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“Yeah, or girl. There aren’t many women in this business, Tess. Well, at least not many running the show, no how. But I wasn’t against hiring a woman—I wasn’t against anyone who could do a good job. I wanted to find someone who could easily do what I do and leave you to do what you do.” Frank spread his hands.
Now Tess was able to see it from his side. He hadn’t wanted her stressed. He’d tried to take care of her even then.
“So when the headhunter guy called me and sent me Naquin’s resume, it was like being handed a lottery ticket with the winning numbers. He was a perfect fit—young, experienced, and had listed New Orleans as his ideal relocation area. I thought I was doing you a favor, keeping you from worrying so much when I wasn’t around. But I also knew you’d be mad at me. And that’s when I got chicken.”
“But you should have told me. You should have given me the benefit of knowing before he got there, not send me off with Granny B so I wouldn’t know.”
“Yeah, I should have, but I think, as your mother told you, I’m not good at telling you no, baby. You’ve talked me into about anything you’ve wanted all your life. I gained five pounds one summer on those Plum Street Snoballs alone. What you wanted, you got.”
She’d gotten on a Snoball kick one summer between seventh and eighth grade, wanting one after every soccer practice. Her father had dutifully driven her to get her blackberry with crème.
Frank continued. “I loved giving you things, but when you’re facing a crypt down the road there”—he pointed toward the huge cemetery sitting a few miles down Metairie Road—“you start looking at things differently. You start doubting all the decisions you made, wondering if you’d given your kids and wife what they really needed all this time.”
For a moment he paused. “I don’t think I did that bad. I’m not perfect and, yeah, I screwed this the hell up, but when I thought about just giving you the position, it felt wrong.”
A fishhook of hurt snagged inside her soul. “I wanted to be good enough.”
“Ah, Tess, you know that’s not it. Don’t make it that. You’re brilliant at what you do, but I decided as soon as you came aboard, this was a business that needed a partnership to run it. You taught me that, so I thought I’d replaced myself with a guy who could balance you out. He seemed a lot like me. Determined and smart, but not too hardass.”
Tess’s heart leaped at those words. A partnership with Graham… which fit in more than just a business sense. What if her dad had seen beyond the business to who she needed in her life—a man who balanced her?
Not a pretty rich boy with little stickability like Nick. Not the half dozen other guys she’d dated—an attorney in Gigi’s office, a hairstylist from the Westbank, or the guy who said he was an officer in the Navy but really just worked at the base—but a guy who had a passion for doing what she did. A guy who balanced out her creativity with a nose for business. A guy who looked pretty damn spectacular in the buff, loved his own daughter above all else, and wasn’t as confident and capable as he portrayed. Like Tess, he wasn’t perfect.
But maybe Graham was perfect forher.
“I’ve screwed up so badly, Dad,” Tess said, emotion snagging in her throat. She couldn’t undo what she’d done. She couldn’t expect her father to fix what her pride had led her to.
“Maybe not. But you landed a job on your own, and I bet you’ve learned more working for a smaller company than you ever did working for a bigger one. No one to hand things off to—you had to do it yourself. And Monique’s an interesting woman.”
“Monique’s a bitch, Dad.”
Frank laughed and for a moment he didn’t look sick. Color bloomed into his cheeks and his eyes sparkled. “A woman has to be sometimes. Monique is ambitious. I respect that. Personally, I never cared about her politics when it came to doing business, but I’m sure she didn’t care for mine. She’s broken new ground for women in this business and made a better way for you and other little girls who want to build floats and play with the big boys.”
Tess nodded, still miffed over the way Monique had handled the Oedipus deal. “Fine. I’ll give her that. She’s definitely interesting.”
“So, Tess, do you forgive me for hiring Graham?”
Tess nodded. “Yes. I’ve had to swallow my pride and admit I can’t do all I thought I could. Working for Upstart has taught me a lot about myself. But most of all, I’ve learned to accept my flaws and to just keep swimming when the current gets rough. Never had to do that before.”
Frank lifted his hands and beckoned her. “Come here, my Tess.”
Tess swallowed the lump in her throat and walked around the end of the bar. Her father enveloped her in a strong hug and for a few seconds, Tess lay her head on the man’s shoulder, inhaling the Hugo Boss cologne he’d gotten for a “song” at T.J. Maxx and the lavender fabric softener her mother used in the laundry. He smelled like her father. He smelled like all things safe. He smelled like her past and present. Like home. But he’d also given her the scent for her future.
Inhaling once again, she took the deep breath she’d been looking for and exhaled, determined to fix the other parts of her life she’d mishandled.
GRAHAMSATATHISDESKand stared at the stapler. He’d chosen that particular item at random. He could have stared at the nameplate Billie had stuck on his desk the day before as if she were placing a tiara on the head of a beauty pageant winner. But he didn’t want to stare at it. It seemed indefinite, like he might have to toss it in the trashcan at any minute… along with his short-lived reign as CEO of Frank Ullo Float Builders. So the stapler would have to be his focal point while he contemplated his future.
Like he did most days around the end of the workday, Dave popped his head in. “You busy?”
“No. I should be, but I’m contemplating what I’ll be qualified for when Frank tosses me out like last week’s Chinese.”
Dave settled in the chair opposite him. “Nah, Frank has faith in you, and after your speech last week, we all have that faith in you.”
Had it only been last week? Seemed long ago he’d rallied the troops around pizza and a common objective. “We lost the Oedipus account to Upstart. Miles Barrow just called me.”
Dave’s eyes popped wide. “Oh, well, in that case, I’ll go get a box for your things.”
Graham shifted his gaze back to the stapler. “Yeah.”
