When they finished packing, Josh drove Honor and Cody to Granny’s Kitchen for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Honor was delighted with the country atmosphere of the historic barn-turned-restaurant. The hostess escorted them past a magnificent Thanksgiving buffet and three carving stations to a table close to the dance floor, where a bluegrass band was getting ready to play.
A young server approached, clad in a red-checked blouse and blue jeans; her blonde hair in braids. “Welcome to Granny’s traditional Thanksgiving. I’ll take your drink orders and then you can help yourselves to the buffet. But before you eat, Granny asks that you join hands and tell each other one thing you’re thankful for this year.”
They filled their plates and returned to their table, noticing most guests were honoring Granny’s tradition. Once they were seated, they too, joined hands.
Honor spoke first. “I’m thankful to be spending Thanksgiving with my guys.”
Josh’s blue eyes glistened. “I am so thankful you came into our lives.”
They turned to Cody, who was hungrily eyeing his plate. “I’m thankful they put little marshmallows on the sweet potatoes.”
***
The next day, three of Josh’s friends came over to help pack the storage cube. Although moving the heavy furniture and boxes was hard work, they joked and told stories throughout the afternoon, creating a light-hearted atmosphere.
When they finished, Josh called to have the container picked up, and then treated the guys and their wives to drinks and dinner at a nearby tavern restaurant. The pleasant evening ended with everyone promising to stay in touch.
Josh’s house was empty and their flight was early the following day, so they decided to stay at the airport hotel. Cody claimed he wasn’t tired, but he fell asleep on the couch moments after they checked into their suite. Josh retrieved a blanket from the closet and tucked him in, then joined Honor in bed.
“Your friends are fantastic,” Honor remarked. “Are you sure you won’t regret leaving here?”
Josh laughed. “It’s a little late to be asking that question, don’t you think?”
“Well, I didn’t realize how much you’re giving up until now.”
Josh shook his head. “Here’s the thing. All of my friends are married and raising families these days. Being around them just kept reminding me how alone Cody and I were, and how much I missed my family in Florida. Then you came into the picture, and the decision to move became a no-brainer.” He smiled. “You aren’t having second-thoughts about changing your life to include us, are you?”
Honor’s eyes flew open. “Absolutely not! I’m still amazed you chose me, when you could have your pick of women.”
Josh shook his head. “Jesus, Honor. How did your self-image become so distorted?” He brushed her dark curls back from her face. “Every time I see you coming toward me, I think to myself, ‘Josh you are one lucky son of a bitch.’ Honor, you’re beautiful and sexy and brilliant. People are constantly drawn to you, hoping you can fix whatever problems they have…and you never let them down. And as if that isn’t enough, you’re wonderful with my son.” He lifted her chin. “Do you need me to go on? Because I could list a dozen more reasons why I love you… your sense of humor… the way your body fits mine so perfectly… your beautiful green eyes… those black curls…”
Honor giggled to hide her embarrassment. “That’s exactly how I feel about you.”
“You love my black curls?”
“Oh stop it… you know what I mean. Don’t you think it’s kind of miraculous that we met at a time when we were both ready for a permanent relationship?”
“Miraculous. Good word.” Josh agreed. “Speaking of relationships, what’s your plan for dealing with William?”
“Sarah’s writing a letter, demanding legal recognition of the fact that one half of Soft Fix’s assets belong to me. If William agrees, I’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Josh whistled. “You think he’ll concede without a fight?”
“No.” Honor winced. “And I’m definitely the underdog in the fight. Sarah isn’t sure I have legal standing to sue, because even though we used my money to start Soft Fix, William’s the sole owner on paper.” Honor chewed her bottom lip. “Fortunately, Sarah says he can only enforce my non-compete agreement for two years after we separate, but unless William would be willing to repay the money I invested in Soft Fix, I wouldn’t have enough capital to start a new company.”
“If you can prove he’s a crook, that would give you leverage, right?”
“Maybe, but he’s really smart and he suspects I’m up to something, so he’s already hiding the evidence. I’m probably screwed, and I have no one but myself to blame.”
“Honor, I just don’t get it… you’re one of the smartest women I have ever met, but whenever we talk about that jackass, you turn into someone I don’t even recognize. It’s your company. William’s cooked the books. Your technical staff thinks he’s an idiot and at least some your customers can’t stand him. And oh yeah, you know he’s cheating on his new wife. And yet you lay there telling me you’re at his mercy. Honest to God, Honor…if this was any other problem in your path, you would have already figured out how to resolve it. You’d be checking stuff off a list and you’d be well on your way to taking back what’s rightfully yours. I don’t understand why you’re handling things so differently, just because the battle is with William.”
Honor was stunned by Josh’s frank assessment of her situation, but she knew his observations were accurate. William gained the upper hand in their relationship in the beginning, when she had been terrified about investing all of her savings to start a new company. Back then, she questioned every decision she made, no matter how minute the issue. Conversely, William seemed to know how to handle every problem with ease. At the time, she had been grateful to turn things over to him. The echo of his words still rang in Honor’s memory: “You just focus on creating great software and leave the rest up to me.”
After Soft Fix was up and running, Honor tried to become more engaged in the daily operations by speaking her mind at company meetings. William often scoffed at her naïve ideas in front of everyone and suggested she leave the complicated financial decisions to him and his staff. Embarrassed by her ignorance, Honor spoke up less and less. Over time, she stopped trying, accepting William’s assessment that she was incapable of handling the business side of their operations.
Josh’s voice brought Honor back to the present. “Hey, where did you go?”
Honor shook her head, clearing away the unpleasant memories. “Sorry… you got me thinking, and you know how dangerous that can be.”
“Listen, Honor, I’m sorry if I stepped over the line. I should learn to keep my mouth shut.”
“Don’t apologize… you’re absolutely right. I was just trying to figure out how that rat bastard gained so much control over me and more importantly, how I’m going to put a stop to it.”
Josh grinned at her. “There’s the woman I’ve come to know and love. Now I almost feel sorry for the guy… he doesn’t stand a chance.”
***
In the morning, they dressed and walked the short distance to the airline counter, once again struggling to control Cody’s boundless energy. When they arrived at their gate, Cody ran to the window overlooking the tarmac, and began carrying on a conversation with someone Josh and Honor couldn’t see.
“At least he’s not running around, driving everyone crazy,” Josh commented as they relaxed into nearby chairs.
“And we did agree to encourage his psychic gifts,” Honor added.
“Would you mind if I took advantage of having an invisible babysitter long enough to read the paper in peace?”
“No problem. I’m going to make a few calls, but I can keep an eye on him… on them… whatever.”
Honor called Sarah Jacobs for an update.
“I sent the demand letter via express delivery yesterday, so William should receive it this morning. We need to set-up a meeting with him and Leon Goldstein ASAP. You never know, William might do the right thing and concede.”
“That would take a miracle.”
“Well, if he challenges your ownership, we’ll use the meeting to begin negotiations. It’s in our best interest to settle this out of court, where your legal standing won’t come into question.”
“I understand. Call me back once you set the date for the meeting.”
Next, Honor called her assistant, Julie.
“Honor, I think I’m spending as much time managing The Circle as I am doing my regular job.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry…”
Julie interrupted, “That wasn’t a complaint. I love the new challenge! It’s giving me a little taste of what it would be like to reach my goal… you know… becoming the Chief Operations Officer at a major corporation.” Julie laughed. “Hey, tell Josh I’m using his description of our membership… ‘the perfect organization for women too old for Girl Scouts and too young to wear Red Hats.’”
Honor protested, “Oh, that’s just great! Now Josh will know I tell you everything.”
Josh looked up at the mention of his name. Honor winked and smiled at him. He shook his head, amused, and returned his attention to the sports section.
“Well, Mark Sutton called and when I told him you had gone back down to Florida, he asked if you were still planning to leave Soft Fix. I pretended I didn’t know anything about it and to change the subject, I told him about The not-so-top-secret-anymore Circle.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and he seemed very interested. He said The Circle sounded like a terrific organization for his daughter. He liked the idea of her associating with women who were actually taking steps to make their dreams come true, rather than simply listening to lectures by college professors. He asked me the cost of initiation fees and annual dues. I didn’t know what to tell him, so I told him you were still in the process of putting that together. Was that the right thing to say?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I didn’t plan on The Circle growing like this. I’ll discuss it with Sarah Jacobs and get back to you.”
Before hanging up, Honor asked Julie to transfer her call to Helen Ellis in Accounting. Helen answered on the first ring.
“Hi, Julie, what’s up?”
“It’s Honor. I just wanted to check to see how your daughter’s job search was going.”
“Um, thanks. Wendy already interviewed with one your contacts and has a second interview today. She thinks she might get a job offer by the end of the week.”
Honor couldn’t put her finger on it, but even though the news was good, Helen’s voice sounded strained.
“Is everything okay, Helen?”
Helen lowered her voice. “Yvonne gave strict orders. Finance employees aren’t supposed to talk to you. The receptionist is supposed to route your calls directly to her extension.”
“I didn’t go through the switchboard. Julie transferred my call to you.”
“That explains how you got through. According to Yvonne, she’s better equipped to personally handle your requests for assistance from our department.”
“Oh, really?”
“Listen, I feel terrible about this, Honor. I’m willing to break the stupid rule, as long as you don’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want you to do anything that will jeopardize your job, Helen. I’ll play along with Yvonne’s scheme…but I do want you to do two things for me. First of all, let Julie know if Wendy lands the job. And second, be very careful not to let Yvonne or anyone else talk you into doing anything illegal. If this situation winds up in the hands of the police, I don’t want you to get burned.”
“I promise to watch my P’s and Q’s. You be careful, too.”
As disturbing as her phone call to Helen had been, Honor had to make one more call before they boarded their flight.
She dialed Becky Adams’ number to confirm the young computer genius was still flying down to meet with her about developing a website and blog for The Circle.
“Are you kidding?” Becky gushed. “I packed my suitcase a week ago! Are you sure you have room for me in your hotel suite? Do you have time to discuss some conceptual ideas right now?”
Honor chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Yes, I have room. I have to board a plane right now, but I’m looking forward to meeting you and discussing your concepts tomorrow!”