AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Holy shitballs!
Chapter 2
James
“How’s it feel, my boy?”
My father’s beefy hand slapped against my shoulder as I looked out of the large picture window in his corner office. The street below us was full of parked cars, people on bicycles, women pushing strollers, and dogs on leashes. Most of those people were headed for the Battery which was just up the street. It was a nice sunny day, good for throwing a Frisbee to your four-legged best friend, chasing your toddler around while they giggled nonstop, or resting under a tree with a good book.
“Good, Pops. Real good. It’s nice to be back home. Big city life wasn’t for me. I knew it pretty early on, but I made a commitment so I stuck it out.”
“New York City is full of life and new experiences,” he countered.
“It’s also full of bullshit, insane drivers, and not the place for me.” I turned to take in his expression, holding in a chuckle at the pinch between his brows.
“You may have a point there,” he snickered, moving to where I stood so he could squeeze my shoulder.
“It’s a different pace than here. Charleston is bustling with people, cars, horse-drawn carriages—insanity, but it’s a familiar mash-up of things. You know what Gigi always says.”
“Yeah, you know she didn’t make that up, right?” He gave me his signature raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, Pops, I know. She stole it from Yoda, but it’s still a fair evaluation of how life should be.”
“Possibly.”
I chuckled, taking in the room around us. My Gigi was a hoot. At eighty-three, she gave no fucks. She would tell off the Pope if she thought he needed it. She was raised in a different time and held true to her family values, strong work ethic, and yet, she could out curse any sailor. I was pretty sure she would tell off anyone who showed the slightest of disrespect. Again, she was eighty-three and simply put, she was savage. I loved her to pieces. She was an amazing woman.
Her favorite thing to tell my sister and me when we were little was ‘Do or do not. There is no try.’ So she’d borrowed it from Star Wars and Yoda; that didn’t make it an ineffective tool to use against life. With the challenges thrown at us, you either worked through it or you didn’t. I believed my sister and I had managed to get where we were now in life because of that.
“I hate to pull back from working, but your mother has threatened to leave me if I don’t.”
His words brought me out of my thoughts. I shook my head at him. The man was a workaholic on his worst day; his best, he was working his literal fingers until they bled.
“She won’t leave you, though she might be tempted to just leave you behind. This cruise is something she has been asking for since I graduated high school.” I looked toward the door that led out to the main workspace. I could hear my mother’s tinkling laughter as she talked with the employees here. “You’ve put it off long enough, Pops. Go live a little. Jess and I have this. I promise to not let you and Grandpa’s legacy fail in the six weeks you’re gone. Give me some credit.”
He grinned then. “All right. All right. You speak the truth, and I think a little fun in the sun would do us all some good. Your grandmother especially. She’s already planning what to do off the boat.”
“Good. Just don’t let Gigi break a hip or go to jail for a bar fight, trying to keep up with the twenty-somethings in all of those exotic places. Yeah? She’s not fifty anymore.”
“You tell her that.”
“I love you, old man, but I love my life too. I wouldn’t ever say that out loud in her earshot. You guys will enjoy it; now, let’s get this over with, shall we? The sooner you’re out of here, the sooner I can figure out what it is I’m supposed to be doing.”
“First, I want you to meet Thomas Lane. He’s been working with Lee for the last few years. They just agreed upon a contract with Netflix for an adaptation of his last two books. That’s why the office is buzzing today. We celebrate every milestone.”
“I heard about that from Mom. I’m looking forward to meeting him and the agent he’s working with. He seems to know his stuff.”
“She. She knows her stuff. I took a chance on her, but it’s been one of the best choices I’ve made in this business. She’s stubborn to a fault, but she will fight for her clients. Good or bad. She has an eye for what is going to move her clients up the ladder of success. In the last two years, she has brought in some amazing writers, earned a few accolades of her own, and,” he smiled proudly, “she’d done it on her own. I’ve barely had to do more than give her the backing of the company.”
“Sounds like a gem.”
It wasn’t every day that my father spoke so highly of an employee. He treated them all like family, gave them praise when it was warranted, but him speaking about Lee had his eyes twinkling. I was beyond curious to meet this woman now.
I walked with my father from his—my—office, greeting employees as I went. Most of them I’d known for years. My dad was the type of person who people just wanted to work for. He was kind, thoughtful, and willing to do what he needed to do to make a buck. As long as that buck wasn’t going to harm anyone. If strait-laced had a face, he was the spokesperson.
He wasn’t like some other well-to-do self-made millionaires. The man was as down to earth as his good ol’ boy southern roots could get him. How Whitman Publishing stayed on top of the game, I wasn’t sure, but I was hoping I’d learn that little trick before my dad retired for good. Their six weeks—possibly two months if my mom got her way—sabbatical, vacation, time away, was more than earned. He, my mom, my Gigi, and my aunts, along with their husbands, would be traveling the globe for the next eighty-something days. Ocean views, fine foods, and exploring the world. It sounded great to me.
His absence left me in charge of running the company, keeping everything together, and in the end, making sure the employees stayed happy. They worked too hard for anything else.
