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I notice a glare in Jeppe’s eyes as he returns to the poker table after his phone call. I wonder what that could be about.
“Yeah. That was Felicia. She's broken up with her no-good boyfriend and will be on her way home tomorrow. That asshole deserves a good knockout from me.”
Jeppe Delgado is my best friend of twenty years. We met in college and have been close ever since. It's been about five years since I last saw Felicia. She moved away after her twenty-first birthday. I thought things were going good for her in California. I guess not.
“What happened? I thought they were set to get married soon?”
“I’m glad they aren’t anymore,” he says. “That asshole is a lying, cheating bum. He was only with her because he wanted money. I've been telling her that for years. Now she finally sees.”
I had the uncanny pleasure of meeting Sean, Felicia’s boyfriend, or fiancé; whatever he likes to think of himself as. I didn’t like the guy either. There was something strange about him that always made me worried for Felicia.
“Well, maybe coming home will be good for her,” I say. “She can focus on herself and find someone who’s worth her time.”
Felicia's a sweet girl. Beautiful too. It sucks that she had to get her heart broken by a complete loser, but sometimes these unfortunate events fix our vision and make us see ourselves clearly.
“I just don’t want her moping around being depressed about this,” Jeppe says. “She doesn't deserve it.”
I know the feeling. It's why we started hanging out every Friday night to play poker in the first place. After my divorce, I was so down in the dumps I could barely get out of bed most days. Jeppe finally got sick of me sulking and forced me to come to a poker tournament with him and I've been hooked on the thrill ever since.
The game is like a high for me. I'm a single man who owns a billion-dollar luxury car dealership, and I love to gamble. I found out a year into my single hood that I love a good thrill. I love beautiful women and fancy cars as well, but for the most part, poker is the light of my life.
“How old is Felicia now?” I ask. “It feels like forever since I've seen her.”
“She’s twenty-six now. I still consider her my little baby, even though she tells me all the time that she’s a grown woman.” Jeppe chuckles as he pulls up a picture of her on his phone. “It’s weird sometimes; realizing how much she’s grown.”
She has grown. I feel funny as I admire the adult face she has now. Her long jet-black hair, green eyes, and pink lips are a lot sexier than I remember. But I would never tell Jeppe that. If he knew I was lusting after his daughter, it would probably ruin our friendship.
“She’s about the same age as Kyle,” I say.
“How is Kyle?” Jeppe asks, frowning at the cards still in his hand. “Is he coming along at the dealership?”
“Eh,” I groan. “Kyle is a piece of work these days. I know he’s my son and all, but I might have to get rid of him. There's been a lot of fuck ups on his end, and I can’t have him dragging down my business.”
I thought I'd be passing my franchise down to my only son someday, but I'm not too sure about that anymore. Ever since Kyle was promoted to sales lead and has been taking on more of an instructor role at the company, his ego has shifted to a place of arrogance.
“Oh man,” Jeppe hisses after downing his shot of whiskey. “That kid better pull it together if he knows what’s best for him.”
“I was going to make him the new marketing specialist,” I say. “But even his skills in that department have gone to shit. We deal with some very high-end clients and I'm just not sure he has what it takes to keep them coming in.
“I didn’t know you were in search of a fresh marketing specialist. That’s what Felicia went to school for. She's pretty damn good at it too. Her range is all over the place; she’s worked with some top clients in HomeGoods, doctors' offices, restaurants. Even the entertainment business.”
Sounds impressive. I could use someone on my team who has a background in marketing across all avenues. Kyle has a history with marketing, but it’s been strictly cars since he got his degree. Maybe that’s why a lot of his work has been boring and dull lately.
“Look here.” Jep pulls up Felicia’s business page on his phone. “Her reviews from several different franchises are all great. And these are franchises from all over the world, ones that we’re all familiar with.”
He's not lying about her reviews being great. She's got a ton of five-star ratings from some of the biggest brands in corporate America. I’ve even sold cars to a few of the business owners Felicia’s worked with.
“You should have her in for an interview when she gets here,” he says. “Who knows, maybe you two can do some groundbreaking work together. She’s an extremely hard worker, she takes her job seriously, and she’s one of the best in her field. Not to brag about my daughter or anything, but the girl knows her stuff.”
“I believe you,” I chuckle. “I remember all those bake sales and fundraisers she used to put together while she was in college. I realized then that she’d do well as a marketer. Her drive is truly phenomenal.”
A proud smile crosses Jeppe’s face as he throws down his next play. I can’t help but reflect on the few accomplishments Kyle has made and feel a little jealous. He isn’t as hard working as the next man because he feels like I've already done all the work; the only thing he has to do is sit back and reap the benefits of it all.
“Do you think she’ll want to take a permanent role at a company?” I ask. “It seems like a lot of her work has been under contract; she hasn’t necessarily been tied down to any one franchise.”
“For a billion-dollar franchise like yours, I'm sure she will.”
We've been at the poker table talking about work for a good hour and the night still feels young. A few women have made their way over to try and swindle us into taking them home for the night, but I'm not interested.
