“Good afternoon, Harvey,” she said, smiling aggressively.
He nodded again in her general direction. Even when she spoke directly to him, he wasn’t going to answer. She turned her attention to the man who was speaking and nodded along. She broke in to underscore a point about job preservation for current Smith Gibbons employees and throw the segue over to HR who brought up improved health benefits for them as well. By the end of the meeting, and largely thanks to her interruption, the case of cold feet on the part of the Smith Gibbonses seemed to have warmed right back up. Everyone shook hands or hugged warmly, and Mr. Gibbons suggested another dinner soon.
Harvey, she noted, didn’t reply in the affirmative to that, only said he’d look at his schedule and get back to them. Since, to her knowledge. Harvey never even saw his own schedule, merely responded when Greta told him four or five times that someone super important was coming for an urgent meeting, she was bemused. The fact was, he dealt in the big picture, not the daily details. He hired people to deal with those. An army of vice presidents existed to handle inconvenient meetings. He only went in for the VIPs now.
Bella was starting to realize that she, at least, was not a VIP in Harvey’s eyes. She was a fuck buddy who had pissed him off once and for all. It was humbling, to say the least. His seeming nostalgia for their brief romance, his flirtation, his sexual prowess and his attentive behavior to her had been a lot more superficial to him than it was to her, she decided. She was probably convenient, and he knew she could easily be won over.
It made her wince to realize it, but for all she’d held out with her dull ex-boyfriend, she had been easy for Harvey Carlson to get. She’d practically humped his leg in the executive lounge, for heaven’s sake. They’d hooked up in cars and restaurants and on every surface in his office including up against the huge window as she looked down at the traffic, her hands braced on the glass. She bit down on her lip at the memory.
So much for being a mature woman and taking a lover. Now she was just a slutty single mom who was probably headed for family court over child custody. She wondered if her reckless behavior with Harvey could be used against her to make her look bad in front of a judge. Surely it would reflect poorly on Harvey as well, but since she was the primary caregiver, she would be the one to look irresponsible. Bella was ashamed of her behavior—like a wanton teenager rather than a dependable parent and poised executive.
After work, she rushed home to have dinner with the twins and practice their letter sounds with them and lose a few rounds of Operation—the buzzing sound always grated on her nerves, but it thrilled Caden. When she put them to bed, she fired up her laptop and started looking for a lawyer. Someone reputable, with good results. She read official websites as well as the poorly-spelled rancor of former clients in the forums. She couldn’t believe she was going to have to take this step, but by retaining a lawyer now, she might head off any surprise maneuver Harvey had in mind. She had to make time to answer a lot of intrusive personal questions about her life choices and sexual history ahead of time so she’d have a legal expert at the ready when she was served with the inevitable papers to for a court-ordered medical test to establish paternity.
The thought of having to take her babies into some clinic to have their cheeks swabbed made her ill. Even if she took them for ice cream afterward, they’d probably still remember it and ask her uncomfortable questions. Probably tell their classmates about having some lady wipe their mouth with a Q-tip to do a test. Then the teacher would realize that there was DNA testing going on, might even ask her about it.
Hell, the teacher might be called to testify to the physical and cognitive wellbeing of the children as well as their emotional and social adjustment. She cringed at the thought of a teacher saying things like, “the nanny picks them up from school every day” and “Caden only eats Lunchables and Fritos, so I can’t speak for the nutritional needs being met,” and “I’ve only seen her once, like I said, the nanny takes care of everything.”
Bella knew she was a good mom who’d do anything for her babies, even give up the love of her life. But she wasn’t sure that a judge would see it that way. Her recent behavior had been careless—the fling with Harvey, even continuing to work at his company. She didn’t know how to defend those choices from a place of strength. The truth was, she wanted to be happy. She wanted to be with Harvey and raise their children together. But she understood after the choice she’d made to run away and hide from him; he probably couldn’t forgive her, much less agree to that idyllic life she had in mind.
She had nodded off on the couch when her phone blasted to life. Harvey’s private number displayed on the screen, and she answered it, breathless.
“Yes?”
“We have to go to LA, now. Smith just pulled out of the deal.”
“What? It’s three a.m.! Everything was fine. Plus, I can’t exactly leave the children alone.”
“Call your nanny. Or a sitter.”
“It’s that simple, is it?” she said defensively, “I can’t leave them in the middle of the damn night and have them wake up with a sitter here, and mommy’s gone! It’s not like leaving a potted plant, Harvey.”
“Fine. We’ll leave in the morning. Be at the airfield at seven.”
“Thanks, Harvey,” she said. “I really appreciate the extra time to get ready.”
“I know we have personal problems, but we have to be on top of this.”
“Got it. Work first. But if you plan on not talking to me the entire time, just take somebody else.”
“I can’t. We need the best, and that’s you. See you bright and early.”
He hung up, but she couldn’t help but smile a tad. Here she was in his business world, and he just called her the best.
Chapter 8
Bella, and rushed to pick out a suit and pack a few things in a tote just in case an overnight was required. She didn’t want to lose this deal. In a way, it was something she and Harvey had accomplished together, and she was invested in its success personally. Also, the failure of this acquisition wouldn’t reflect well on her professionally.
Bella didn’t sleep. She had breakfast ready, and the twins’ clothes laid out by the time she woke them. She kissed their sleepy heads, washed their hands and faces, and explained she had to go to a meeting and would be home late tonight or tomorrow morning and that their nanny would take good care of them and she would Facetime with them after they got home from school. They took the news comfortably, and Corinne tried to extort the promise of a souvenir or present, but Bella laughed and said she wasn’t going on a vacation and the private airfield didn’t have a gift shop. But she would try and get her something at the hotel she stayed at.
After Maria had arrived, Bella drove across town to the terminal, wondering who else would be on the negotiating team to woo back the Smith and Gibbons faction. When she boarded the plane, she saw only Harvey, buckled into his seat already and clearly Skyping with someone on his phone. She settled in across the aisle and checked her email so she wouldn’t seem to be eavesdropping. He looked so damn handsome in that designer suit and his new haircut.
He was talking to Tim in legal and trying to determine a way they could force the acquisition based on papers that had already been signed. She listened with dismay. The way to the Smiths’ and G
ibbonses hearts wasn’t through legal maneuvers and acrimonious dealings. They were caring people concerned with the legacy they could leave the twin sons and godsons the couples shared. She shook her head. It also concerned her that his first instinct was to force them through the courts, not employ compassion and reason. The idea hit her too close to home.
When he was finally off the phone, she asked if anyone else was coming with them. He shook his head and went back to his phone, typing in some sort of message.
“Look, if you aren’t speaking to me, why did you want me to go?”