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“It’s not a big deal,” Chance insisted. “Our obstetrician’s office gave us a brochure for one of those stem cell blood bank places. I thought it was a prudent thing to do, so I suggested we sign the contract to store the baby’s stem cord blood, and Bethany lost her mind. She was utterly unreasonable. She didn’t have a good reason for not wanting to do it. She just told me we weren’t going to do it. She didn’t want to discuss it. Subject closed.”
“Maybe she has a religious or moral objection?” Chris ventured.
“No, she doesn’t. She just didn’t want to do it.”
“It’s an unnecessary expense, but that’s not the point,” Bethany practically shouted. “You said you understood. You agreed we wouldn’t talk about it anymore. We were on the same page. No cord blood banking.”
“No, we weren’t on the same page. I did agree not to bring it up again. But that’s because you were on the verge of hysteria. Your blood pressure was spiking, which was dangerous for youandRowan. So yeah, I didn’t talk to you about it. But I never said I agreed not to do it.”
Sasha gave him a wide-eyed look. “Tell me you didn’t go behind her back.”
“Oh, he did. He signed us up while I was in labor. I had no idea he’d even done it until we got a bunch of paperwork in the mail a month later.”
“Wow,” Paul managed.
“That about sums it up,” Sasha agreed.
“So I don’t need counseling, a break, or a mother’s helper. What I need is a husband who I can trust. Well, that and more money.”
Chance scoffed. “The collection fee was two thousand dollars, Bethany. And the storage fee is only a few hundred bucks a year. It’s worth it for the peace of mind.”
She glared at him. “You still don’t get it. The money is the least of it.” Then she shook her head, “But, while we’re on the subject, we don’t have a few hundred bucks to waste, Chance. Believe it or not, your job as the digital marketing director for a semi-professional soccer league doesn’t quite make up for the director-level income I lost when I left the company.”
“Whose idea was that? I didn’t ask you to stay home. You’re the one who decided you didn’t want to work anymore.”
Tessa cleared her throat. “Beth, you must have an ownership interest in King Ventures. That’s got to be worth more than your former salary and Chance’s put together. You’ve been with Rex since the beginning. You’re what—employee number four?”
“Three, actually. And sure, I have a stake in the parent company. But you know how Rex sets things up. It’s not exactly liquid.”
Tessa nodded. “So you need his agreement to sell?”
“Right. And he wouldn’t give it to me.”
“Why on earth not?” Tessa wondered aloud.
“It’s a long story, but things weren’t great between us when I left. I was actually thinking about askingyoufor a job—Leeza just beat me to it.”
Leeza gave her a pained, apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
Bethany softened and shook her head. “Don’t be. You’re trying to take care of your family. Same as me.”
“We could have reworked the budget,” Chance interjected. “Cut some expenses. We didn’t have to come here so you could, what, beg Rex to let you sell the stock?”
“Is that why you came?” Sasha asked her.
She sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I just wanted to talk to him to see if I could bring him around to see things from my perspective. He viewed my leaving as a betrayal.”
Tessa nodded knowingly. “He does have a bit of a thing about loyalty.”
“Oh, does he ever,” Annette affirmed. She nudged her husband. “Do you remember when we told him we weren’t interested in opening a West Coast branch of SafeCord?”
Brian shook his head and explained to Sasha, “A few years ago, Rex was expanding one of his businesses, and he wanted Annette and me to quit our actual jobs to run it. We turned him down, and he went off on a screed about disloyalty.”
“So it’s safe to say allegiance was a hot-button issue for Rex,” Sasha observed.
“Exactly. I’d go further and say he required fealty,” Annette said.
“Obedience,” Brian added.
