AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dad.”
“Let’s all be seated, please. I intend to make this briefing very brief indeed. We don’t have all day,” Roscoe says politely and puts an end to the awkwardness.
Charlee and Wade take on their nicely detailed presentations very quickly. And then it is my turn. I surprisingly don’t stutter as I give a general brief of all operational procedures and client sourcing plans. I’m not just the CEO of Building Bridges. I’m also the COO (Chief Operations Officer), and my roles are much more versatile than any other.
At the end of our briefs, Roscoe bursts into a round of applause.
“Wow! Just wow! You guys are incredible. Would you look at that. I’m so impressed with this team so far. The press loves us and the people are enjoying our service to entrepreneurship. Amazing! It’s even better than I imagined.”
My father huffs and puffs. “Even the top dogs know better than to try to break into international markets at such an early stage.”
Yes, there’s the man I know. The one who never sees anything good in my decisions.
“And what are all these social media visibility talks for marketing? What happened to good old billboards and TV ads?” He stares at Charlee and she ducks her head, her face turning bright red.
He turns back to me. “Also, this play-it-safe thing you’re doing with finances is ridiculous. You’re trying so hard to penny-pinch that you’re blocking all the bold moves. What use is a CFO if you won’t let him do his job?”
Wade snorts a laugh at his last words and my blood curls within my veins. I feel my right hand balling into a fist as I cast Wade a warning look. He immediately wipes the smile out of his face. Idiot! He thinks Bryce Bridges cares about him.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Charlee looking around the room, lost and confused. She’s probably wondering why my father is coming at us with an axe in the form of silly comments. What exactly does he mean by penny-pinching when we are maximizing funds in the best way possible? And does he think? We’re still in the twentieth century when billboards were the only form of advertising?
“Thanks, Dad, great observations,” I say, trying to avoid any further drama. “We’ll take your points into consideration. However, we are a fast-growing team and numbers don’t lie. Everything else may lie, but numbers never will.”
I hope he gets the message.
Turning toward Roscoe, I can literally see fumes coming out of his head. He’s glaring at Dad, waiting for us to leave so he can tackle the old man. Roscoe would have defended me if Charlee and Wade weren’t there. He just doesn’t want to disrespect our father in front of non-family.
The briefing wraps up and the three of us head out, with Wade walking ahead of Charlee and me. I can tell he’s embarrassed but I’ll deal with him later.
Charlee exhales so deeply that I notice just how nervous she’d been.
“Hey, I’m so sorry about my father,” I say, falling into step beside her. “I’m sorry he’s a real jerk like that. I can handle his heat but you don’t deserve any of those false comments at all. You’re killing it, and as long as Roscoe is okay with our work, we’re good to go.”
I know that’s not entirely true, but Charlee doesn’t need to know.
Finally smiling and looking up at me, Charlee nods rapidly and squares her shoulders.
“I believe we’re doing great and nobody is going to beat us down,” she says, her voice two pitches lower than normal. “We’ll have to plan better for these Friday meetings. Give him no room to second-guess our work. We’ll get through all these hurdles. I really believe we can run a successful operation at Building Bridges.”
It takes a lot of strength to resist the urge to kiss her right here. “I appreciate the support, Charlee. I really do.”
I’m so lucky to have her on my team. Bless whoever decided to move her over from HQ.
I just wish I could tell her, even if not directly, the true nature of the man who is supposed to be her boss. She deserves to know that I’m not all I seem to be.
Far from it.
7
CHARLEE
Today is one of those rare New York Monday mornings where traffic on the interstate is light.
The morning sun is glowing low and nice and the air is fresh and clean, another rarity in New York City. My senses are not being barraged by that distinct smell of pigeon poop and dog urine.
I’ve had a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and I desperately needed it. Work is really good and we’re doing so well right now, but there are a lot of uncomfortable energies with Harrison and his family. I just had to treat myself to a spa day on Saturday and I’m feeling anew today.
This week will be great. I can feel it in my smile. My hair is tingling with excitement. I can’t wait to meet all the new clients coming in today. It’s been two whole weeks since we kicked off Building Bridges and everything is sailing wonderfully.
