AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, sir?” I asked expectantly, mind racing as I tried to think of something I might have done to upset him. Nothing, as far as I knew, but if I was mistaken, I knew he’d correct me.
“I told you I need to think, and you would interrupt that important time to work on some meaningless event?”
“Oh, no!” I said, hurrying over to the papers I had left on the conference room table. “Of course not, sir. I’ll get out of your hair.”
He looked at me, his dark eyes expressionless. “Good,” he finally said.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding and felt something like relief when he looked away from me.
I stared at him as I gathered my papers, wondering at the mystery that was him.
My father was tall, though not quite as tall as Josh, and fit, a few years over sixty, but still very handsome. He was also one of the most intelligent, diligent people I had ever met.
And he had the accomplishments to prove it.
He had taken the small shipping company that my grandfather had started and turned into one of the most profitable in the country. Through sheer dedication and perseverance, he had built a multimillion-dollar business from almost nothing.
For my entire life, I’d seen proof of his greatness and sworn to myself that one day, I would prove to be worthy, be the daughter he deserved.
I hadn’t, not yet, but I would one day. And until then, I would try my hardest not to be a burden to him.
Try my hardest to help him and the company however I could.
I finished gathering my papers before I addressed him. “Is there anything I can do to help you, sir?”
“Yes,” he said. “Leave and close the door behind you.”
He didn’t look at me, but I didn’t let that bother me.
“Yes, sir,” I said, as I headed toward the door, exited, and quietly closed it behind me.
My father was a very busy man and had not just the livelihoods of everybody who worked for the company to consider. He also had to think about our customers, the people who relied on the goods we shipped, the shareholders.
It was a lot for one man to carry.
I told myself that and disregarded the little sting in my chest.
He hadn’t intended to be dismissive or belittle my efforts. He just had a lot on his plate. And besides, I didn’t need niceties from him. He was my father, after all.
I knew where I stood with him.
My stomach quivered at that thought, but I paid it no attention and stood outside the conference room to put the finishing touches on the ice cream social list.
Once that was done, I headed down the hall and back to my office.
It was nearing six in the evening, but I figured I could do a couple more hours.
Record-keeping was important, which was why my father had put me in charge of the department.
Or at least that was how he’d said it.
In actuality, the “department” was me and another admin who worked with me part-time.
But that was more than enough.
Sometimes the hours got long. The volume of records a shipping company produced was incredible.
But I stayed on top of it all, knew that it was my responsibility, and as my father had always taught me, I couldn’t fail at those. So, incoming files flowed to me in a steady stream, and I made sure they ended up where they were supposed to.
