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Shifting in his chair, he heard the creak. Then his eyes scanned the wall, staring again at the picture of his younger sister holding her first a medal as a swimmer. A twinge of pain increased inside his chest.
“Want to bet I make it to the Olympics?” Amelia had beamed. Water glistened from her eyelashes.
Lance had bobbed his head. “I think you can do it.”
She then wrapped her arms around his neck. “Love you big brother.”
He peeled her arms away from him, but didn’t hesitate to kiss the top of her head. “No more mushy stuff. I’m a man.”
“Not yet. You don’t even have a car yet,” she had teased.
Rubbing his palms together, Lance expected his father’s response to the report he emailed him the night before. His swallowing increased as he chewed on his bottom lip.
“I see you got here before I did,” his father said.
Lance didn’t even bother to stand, but sat back in his chair, bracing himself. “You wanted to see me, so I showed up.”
His father sat in his rolling chair. His charcoal suit looked pressed as he never entered the office looking less than his best. “I’ll ignore that.” He then picked up a manila folder on his desk. “I had my new assistant Louise print this out.”
“What did you think?”
“You want to cut into twenty percent of our profits.” His father’s eyes scanned the paperwork.
“It’ll save a few jobs.”
His father sighed. “This is a business, not a charity. We’re looking to maximize this deal.”
Lance leaned forward. “You told me to go to New York and make the best deal possible.” He pointed to the folder. “I did the numbers again. This is the best deal. I know we’re used to profit and losses, but this is about people.”
His father’s expression turned pinched. “Didn’t I teach you to separate business from personal? You’ve gone soft since volunteering at that community center.”
Lance’s stomach burned. “Maybe I grew a heart.”
“You’re letting it interfere with your job.”
“So you don’t want me to do the right thing? Even if it involves helping people avoid the unemployment line.”
His father dropped the papers on his desk. “Why don’t you tell me what the real problem is?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “Why? It would only get personal and we know you don’t want that. You’re all business, aren’t you?”
His father’s eyes widened. “I’ve done nothing but work to provide for you and your mother.”
Lance shook his head. “You can’t even say her name, can you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is about your failure to do your job, and that is to make this deal as profitable as possible.”
“My failure?” Rising to his feet, he said, “You just made it personal.” He stepped away from his father’s desk and headed for the door. There was no reasoning with the man. He wanted things his way. Lance couldn’t stand the pressure of trying to live up to him and his ridiculous expectations.
Pivoting to face his father, Lance made eye contact with the man’s gray eyes. “Consider this my two weeks’ notice.”
His father jumped to his feet, forcing his rolling chair to jump backwards. “Are you insane? You have a chance at making partner.”
“You can have it.”
“Then why do it? Why put all this hard work in?”
