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Dad nods, glancing at the layouts Jade has printed out of her design. “I like this idea about bringing back Sunday cartoons and a daily crossword. It’s a good way to connect with people.”
“Thank you.” Jade shifts her weight from one side to the other as she looks down at the designs. “Paloma Lawson is the graphicdesigner. She’s also agreed to build the website for us at her friends-and-family rate.”
“Impressive.” Dad slides his hands into his khakis, heading for the door. “Now, I have golf. If the two of you have more problems with each other, try not to spend the day fighting about it like children. Grayson, come with me.”
I roll my shoulders back, standing tall as I follow him out of the room and across the office, not stopping until we reach the door to mine.
With a tilt of his chin, he orders me into the room before joining me, shutting the door behind him.
Dad sighs, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Do you think that I haven’t seen the problems you’ve been causing with Jade since she got here?”
“Look, I may not have been the most receptive to her in the beginning, but I can agree that she is doing good work here. The vision she brought forward today seems like it’s going to be the best decision for the company.”
He perches on the edge of my desk. “You need to stop entering competitions with people. Try learning from them instead.”
I grit my teeth, biting back the urge to tell him it was Jade who challenged me first. He would only tell me that I should have ignored her or tried to negotiate with her.
Clearing the tightness in my throat, I sit down in the chair behind my desk, glancing at the computer in front of me. “If we’re done with this conversation, I have things that I should be doing right now.”
Dad sits down in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk, leaning forward and folding his arms on top of the pale wood veneer. “Do you want to tell me what those things are?”
“I took on the advice column for the time being, and now it looks like I need to get in contact with someone to do the crosswords for us.”
“You’re going to cooperate with her now, instead of making this harder on everyone involved?”
“Yes.” I force the word out, but it’s bitter.
Even though I claimed responsibility for this, he seems so ready to think that I’m going to cause more problems down the line.
No matter what I say or do, he will find a way to blame this on me, the same way he’s been finding a way to blame me for things my entire life.
Right now, all I can see is the CEO position slipping through my fingers. The one shot at finally making him proud of me is disappearing.
Dad says nothing as he takes another long look at me before leaving my office.
Lara enters as he disappears, shutting the door behind her. She clutches her tablet close as she sits down across from me. “Jade asked me to come in and see if you know a good cartoonist or have some contacts to license cartoons from.”
Groaning, I lean back in my seat. “All I want is five minutes alone.”
“Well, unfortunately, Jade is expensive and her time with us is limited, which means that you need to put it in gear. We have along list of things to deal with and sitting here sulking isn’t going to help anything.”
I arch an eyebrow as I look at her, the corner of my mouth twitching. “Are you sure that’s the way you want to talk to your boss?”
Lara snorts. “I’ve been working for you for eight years. I know for a fact this is exactly the way I need to talk to you because you don’t respond to anything else.”
I groan. “I didn’t think you, out of all people, were going to be taking Jade’s side in this matter too.”
“Oh? You mean the same thing you did back there when you told Leo you were the one picking a fight with her?”
My eyes roll as I lean forward and unlock my computer, searching for my list of contacts. “I might have done that, but I probably shouldn’t have. It’s just given one more reason for Dad to think that I’m never going to be anything but a massive failure.”
“Don’t be melodramatic.” Lara crosses one leg over the other and types the passcode into her tablet. “Now, how about those names and numbers so I can start calling people?”
I give her a couple contacts, eager for the moment she gets out of my office and leaves me alone.
All I need is a few minutes to collect myself. It’s been a long couple of weeks dealing with Jade and the memories she brings rushing back.
Lara takes down the information before she gets up and leaves, the door swinging shut behind her.
