you’ll be lucky if she turns it over to you when you’re eighty.”
“I hope she does live to be a hundred,” he said generously. “I’ll take it over whenever she’s ready. And I’m not in any hurry to take on all the worries she has on her plate.”
“That’s my point,” Amanda said with an angry expression. “If you had the balls, you would be willing to take on those headaches now. How old was she when she stepped into the business? Eighteen? How old are you? Forty-six? You should be doing it now. You and John should force her out.”
“That’s a hell of a thing to say,” Phillip said, looking shocked. Amanda had never been that blunt before.
“It’s embarrassing to admit that I’m only married to the CFO. It makes you sound like an accountant. It would sound a lot better if you were the CEO. You should be. Now.”
“I’m sorry if you’re embarrassed, Amanda. And as a matter of fact, my father was an accountant. I don’t think my mother was ever embarrassed to be married to him. In fact, I think she was very proud of him. She may have been a lousy mother, but my father thought she was a great wife.” And he was beginning to wonder if he could have said the same about his own. Some of the things his mother had said to him, and the questions she had raised, had hit home, even if he hadn’t admitted it to her. He had heard every word she said. Amanda had picked a hell of a night to go after him, and humiliate him by saying that his mother “owned” him. No one owned him, and neither did she. Phillip had no desire to be owned, only loved. And sometimes it was hard to tell if Amanda did.
“I hope one of these days you grow up and take over the reins,” Amanda said with a sigh. She had been insulting to him ever since he had walked into the cabin. He didn’t say another word, just walked into the bathroom. They had both said enough for one night.
When he came back into the bedroom, with his teeth brushed, in his boxers, Amanda was in bed, her long, elegant form silhouetted under the covers. He got into the bed and turned off the light, and as soon as he did, he felt her cool fingers touch his back, and move gently toward the front of his shorts. Her timing was terrible and her words had hit him hard. Maybe she was trying to make it up to him, but he gently took her hand, moved it aside, and turned on his side with his back to her.
“Not in the mood?” she asked in a silky voice in the dark, as he marveled at how insensitive she was. How could she think he wanted to make love to her now? She had basically told him he had no balls.
“Not tonight,” he said in a cold voice, and she gracefully moved away from him, and stretched out on her side of the bed. And neither of them said another word.
Chapter 7
When they woke up in the morning, they were in Elba. It was a small sleepy island, which was famous because Napoleon had been imprisoned there. After an early night, all the adults got up early. The young people had stayed up late watching movies, and there was no sign of them yet.
Phillip and John ate a hearty breakfast and took off in the tender to go fishing. John had a sketch pad with him, just in case. Olivia had looked for signs that Phillip was angry at her, but he appeared to be in a good mood, and kissed the top of her head before he left. She was relieved. Amanda said very little and went back to her room after breakfast. She said she had a headache, and Olivia realized that she and Phillip hadn’t exchanged a word, but that wasn’t unusual for them. Sometimes they didn’t speak to each other for hours, or pay attention to each other all day.
After breakfast Sarah waited for an opportune moment to talk to Liz. Amanda had gone to her cabin by then, to go back to bed. Olivia was reading e-mails from her office, and checking faxes, the boys had gone fishing, and the kids were still asleep. It was as good a time as any to give her sister-in-law bad news. She turned to Liz, as