Marni’s guess as to who the caller had been matched Web’s, and her anger was as volatile as his had initially been. Fortunately he’d had time to calm down.
“Tanya! That bitch! How could shedaretry to pull something like this?”
Web put his arm around her and spoke gently. “Maybe she’s trying to score points with your parents.”
“She’s starting at zero, so it won’t get her very far,” Marni scoffed, then her voice rose. “Maybe my parents put her up to it!”
“Nah. I don’t think so, and you shouldn’t either, sweetheart. They wouldn’t sink that low, would they? I mean, voicing their disapproval to us is one thing, dirty tricks another. And besides, if the whole story came out, particularly the part about our relationship, they’d be as embarrassed as anyone. They wouldn’t knowingly hurt themselves.”
“I’m not sure ‘knowingly’ has anything to do with it. They seem to be incapable of rational thought. That’s the problem.” She pulled away from Web and reached for the phone. “I’m calling Tanya.”
His hand settled over hers, preventing further movement. “No. Don’t do it.”
“She may contact another paper. For that matter, how do we know she hasn’t already?”
“Because Cole’s is the sleaziest. It’s the only one that would have considered touching the story. I’m sure she knew that.”
Marni marveled at Web’s composure. “Aren’t you angry?”
“This morning I would have willingly rung Tanya’s neck if I’d seen her. But that wouldn’t accomplish anything. It’s over, Marni. Cole won’t write any story, and confronting Tanya will only make her more determined to do something else.”
“What else could she do?” Marni asked with a hysterical laugh.
As it happened, it wasn’t Tanya, but Marni’s father who had something else in mind. The first Marni got wind of it was in a phone call she received on Wednesday afternoon from one of the corporation’s directors. He was an old family friend, which eased Marni’s indignation somewhat when he suggested that her father was disturbed about her relationship with Brian Webster, and that he hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. She calmly assured him that she wasn’t, and that no possible harm could come to the corporation from her marriage to Web.
The second call, though, wasn’t as excusable. It came on Thursday morning and was from another of the directors. This one was not a family friend and therefore, theoretically, had no cause to question her private life. Livid, she hung up the phone after talking with him, then stewed at her desk for a time, trying to decide on the best course of action. Indeed, action was called for. If her father was planning to undermine her authority by individually calling each member of the board, she wasn’t about to take it sitting down.
She promptly instructed her administrative assistant to summon the board members for a meeting the following morning.
“Your father, too?” Web asked incredulously when she called him to tell him what had happened.
“Yes, my father, too. You were right. Everything should be open and aboveboard. He can hear what I’m going to say along with everyone else.”
“Whatareyou going to say?”
Her voice dropped for the first time. “I’m not sure.” With the next breath, her belligerency resurfaced. “But I’m taking the offensive. Dad’s obviously been planting seeds of doubt about me. The only thing I can do is nip it in the bud.” She paused, knowing that for all the conviction she might project, she’d called Web because she desperately needed his support.
He didn’t let her down. “I agree, sweetheart. I think you’ve made the right decision. One thing I’ve learned from talking with you about the corporation is that you haven’t gotten where you are by sitting back and waiting for things to happen. You’re doing the right thing, Marni. I know it.”
She sighed. “I hope so. If Dad has an argument with what I say, he can voice it before the board. Maybetheycan talk some sense into him.”
“Will they?” Web asked very softly. “Will they stand up for you instead of him? How strong is his hold over them?”
“I’ll know soon enough, won’t I?” she asked sadly.
Marni stayed late at the office, working with her administrative assistant and secretary to gather, copy and assemble for distribution an armada of facts, figures and reports.
She spent the night with Web at his place, but a pall hung over them, one they couldn’t begin to shake. They both sensed that the outcome of Marni’s meeting would be telling in terms of her future with the corporation. While on the one hand it was absurd to think that she’d be ousted simply because she married Web, on the other hand neither of them had dreamed Jonathan Lange would do what he already had.
“And if it happens, sweetheart?” Web asked. They were lying quietly curled against each other in bed. Sleep eluded them completely. “What if they side with your father? What will you do then?”
She’d thought about that. “My choice has been made, Web. I told you that. I love you. Our future together is the most important thing to me.”
“But you love your work—”
“And I have no intention of giving it up. If the board goes against me, I’ll submit my resignation and look for another position. Corporate executives often jump around. We keep the headhunters in business.”
“Would you be happy anywhere else but at Lange?”
