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"Hey, there's nothing you can do about it. I don't think he ever really wanted me. My mother raised me, and I had a happy childhood, all things considered. He wasn't around all that much. And when he was around, it was because he was broke, so he was either miserable and angry, or we didn't do anything together because he had no money or love to give. I should probably get therapy at some point. Do you ever feel like you are a well-rounded individual who has their shit together but still has something messed up deep within that threatens to burst out because of some trauma in the past?"
"Something like that. I think I understand what you are saying. What about now? Where is your father now?"
"Who knows? He left for good a long time ago, and I don't ever expect to see him again. To be honest, I don't want him to know he is going to be a grandfather. I don't want the child to know he has him for a grandfather either. I don't want our child to have the same hurt I have. It was like death by a thousand cuts, you know? He never did anything major, but a thousand little things made him an awful father. Talk to him, and he might tell you he was a good dad. Can we… Can we talk about something else? I don't even want to give him the pleasure of making me feel anything."
"I will be there for our child." I reach my hand across the table and take Teal’s hand. I squeeze it.
"I know." Teal places a hand atop mine, and she sits with a look that I cannot quite figure out.
"So…" I take my hand back. “You look like you have been doing your research."
"Yeah." She smiles. "I don't want you to think you have to do all the work just because you hired me on a whim or because I am carrying your child. This has been my dream since I started working for Good Relations, and it will come true if I work at it. I might not know exactly what I am doing yet, but I will."
"Maybe we can compromise. I always like to be involved in an investment when my company invests, but this is an unusual situation. I promise not to do all the work to make this a success, but I would like to help."
"All right. I can get behind that."
"So, why haven’t you shown me what you have so far? Pretend I have just hired you for this role, and we have no prior relations. What do you have to dazzle me with?"
"Okay. Give me just a second."
Teal collates some more papers on the table and stacks them into a pile. She picks them up and taps them on their edge to straighten them. She looks at me, and the soft demeanor I am used to is gone. It is replaced by a keen edge that causes me to raise an eyebrow.
"I won't beat around the bush, but we just lost a big fish. Charlie Morton was the reason this company was founded, but we have to let her go due to some information that has come to light about the owner of this company. I do not need to bore you with the details."
I try not to smile at the quip since this is a serious business meeting, after all.
"So, what do we do?" Teal asks. "How do we still move forward? We can't compete with the big boys and girls, not yet, anyway, so we have to be smart about our next moves until the details of our CEO's past are forgotten again. We need to start small, and then build from the ground up. I must inform you that I am pregnant and will need some time off in around seven months, but I will have people and procedures in place by then. I plan on returning to work when I am ready to drive the company forward."
"So, what do you have for me today that will kickstart this path for the company?" I ask.
"This…" Teal hands some documents. "And this and this and this. We need to start small, but I don't think we can follow the crowd. If we get caught up in teen dystopia or werewolf romance, we will get lost in the crowd and be bidding against everyone else. We might make some money, but we will become a run-of-the-mill publishing company. That is not what I want, and I don't think you want it either. These are the first three clients I want to go after. All first-time authors and all three will get picked up but likely forgotten amongst everyone else. We can offer them the spotlight for a while."
I look over the three files and smile. "I brought two of these to share with you this morning, but I did not see the third."
"It still pays to have some connections in the industry. I might have burned all my bridges, but some rickety ones still stand."
I smile. "So, which one do we go after first? Or do we go for all three at the same time?"
"First, we need to deal withyourproblem. The abortion issue will go away, but not for a while. People will continue to dig into it, especially if Good Relations is behind this. We need to meet the attack head-on." Teal passes me another piece of paper. "This is a rough draft of a press release. I think it would be best if you were to give a press conference to get ahead of the issue. You don't have to reveal any information, but you do need to admit you made mistakes and have learned from them. There is no way to tread through this carefully, but I have included a list of charities you can donate to which aid in women's mental and physical health, and… why are you looking at me like that?"
"I am blown away," I say. "This is excellent."
"Thank you."
"But more than that, I cannot believe how you are standing by me through all this."
"Of course," Teal says. "We are in this together now."
THE TRUTH COMES OUT
Istare at Logan in the chair they have provided for him. The whole interview will be filmed, but it is not going to be broadcast live. The interview will be published in its entirety, and the edited video will be released alongside it. I still can't believe we are here. All I wanted was a simple press release, but we have this instead, and all because of…
I turn to Jessica as she rubs shoulders with me.
"Are you sure you still want to do this?" I ask. "We can still back out. It is your decision."
"No, I have to do this. After everything he did for me, it is the least I can do."
