I turned back to Titan, tangling my fingers in his mane. “You just said to get it done. Didn’t say how.”
He tied the horse to the post for him to eat as we talked. “What do you want, Aurora?”
“I already said I need a shredder.”
“Just use your hands.”
“It’s too many boxes of paper, Marlon.”
“Take your time with it,” he washed his hands in the sink, then splashed water on his face and neck. “You’ll get there eventually.”
I faced him, then crossed my arms. “Right. Should I go into the vineyard and gather sticks to make a fire and warm up my lunch too?”
He looked at me, still hunched over the sink. “We have a lunchroom. I advise you use it.”
I stepped closer.
“I’ve been to the lunchroom actually. I even spoke with a few of the guys. They really love working here.”
He didn’t respond. He just took the towel off a nearby hook and patted himself dry. I watched and tried my best not to imagine myself as the towel.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about some things. The guys mentioned you give each employee a five percent raise for every year they work here?”
“Yes. And?”
I tilted my head. “Is that… feasible?”
“It’s what’s been done since I started here.”
“I mean it’s a kind gesture, for sure,” I continued, studying him now. “But should we still uphold that?”
“Aurora.”
“With what my dad says, we haven’t really been bringing in money like that. Maybe we could cut back?—”
“Aurora!”
His hands slammed against the sink.
The sound cut through the stables and made the horses react. Not the Clydesdale though. He didn’t give a fuck about nothing.
I froze but only for a second.
“Look,” he said standing over me, his voice controlled but firm. “My job is hard enough without you poking around in things you do not understand. My staff is taken care of. Even if my salary is affected, they will be paid for their hard work. They have families and responsibilities that need to be taken into consideration.”
He stepped closer, almost nose to nose.
“You don’t know anything about how this company works. You don’t know how the world works, period. So just do what you came here to do. Sit at your desk. Work off your debt. And shut the fuck up.”
We stood there, staring at each other.
Neither of us moved.
“I think you’re forgetting,” I finally found my voice. “Once my father retires, I’ll own just as much of this company as you do. I have a right to know what’s going on, and my opinion matters. No matter what you think of me, I deserve your respect here.”
“No,” he poked at my chest. “That’s earned. The only thing I’m obligated to give you is housing and food. Both needs that I have already met. And it doesn’t matter what happens now or in the future,Irun this vineyard. Whatever happens here ismycall. No matter how much you cry to your daddy or call it unfair, it’s my say at the end of the day. Remember that anytime you think about having ideas on how to run things.”
Not gonna lie, tears pricked at my eyes when he yelled at me. But it wasn’t gonna help anything. Marlon doesn’t care about my tears. Or my thoughts. Or my feelings. He doesn’t care about anything that wasn’t Sucré.
