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“You brought someone in to teach me how to do my job?” Her reply was shrill—this woman sounded like a real banshee. “How am I not supposed to be insulted by that? I’ve practically worked here since I could walk, and I’ve been doing this job since I got my MBA. I work with these people every day. How can you imply I don’t know how to lead them?”
“Izzy, first off, I brought him in to help you take overmyjob, not to learn yours. I know you’re very good at what you do, but I feel—and Robert agrees with me—that you need to start looking at things from a higher view. Right now you still like getting down in the weeds, and to be CEO you need to be at a thousand feet.”
“I’ve told you a thousand times, don’t call me Izzy,” she snapped, irritated. “And just because I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, it doesn’t mean I can’t have a broader perspective. I just think our employees respect me more when they see me working alongside them.”
“And I know, from my time doing both, that they respectmemore with the distance I’ve put between us.”
“Dad, they don’t even know you. How do you think that creates respect?”
“Honey, you can’t be the CEO and have every hourly employee coming to you with their problems. There are too many important things that need your attention.”
“Well, agree to disagree,” she sniffed. “I had better go prepare myself to meet the stuffed shirt you brought in to ruin my life. When is he supposed to get here?”
The door clicked open and I jumped, hand still raised, when I came face to face with my worst nightmare turned into reality.
The funny, cool, irresistibly sexy woman I met on Friday, the one whose lips had been on my mind all weekend, stood before me with unmistakable fury in her blue eyes. Her gaze traveled up to my face, and anger melted from her features as they took on the appearance of complete shock.
JJ’s voice was loud, clearly trying to gloss over their fight and knowing I’d heard at least part of it. “Ah, here he is now. Isabelle, this is Jake Wright. Jake, this is my daughter, Izzy—I’m sorry. Bad habit, she prefers to be called Ellie.”
Ellie and I continued to stare at each other for seconds that seemed to drag on a lifetime. I remembered every detail of her face, every curved lash and striation in her eyes. Her hair was still a little wild, with the top hastily pinned back. She wore another dress, this one electric blue, with a boxy black blazer, as if she were trying to mask her curves. When the silence stretched on too long, JJ chuckled. “Is everyone okay, or did the Matrix just glitch?”
I cleared my throat and dropped my raised arm, reaching it forward for a handshake instead. “My apologies, nice to meet you,” I stuttered out, heart racing.
As if reclaiming her anger from before, Ellie accepted the shake but narrowed her eyes. “Likewise. If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”
“Oh, right, sorry,” I stepped aside and allowed her to pass.
She marched into the office next door without a second glance in my direction.
“Ellie, let’s plan for you to work with Jake after lunch,” JJ called after her, just finishing his sentence before her door shut loudly.
I stared after her, barely able to believe my terrible luck. The epic high of meeting a woman who made me feel flickers of the old me before life got in the way, followed by the incredible low of realizing that not only was she the boss’s daughter, but she already hated me with every fiber of her being, thanks to my very reason for being here.
JJ chuckled again, this time with an affectionate but frustrated edge. “Kids, am I right?”
“Yeah,” I replied vaguely, still staring at the door.
“Why don’t you come have a seat, and we’ll get down to some brass tacks.”
I followed him and took my seat in a daze, still trying to make sense of everything that had just happened.
“So, she didn’t know I was coming?” I asked carefully.
JJ had the grace to flush slightly. “No, she didn’t. I suppose I convinced myself that she’d take it better this way, but perhaps I was putting off the inevitable. I should have known she wouldn’t be pleased.”
“It is definitely a complication,” I agreed. “I’m used to working with people who volunteer for the training. While some may be hesitant, the chain of command is very clear, and they know they agreed to follow the plan.”
“Oh, she’ll go along with it, I promise you that. She knows getting the position as CEO depends on my say-so. She’s not promised the job. We could always hire someone, or I could bring her brother over from the mountain ops side if necessary. So once she cools down, I’m sure she’ll be on board to do whatever is necessary to convince me she’s ready for it.”
Unease swirled in my stomach, and I shifted in my seat. “So, how exactly do you imagine our training going?”
“Well, I sort of figured you’d know what needed to be done. You should shadow her for a while, give her time to show you how she operates, so you can see where the gaps lay in what I need and what she’s doing. Then you’ll set out an action plan to get her on board.”
“I see. And what time frame are we operating with?”
“Ideally, I’d like her ready to take over by the end of the year. Then she and I can work together for a few months while I hand off more of my responsibilities to her, and get in one last season before I retire.”
I nodded, mulling it over. “I’d say five months is reasonable. And after that, you’ll be out completely?”
