Page 14 of Finding You
“It would be my pleasure. It will probably take me twenty minutes. Give me your card. I’ll email you something tonight.”
“That is so kind of you. Thank you so much.”
“It’s the least I can do. You are the only person on earth who could talk me into red denim.”
“Talking people into doing things they don’t want to do is actually one of my superpowers.”
“I believe that.”
“You should.”
After ringing me up and giving me a significant discount, I headed toward the door to wait for Emily to pick me up.
“Hey, Astrid,” Nora called as I was leaving. “I do this great Krav Maga class down the street. You should come. You seem like the type of chick who would enjoy it.”
“What’s Krav Maga?”
“It’s Israeli self-defense. It’s basically a workout class that combines martial arts, boxing, wrestling, and conditioning. It’s pretty intense, but you get to punch stuff.”
I smiled. This girl clearly got me. “I’m in. I could use a good workout, and I’m not doing much.”
Nora jumped up and down and clapped. “Yes! Emily won’t take the class with me because it’s ‘too violent.’” She affected Emily’s airy voice, and I laughed out loud.
“I can see that,” I said. “But if Emily thinks it’s too violent then it’s probably just violent enough for me.”
“I knew I liked you.”
I ended up leaving Nora’s store with bags of new clothes and a new friend. She had given me her cell phone number, promised to text me about class, and invited me to her “coven,” whatever that meant. It had been a long time since I made a friend. Nora was cool and loyal and had just sold me a brand-new wardrobe at a steep discount. Not too shabby for a Tuesday.
7
DECLAN
“What are you doing here, Captain?”I had a busy day and the last thing I needed was my dad asking me thousands of questions and passive-aggressively questioning my leadership choices.
“Can’t a man come and check in on his business? I walked through this door every day for forty-six years, son. I can’t just stop.” He took off his coat and draped it over my chair. My dad was a big, burly man with a thunderous voice and a larger-than-life persona. He had worked on the water his entire life, since childhood, and I knew he was having trouble letting go.
“But you are supposed to be stopping, Dad. Remember? Scaling back, retirement, handing over the reins?” We had been having this same conversation for years. The man did not know how to be retired.
“I will get there, Dec, I will. But right now I wanted to come in, take a look at the numbers, and check in with Vince.”
“Callum reviews all the numbers and keeps on top of everything. Are you concerned he’s not qualified?”
“Of course not.” He would never speak ill of Callum or second-guess his business acumen. He saved that for me.
We walked through the processing area to where trucks were being loaded. Several guys stopped working to say hello to my dad, who, in typical fashion, had to check in with everyone.
I wasn’t the leader he was. I never would be. We were too different. I was good at what I did and I knew what I didn’t know. But Captain Quinn was a giant in this business.
He knew everything about everyone and went out of his way to help all the time, sometimes to the detriment of our business. When I took over there were tons of past-due invoices and old contracts that needed updating.
He was a great guy and a wonderful leader but not so much for details. Which is where I came in. When I joined the business after the navy, it became clear my father needed someone to keep track of the thousands of details that sprang up every year—applying for permits, attending industry groups to keep up with regulatory changes, upgrading our equipment, negotiating with suppliers and customers. An operation of this size was all about the details. And although my personality was not that great, I managed details precisely and efficiently.
Which is why it was still killing me that he wouldn’t retire and promote me to CEO. I realized it was a title. And I was currently acting as CEO and everything was fine. Why did I need this? Why did I put so much stock in something so silly? For all intents and purposes, I ran this business. I reported to no one and was responsible for its successes and failures.
But there was a part of me—a part I didn’t like to acknowledge—that needed his approval. That needed his faith in me. That needed him to acknowledge that, despite our differences, I would continue to build our family’s legacy into the next generation. That was something I craved. I couldn’t admit it out loud. I could barely formulate it in my own brain, but it was what I needed most.
I thought of Astrid. Her take-no-shit attitude and her intense focus. What would she do here? She didn’t seem like the type of person to let anything get in her way.
