I didn’t know his four daughters that well, but I knew they were as tough as he was. They were an extremely close family. Mr. Braithway had lost his wife when his youngest daughter was still a baby. He’d never remarried, and he’d made his daughters his sole focus in his personal life. Everyone who worked closely with Mr. Braithway knew that every Saturday night he had dinner with his daughters. A few of my colleagues thought it was a bit of an inconvenience, always having to plan around his Saturday dinner. It made some coast-to-coast travel hard and planning international trips with Mr. Braithway was really tough. Once, when we had a project in Europe, I had told him that we were struggling to schedule a site visit around the Saturday dinners, and he told me, “Don’t hold up a project for me. You handle it. I trust you.” In the moment, I’d focused on the opportunity to climb a little farther up the ladder in the company, but later I realized Mr. Braithway had created boundaries that he was making everyone work around, and I admired him for that. I thought his daughters were lucky.
Mr. Braithway collapsed into his desk chair. He swiveled his chair to look at me and said very seriously, “The kid’s a turd.”
“I gathered that,” I said, biting into my biscuit.
Mr. Braithway put his hand on his knee and tilted his head, as if he was taking a good look at me. “Good to see you, William!”
“Good to see you, sir,” I said.
Mr. Braithway took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. “You probably already guessed this, but I’m going to retire this year.”
“Sir, congratulations,” I said. “Is this a full retirement?”
“Sweet Jesus, I hope so,” Mr. Braithway muttered. “I’ve been thinking about retiring for a while. I’m still young and healthy. I don’t want to be one of those old farts who dies in the boardroom. I want to go fishing and enjoy some of this shit my kids made me buy. So, I’ve been talking about it a bit with a few board members, just floating the idea. And I’ve mentioned you as my successor.”
“I’m extremely flattered, sir.” I tried to contain myself. I knew that my name had been in the running for a promotion, but I had no idea that Mr. Braithway intended for me to be his successor. “I…I…really, sir. Thank you.”
“Your record is excellent. Everyone knows that.” Mr. Braithway said, scratching his chin. “I’ve kept you on our biggest urban accounts, and you’ve closed some pretty big deals. Everyone wants to keep that level of success going in those markets. No one is doubting you there. Because of your project leadership, our company has shaped the skyline in major cities. You have inspired imagination and hope in places others have abandoned. Our company would do well with a leader like you. I’m proud of you.”
I felt a heaviness in my chest. Like the breath had been knocked out of me. I don’t think anyone had ever told methat they were proud of me before besides my mom. Sure, in the requisite places, I had been congratulated, but this was different. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard, trying to stay composed.
Mr. Braithway picked up a pair of pliers he’d been using to bend fly fishing hooks. “But to effectively lead this company, you have to be able to lead all the divisions. We work in other markets, not just urban development. Our investors will want to know the new CEO can handle the political landscape of rural development, and we have a substantial portfolio in rural areas. Those deals may not look as big on paper, but they matter to a lot of the regional relationships we have. And Rural deals cook a little differently.”
Mr. Braithway pointed his pliers at me. “There have been some questions about whether you can manage rural deals. It takes a lot of tact and patience to make these projects happen.”
“I assure you, sir,” I said quickly. “I will do whatever it takes to gain your confidence.”
“Always willing to go the extra mile. Proactive. That’s what I like about you. Not a turd.” Mr. Braithway smiled as he punctuated that last part.
I blinked. “Thank you, sir. I try.”
“So then.” Mr. Braithway sat up and leaned forward onto his desk. “What the fuck happened in Creekstone?”
I should have seen this coming. I inhaled sharply and steadied myself. I knew the best thing would be to level with Mr. Braithway, but he had just given me about a half a dozen reasons why I needed to prove to him I could handle this project on my own.
“I am just getting started in Creekstone, sir. I’ve met with the mayor, city council, and several landowners, and I think we have a lot of momentum.”
“Then why didn’t you get any landowners to agree to sell while you were up there this week?” Mr. Braithway asked, sitting back in his chair.
“I think there’s an opportunity for me to earn trust in the community,” I said. I tried to sound confident. “Like you said, these deals manifest a little differently.”
Mr. Braithway snorted a laugh. “Sounds like you learned the first lesson.”
“The first lesson?” I asked.
“Lesson one in rural development. Never underestimate the locals.”
“Sir, I promise I didn’t underestimate them,” I said quickly.
“Well in that case, it looks like you gotgot.” Mr. Braithway looked at me with his head tilted to one side, like he was sizing me up.
“Sir, I promise you that we will have a favorable outcome in this deal. I just need some time to work with the community.” I tried not to let the panic show in my voice. I had been trained to pivot the focus. “We didn’t get a no from any of the potential sellers. In fact, I think we got high engagement and interest from everyone involved.”
“High engagement? We already have the mayor in our pocket,” Mr. Braithway said with an exasperated sigh. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling as if collecting himself.
“Sir, I assure you. The development is still viable. I am going to make it happen.”
“Look, this is a real sink or swim situation here, William,” Mr. Braithway said. “Let me level with you. Ever since you were an intern, I saw the potential in you—even when other people told me not to take the risk on you. And now I want you to be the person who runs this company. I plan to retire next year, and I’ve started telling people that you are my top choice, but youhave to show me and the rest of this company that you can win any kind of deal. You have to show the people you will lead that you understand their projects and work. They’re the ones who need to believe in you. Think of Creekstone as the way you not only land this job, but also earn this company's respect.”
