Page 105 of Home Is Where You Are

“What’s wrong, dear?” she asked as she looked through the documents to ensure everything was correct.

“There’s no way that’s the starting salary. I’m entry level at best.” My dad didn’t even know my qualifications or my ideas.

“Ainsleigh, I assure you that number is correct. Your father and I discussed it at length when I was typing everything up. Don’t sell yourself short. You have a degree in marketing which factored into your salary. If you don’t believe me, talk to your father. He’ll be sure to straighten everything out,” she replied.

As if we talked him up, my dad entered the office.

“What did I do to have my lovely daughter here this morning?” my dad asked.

“I wanted to talk to you before the day started,” I told him with a smile.

He looked over at Loretta and back at me to gauge the situation. But all she did was turn to her computer and started typing away, not giving my father an inkling as to what I wanted to discuss.

“Let’s go to my office,” he said as he waited for me to stand and walk in that direction.

He shut the door behind him after we both entered. Instead of going around his desk to sit in his office chair, he sat in the leather chair opposite me with crossed legs. He took a sip of his coffee as he waited for me to begin.

“I wanted you to be the first to know, but Loretta got it out of me. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I want to take over her position. The ranch is where I belong. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it but, Dad, Loretta showed me the offer letter and that salary can’t be right,” I told him and waited with bated breath for him to respond.

“I want to be real with you. Loretta covers the daily tasks and keeps this office running smoothly. She fields customer inquiries and makes sure the cabins are never overbooked. But you’ll be doing a lot more than that. I know you have visions of what you want this ranch to be, and if you feel you’re up for it, I want you to handle the marketing side of it too, which will include managing our website and social media, coming up with campaigns for special events. That’s why that number is on the offer letter. I know you don’t know the financial side of the business but, Ainsleigh, I wouldn’t have offered you that number if we couldn’t afford it, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

I opened and closed my mouth, too stunned to come up with a response.

“Also, I didn’t offer it because I gave you special treatment either. Do you think you can handle everything? I don’t want to overwhelm you, but it’ll be a lot on your plate,” he said. Everything sounded too good to be true. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“How about this? I’ll pitch to you the ideas I have for marketing, and you let me know if this is the direction you feel the marketing side should take. I need to feel like I’ve earned this, Dad, not like it’s being handed to me on a silver platter,” I responded.

“Then let’s hear it, baby girl,” he replied excitedly.

“Videos are where it’s at right now with gaining social media attraction with reels and stories. We can take all the pictures in the world, but people need to feel the experience, not just glance through photos. I was thinking we could use a drone to take images from above the property and edit them to include a day in the lifestyle showing off everything the ranch offers. We can either get guests to sign media release forms to be in the shots, or we can edit them out if they prefer. We can also get the employees involved and create skits or do trending videos that relate to why they should choose this ranch as their vacation destination. What do you think? I have so many more ideas, but this was the one I was most excited to present to you.”

“That right there is why you’re the perfect person for the job. With every word you just spoke, I could see the passion behind the intricate details. Right now, our social media is lacking, and I can’t wait to see where you take this ranch from here.” My dad beamed, and his words of encouragement helped ease the worry I had over preferential treatment.

“Thank you, Dad. It means a lot. I won’t let you down,” I promised.

“Now will you put your old man out of his misery and sign the employment contract? I’ll let Gentry know to find someone else to cover for you for today so you can begin your training with Loretta. She wants to get started right away. You won’t need much training because you already know how to work the bookings and such,” he said with a smile as he stood. I followed suit, and he pulled me in for a hug, which I happily returned.

I walked back into the front office and without looking at me, Loretta handed over the packet, skillfully typing with her other hand.

Happily, I signed the employment contract and accepted the salary with grace. I was ready to hit the ground running.

I trained with Loretta until noon, when she told me I was free to go for the day since she had a doctor’s appointment in the city that afternoon.

Afterward, I made sure to check in with everyone to see if there was coverage needed elsewhere. I decided to get my next mission underway. I didn’t have much to pack up in my room since the items I'd brought back from college were still in boxes.

I loaded the unpacked boxes into my SUV along with a duffle bag full of clothes.

Before I stopped off at the house, I decided to go into town to pick up something for dinner. Since Gentry and I were so young, I never really got the chance to cook for him, and I decided to go with something that Aspen, Dylan, and I all enjoyed. I grabbed the ingredients and went back to the house.

When I arrived, I unloaded everything onto the porch before I put the key into the lock.

I didn’t know what to expect when I opened the door. Dust everywhere was one thing, but instead I was met with a spotless house. No dust in sight. Everything was exactly how I remembered aside from the couch that was new.

I carried the groceries inside, then put them in the empty refrigerator until I was ready to cook dinner for Gentry.

After bringing the boxes inside, I sent a text to Gentry letting him know to meet me at my grandparents’ house for dinner. I had to stop calling it that. It was now my home, but I’d always known this place as theirs, so it would be a tough habit to break.

I turned on the playlist I’d made when I was in college that included all upbeat music and connected it to the Bluetooth speakers and got to work.