Humbled by Patricia Haley

the toughest to work with.”
    She grinned and folded her arms. “I can be tough, but you have to admit, I usually know what it is I want and go for it. And I want this,” she said, slowly spreading her arms out and symbolically encircling the room.
    Don pressed his fist against his forehead. “Is this what I want?” He sighed. “I have to figure out what God wants me to do at this point.” With so much confusion smothering the place, he didn’t know what direction to take DMI in. Whatever he decided, his next move wouldn’t be hasty, and it wouldn’t be based on emotions or pressure from anyone. He’d take his time and seek God, determined to get it right, or be forced to walk away.

Chapter 10
    Friday was extremely intense, and Tamara was mentally exhausted from the events of the day. As defeated as she felt, Tamara couldn’t help but think about Zarah. She was worse off, getting pregnant in the middle of a divorce. Ugh, Tamara thought. She was compelled to check on her, so she picked up the phone and dialed her number.
    After a few rings Zarah answered. Tamara was kind of surprised. “I expected the housekeeper to answer. Has she gone home for the day?”
    â€œShe has. There’s no one here except me. I’m alone.”
    Tamara could detect the sorrow, which was becoming commonplace when they spoke, but she didn’t want to spotlight it. She tried to make the conversation pleasant. “I can’t believe you’re going to be a mother by next spring. Incredible.”
    Zarah didn’t respond.
    Tamara kept trying to lighten the conversation. There had to be something she could say to make Zarah cheer up. She’d keep trying. That was what friends did. “Remember a few months ago, when we spent the day together and went shopping? Let’s take another day and hang out. I could certainly stand a day out, and you could too.”
    â€œNo, I don’t want to go far. I’m not well.”
    â€œCome on. Women have babies every day and survive. You will too, with or without a husband.” Tamara would have gladly snatched the words back if it hadn’t been too late. Her comment had already pierced Zarah’s soul. The very topic Tamara had worked hard to avoid had slithered its way into the conversation. Joel was everywhere. She couldn’t shake him. “You have to pull yourself together. How can you be a mother if you’re sad most of the time?”
    â€œI don’t know if I’ll be a good mother.”
    Stop with the nonsense, Tamara thought. Genuinely, she was fond of Zarah. Zarah was a cool person, but the whining was taking a toll. Tamara was peeved by her constant wallowing in self-pity. She bet Joel wasn’t sitting in a dark Chicago corner agonizing over Zarah. Most likely, he was having a good time while his wife patiently waited for him, as if he were returning home from war. Zarah needed to hear an honest assessment of her marriage, but Tamara knew she was too fragile or naive. She wasn’t sure which, and it wouldn’t have mattered under normal conditions. However, this was far from normal. Zarah had to be stable. With Tamara running from her past, from her mother, and from the clutches of those who wished to dictate her life, the only path to freedom ran directly through Harmonious Energy and Zarah’s ownership of the former DMI West Coast division. That path to freedom kept her on the phone, committed to Zarah.
    â€œMaybe you have too much free time. Have you considered my suggestion about assuming leadership of your father’s company?”
    â€œI have not had much energy for business,” Zarah replied.
    She’d better make energy. If Joel was her priority, lying around in mourning wasn’t getting his behind on the highway to Detroit. Zarah had better wake up and stop letting Joel run her life remotely from three hundred miles away. “If I were you, I’d find