Curious, Bev had him escorted to her office. He was a large man with a friendly face, dressed impeccably in a nice suit and tie. He thanked her for her time, and got down to business. "Ms. Beverly Patterson? Or should I address you as Mrs. David Waxman?" "I go by my maiden name here, for professional reasons. What can I do for you today?" He really looked apologetic when he handed her the papers. "I'm sorry ma'am, but you've been served. Good Day, I'll find my own way out." Beverly looked at the large envelope, and fainted. She came to her senses on her sofa, Jen and X had placed her there, and Jen was wiping her face with a cold cloth. "What happened?" "You fainted." "I fainted? Why would I faint?" Jen held the envelope and it all flooded back. Bev started crying uncontrollably. It took her twenty minutes to cry it out. In a trembling voice, she asked Jen to open it and tell her how bad it was. Jen opened it up and nearly fainted herself. She read through them with intense c

Beverly squirmed, and gave her coached answer. "That is correct, but as CEO, I have the authority to terminate anyone, at will. The numbers had dropped so radically I thought we were in danger of losing some very old and lucrative accounts, in fact, that is exactly what is happening. I felt I had no choice." The Arbitrator nodded, then turned to Dave. "Sir, does this sound reasonable?" Dave actually grinned. "Not at all. There was a reason the numbers were low. I even tried to explain it to Ms. Patterson a few times at work and in our domestic situation, but she told me I needed to stay out of things above my pay grade, so I dropped it." "Tell me then, why did your numbers drop so dramatically?" "Believe it or not, it was planned. We were coming out with a new and improved product, and there was a lot of old inventory still available. I talked the customers into buying the new product by discounting the old, and clearing it out of inventory. I have here statements from four of our

Some of it filled her with unease. The anniversaries she'd missed, always promising to make it up to Dave, the birthdays, the special events in his life, her parents, his parents, and their friends lives, all missed while she chased the next deal. She remembered seeing the fleeting look of pain in Dave's eyes when the toddler of one of their friends' children tottered up to him with upraised arms. He cuddled the child, and for a moment Bev had a vision it was their child. She shook it off. Unless Dave would consent to being a full time house husband, there would never be any children in their future. She'd seen many a woman, full of talent and promise, get sidelined and passed by because they couldn't commit fully to the job because of family. Besides, she was 36, so that ship had probably already sailed. She sat straight up in shock at her realization. God! Dave was right. He would always be second in her priorities, as long as she continued on the path she had committed to. It must

Beverly was shaking a bit when she pulled into his drive. It was the first time she had seen the house, and she was surprised at how big it was. Why would an almost single man, childless, need such a big house? It gave off an air of old-fashioned charm, from the graveled paths to the porch swing on the wraparound porch, where several people were gathered. They looked at Beverly curiously as she walked to the door, wondering who she was. She was just about to knock when it swung open. There he was. His eyes widened with surprise. It had been ten weeks since they'd laid eyes on each other. Before he could speak, she rushed out what she had planned to say. "Hello, Dave. Please don't be upset, Susan invited me and I wanted very badly to see you. If you don't want me here I'll go, but please, can I stay?" He stood for a moment before grinning. "Come in, Beverly. I'd like to show you my house, and sometime later I think we need to talk, don't you?" He reached out, and she locked down on h

"Here's what we do. I'll take charge of the legal stuff, that's my strong suit. Yours is sales, so you need to sell her on the idea of being an adult and doing what's best for both of them." "Won't it look bad, a single older man taking a young woman and child in?" That stung. Beverly finally let some of her temper loose. "You listen to me, Dave Waxman. You are not a single man! You have a wife, and she is not inclined to be referred to as the former Mrs. Waxman. It took all of this to wake me up, Dave, and I intend to never sleep again. I've missed you so badly, honey. But introspection has led me to understand that what happened is all on me. I took you for granted for so long that I got used to it. I got bad advice, went a little power mad, and screwed my life up in ways I could never imagine. Tonight was the first step on my way back to you. Do you still love me?" It took everything she had to ask that question, and she was scared to death of the answer. He looked thoughtful, a