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“I’m going straight to the architect's office now with Lincoln.”
“Give them hell, Letty.” My father smiles. He knows he never has to worry when I am project managing. I’ve never missed a deadline yet. “Right, well, nothing to see here until we get these new plans, so I had better go. I have three appointments this morning with finance, and then I’m meeting Viva for lunch.” He smooths down his silver tie against this stark-white shirt. He looks very handsome today.
I met Viva, Dad’s new girlfriend, at dinner on Monday. She seems nice enough, but she was quite cold and closed off. I’m guessing she’s in her mid-forties as she has two teenage sons and works as an administrator at the high school her kids attend.
God only knows where he met her, as she seems way too normal for my dad. There has got to be something wrong with her.
“Walk me out, sweetheart.” My father makes a teapot shape with his arm and I thread my arm into his. “Nice to meet you, Lincoln.”
“You too, sir.” Lincoln politely waves goodbye.
When we reach my father’s white Porsche Cayman, he jumps into the driver's seat and rolls his window down. “It’s going to be a hot one today.”
I look up at the sun. “A scorcher.”
“You fired him? And he stayed with you?” He looks up at me.
I rest my hands on his driver's door. “What can I say? I’m very persuasive.”
“Tell me about him.”
“You need to go.”
“Tell me about him, Violet.” I know I’ve lost.
“He’s Scottish. He’s twenty-nine years old. He’s a director of a five-star hotel and spa that he co-owns with his father and grandfather. He’s been traveling America for the last few months because his father wanted him to explore the world, making sure he wasn’t working for the family business because he felt he had to. His father wanted to give him the chance to chase his own dreams.” My father’s eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. “He was only on a short-term contract with S&M Gyms because he decided to stay here for the last six weeks of his work travel visa and was bored suntanning and surfing. He leaves in just over five weeks. Anything else?”
“Nope, I think that covers it.” He’s thinking. “Have you ever felt like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you only work for the family business because it was the natural thing to do?” He puts his sunglasses on.
“No.”
“Are you sure? You would tell me if you were unhappy, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Great.” He throws me a beaming smile.
“I’m not unhappy, but…”
“But?” He pushes his sunglasses back on top of his head. He looks worried.
“But I would like to speak to you about the possibility of moving to a new role.”
“What’s up, sweetheart?”
I sigh. “I… I’m… Oh, I don’t know. I think I would like to do something different. This job takes up all my time, Dad. Last weekend was the first weekend I have had off in months and it made me think about all the time I might be missing out on. I haven’t had a vacation in three years and well, I’m…”
“Tired.” He finishes my sentence.
I let out a huge breath. “Yeah.”
“Do you think I don’t know how hard you work? The late-night emails, the Sunday ones. I know you work harder than anyone else in acquisitions and operations.”
“Besides Joseph,” I call our hardworking director out.
