Page 26 of Not Home Alone

Did the spawn of my dad’s other wives have the same terms for their trust funds? No, they did not. Because he knows deep down that I’m the only one of his offspring who’s capable of running the company. He just doesn’t think I want to be capable. Because it’s easier for everyone to pretend that I’m the irresponsible asshole. Easier for everyone, including me.

“I will sell my company to Voss if you don’t take over. There’s no other option.”

“That would be unfortunate. But I still have time to make my decision.” If my father’s going to put pressure on me to make a decision, then I’m going to put pressure on him too. “I need to talk to you about The Christmas Barn lease.”

My dad finally looks away from the computer monitor and stops attacking the keyboard. He seems genuinely curious. “Why?”

“We can’t raise the rent for that store.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m dating Joe Tucker’s daughter and her father is important to her.”

My dad, who has an even better poker face than I have, blinks and looks confused. “You’re dating Joe Tucker’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“It’s new.”

“But… why?”

“Because I like her. And she likes me.”

“Isn’t she the one from The Notcracker?”

“One and the same, yes. She found it in her heart to forgive me.”

He rubs his forehead like he has a headache all of a sudden. This is the most we’ve talked about my personal life in two decades. “I thought you were dating Archie Whitmore’s daughter.”

“I’ve never dated Quinn.”

“Well, you should. It would be good for business if you take over.”

“Agree to disagree. I believe dating Merrily will be good for business. Eventually. Right now, dating Merrily will be good for her father’s business.”

“Who is Merrily?”

“Joe Tucker’s daughter. I heard about your plans to raise the rent in January. That would not be a good idea. The Christmas Barn is a somewhat tarnished jewel in the crown of Main Street. People love it. They love Joe Tucker. If you drive him out of business, it would not be a good look for The Moody Group.”

My dad glances down at a framed photo on his desk, just for a second. I know it’s a picture of my mom, from before I was born. He looks back up at me and says, “People lose the things and people they love all the time. That’s life. That’s not how we do business.”

“It’s how I would do business if I ran The Moody Group,” I say. And that’s the truth. It’s also a bargaining tactic.

“Joe Tucker’s been late on rent several months this year. If you want me to forgo bringing in a more profitable tenant, then you’ll have to agree to take over as CEO first.”

“If you want me to agree to take over as CEO then you’ll have to agree to maintain The Christmas Barn’s lease at the current rate.”

His expression doesn’t change, but I know he’d rather keep his legacy in the family than sell it to an outsider. We both know who has the upper hand here and it’s not him. “All right,” he says, after a long pause that doesn’t rattle me at all. “The Christmas Barn stays.”

And that’s how it’s done.

“Great. Thank you.” I turn to walk out.

He goes back to stabbing at the innocent, slender keyboard. “Joe Tucker’s daughter better be making a deal with her dad to pay his rent on time while she’s dating you.”

This makes me stop in my tracks. Because it almost sounded like he was being funny. I look back at him, but… nope. He’s not grinning. There’s no smirk. Of course there isn’t.