’s wrong with letting our friendship stay strong and letting the rest come as it will? Why add the extra pressure of forcing a relationship?”
“There was a time, and it wasn’t too long ago, when you wouldn’t have labeled us as a forced relationship.” Perhaps she could let time dictate if there wasn’t an immediate threat on the horizon. Abigail saw each call to Naledi as something that enticed him further away from what could be and should have been between them long ago. Abigail felt like she was at a disadvantage. Naledi had his full attention when he was in Africa. She didn’t have to share him with a floundering company, or an unpredictable brother, or a protective mother. When he was with Naledi, she had all of him. Abigail didn’t have the same opportunity to win his affection. Four years ago, he was completely hers. If he’d let her know then, perhaps their relationship would be fully formed. Instead Don hadn’t shared his feelings with her, and she ended up with Joel. “When your father was alive, you and I were linked,” she said, locking the fingers on both hands tightly. “Your feelings were a lot stronger than just caring about me. We worked. You know it. I’m asking you to give those two people a chance to find each other again.”
Don stood and meandered to the window, leaning his back against the frame. “Many changes have happened since my father died. I’ve changed, you’ve changed, DMI has changed, and your feelings have changed.”
“They haven’t,” she said.
“So, are we going to ignore the elephant in the room, my brother? You admitted to being in love with him less than six months ago.”
Her gaze sank. “Joel is history. To be honest, we never had more than a close friendship. We were never sexually involved. I guess I got our commitment to achieve a common goal mixed up with love.” Her affection for Joel was packed and tucked away. Joel’s priorities and needs didn’t match hers, and it didn’t appear they ever would. Don was her destiny. She wholeheartedly believed he was. Her adoration for Joel was a youthful aberration built on mutual validation.
After Dave Mitchell passed, Abigail was consumed with helping Joel fulfill his father’s legacy. The fact that they were constantly together and respected each other had translated to love for her. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that she found out Joel didn’t reciprocate her feelings. The rejection was piercing, but after six months, the hurt had dissolved. Except for a residual faint ache, Joel was out of her system.
“But you chose him, that’s a fact.”
“Joel wasn’t the man for me. Forgive me for my lapse in judgment. I made a critical error in letting you go. I’m hoping it’s not too late to correct my mistake,” she said, swinging the chair around, letting their gazes connect. Don grinned. “I know Naledi is in the picture, but that’s not going to stop me. She’s there and you’re here with me,” she said, crossing her legs and volleying a grin into Don’s court.
“Ms. Abigail Gerard, what has gotten into you? You were not this direct back in the day.”
“And look where it got me. Let’s just say I’m smarter.” Abigail acknowledged the uphill battle she was undertaking. Glancing at Don, she decided he was worth the effort.
chapter
25
Today wasn’t going to resemble yesterday. Tamara was braced for Don and Abigail. She’d studied last night like a college student cramming for an exam. Tamara wasn’t naïve in believing her contribution could be on a par with her mother’s. She was committed to learning the business quickly and finding an area that she could master. If the Mitchell genes were as dominant as those around her believed, then she was guaranteed success at DMI. Maybe more than people were expecting or prepared to see.
Tamara knocked on Don’s door. The clock above the administrative workstation read seven forty-five. Kay wasn’t out front. Most people weren’t in the office yet. Don told her to come in. “Good morning, everyone,” she said, seeing Don and Abigail already meeting at his conference table. She thought seven forty-five was early. Tomorrow, it would be six forty-five. Whatever gave her the edge, she’d have to do it.
“Good morning to you,” Abigail said. “You seem awfully cheery for a Tuesday morning.”
Tamara pulled a seat from the table. She plucked the marketing portfolio and quarterly finance report from her bag and plopped them onto the table. Yellow mini stickies were protruding from every angle. “I’m starting to get a better understanding of the business,” she said, sitting.
“Are you telling me you went through both reports last night?”
“Yes, and
you can see I have a slew of questions.”
“Fire away,” Don said. She couldn’t tell if he was impressed. Bringing questions instead of answers might be perceived as a burden but she accepted the positive perspective, for now. “On page fifteen, the income statement shows the company is worth half as much this quarter as it was at this same time last year?” She put her finger on page fifteen, which was heavily colored with highlights, and flipped a few more pages. “The number of clients is a little less than half compared to the list from last year.”
Don and Abigail peered at each other, then centered their gazes on Tamara, almost in precise unison.
“Do you want to take the question or should I?” Abigail asked Don.
His PDA buzzed. “It’s on you. Excuse me,” he said, and walked toward the door to take his call.
“You’ve summed up our problem. I have to tell you that I’m impressed with your questions,” Abigail told her. Tamara was pleased with the comment but not deceived into false security. “I don’t know exactly where to begin.” As Abigail spoke, Tamara noticed her constantly looking toward the door where Don had gone.
“I’ve heard you and Don talking about the trouble DMI is in. Exactly how bad is it?”
“Let me put the answer this way. We’re not going out of business tomorrow.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“But if we don’t flip the current tide, we will be out of business in six months or less. This is like stage-two cancer. The problem has been detected, and with the right treatment our prognosis is good. If we do nothing, we’re done. That’s as plain as I can put this.”
“I don’t remember much about the company, but what I do recall is that DMI was running better when my parents were here. What happened?”
“That’s a long story. How much time do you have?”
Don returned as Abigail was speaking. “Sorry about that,” he said.
“Who was it, Naledi?” Abigail asked with a smirk. Don grinned.
Tamara detected the unspoken language between them and changed the topic. “I have as much time as you can give me,” Tamara told Abigail.
“What did I miss?” Don asked.
“I was filling Tamara in on how the customer list got cut in half and DMI’s value plummeted over fifty percent in the past year.”
“So you see why we have a sense of urgency at this critical moment in the company. Everyone has to contribute. No free rides around here,” he said.
Tamara could have slumped in her seat and retreated to some undiscovered corner of the world to escape the scrutiny. He didn’t put her name on the comment, but she felt it was expressly for her. Wasn’t much she could do, not yet. She hadn’t been around to be mentored by the founders. Joel had. Don had, but the company’s current state didn’t reflect the benefits coming from the extra dose of handson support they’d received. Seeing the quarterly reports, she was confident she could do as good a job or better running the company. Maybe she’d have to take her chance. Dave Mitchell’s other children had. She was the oldest. There had to be a slot for her.
“Is there a plan to fix this?” Tamara asked.
“Remember, yesterday we talked about getting rid of Harmonious Energy and recouping the two divisions Joel sold off. We can start with the West Coast division, which his wife owns,” Don said.
“How soon is that going to happen?”
“Funny you should ask. I’m having my assistant schedule a meeting with Joel, hopefully today.”
“Today?” Abigail said, alarmed.
Tamara wasn’t sure why Abigail reacted the way she had. Of all people, Abigail should have understood the urgency. Tamara had been in the building less than a week and she got the message.
chapter
26
Joel paced around the library, not convinced he should have agreed to the meeting with Don. Meeting at the house instead of having to face the DMI staff was the only decision Joel wasn’t regretting. He’d handed the keys over to Don less than two weeks ago, but it felt like a millennium. Joel should have taken his mother’s advice and held off overnight before making a fatal decision. He was pretty sure the outcome would have been different. DMI was struggling but not doomed, as the press pretended. As smart as he was, the recovery would have been rapid. As quickly as DMI rose in his first three years, the bottom had fallen out in a short three months. There were no barriers to building the dynasty again. Joel pounded his fist into the palm of his hand, repeatedly feeling strength multiplying in his bones. The yearning to return to the corporate grind wasn’t to be denied.
The doorbell rang. Joel didn’t wait for the staff to answer. He went to the door, prepared for a short meeting with Don. Zarah came into the foyer. He opened the door and his heartbeat sped up. Don he was expecting, Abigail he was not. The term “awkward” was too minuscule for the gravity of their moment. She avoided eye contact and he did too. Zarah locked her arm into his as they backed from the door and invited the team in.
“Thanks for fitting us into your schedule,” Don said.
Joel couldn’t stop staring at the other woman with them. “Yeah, no problem, come in,” he said, waving in the entourage. He and the other woman peered at each other; it had to be his sister. “Tamara?” Joel asked with reservation.
“In the flesh.”
It was Tamara. Joel wasn’t sure how to react. The reunion was emotionless, which wasn’t surprising. They didn’t know each other, given the nine-year age difference. She’d left town when he was twelve. Constant fighting between their mothers didn’t foster or necessitate a loving relationship among Dave Mitchell’s two sets of children. Last time he’d seen her was several months ago as she ran past him, tearing out of the DMI lobby. He hadn’t recognized her then and not much had changed. Standing in his foyer, she was no more than a stranger.
“Welcome to my house. This is my wife.” Sterile greetings ensued.
Zarah clung to him. Joel had to look away from Abigail. He didn’t thrive on cruelty. He realized how painful it must have been for Abigail to stand in the house she designed and watch him hold another woman. He got that and didn’t intentionally flaunt his marriage in front of her. Joel wanted to pull away from his wife but couldn’t jeopardize the security and trust Zarah was building in their relationship. He needed her to fulfill his budding plan. Casualties were inevitable.
“Is this where we’re going to meet?” Don asked.
“No, let’s go to my office. We’ll have more privacy there.” Joel considered letting Zarah join the group. Most of the conversation would center on her family’s company. Quick thinking brought him down on the side of caution. She was showing significant progress in her recovery. Adding stress in an area where she wasn’t equipped to handle it didn’t make sense. “Excuse me,” Joel said, stepping to the side with Zarah. “Why don’t you get a cup of tea and take a rest in the library?” Zarah didn’t loosen her grip. He had to gently peel her fingers from his arm.
“I’d like to stay with you and meet more of your family.”
Joel turned to the group. “If you don’t mind, you can follow the walkway to my office, which is in the rear of the house. I’ll be there shortly.” Abigail led the way. Joel wouldn’t have asked her to go first. It was her choice. Since she understood the layout better than anyone, it freed him to talk privately with Zarah. Shifting his attention to his wife, he said, “We’ll be talking about business matters. You won’t be interested.”
“I don’t mind. If you’re going to be there, I’d like to be with you.” She couldn’t be in the meeting. Joel had no idea exactly what was going to be discussed. He wasn’t dictating the agenda. Better to keep Zarah out.
“Please, for me, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” She began to speak, but he talked over her. “And I will not be able to focus if you’re in the room. You will have my attention and not the group who has come to take care of important business. Can I count on your help in letting me go into the meeting alone?”
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br /> “You can.”
Joel got her situated and proceeded to his office. When he arrived, Don, Abigail, and Tamara were seated and waiting. He closed the door and braced for the discussion. “How can I help you?” he asked, carving a path to his desk chair.
“I figured we’d jump right into the reason we came, Harmonious Energy and the West Coast division. Is your wife joining us?” Don said.
“No, she’s not feeling well. We thought it best that she rest.”
“Oh, how unfortunate. I was hoping to strike up a deal where she can take control of her father’s company and DMI can regain ownership of the West Coast division, just like you and I discussed a few weeks ago.”
“I can have the discussion with you.”
“But she’s the sole owner of the division. At some point she has to be the one who accepts or declines the offer,” Don said.
“Let me worry about the details. Why don’t you just present the offer and let me take care of the rest?”
“If you say so, as long as we agree that any deal established here is contingent upon final sign-off from Zarah,” Don stated for the record.
“Are you speaking for the board of directors?” Joel asked. He hated being discounted. Don was sitting there smug, dictating the state of Joel’s world. Zarah was sequestered in the kitchen or the library, holding the keys to his future. He wasn’t going to let either bend him until he broke. Regaining control was his top priority.
“I don’t need the board of directors to tell me the contract basics. The owner of the company has to sign off on the deal, plain and simple.”
Joel had no power. Don was right, but Joel refused to be treated as powerless.
“I don’t know what to tell you. If you want Zarah’s approval, you’ll need to sell the idea to me first. My wife trusts me.” As soon as the words were airborne Joel took a quick glance at Abigail and looked away. “I’ll speak on her behalf for now. If we reach a deal, and that’s an awful big ‘if,’ she’ll be more than willing to sign the papers.” Joel wasn’t relinquishing power over the negotiations with Don and DMI. He’d almost let the division slip through his hands once before when Madeline tried to secretly cut a deal with Zarah. Thank goodness he found out in time to halt the transaction. He was more resolute about controlling the process now than he was then. Zarah’s money and holdings were the primary assets that could get him back into the corporate game. They were his ticket to freedom. If she came with the assets as a package, fair enough. Sacrifices were to be expected.
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