Reconcilable Differences: A 'Having It All' Novel (22 page)

He stiffened, dropping his eyes. “There’s nothing to
tell. They never liked me.”

“Eli. They do. You have to give them a chance, too,”
D'arcy said.

Eli shot to his feet and took a few steps away from the
group. Kate’s heart raced wildly.
What’s
going on?
Kate shot Simon a look.
Do
something!
Sharon was staring at Eli as though he might explode, and
Kate thought she might be right. Simon stood up too, and moved toward Eli,
speaking softly. “Sit down. Tell us more.”

Eli’s dark eyes were tormented. He stood with clenched
fists. “No. Just drop it. I won’t go groveling to those people.”

Kate approached them, conciliatory, her voice calm and
gentle. “Please sit down. Perhaps we came at this from the wrong angle. I think
I understand what Simon is getting at, but it doesn’t have to be threatening
for you. Let’s just talk it out a bit.” She lay a gentle hand on Eli’s arm,
trying to coax him back to his seat. D’arcy’s face was grim. Eli yanked his arm
free and strode a few feet away, turning his back.

D'arcy stood up and followed him. “Babe, why don’t we
call them right now. You don’t have to go back there. Maybe we could invite
them here for Christmas. We can show them our place, take them on a tour of
your studio and the gallery. It would be a real eye opener for them. And then
you’d see too. They aren’t against you.” D’arcy’s voice rose and fell in a soothing
lullaby, while Eli’s shoulders drew up, even more tense.

Oh, this was bad. Really, really bad. Tension in the room
was building. Kate could feel Eli moving closer to catastrophe. She stepped
toward Simon and leaned close, hissing, “Why did you bring this up? We were so
close.”

Simon whirled on her, nothing like his usual serene self.
“You call this close? You’ve got to be… It was just glossed over. I saw it
right away. This is a major stumbling block...” He lowered his voice. “They
have to work through it.”

“You didn’t have to rile them up,” she said indignantly.
She clenched her fists, frowning. Damn it, she was frazzled. She wasn’t
behaving like a mediator at all.

“I didn’t rile them. It’s already there. You can’t hide
from old wounds. You have to face them,” he looked searchingly into her eyes,
and she could see that he was speaking to her, about her, as well as Eli and
D'arcy.

“Why are you doing this?” Kate was seething, and the
words escaped in a moan through her gritted teeth. They were only a few inches
apart, and their conversation did not go unnoticed by the others, she knew
that.

“I’m an honest man. And I expect honesty from everyone
else.” He met her eye steadily. “There are too many secrets and lies in this
room.” He drew a deep breath, and dropped his shoulders, exhaling.

Kate noticed Sharon glaring at them. She knew he was
right. Not only was there something weird going on with D'arcy that she hadn’t
been able to figure out, but Eli held onto some deeply rooted issues with his
in-laws that were always going to stand in the way of their relationship if
they were never resolved. But Simon should have spoken to her privately. As if
he’d had a chance. She sighed, stroking her furrowed brow with her fingertips.

Sharon’s face suddenly appeared between them like a
darting cobra, her smile rigid and hostile. “Don’t think for one second I don’t
know what’s going on here,” she spat. “And you thought I would make trouble for
you. It looks like you’ve brought it on yourself, this time.” She moved off toward
D'arcy, who was still pleading with Eli.

“Eli, please reconsider. If we invited them... Better
yet, if
you
invited
them for Christmas, it would mean so much. You have no idea how that would turn
things around,” D'arcy begged, her voice a desolate whine.

“That’ll be the day, D'arcy.” Eli was suddenly cool and
calm, in a dangerous way that unnerved Kate, her senses prickling.

“Eli, please.” D'arcy wailed, moving close to him, her
hand on his arm.

“Abso-fuckin’-lutely not! They would have to come
crawling on hands and knees in abject apology before I would even consider it.”
His smile was sardonic, and he tilted his head as he gazed at D'arcy, his ebony
eyes glinting.

D'arcy flinched, backing away. “We have to work this out.
You know we do.”

“
You
do,
chere. You have to decide who you trust. Me or them. If you choose me, I’ll be
there for you. But if you want Mother and Papa in your life, you can count me
out.!”

“Eli. No ultimatums. Please, be reasonable.” Kate tried
to interject, but she knew it was too late.

“No. It’s not an ultimatum.” He was disconcertingly calm,
his voice flat. “I just realized that I’m so
fucking
tired of being a pawn in someone else’s game. I’ve got my own life to live. I
don’t need this.” Eli grabbed his jacket from the back of a dining room chair
and strolled to the door, as though he hadn’t just tossed his marriage away
without a care. He opened it and left, not bothering to close it behind him.

“No-ooo.” D'arcy sobbed helplessly. She turned her back
on the others, and rummaged in her bag for a tissue, weeping into it, her
shoulders shaking.

Kate moved closer, and rubbed her back. “Calm yourself,
D'arcy. You know how volatile he can be. Don’t give up. We’ll work this out
yet.”

 “Hah.” Sharon cracked. “I’m not so sure. I knew
this would never work. Madame Duchamp was right all along. This is what she
predicted.”

“What?” Darcy whirled around, her face streaked with
mascara.

“When your mother retained me, she said it would be Eli
who walked out in the end. She said he was a stubborn little boy who had to
have his own way.”

“I know Mother doesn’t approve of him, but she would
never cheer for us to break up. She knows I love Eli.” The flow of tears
resumed as her face crumpled pitifully.

“She knows you’ll be better off without him,” scolded Sharon.

Kate embraced D'arcy and rubbed her back again, trying to
sooth. She turned on Sharon bitterly. “I suspected you had a vested interest
all along, Sharon. More than just skepticism about mediation. Tell me the
truth. Were you hired to make sure it didn’t work out? Is that it?” Kate jutted
her chin at Sharon, her voice rising in anger.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you,” Sharon’s voice was filled
with rancor. “That would make it so easy for you. Then you wouldn’t have to
admit to failure. But no, I’m afraid it’s not true. Skeptical or not, I’m here
in good faith. The Duchamps really do want whatever makes their little girl
happy, however foolish it seems to them. No, I’m afraid you’ll have to face up
to the limitation of your idealistic methods. That’s the point isn’t it? You’ve
been more invested in a reconciliation for your own reasons than because it’s
right for your clients.” Sharon narrowed her eyes. “I know about your little
award, you know. I believe your romantic entanglement has thrown you off your game,
and compromised your professional integrity.” She threw her head back
defiantly, her small feral teeth showing between narrow unsmiling lips, and
Kate’s heart went cold. “You can expect me to file a complaint, by the way.”

“Sharon. Don’t, please,” Simon entreated sharply.

Ignoring him, Sharon, too, picked up her coat, and threw
a withering glance at Simon. “Let me know when you want the divorce proceedings
to recommence, dear,” she said in a cool voice to D'arcy, and walked calmly out
the open door.

D’arcy’s erupted into fresh tears and Kate held her for
some time until she was calmer. “It’s not over. Don’t worry. Everyone’s
emotional today. Let’s give ourselves some time to calm down and think a bit.
I’ll call you in a couple of days. We’ll go over it all and we’ll make a plan.”
She held D’arcy’s face in her palms and nodded with an encouraging smile,
though her resolve was faint. Just what would that plan be? Things couldn’t be
much worse.

D’arcy’s head came up, her brows knit, and she looked so
young and vulnerable. “What was Sharon talking about? What complaint?”

Kate closed her eyes, resigned. It was time to face her
problems head on. “Sit down a minute, D'arcy.” She led D'arcy back to the sofa
and sat across from her, leaning forward, elbows on knees. “I should have
talked to you about this long ago.” Simon lingered, standing with his arms
crossed watching them, chewing the inside of his cheek. She sighed. “What
Sharon is referring to… is the fact that Simon and I… were more than
acquaintances in college. Much more.” Darcy’s eyes widened. “Technically, we
should have divulged that fact the moment he walked into the boardroom that
first day.” She squirmed in her seat. “But, it was such a long time ago and we
hadn’t stayed in touch. I… don’t know why, but I just let it go. And Simon
too.” She peered into D’arcy’s face. “That was wrong.”

“Go on…”

“Well that’s it. We’ve become reacquainted, obviously.
Then Sharon found out that we knew… that we had ahh… a relationship back in
college and she’s been making a fuss ever since.”

“A—are you together again?” asked D'arcy, her eyes wide.

Kate’s breath froze in her chest. “No!”

“Yes.” Simon spoke simultaneously. Kate shot him a hard
glare.

D’arcy’s looked from one to the other, the light dawning
in her eyes. “Oh. I see.”

Kate drew a deep breath. “It’s complicated, D'arcy.
Because of the past. But I promise, as long as I’m representing you, my focus
is exclusively on you and Eli and your needs. You can trust me to be completely
impartial, and to advise and represent you both. Our…” She waved a hand between
Simon and herself “…relationship can have no bearing on your case, no matter
what Sharon might imply. She’s just trying to make trouble.” She smiled
reassuringly.

“She’s succeeding, isn’t she?” D'arcy said.

Kate pressed her lips together. “That remains to be seen.
She knows I’m to be presented with a career award in the new year. So she
thinks she’s got me by the tail. Anyway, it shouldn’t concern you, so don’t
worry about it. I’ll take care of it.” Kate glanced over at Simon, who stood,
tight lipped, his arms folded over his chest. A ripple of nerves fluttered
through her, from her knees to her throat.

Simon walked D'arcy to the door and, closing it behind
her when she left, turned to face Kate, a look of apprehension in his eyes, his
jaw set, the corner of his mouth twitching.

In that moment, Simon seemed to be the cause of all her
problems. Her frayed emotions snapped their bindings. “What the hell do you
think you’re doing? We almost had this case resolved.”

Simon shrugged and moved towards her. “There was no
opportunity to speak to you about my concerns about Eli or D'arcy. Maybe you
would have handled it differently. But under the circumstances… ” He lifted
both hands, palms open, and shrugged. “It had to come out. I could see it
festering.”

Anger rose up inside her, her voice stuck in her tight
throat, threatening to break. A rock hard tension gathered in her chest and
stomach. “You can bet I would have handled it differently. What makes you an expert
mediator, all of a sudden? You’re the one that fanned that fire. It wouldn’t
have been an issue.”

“Bullshit. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it. That you’re
satisfied with such a superficial analysis,” Simon’s voice rose in indignation,
and his face darkened. “It would have blown up in their faces. They would have
been back in divorce court in months. Be honest. You’re better than that. You
can’t have sent them off in the belief that everything was fine.”

“We were on the verge of a resolution. Why are you trying
to sabotage this case? It’s important to me. My reputation is at stake here.”
Kate was trembling now, her anger ebbing away as she shifted her focus to her
clients instead of her own emotional turmoil.

“That’s ridiculous. I’m trying to help.” Simon’s hands
flew up, pleading as he turned away.

“How can a big face off between Eli and D’arcy’s family
help them? Eli has no deeper problem with the in-laws than class difference.
It’s his insecurities. Trying to force them together will only be painful for
everyone.”

“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Simon quietly agreed.

"Eli’s temper is so capricious.” Kate thought that
Simon might be right. “He was strange today.”

“Yeah. Dangerously cool. It gave me a very uneasy
feeling.”

“Has he told you something you’re not at liberty to say?”

“No. I wish he had.” Simon raised a loose fist to his
chin and nodded with these words. “I should call him and see what I can find
out.”

She bristled again. “No.” She didn’t want him so closely
involved in her work. “I mean, don’t get his back up. I want to be able to talk
to him, too. Maybe even meet one-on-one. We have a good rapport. He might
confide in me,” said Kate. “You don’t have to worry about it.”

“
You
need to work on D'arcy,” said Simon.

Oh. The tendons in her neck tightened. Now he was telling
her what to do.

“I’m more convinced than ever that she’s withholding
something. She seems stressed. She’s gained weight. She’s so… emotional all of
a sudden,” he added pensively.

What an asinine, sexist comment. Kate’s frustration was
building. “Why wouldn’t she be stressed? Look what she’s going through. Women
are emotional. So are men. So what?”

“Don’t get so defensive.” He stepped back slightly, his
brows coming up in alarm. “I mean, she’s changed so much in the past month; she’s
like a different woman. I thought I got a pretty good reading when I first met
her. But now, she’s less confident. And I feel like she’s hiding something.
It’s the other thing that needs to surface before they can reconcile. I’m
convinced of it.”

Kate found it difficult to meet his eyes. She gazed
broodingly out the window at the ceaseless rain. She felt cold suddenly, and
shivered. “I don’t know. I think she’s just feeling vulnerable,” she mumbled.
“And why wouldn’t she be? She’s finding it difficult to trust you given your
past behavior.”