“The money is no issue. There are no money problems as we are family.” Zarah looked intently at Tamara, as if peering into her soul. “You’re both my family and a friend. I will take what you have. It is good.”
“Are you sure? We’re talking about a lot of money.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Zarah affirmed.
Tamara hugged Zarah briefly without thinking. “Thank you. Thank you for everything. I am grateful to you forever.”
It was like a dream. Tamara’s war was coming to a close, and not a day too soon. She was worn out and felt too depleted to fight Joel this afternoon. She’d better get out of there before he got home.
“I’m leaving now, but you might not want to tell Joel about this until our deal is final.”
Zarah grinned and didn’t respond, which caused Tamara’s zeal to diminish rapidly. Joel was a huge danger. Until the deal was signed, he had the upper hand. And Tamara knew it.
Chapter 27
Madeline leaned against the set of drawers firmly mounted in the center of her closet and took off one shoe at a time. She swayed a bit before regaining her balance. There had to be a few empty slots for shoes among the 150 that had been erected when she had the custom closet designed and installed. She was familiar with every inch of the house. Rochester Hills, an exclusive town situated to the north of Detroit, was supposed to be a safe haven for her children during the years that the family had to be rebuilt. She’d carefully selected the quiet neighborhood lined with trees and the award-winning private schools. She was particularly pleased with the decent amount of distance between their new home and the old one on Mayweather Lane. In a dreamland, she could have imagined a house filled with the laughter of four impressionable children who were showered with love from both their parents. No matter how sweet her dream was in the beginning, it always ended with the screams of Tamara, Andre, and Sam, each of them crying out for help. They needed help that she and Dave weren’t able to give.
She unhooked her string of pearls and placed it in the five-foot-high jewelry case, which she’d organized by gem type. Surrounded by plenty, Madeline battled a tremendous lack in her soul. Her heart ached and her head too. Barefoot, she crossed her arms and sat in front of the full-length mirror situated in the corner of her closet.
Fatigue set in. Leaving work early had to become the norm and not the exception. She couldn’t get Joel confirmed fast enough. Filing the upcoming vacancy in the CEO assignment flooded her mind like a gigantic tide repeatedly crashing against the shoreline. She couldn’t get a moment of peace. Don wanted out. As much as his leaving created a monumental problem for her, she appreciated her son’s desire to walk away while he was still on top. Despite the ebbs and flows over the year, Madeline was pleased with the son she’d birthed and raised. Not everything had been damaged in her life, and there was cause to celebrate briefly before the other challenges met her at the doorway.
Wearily, she eventually emerged from the closet into the open space. The large mansion swallowed her up and seemed more like a mausoleum. It was empty and void of liveliness, exactly the opposite of what she desired. Madeline draped her body across the chaise lounge in her bedroom. Maybe after the fate of DMI was secure, she’d consider selling her house. Might as well. Don wasn’t coming home. He was moving to the other end of the world. And Tamara hadn’t set foot in the house since running away over fifteen years ago.
Madeline picked up a magazine from her reading table and turned the pages. She was too tired to do much and too energized to sleep. She put the magazine back on the reading table and then puttered around, waiting for energy or sleepiness to get the edge and shove her in one direction or the other. Either was fine so long as she wasn’t stuck in neutral. She detested being in neutral; nothing was worse than being awake and not enjoying life.
The security panel located near the entrance to her room buzzed. Madeline checked the time on the clock that sat next to the bed. Seven thirty. She wondered who in the world could be dropping by unannounced. She went to the screen situated next to the panel, and saw that there was a cab sitting in front of the ten-foot-high gate leading into her property. Madeline became concerned. She was about to press the emergency button, which would connect her directly to 9-1-1, and get this stranger away from her house when the buzzer rang again. Curiosity got the best of her, and she pressed the SPEAK button.
“Can I help you?” Nobody responded, causing Madeline to become immediately irritated.
“Can you please get away from my gate, or I’m dialing nine-one-one.”
“Mother, it’s me.”
“Tamara!”
“Yes, it’s me. Can you please buzz me in?”
Madeline frantically punched in the code on her keypad, and the two sides of the gate parted for Tamara’s cab, which coasted up the driveway. Madeline flew downstairs as her thoughts roamed. Before she reached the door, Tamara had rung the bell repeatedly.
“All right, okay. I’m coming,” she said, hustling. She snatched the door open. “Are you all right?”
Tamara pushed past Madeline. “I’m fine.”
“Excuse me, young lady. You could say hello or something before pushing past me and barging into this house.”
“We need to talk,” Tamara said in a demanding tone.
Madeline eased the door closed. She didn’t appreciate her daughter’s tone but wouldn’t react, not yet. “Great. Let’s sit down and talk.”
“No!” Tamara shouted. “We can talk right here.”
Madeline didn’t pressure Tamara. It was surreal having her daughter back in the house. Whatever she had to talk about had to be monumental. Madeline didn’t think her daughter would cross the threshold for anything less significant.
“What is this about? Is Remo bothering you again?” The terrorizing threats he’d hurled at Tamara during his last visit to Detroit were fresh in her mind. Madeline had paid her brother-in-law Frank to take care of Tamara’s stalking ex-boyfriend. She had hoped he’d leave her daughter alone, but judging by Tamara’s demeanor, he must have returned. What else could have Tamara so wound up?
“No, it’s not Remo. I haven’t seen him.”
“Good.” Madeline was relieved. “Then what is going on?”
“I came to tell you that I’m leaving town.”
“Why?” Madeline asked as Tamara’s statement punctured her feelings.
“Zarah is selling me the West Coast division. Once we close the deal, you won’t see me in Detroit or in this house ever again.”
Madeline was crushed. “Tamara, are we so awful that you can’t stand being in the same state with us? Are you so wounded that you want us to hurt as much as you obviously do?” Madeline didn’t know how to feel. She was angry, shocked, anxious, and scared at the same time. She knew that if Tamara left this time, it was for good. Madeline couldn’t let that happen. “What can I do to change your mind?” she pleaded.
“Nothing. I’m out of here.” Tamara turned to leave. “I stopped by to remind you of the fact that you betrayed me.”
“That’s not true,” Madeline replied, clinging to any hope of convincing Tamara to stay.
“You chose Joel over me.”
“Tamara, you know that’s not what happened.” Madeline reached for her daughter. Tamara pulled away.
“It’s exactly what happened. Face it, Mother,” Tamara said, spewing her words. “My leaving is on you. This is your doing. I’m gone.”
Tamara turned the doorknob. Madeline intervened and pressed her foot against the front door, preventing it from opening.
“Please move your foot. I want to get out of this hellhole. Move!” Tamara screamed.
Madeline didn’t want to let her child walk away under these conditions. Tamara had too much anger to be out in the world alone.
“Move,” Tamara ordered again. This time she yanked the door open, knocking Madeline off balance. Tamara darted from the house and hopped in the cab. The cab skidded down the driveway, sliced through the open gat
e, and bolted into the exterior world.
Madeline stood paralyzed in the doorway for what felt like an eternity. Her baby was gone, and the pain was unbearable. She dropped to her knees, drowning in sorrow. Each breath was laced with a reminder of her mistakes and the family’s personal failures. They’d been ravaged by one battle after another, with no respite. Pride kicked in and enabled her to stand, close the door, and swallow the realization that the world as she’d known it twenty minutes ago was no longer. The notion was beyond devastating. She just couldn’t let Tamara go without trying to save her. There was only one way to fix the situation. She scurried upstairs to grab her cell phone and quickly retrieved Joel’s number to call him.
When he answered, she took the direct route. It would be better for him and for her too. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to rescind my offer to support your candidacy for CEO.”
“This is a joke, right?”
Madeline gulped. “I wish it was, but I’m serious.”
“Come on, Madeline. Don’t do this to me. I need this job.”
“I’m sorry.” And she was. Joel was the most qualified candidate, but not at the expense of Tamara. As much as Madeline’s heart wept for DMI, it was severed by the mere idea of losing her daughter forever. Madeline would let Tamara have the CEO post. So what if she ran DMI into the ground? As long as she stayed in Detroit, Madeline would eagerly make that sacrifice.
“Why are you backing out? You at least owe me an explanation.”
“Joel, I really am sorry. Come by the office tomorrow, and I’ll personally make sure we find another suitable position for you.”
Joel snickered. “Are you kidding me? I’m not looking for a job in the mail room. I can submit an application online myself to do that. You know there’s only one job that’s right for me at DMI, and it’s CEO. You know it, and I know it.”
She agreed, but there was little Madeline could do. His appeal was falling on deaf ears. Her greatest allegiance was to Don and Tamara. Others had to squeeze in if and when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, there was nothing more Madeline could do to appease Joel. She ended the call.
Joel was enraged as he held the phone. Madeline had hung up, but he couldn’t put the phone down. He was shattered and didn’t know what else to do. He reeled and rocked in his office, hibernating in there for hours. He was completely lost and had to pray for relief from his rage. How cruel to dangle a bone in front of a starving dog and then yank it away just as the smell reached his nostrils. He felt like a fool. Madeline’s supposed support had been a lie. His mother had warned him not to trust Madeline’s motives. In his desperate need for restoration, Joel had let his guard down and had gotten taken for a ride. He didn’t know if he felt more contempt for losing the CEO position again or for letting Madeline con him. Both were devastating losses.
Joel yearned to handle this challenge as he had others. Instinctively, he would usually resort to crafting a shaky deal, attempt to secure questionable and possibly illegal funding from Uncle Frank, or head to Chicago to garner emotional support from Sheba. Not this time. He was willing to stand alone without running. It was unpleasant but necessary. He knew it and acquiesced to the valuable lesson rising out of his disappointment.
Chapter 28
Madeline still hadn’t recovered from the windstorm that had sailed in and totally obliterated her dreams. For weeks her rational thinking had successfully kept rash, emotional decision making at bay. The logical reason for selecting Joel over Tamara was unchanged. However, her heartstring for Tamara was pulling rank over her “do the right thing” philosophy. Madeline couldn’t let her daughter walk away if there was a way to keep her home. She found a phone and pecked the keys in record speed. She doubted that Tamara would answer her call, but Madeline had to try.
A grand mixture of delight and surprise consumed Madeline when she heard Tamara’s voice. “Tamara, are you there? Tamara,” she cried. “Please answer me. I know you’re there.”
“Mother, what do you want? We said everything that had to be said.”
That couldn’t be farther from the truth. There was much more for Madeline to say. She had heard her daughter’s plea and aimed to honor it. She had kicked aside her pride and was willing to apologize, plead, or negotiate. The love she had for her daughter had no limits, and as of this moment, Madeline was open to any tactic or plan to save her relationship with Tamara. “What can I do to keep you here?”
“Nothing. It’s too late, Mother.”
“It’s never too late when there’s love involved,” Madeline replied.
“We’re not going to do this. I’m not going to do this.”
“Do what?” Madeline asked.
“Let you try to guilt me into staying. Can’t you accept that there’s nothing here for me?”
“What do you mean? Don and I are here. We’re your family.”
“Really? Then why did you choose Joel over me?”
“I didn’t choose him. I recruited the best candidate to run our company.”
“Fine. Then why are you calling me?” Tamara said with a distinct edge in her voice.
Madeline didn’t attack in response. She was completely restrained and terrified that Tamara would drop the call any second. Madeline clung to each word Tamara uttered as if it were a lifeline to her daughter.
“Look, I’m sorry. I made a mistake in choosing Joel, but you have to give me a chance to make this right. Please believe me. If I had any idea that becoming CEO was this important to you, I never would have nominated Joel. Please understand that you come first.” Madeline was frustrated, because her love for Tamara was too vast to be summed up in a two-minute phone call. “I want you to know that Joel is no longer a problem. I’ve withdrawn his name. No decisions will be made without your involvement.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not getting suckered into thinking you’re going to make me CEO or make me any other officer at DMI. Nope. I’ll take my division and go on about my way,” Tamara replied.
Her efforts to change Tamara’s mind weren’t working. Yet Madeline was built to win battles for which, on the surface, the odds of success seemed low. Giving up on this fight to win back Tamara wasn’t even a remote possibility. “I’ll talk to Don. Between the two of us, we can provide the mentoring you’ll need to assume the CEO position. You can do this.”
“Mother, that’s our problem. We don’t hear one another. As soon as the transaction is finalized for the West Coast division, I’m gone.”
Madeline gasped.
Tamara must have heard her, because she responded, “I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m not changing my mind. I want to get out of here. I have to. Please let this go. Let me go.”
Madeline’s soul cried out as her feelings got the best of her. “Don’t ask me to give up another child. I’ve already lost two. I can’t bear to lose a third. I can’t. Don’t ask me, because I can’t honor such a request.”
“Then you’re on your own. Bye.”
The line went silent. Madeline was cemented to the moment. She couldn’t go forward or backward. Her pulse pounded, and a massive amount of pain left her heart empty. The room was spinning rapidly, in a wild fashion. She struggled to retrieve a memory that could help stabilize her thoughts. Nothing sprang to mind. She dragged herself to the wall and braced herself, searching for an answer. She really didn’t know what to do, in spite of being known for her quick wit and creative problem-solving skills. Albeit some of her approaches bordered on being unethical and illegal, Madeline didn’t allow obstacles to prevent her from getting the job done. She was aggrieved from bearing the weight of the moment. This was her greatest challenge, and when she needed to devise a creative solution from her brain, there was nothing.
She adjusted the cell phone in her hand amid her tumultuous despair. Her eyes were watery, but she managed to punch out Don’s cell phone number on the keypad. When he answered, she broke down emotionally. Amidst her sobs and incoherent words, she heard him yelling.
/> “Mother, calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”
She winced and sighed repeatedly, until she achieved a semblance of control. “It’s Tamara,” she managed to blurt out.
“What about her? Is she hurt?”
“I’m the one who’s hurt!” she told him, attempting to clear her throat.
“Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
“No, my physical body is fine.” Madeline wished it was that kind of hurt, the kind that could be erased by taking a pill. She’d prefer to have a leg ripped out of its socket without anesthesia than to deal with heartache. “I’m upset about Tamara. She stopped by here a few minutes ago.”
“I thought you left the office early today. Did you go back?”
“No. I’m at home. She came over here.”
“Tamara came to the house!”
“Can you believe it? So you know her visit was serious. I honestly think she’d rather die than come to this house again.” The mausoleum feeling was creeping in again. The walls were closing in on Madeline. The beauty she’d once seen in the house had been eradicated with each bad memory. “She came to tell me that Zarah is selling her the West Coast division.”
“I’m sort of surprised.”
“Actually, I don’t care about the division. I just don’t want to lose Tamara. She plans to settle the deal and leave town, and us, for good this time. So, I told her she could have the CEO position.”
“Ah, Mother, you didn’t. What about Joel?”
“Based on what you’d told me earlier and how upset Tamara was when she came by, I had to call Joel and rescind my offer of support.”
“Oh my goodness Mother, how could you do that? You know Abigail has pulled out of the running. Now, we’re forced to find someone on the open market. That could take months, even years to get the right person.”
Unforgiving Page 13
