Harriet nodded.
"That's just the way it goes," Marylynn confirmed, and proceeded to kiss Harriet.
The two young women enjoyed a hot night of drinking and sex. Harriet liked Marylynn even more than she had imagined. Marylynn was wealthy and world travelled and they had so many things to talk about. Harriet felt like she learned something new and important from every conversation they had. Besides that, the sex was absolutely amazing, and Marylynn's apartment was deluxe.
Harriet had fallen in love.
When graduation came, Harriet was happy to be top student majoring in Economics. She was so thankful for her friendship with Roberta and the love that had grown between her and Marylynn. They had plenty of amazing, secret trysts, and Harriet was secretly hoping that when graduation was over she and Marylynn could have a more open relationship.
Harriet's father made a cross country trip to attend the graduation. And, shockingly, Jennifer came with him. Edward was so proud of his daughter he was practically glowing, but Jennifer looked mean and bored most of the time. She spent most of the time nagging her now quite chubby, homely husband to keep up with their four-year-old daughter who was running amok and getting into everything. He agreed to every order, and Harriet felt a bit bad watching Jennifer boss around the mousey, broken man.
Once the ceremony was over and the families were milling about enjoying a champagne picnic, Harriet broke ranks from her family and went to track down Marylynn and see how she wanted to celebrate that evening. She was shocked to find her walking towards a brand new, cherry red Mercedes convertible with a strikingly handsome, well-dressed young man.
"Marylynn," Harriet called.
Her lover turned around with a disinterested look on her face, giving Harriet a confused, blank look.
"Who is this?" Harriet asked her.
"Why, this is my fiancé, Jonathan, of course. Heir to the Riceland Oil Company."
Harriet was crestfallen, her lip was quivering.
"But… what about us?" she asked in almost a whisper.
"Oh dear," Marylynn said with a smug grin, stepping into the passenger seat of the Mercedes, "we will play bridge again sometime, I'm sure!"
And with that, Jonathan put the pedal to the metal and the sped off without another word, not even a goodbye.
Chapter 5, Drunk and Lonely
It was 1974 and Harriet was soon going to turn thirty. A major landmark in any woman's life, and an age her own mother never made it to. Her thousand dollar stock in McDonald's had grown tremendously, and Harriet decided to invest a thousand dollars in a new stock option, a company called Comcast. Two years later, she made a similar investment in a computer company called Apple. These small investments would pay off greatly.
After graduation, she had come to work for her father's company, just as she had always imagined she would. Like most California girls who go East for college, she made a triumphant return as soon as graduation was over. Well-educated and more knowledgeable about the world of old money, Harriet began the process of taking over the reigns for her aging father.
Edward had spent a good deal of his vitality raising twin girls with no help from a wife, and perhaps the fact that he never remarried had left him in a state of disrepair that some good sex, home cooked meals, and nightly snuggles would have alleviated. He wasn't as aggressive in business as Harriet remembered, and he seemed more forgetful and clumsy with things. His health was not what it could be, and although Edward was trim and attractive, he suffered from heart failure and was dependent on medication to make it from day to day. In spite of all of this, he was still the kind, upbeat man Harriet had always remembered, and he was a great mentor.
At this point, her father's company, which he had renamed B.J. Jewelers in honor of his twin daughters, had grown into a 300 plus employee corporation. The company primarily did business in California retail, but it had distribution channels that weaved throughout the United States all the way to the Mississippi River.
The years flew by. With her investments going swimmingly and her father's ailments beginning to take a negative toll on the business, Harriet felt that she was in a position to make a bold statement with the company. She wanted the company to go international, but she needed help. She couldn't rely on her father to take B.J. Jewelers through this transformation, she needed a talented professional with a lot of experience to help guide her.
Harriet decided to place several large ads in prominent business journals for the position of vice president of international development and growth. She got plentiful responses that came from some of the best and brightest minds in the business world, and many insider celebrities. A lot of the people had impeccable credentials, but there were a few flakes in the mix too. The type that wanted to collect a big paycheck for a little while before they abandoned ship and left a smoldering mess behind them.
The interview process proved to be more time and energy consuming then Harriet could have ever imagined. From reading through up to fifty resumes a day to following up with phone calls and inviting a select few to in-house interviews, it was a daily struggle and she was feeling tired and hard-pressed with so many decisions to make. Even though she had already found at least three people who would fit the bill and seemed reliable, she just didn't like their personalities. They all seemed too bland, too interested in playing it safe and concerned more with money than with morals or values. Then came the interview with Sara Jefferies.
Sara, like Harriet, had a degree in Economics. She had graduated from a school in Florida that Harriet had never heard of. It was called Ave Maria University. What really impressed Harriet was what Sara had done with her degree. She had worked with a man named Dave Thomas to grow a hamburger empire to rival McDonald's, but it was based on square patties (Sara's idea) and fresh options like baked potato or salad. Even more impressive was Sara's demeanor.
When she showed up for the interview, Harriet was blown away by her style. Sara was dressed in a man's blue pin-striped business suit. She had very short hair and she wore it slicked back like a man's. Her accent was strong and Southern, and she looked very butch. At the same time, there was something extremely attractive about her and also very feminine. She seemed to be a walking contradiction.
Of course, Harriet wasn't thinking anything romantic during the interview. None of her past relationships had worked out and following in her father's footsteps, she had closed off that part of her life to focus on business.
Sara was cocky. To the point that it almost turned Harriet off. She told Harriet that she would bring B.J. Jewelers to the next level and that Harriet 'would be stupid' not to hire her. Harriet almost wanted to tell her to get out of her office. Almost. But something made her keep listening.
"Honestly," Sara continued, "not taking me on would be like watching a couple billion dollars walk right out the door. So, I'm going to shut up now and leave you to think for a few minutes. You have exactly 2 minutes to ponder, tell me yes, and bring me on board. Otherwise, this billion dollar woman is walking right out the door and taking her business to the highest bidder."
Harriet thought for 85 seconds. And then she hired Sara on the spot.
The two of them immediately got to work, brainstorming new ideas, creating charts, thinking about branding. It went on for hours and hours, and didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. For all the coffee and great ideas, that one big idea just hadn't come to them. And it didn't seem like it was coming. Harriet was starting to get disappointed. Sure it was only day one, but she expected a lot from this billion dollar chick.
As if she could sense Harriet's emotions, Sara told her, "You know, Harriet? When my mind gets all clogged up like this and I can't seem to move forward, there is only one thing for me to do."
"What's that?" Harriet asked.
"Come on," Sara said, "I'll show you!"
So the two women left their office on Market Street and drove to a small airstrip in Santa Clara, about thirty minutes away. Sara pulled her
car up next to a small Cessna 210 Centurion, a single propeller 5-seater.
"I bought this little beauty with the money I made off of flipping cheeseburgers," Sara smiled. "Flying is the one thing that gets my creative juices really flowing!"
Harriet wasn't the biggest fan of flying, even first class in a big commercial jet. So naturally she felt pretty worried about getting onboard a small plane being flown by a woman she had just met. But she understood that you needed to take risks. In fact, that was what her new business model was all about: risk taking. If she couldn't take risks in her personal life, how on earth was she going to take risks with a big business? Sara was onto something. And so Harriet got onboard, and to her amazement, she found herself liking the flight!
Sara flew at a fairly low level down the Pacific Coast, and the two women talked business ideas as they took in the beautiful scenery. The conversation was flowing, and Sara finally hit upon the way to move forward. They would find competitors that were on the edge of bankruptcy, buy them out, grow them under the name B.J. Jewelers, and once they had successfully used this model to cover the entire U.S. they could try it out in international countries. Essentially it was the same sort of plan that Edward had used, but on a much larger scale. It felt good to Harriet, and they agreed to move forward.
"Well, now that that's settled, what do you say we land this girl and get some drinks?" Sara said.
Harriet was once again terrified. She had forgotten about the landing. But Sara was an expert. She flew the plane into a safe, only slightly bumpy landing in Newport Beach. They headed to a posh hotel on the beach and had drinks and dinner and continued to talk business and generate a list of potential competitors to target first. When they were fresh out of energy they said goodnight and retired to their separate rooms.
Alone after hours with Sara, Harriet found herself suddenly crying. She didn't want to end up like her dad, aging and sick with no one to care for her. She wanted love, friendship, and good sex. She really wanted a partner, but she could only ruminate on the failed relationships of her past and how much they had hurt her. She fell asleep drunk and lonely.
Two years later and things are going well. Father Edward takes a back seat to things and lets Harriet and Sara run the business. Their plan worked marvelously well, and they are already beginning to think about conquering the international market. Money was pouring in and every quarter it just got better and better.
At one point, Sara actually approached Harriet about a relationship, but Harriet rebuffed her coldly. She wasn't about to open her heart again and experience defeat. Besides, the company was doing so well and they were such great business partners, why risk letting that all come down. Anyway, her sister and father weren't exactly in the know about her lesbianism. Harriet had planned to possibly come out after graduation, but Marylynn had put a damper on her plans. Now that her father was old and getting a bit delusional, the last thing she wanted to do was overwhelm him with that sort of news. Besides, he kept going on and on about her finding a husband and giving him another grand child. She was afraid it might break his already failing heart if she came clean.
So Harriet kept her emotional life buried deep. That was until Hawaii.
She and Sara had a business trip planned to check out a failing pearl dealer in Maui. Sara thought that once they conquered Hawaii they could break into the international scene by moving on to Japan. But as they were dining in a fine restaurant, enjoying some of the freshest seafood they had ever tasted and talking strategy for their big meeting the next morning, a familiar voice called Harriet's name.
When she turned around to see who it was, she was an unexpected face. It was Marylynn Legrange from Smith College. And she was with a woman! Marylynn introduced her companion as her partner, Lisa Melander. Harriet was quite shocked, but she maintained her composure and asked the two women to join them.
Harriet introduced Marylynn to Sara, and told her that she and Marylynn had been close friends in college.
"I see," Sara said, raising an eyebrow, "nice to meet you, Marylynn."
Marylynn introduced everyone to Lisa. "Lisa and I have been partners for several years now. Her family also runs coffee plantations in South America, so we ran into each other through business," Marylynn told them.
"And what about that guy Jonathan?" Harriet asked, incredulous.
"Oh, him," Marylynn laughed, "well, we got married and had one child, a son named Bob. He goes to Dartmouth College now. We got a divorce once he turned eighteen. We basically just stayed together on paper for him, but Lisa and I had fallen in love long before the divorce was finalized. Surprisingly, Bob has taken things so well and he has been very supportive. He just loves Lisa!"
Lisa beamed.
"Well, that is wonderful," Harriet said. "I am so happy for the two of you," she told them, trying to sound honest.
"Well, thank you dear," Marylynn said, "I want to apologize for how I treated you back at Smith. It wasn't right, and I regret it."
Harriet shrugged, "that was a long time ago. Don't sweat it." The conversation moved on to business after that, and they talked and drank gin and tonics until it was dark.
When Marylynn and Lisa excused themselves, Sara pulled Harriet close.
"So that's why you won't have a relationship with me?" she whispered in a hiss, "because you think I am going to dump you like hot garbage, just like that Marylynn woman did? Well that's not me Harriet. I'll tell you what. I am going to give you 2 minutes to make up your mind. If you won't at least give me a chance, then this 50 billion dollar love package is walking right out of this hotel and back to Cali."
Harriet didn't need two minutes. She held Sara in a tight embrace, whispered an apology, and then they had a long, beautiful kiss.
The business meeting went well, and on the flight back home on the corporate jet Harriet and Sara consummated their relationship together.
Chapter 6, Coming Clean
Years went by peacefully and profitably. It is now 2015 and Harriet is a billionaire and her relationship with Sara is doing great, although it is still a secret. However, her father is now on his death bed, and Harriet decides that before he dies she wants to come clean.
Edward was lying comfortably on a big bed with puffy satin sheets. Harriet didn't want him to die in a hospital or a hospice, she wanted him to spend his last days as comfortable as possible at home. He was heavily doped up on pain pills, and Harriet supposed he probably wouldn't even understand what she had to tell him.
She and Sara had spent that day at a local flower market picking out the most beautiful flower arrangement to present Edward. He had always loved nature and they thought it would cheer him up and make his last days on earth a little bit brighter. They entered his room with the big vase of flowers, struggling to see through all the blossoms. They set the flowers down on a dresser in front of Edward's bed and his face lit up in a delirious look of pleasure.
"So beautiful," he said. "Almost as beautiful as you, my sweet Bernidette." He smiled at Harriet, but she was frowning.
"Dad, it's me Harriet. Your daughter."
"Yes, yes, my love. Two daughters. Beautiful girls. Twins. How blessed are we?" He was lost, too far gone in the pain and the painkillers and the flesh already decomposing inside his living body. Harriet's heart was breaking.
"Yes, Bernidette. Our daughters, they are so beautiful and kind. Especially the smaller one. I know she will grow up to do great things. She will be generous and follow in your footsteps, helping the needy. Have I ever told you how proud I am of you, Bernidette?"
Harriet was crying, and she lay next to her father in bed and hugged him, holding his head close to her chest.
"I love you," she told him.
"I love you too," he whispered. And then he died. Gone to heaven to join his beloved wife and live free of pain and suffering.
Harriet broke down in sadness. Sara held her close, letting her sob out her pain. But their grieving was interrupted by the sound of the bedroom do
ors opening loudly. Jennifer rushed into the room like a storm. Harriet was surprised. She had not seen her sister in years. The only thing she knew was that her father had been sending her large checks each month to help support her. Her meek husband had gotten up the balls to leave her several years ago, sick of being bossed around by a blood sucker like Jennifer.
"Well, that old bag finally kicked the bucket," Jennifer said callously.
Divorce had not been kind to her. She had gained a significant amount of weight, and despite several rounds of coolsculpting treatments she didn't look any thinner. She had wrinkle lines deep in her forehead and around her mouth, and she looked big and pissed off.
Harriet was aghast to hear her sister speak of their just deceased father in such an awful tone. She was too shocked to speak, but Jennifer had plenty to say.
"Since he is dead, that means that I am a co-owner of the company. I am entitled to half of the profits, and I expect to see my checks coming in immediately."
Harriet was too dumbstruck to do anything but stare with her mouth wide open, so Sara took Jennifer into the hall.
"Look you ungrateful bitch," Sara hissed, "that isn't the way things work, first of all. No one has seen your dad's will and what he left to you except for Harriet and your dad's lawyer, and I can promise you that he most certainly did not leave you half the company. In fact, he didn't leave you much more than he has been giving you right now. So you aren't entitled to jack shit. But just because I want your fat ass out of my face, I'm going to make you a deal right here, right now. And I'm going to give you two minutes to think it over." Sara reached into her purse and pulled out a checkbook. "I am going to write you a check for $300,000.00 even. This is going to be go away money. That means you get this money and then you go the fuck away, forever! If I ever see you again, even from ten miles away, bad things are going to happen to you that you couldn't even imagine. So think about it, Jennifer."
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