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“As a matter of fact, no. Dad didn’t give me an agenda. But when I saw him, I suspected.”
“Hmmm.”
“It’s been one hell of a run here at Lakeside Properties. I’ve worked with all of you in some capacity in my twenty-year stint here. But I’m not getting any younger, and neither are my grandchildren, so this is all she wrote for me. I’m sad to be leaving you”—he smiled—“but not sad to be leaving New York winters as I retire to Florida.”
A round of congratulations and some jealous “wish I was retiring to Florida with you” sentiments floated around the room.
“I’ll be with you all for one final winter before I say adios this spring,” Cameron finished.
“But we hope,” my father added, “to have his replacement in the next month or so.”
And then he looked at me.
Unabashedly. One hundred percent.
At. Me.
“If we’re lucky, our very own Charlee Donovan will take the reins as Lakeside’s next vice president.”
No, he did not.
I was going to kill him.
And judging by the death glares I got from at least two people probably hoping to step into Cameron’s role, there would be a lot of murder going around today.
I had to say something. Literally every person in the room was looking at me.
“Nothing definite yet,” I assured everyone. “We are mostly just really going to miss Cameron. He’s been like an uncle to me,” I said sincerely. “It won’t be the same without you around.”
Cameron had mediated for me and my dad more times than I could remember. Smoothed things over when I felt he was taking advantage of me. Stuck up for me so often that it was really only this morning, with Cameron’s announcement, that things seemed real.
“Thank you,” he mouthed more than said out loud. But Cameron’s expression changed as he watched me. Looking from me to my dad, he realized what had happened.
I’d been blindsided.
“In the meantime,” Cameron said, obviously deflecting once again. “We have some other announcements too. Lakeside Properties has decided to sell Ridge Point. Tom and Marsha have already been informed and both have accepted positions at other properties. . .”
Everyone’s attention turned to the topic of the resort we were selling. I tuned the rest out as I absentmindedly drew circles on a notepad that I never actually used. Why I took one to every meeting when I had my laptop, I’d never know. But it came in handy now as Zoe leaned over and wrote, “WTF?”
I answered, “Right?”
By the time the meeting was over, between getting myself worked up over Lucas and then my father’s bullshit, I was tapped.
“Charlee?” My father tried to pull me aside. I really didn’t want to argue right now.
“I have to get to another meeting.”
Following Zoe from the room, I thought for a second I’d be able to delay this particular confrontation.
“Charlee.”
Dammit.
Zoe turned back to me. I nodded for her to go ahead.
“I think it’s a bad idea to talk about this right now,” I stated as my father guided me toward the side of the lobby. As others filed out of the meeting room, some glanced our way, and neither of us wanted to make a scene.
But I was pissed.
