Josh was surprised to hear the plea in Frank’s voice. “I’m sure.”
“What a goddamn mess.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll handle Janice, but the truth is, and I’m sure you know this already… your threat will have worked on her. She’s as avaricious as a goddamn magpie on the hunt for shiny tchotchke.”
That Frank knew his wife so well came as no surprise to Josh.
“I figured that out when you said she’d called,” Josh admitted. “Look, Samantha doesn’t want to deny you or Janice access to Erin. She just wants to make sure there are no future threats about his guardianship. That’s entirely justifiable, isn’t it?”
There was a pause down the line.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I’ll be hiring a family law attorney to handle this mess. Just to keep you advised.”
“There’s no need to be so formal about this, Josh,” Frank argued. “I understand what’s going on and I’ll handle Janice.”
“What happens if something happens to you, Frank? I don’t like the idea of leaving Samantha unprotected. It’s no grievance against you, but if something happens to me or you, and Samantha is left fighting Janice on her own… well, I don’t want that and will do what I have to to safeguard that from happening.”
“I understand.”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
“Me too. Thanks for the warning about the Sanderson deal.”
“I was always going to keep you in the loop.”
“But this time, your intentions were a little different.”
“Circumstances definitely dictated my intentions, you’re not wrong.”
Frank’s laugh was wry. “Okay, kid. I’ll speak to you another time. And, Josh?”
“Yeah, Frank?”
“Apologize to Samantha for me?”
“I will.” He cut the call, angry despite himself. “Frank wants me to tell you he’s sorry.”
“For his son beating me?” Samantha, unlike him, didn’t sound angry. She snorted. “That sounds about right. Next time he sees me this will be like water under the bridge—like it never happened. That’s the story of my fool life since I met Jamie.”
Josh winced. “The man has no guts or honor. I’m angry he wanted me to apologize on his behalf, but at least it’s something.”
“He caved in like you thought he would?”
“He did.” He fingered his cell a second, checked the notifications, then shoved it back in his pocket. “We should go. We’ve been down here twenty minutes.”
Samantha grimaced. “Well, I’m not sorry. Erin will have been fine with your guard, and he likes cars so it was better for him to be there waiting than for him to have seen us shaken up. It was a good idea to take a breather.”
He shot her a look. “I’m full of good ideas.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure your board of directors agrees with that.”
“Some,” he admitted meekly.
For a second, she studied him, then she murmured, “It’s really under control, isn’t it? This situation, I mean?”
“Yeah. And I meant what I said. I’ll get a family lawyer to draft out some kind of agreement to make sure that further threats are contained. I don’t want you to have to deal with them in the future,” he replied.
“Thank you, Josh.”