Chapter Twenty-eight

“Wow. I’d let you fire me any day.” Asa winked as she came out of the bedroom wearing a navy suit, her hair up in a French twist. She’d colored it the day before so the tips were as blue as the blouse she wore.

“You’ll call me when it’s over?” He hated that she had to go through the drama and upset of this business with her father and uncle. But he knew she’d do it because that’s what needed to be done.

“Yes.”

“I love you. Knock ’em dead.”

“I love you too.”

“Oh, wait a second.” He held out a small box. Inside was a necklace with a charm. An A intertwined with a P. “Think of it as a talisman. I’ll protect you even when I’m not in the same room.”

She hugged him tight and then waited for him to put the necklace on her. “This is beautiful! How long have you been planning this?”

“Only a few weeks. One of Mick’s buddies, a childhood friend of his, makes these. She just finished it yesterday and Mick brought it over himself. I just wanted you to have a piece of me with you wherever you were.”

She took his hand and placed it on her chest, over her heart. “I do already. In here. But this necklace is perfect, and it’ll totally make me feel better today as I pretty much put my dad on a raft and set him adrift.”

“Hush, you. That’s not what you’re doing at all. You’re being kinder than you have to be and you’re doing it because you’re you. Now go to work. Don’t forget to call me.”

“Okay, okay. See you later.” She paused at the door. “I love you. Thank you.” She touched the necklace. “For everything you are.”

“Hey, Penelope?”

“Yes?”

“I think you should move in here.”

She blinked, staring at him. “You just asked me to move in with you? Right now?”

“I did. I love you. I like being with you. I like waking up with you and having you here with me. You already have a set of keys.” He figured this approach was best. She had enough stress. He’d take it as a given and not make any fuss. Hopefully she’d just give in and let him love her the way she had from pretty much the start.

“You’re a trip, Asa Barrons. Yes, I’ll move in, but I have three months left on my lease so it’ll have to wait until then.”

She blew him a kiss and was gone, leaving him smiling. She was moving in. That three months thing wasn’t a big deal. Just because she paid rent didn’t mean she couldn’t move in with him. Mick needed a place; maybe he could take over the lease. He’d like it, even that fucked up hill.

Whatever the case, they’d work it out.

When Julie and PJ walked in the front doors of Colman Enterprises shortly before the meeting was to start, everything was already in place.

PJ had to give it to Jay, he really had stepped up and taken over.

She and Julie paused at the reception desk.

“Morning, Helen.”

“PJ! It’s good to see you. Are you back?”

Julie nodded. “She is. Today’s her first day back so she probably won’t be getting any calls, but if she does, we’ll all be in the meeting until about noon. She’ll be out in the workshop from now on, so there’s a crew out there now getting her an office set up.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. We missed you a lot around here.”

“Are my father and uncle in yet?” Julie asked.

“Yes. I just took in food, they’re in the conference room already. I think Jay just came through about five minutes ago too.” Which they already knew.

They waited in Julie’s office until Shawn and Jay joined them and then they went over the game plan one more time.

But when they opened the door to go to the meeting, their mother was on the other side.

“I’m here to cast my vote in person.”

PJ shook her head. “Mom, you don’t have to do this. We have your proxy.”

Her mother shook her head. “No, PJ. I need to face him down. I loved him with all my heart for a long, long time. Loved him through his faults and his moods. Tried to give you more love when he gave you less. But he crossed a line. He crossed it more than once, and I was weak and let it continue. I wasn’t a good mom then. I’m sorry.”

PJ and her mother had gone out for a hike and spent hours talking about things. About Asa and her paint business, about her mother’s growing realization that her father was turning into a bitter, hostile stranger who said and did the unforgivable. She’d told PJ it had been like a switch had been thrown and all that intensity of feeling she had for him had just gone dark.

“She deserves this chance,” Shawn murmured.

She did. They just had to hope their mom wouldn’t lose her nerve once she got face-to-face with their dad.

“Let’s go.”

To say Howard Colman Jr. was surprised by the sight of his youngest child and his estranged wife walking into his boardroom would have been an understatement.

But he took in the sight of all five of them and got it soon enough. His surprise went hard and so did PJ’s resolve.

Jay folded his hands in front of him on the table and took their father and uncle in. “So as not to waste time, let’s just get straight to the point. The five of us are claiming our rightful voting seats on the board of Colman Enterprises.”

“Nice try. You’re fired. Get out.” Fee sneered.

Shawn waved a hand. “If you’d been paying attention instead of avoiding work all these years, you’d know there’s a whole set of governing documents for Colman Enterprises. Grandpa had them in with all the legal stuff back when he first set up shop. In those documents, it designates full voting seats for each member of the immediate family running Colman. That’s you, Dad, Mom, and all four of their children. Seven votes total.”

“Six. One of my children quit her job,” Howard interrupted.

Jay sighed. “Seven. We offered Penelope her job back and a division of her own. She started this morning. First order of business is to officially recognize and thank Howard Colman Jr. and his brother, Fee, for their years of service to Colman Enterprises. Yours will be tough shoes to fill, but we’ll do our best.”

“I’m not going anywhere, boy.” Fee pointed a bony finger at Jay.

“Oh, but you are. And so is Dad. You’ll each retain an office here and your salary until you begin to pull your retirement benefits. We will of course continue to provide your other benefits like health care and your gym membership, that sort of thing. But you’re out.”

Their father shook his head at Jay. “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing, Jay, but you don’t have the stones to pull this off.”

“You don’t know a thing about me, old man. I’m done trying to make you see me. We’ve already voted to name Julie CFO. I’ll be stepping in as CEO. Shawn will run the accounts, and PJ will have her custom design shop with a full roster of clients and a wait list.”

“You have no right!” Their father stood up.

Shawn stepped in. “We have every right, because Grandpa knew what useless fools you both were and made sure there was a way to get around all this foot dragging. We are Colman Enterprises too. In fact, Julie and Jay know more about this company than either of you do. You crossed the line, Dad. You and Fee would happily just let this company dwindle and die off as long as it happened after you left. It’s the CEO’s job to be a steward for the business. You had your time, and your heart isn’t in it. Go quietly and take your salary.”

“It’s more than you deserve.” Lenore finally spoke. “You should be ashamed of yourself. I don’t know who you are. Or what you think you’re doing. But you broke your place in the family. Step aside and be quiet. Be happy your children are kinder than you are.”

He pointed at PJ. “This is all your fault. You stirred everyone up.”