Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
That was a pipe dream. I had spent years of schooling to earn my degree in business and investment. I still had the student loans to prove it. My father had paid for half my schooling, and I’d lived at home to keep expenses down and concentrate on my education. The rest, I paid for. I often had to tamp down the feeling that if it had been Josh, my father would have paid for all of it without question. He confessed once to thinking I would give up partway through and it was his way of making sure I had an incentive. I had to resist calling him on that when I graduated and pointing out I had completed it, so therefore, he could pay the rest of the debt. I knew that would get me nowhere. So I paid my loans monthly, which left me enough to pay my mortgage and live a modest life.
It certainly didn’t give me the freedom to leave my job and bake cakes for a living.
I curled back up and shut my eyes. I needed to stop thinking about it. Life was hard enough without adding more what-ifs.
I simply had to accept it and keep moving forward.
In the morning, I felt exhausted, the euphoria of the weekend gone and reality staring me in the face. I got into the office early, even beating my father, cleared my desk and emails, and was ready for the nine a.m. meeting. I was already at my place when my father walked in, and I met his frosty glance with a tight smile. He was obviously still angry with me. How angry became evident not long into the meeting.
“I’ve decided to make some changes,” he announced, after the usual updates had been dealt with and noted. “I’m switching some people around on some projects. Todd, you take over the Jetson dossier from Charlotte. Andrew, I want you on the merger with Alcore. Meet with Charlotte and get all the files.”
I kept my gaze on the papers in front of me. The two biggest projects I had been working on had now been pulled from me. From the stunned silence in the room, it was obvious my father’s announcement had caught everyone by surprise. I knew he was doing it to punish me, yet all I felt was relief. I should be upset, indignant, but the thought of all the hours needed to complete the files was daunting. It didn’t even matter that the bonus I would have received would be gone. Relief still won out.
I lifted my gaze, meeting my father’s eyes calmly. “I’ll make sure they have everything as soon as possible.”
He nodded, not giving away a thing. “I have three new mergers we’ve been asked to investigate. I’ll have the files delivered to your desk.”
It was another rebuke. Pulling me off the two big ones and no doubt giving me smaller files, which meant more work and less money. But in the long run, less stress since the demands would be less stringent.
“Of course,” I said, my voice even and steady. I refused to let him, or anyone else, even suspect I was upset or that this was anything other than simply a business decision.
But I knew.
I bent my head, scratching out a few notes as my father reassigned some other tasks and files not related to me. The meeting was adjourned, and I headed to my office, shutting the door behind myself and leaning against the wood. I blew out a long breath and let my head fall to my chest, releasing some of the tension. I sat down at my desk, turning my chair to stare out the window. It was overcast today, the light a gray hue filtering through the clouds. It suited my mood—especially now.
It wasn’t unusual for my father to change teams. To hand over various files to different people and groups. But these were two of the biggest, and I had been working on them for weeks. Both were difficult and intricate, with lots of players involved. I had been against both of them, but he had overridden me at the time. His decision made it appear as if he’d lost confidence in me.
Which, I assumed, in many ways, he had.
I knew I could go into his office and argue with him—he probably expected it. But I was surprisingly calm about it. I would hand over the files and all the pertinent information. The fact was that it would free up a lot of my time. I would take my new assignments and figure out how best to proceed with them.
As I was sorting out all the files, there was a knock at my door, and Lorie, one of my father’s assistants, came in, carrying some folders. She looked uncomfortable as she approached my desk, and I smiled at her, wanting to put her at ease. I wasn’t upset with her.