Page 102 of Her Game Plan

He sits in one of the reception area chairs. “See you soon!” Waving happily, he watches as Chris and I make our way to the elevator.

“So,” my brother says as soon as the doors close, “things seem to be going well between the two of you.”

I glare at him, unsure whether he’s teasing me or not. “They are.”

He bangs his shoulder against mine. “Good. No need to be so skeptical. I’m happy for you two.”

Unable to stop it, a wide smile stretches across my face. “I’m happy for us, too.”

“What do you think Dad’s going to say?” Chris asks.

I pop one of my knuckles. Chris has asked me this about seventeen times since I called him for help with the Hugo/Callan situation. My answer remains the same. “That he’s giving the company to you.”

“We’ll make it work,” Chris promises. “Even if he does put me in charge, I promise I won’t micromanage the entertainment side. I’ve learned over the last six months just how much more you know about it than I do.”

Unless Dad kicks me out on my ass. Not that I think he will. Honestly, my father may be a lot of things, but he’s never been one to overreact. And a full disinheritance would assuredly be overreacting.

“You’re good to go in.” Ulysses doesn’t even look up from his computer as Chris and I make our way toward Dad’s office.

“Game time,” Chris murmurs.

I walk into Dad’s office first, the familiarity of the man sitting in front of the Denver view in strange contrast to the unease in my stomach. “Hey, Dad.” I give him a quick hug before taking my seat next to Chris.

Dad clasps his hands in front of him. “Thank you both for coming in.”

I want to say something along the lines of We didn’t really have a choice, did we? But decide poking the bear probably isn’t the best decision here.

Instead of small talk, Dad jumps right into it, “I called you both here today because I owe you an apology.”

My chin hits the ground, and when I glance at Chris, his eyes are wide.

Unaware of, or potentially unwilling to acknowledge, our shock, Dad continues, “It seems I was a bit hasty in changing my mind about the future of the business.” He runs his hands through his hair as my mind races to process what he’s saying, as well as all the possible ramifications.

“As you both know, I’ve always considered Hugo a good friend as well as an employee. When Chris informed me of what was going on at the Stallions, I started to reevaluate a number of things.”

I shoot my brother a quick glance. We hadn’t discussed bringing Dad in on everything with Hugo, not that we’d discussed hiding it from him, either. He’s just been more hands-off with the team since Chris joined the organization almost ten years ago. I guess I should’ve put more thought into what Chris has been up to over the last few days.

“Your mother and I were at breakfast yesterday, and I was using her brilliant brain to help me think through what to do about Hugo’s mistakes. In addition to strongly pushing that I should be able to trust those I work with, she reminded me it was also Hugo who first questioned splitting the company in two.” He clicks the end of his pen before sighing. “I suppose it was her way of reminding me she hasn’t been fully on board with the plan. Though I’m not sure why she didn’t say no.”

Certainly not because Dad has a way of steamrolling any conversation to get exactly what he wants out of it, making it futile to argue with him, in most cases—a truth my mother has potentially learned too well.

“Based on Chris’ recommendation, the Stallions will be looking for a new general manager. And I want to be clear, this isn’t only because of the way he chose to structure the contracts and the bets he made: GMs are paid to make those calls. It’s also because of the way he treated you, Charlotte.”

I meet my dad’s gaze, though I’m unclear what he means.

“I saw the way he belittled you in meetings and had no use for your input. I have quietly been asking around for the past few days. It appears there was a pattern of him disregarding the opinions of all our female employees. And that, I will not stand for. His contract has been terminated, and we will be hiring someone new soon.”

He nods to Chris as he says it. I have to assume my brother already has someone on the search. I wonder how much of what Dad is saying Chris already knows about. But I suppose it makes sense if he’s going to be leading the company soon.

Honestly, yes, Hugo was a dick, and I’m very aware that part of it was because I’m a woman who had an opinion that was different from his. But, on the other hand, it’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened. Sit down with any woman in power, and I bet she can tell you her exact strategy for dealing with men like that. For better or worse, we have to have one.

“That said, being more involved with both businesses as you each learned to run them has made me realize I’m not ready to retire. I know your mother is ready for me to stop being at the office so much, but I’m not ready to be done completely.”

My heart sinks. So, not only am I not getting the company, but neither is Chris. I want to say I’m surprised, but the truth is, what did I really expect? Dad’s entire life’s worth is wrapped up in this company. It’s why he works so hard. It’s why he pushes Chris and me so hard. It’s why Mom wants him to be done with it for good.

But that was never going to work.

The man will likely still be hanging around the office when he’s one hundred years old, throwing out his opinion from a wheelchair.