Page 10 of Fighting for the Forbidden
“I can do it.”
“I know you can, but do youwantto?”
It might have been inevitable that I end up here, but all my life it truly was the only thing I wanted. I never considered any other career options. I’d watched my granddad and dad build this business, and from as early as I could remember, I was hungry to join them. I always expected that I’d get to work beside Dad, for a few years at least. I never would have imagined that I’d be taking over at such a crucial time for the business, but that’s even more reason for me to give this my all. This is where I need to be, because there’s not a chance in hell that I’m going to allow what the men before me built to disappear as if it never existed.
I glance over Mum’s shoulder at where all the office staff are behind the wall. It’s the reminder I need that this isn’t just about me. This is about them, their families, their futures.
“I want to. I always have,” I admit.
“Good. Just remember that, because what’s coming your way is going to be hard.” I nod and our eye contact holds. “If we’re going to dig our way out of the mess he left behind, you’ve got some tough decisions to make.”
“We, you mean?”
“No. I meanyou.This place is yours now. You’re the boss. You say jump, and we all ask how high. The success of this place is yours to create.”
“Jesus.” The weight of what’s been placed on my shoulders suddenly feels heavier than anything else I’ve dealt with in my life.
“Ready?”
“Can’t wait.” It might sound sarcastic, but Mum knows I’m taking this seriously—or at least I hope she does.
Mum turns when there’s a knock at the door and Betty comes walking in with two mugs in her hands.
“Thank you, Betty.” She smiles politely at us before scurrying from the room again. “Erica?”
Getting up from my seat, I walk over and join Mum at the meeting desk at the other end of the room.
Erica takes the seat next to me, her face tight with the stress of keeping this place going.
“Where’s Lauren?” Erica asks, pointing out the obvious.
All eyes turn to me, and I hesitate to answer because it’s my fault she’s not here. “She’s…uh…”
“She handed in her notice last night, effective immediately.”
“What?” Erica shrieks. “She can’t do that. We need her.”
“I think Ben’s got his work cut out for him to get her back.” Mum’s stare turns on me, and I groan in response.
“That’s a work in progress, but it’s not our most vital issue right now.” Eyes widen at my quick dismissal of Lauren’s position here, but I can’t dwell on the fact that she’d rather not be here right now. “We need to nail down what work we’ve got, what we’ve got coming up, and we seriously need to look at staffing. I hate to say it, but we’re going to need to cut costs, and getting rid of any dead wood seems like the best place to start.”
“So it’s probably a good thing then that Steve’s retiring at the end of the month?”
“Seriously? No, that’s not a good thing. We need someone to run the jobs we’ve got.” Steve has been the main contracts manager at Johnson & Son’s as long as I can remember. He’s absolutely not one of the people I was considering that needed to go.
“Okay, right… We’re going to need to sit down separately then, and make a plan of action. For now, though, let’s look at the jobs.”
We spend hours strategizing and trying to come up with a plan to save as much money and as many jobs as possible. The last thing I want to do is take over and make a load of people redundant, but with our financial situation, I’m not sure what else to do.
“There’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Mum says once Erica’s gone back to her desk.
“Shoot.”
“I think it might be worth looking at different premises. Maybe move a little farther out of the city. This place is quite a cost every month.”
“No.”
“Ben,” she says with a sigh. “I know how important this place is to you. Trust me, I understand. It’s like a second home to me, but we need to think with our heads, not our hearts, if we want to turn this around.”
