Contingency (Covenant of Trust) (16 page)

He picked up his phone and dialed Tracy’s extension, but it rolled to voice mail. He ended the call and dialed Christine. “Yes, Mr. Molinsky?”

“
Is Tracy in with a client?”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Have her call me as soon as she’s free.” He turned back to his desk and started making notes and outlines, losing himself in the details.

“
You wanted to see me?”

“
What?” He looked up and Tracy stood in his office doorway. “Yeah, come on in, and shut the door.” He pulled a chair around for her. He tried to be patient, waiting for her to sit down. “I just got off the phone with Tom Conrad at ServMed. He wants me to represent them in the negotiations.”

“
Chuck!” She reached over and squeezed his hand. “That’s fantastic. Congratulations. How long have you courted him?”

“
Couple of months.”

“
And you got him. I’m thrilled for you. This is major.”

“
Single biggest client we’ve ever had. If we pull this off ...”

“
If you pull this off,” she corrected. “You’ve done this. You deserve all the credit.”

“
Thanks. I told Tom this would take two or three attorneys. Would you be interested in working on this? Granted, it would be almost full time.”

“
Thank you, but no.”

“
Why not?” He made a conscious effort to keep his disappointment from showing.

“
It’s nothing personal, Chuck. I love working with you, but I have absolutely no interest in labor law.”

“
And there’s no way I can persuade you?”

She stood and smiled. “I made myself a promise long ago not to waste my time on anything that didn’t arouse my interest.” He watched her walk to his door, but her hand lingered on the knob. “Oh, I love your new car. It suits you.”

“
Thanks. I’m still getting used to it.”

“
Congratulations again. The old man might even smile over this one.”

He laughed and watched her walk back down the hallway toward her office. Her perfume still hung in the air, a spicy scent, so different from anything Bobbi ever wore. Things had been a little tense between them since her birthday. At least the sofa in the study was comfortable to sleep on. He sighed and started packing up his stuff.

Bobbi had to be too young for menopause, but something was going on with her. He never said the right thing. Her mood changed more often than springtime weather. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was pregnant, but he knew better.

Maybe now, with ServMed, he could finally make her see what drove him. He created the opportunity to take the firm to a new level, to build a regional reputation. No, she wouldn’t get it. He was tempted not to mention it at all. She would minimize it, and he would get angry. At least Tracy understood. He shut down his computer and turned out the light. He did the right thing, telling Tracy first.

When he got home, he pushed the front door open. “Bobbi? Are you home?”

“
Hey!” She came in from the kitchen and threw her arms around his neck. This was more like it. “I have fabulous news!”

“
So do I.” He set his briefcase down. “ServMed gave me the go-ahead today. I’m going to handle their end in the bargaining this summer.”

“
ServMed?”

“
The insurance company. They’re going to be the provider for the university employees’ union if the union will go for it. It’s my job to make sure that happens.”

“
This is the one you’ve been working on for ...?”

“
Months. I contacted Tom Conrad after the first of the year.”

“
This is the huge one, right?”

He nodded. Huge. “Quarter of a million dollars in fees.” Her jaw dropped. Yes. “But this is gonna be my life now. I need you to understand that.”

“
Just through the summer, though.”

“
My plan is to be done by August first, so three and a half, four months.”

“
You don’t have any help?”

“
Yeah, we’ll have a team, another lawyer or two and the support people. I haven’t picked them yet.”

“
You haven’t picked them? Walter’s letting you pick! It’s about time he let you make some management decisions. I don’t know why he doesn’t retire and just let you have it.”

“
Thank you for the vote of confidence.” He took her hand and they walked back to the kitchen. “Where are the boys?”

“
Outside. Don’t you want to hear my news?”

“
Of course.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the sink.

“
Okay, Mary Atwater, one of our second grade teachers, announced her retirement at the end of last year, right?”

He nodded, but no, he had no idea.

“
Ted offered me her spot today.” Her eyes danced. “I’m gonna have my own class!”

“
Hey, that’s great.” He kissed her cheek and reached in the refrigerator for a Coke.

“
That’s it?”

“
What’d you expect?” And now she started.

“
Chuck, this is what I’ve wanted since I started teaching. It’s like when you made partner.”

He almost spit his Coke out. “You’re not serious. Making partner in a law firm is nothing like teaching a roomful of kids.”

“
No ... It’s about reaching a goal.”

“
You need to set your goals a little higher, Bobbi.” She dropped her arms. Now she was going to light into him.

“
You are the most arrogant—”

“
Stop. Let’s just stop with calling me names, all right? I had a great day, and I don’t deserve to come home to this.”

“
Oh ... my ...” She gripped the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “You don’t ... deserve—”

“
No, I don’t. You don’t have any respect for how hard I work, how much skill it takes.”

“
And you refuse to recognize that anybody else ever does anything worthwhile!”

“
I did not say that teaching wasn’t worthwhile. You’re extrapolating.”

“
If kids don’t learn how to read and do math, they won’t grow up to be business people who need lawyers.”

“
So you’re keeping me in a job? That’s rich.” He shook his head. “There’s nothing magical about teaching. Anybody could do it.”

“
You’ve known since the first day we met that I wanted to teach.” She dropped her head and stared at the floor for a moment. He watched her, trying to judge whether she was finished or not. Life would be a lot easier if he let her have the last word. He sipped his Coke, trying hard not to make a sound. He suspected no one ever had to tell Tracy that she wasn’t reaching her full potential. No, they probably had to tell her to rein it in a little.

Bobbi spoke his name and brought him back to the present argument. “So Chuck, I’m through.”

“
Wait! Through with what?”

“
You weren’t listening!”

“
Of course I was listening. I just wanted a clarification.”

“
You’re lying.”

“
No ...”

“
I’m sure someone as skilled and brilliant as you got it the first time.”

Wednesday, August 3

Bobbi pulled a pizza from the oven and checked the kitchen clock. Football practice ended twenty minutes ago, so Rita should be there with Brad any minute now. She could finally smooth things over with her sister.

A moment later, she heard the front door open, and soon after Brad shuffled into the kitchen. “Hey, how was practice?”

“Hot.” Brad took a bottle of water and a can of Coke from the refrigerator. “Is that my pizza?”

“I just took it out.” Bobbi slid the pizza onto a plate for him. He balanced the plate on his Coke can and headed toward the family room. “Where’s Aunt Rita?”

“She was right behind me.”

Bobbi shook her head and was about to search for her sister when Rita came in the kitchen. “I got a phone call right as we got here. Did Brad disappear already?”

“I do support you. You. Not you and Chuck.” Rita pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down. Bobbi took the chair across from her. “I love Phil to death, but he sees things very black and white. Gavin is the same way about divorce. That’s fine as long as you’re dealing with hypotheticals, but when it comes to real people in real situations, things get very gray in a hurry.”

“You think I should consider divorcing Chuck?”

“I don’t know if that’s the right thing or not, but everyone is pressuring you to resolve this too quickly. It hasn’t even been a week yet. You need space, and you need to think long term.”

“Like opening a checking account in your own name, re-titling your car, and changing the locks. Making him move out was very smart, by the way.”

“I don’t have the energy to second-guess everything I do because you don’t approve. From now on, my marriage is a closed subject.”

Rita mumbled a weak apology, promising to call in a day or two, and then she slipped out.

Divorcing Chuck was wrong. It had to be. The thoughts of going to court and airing their private life made Bobbi queasy. The alternative wasn’t so simple either. She loved Chuck, and would always love him, but how could she put her marriage back together when she couldn’t stand to be around him?

Rita overreacted about Brad, too. Teenage boys never discussed their feelings. Granted, he had it out with Chuck, but he vented.

Still ... Was she playing with Brad’s well-being by working toward reconciliation before he had a chance to process everything? He would never give her a straight answer and he had no interest in talking to his youth pastor. Maybe it was time to get Phil involved.

*******

Thursday, August 4

“
It’s two-fifteen
,” Phil said. “We did say Thursday, right?”

“That’s what I told Bobbi,” Donna said.

Across the office from Donna, Cooper DeWitt stood up. Phil asked him to sit in, hoping the boys, especially Brad, might be more comfortable. “I’ll check the parking lot,” he said.

Before he could cross the room, the outer door opened and Brad said, “Just shut up, Joel! I’m here, all right!”

“Brad, straighten up!” Bobbi reprimanded. She shepherded her sons into the study, her face flushed. “I apologize for making you wait.”

“Brad didn’t want to come,” Joel said.

“I don’t blame him,” Phil said, robbing Brad of the opportunity to snap back at his brother. “Have a seat.” Three empty chairs faced Phil’s desk, between Donna and Cooper. “Having to sit in your pastor’s office and discuss your dad’s affair is a rotten place to be.”

“Pastor Phil,” Brad said. “I don’t want you to take this wrong, but I don’t see what we’re doing here. My dad can’t take back what he did. I never want to speak to him again.”

“Brad! Sit down!” Bobbi said. The boy locked eyes with his mother, hesitated, then slumped into his chair. “Phil, I’m sorry, maybe we should try another day.”