Page 63 of Here to Stay
He was standing next to a very pretty brunette who seemed weirdly familiar as he answered.
“We did. Listen, I need to meet with you first thing on Monday.”
This guy had no fucking manners. Could he at least introduce us before he started giving me orders?
Before I could do it myself, the young woman clicked her tongue and extended her hand to me. “Phil, you didn’t even ask him how his holiday was.” Her tone was disapproving and she rolled her eyes at me, almost saying, “Can you believe this guy?”
“I’m Caroline. My dad is an old friend of the twins.”
“Rocco. Nice to meet you, Caroline.”
She dipped her head and then looked up at me appreciatively. I knew her from somewhere, but before I could ask from where, Phil barged in on the conversation again.
“The twins are feeling pretty solid about their position with the board and I think they want to put the decision on the agenda for right after Christmas.”
Was this guy really shit talking these women in their own house?
“The company regulation calls for all new decisions on budgeting to be made before the new year, and the more time they have the more they will be able to do to convince the board that funding these programs again is a good move. We need to vote before they get more people on their side.” He shook his head, as if the twins were asking the board to set money on fire.
I took a moment to answer because if I said what I was thinking to this asshole I could kiss that promotion goodbye.
He took my silence as an invitation to continue and moved closer to me. Caroline took that as a cue to find something else to do, waving at me as she moved on to talk with a couple a few feet from us.
“We need to figure out a way to put an end to this bullshit plan. If we keep sinking this money into their new feel-good project, we’re going to hurt our numbers for investors. Not to mention this crazy fucking idea of providing child care for the single-parent employees and the ones making less than $32K.”
As far as I could tell, both of those things could be done without much issue, but why was this guy talking business right now? I just kept my mouth shut and nodded, it was my job to listen to Phil, and I had a feeling him thinking we were on the same page was a good thing.
“Those two.” His lips pursed like he’d bitten a lemon when he looked over at the twins, who were holding court by the pool. “Want to make this company into some sort of socialist commune.”
I turned my head to the side, trying once again to not snap at him, because I’d seen the payroll and knew his salary was very close to half a million dollars and the bonus check he got each year had six figures. Greedy little fucker.
I worked for him though. At least I did while I was here. My boss at Davidson’s had been very clear, I answered to the board, and the liaison to the board was Phil. I had to assess the state of the company and make an objective recommendation regarding the IPO. I had no business championing the foundation’s programs. Except that now I knew what those programs did for the families, the way Sturm’s took care of their employees, of their community. Those were big reasons why Sturm’s was so special. Take all that away and you lost the magic. Not everything was always about the bottom line.
The more I learned about this company and their culture, how they achieved their success, the more I understood that going public and trying to compete to keep investors happy was going to kill the values that built their brand. They would almost certainly take off. I’d be surprised if the company wasn’t bought up by a bigger conglomerate within the year. Strong brands with a solid customer base like Sturm’s would get scooped up in a hot second. It would sell big too. Sturm’s was an institution in the fashion world, and acquiring it would be a coup. But then it would no longer be the Sturm’s that I’d gotten to know.
I was trapped, because saying that the IPO would be a success but would destroy the things that make Sturm’s special would mean fucking with Phil’s plan and very likely getting fired from this project on the spot. It might not cost me my job, but it would certainly be a big hit for my upward trajectory with the firm.
“Rocco.” Phil’s sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts and back to the not-so-pleasant reality that if I wanted that house in the suburbs for Sofia and Blue, I’d have to be this fucker’s errand boy until this project was over.
“I’ll see you Monday; we can talk about how to proceed then.”
He huffed, seemingly unhappy with my lack of enthusiasm for his plan to take money from children, but he walked away, finally leaving me in peace. I almost went back to hide in the backyard until it was a good time to leave when I remembered I’d come to the tent to get a beer.
I knew the stakes of not going along with Phil. I had to get my shit together and do what I’d come here to do. Which was why messing with Julia and thirsting after her was only one more way that I was sabotaging myself.
My father always told me I was my own worst enemy. And I worked hard to prove him wrong. But I was not just fucking myself over on this. I had to stop looking for ways to mess with my and my sister’s future.
I lifted my head and saw the twins spotted me and were waving me over to them. I held my hand up, indicating I would head there once I had a drink.
I got to the front of the line and ordered my beer, still feeling in a funk. I felt caged in by my situation, and unsure of what I wanted. Uncertainty was not a good place for me. The path to perdition had always been when I let my feelings for others cloud my decisions. The first thing I needed to do was quit this thing with Julia. She clearly wasn’t interested, and pursuing it could potentially cost us both dearly.
I walked over to the twins, who were now talking with Caroline, and there was an older woman there with them.
When Caroline saw me, she smiled wide and made space for me to join the conversation.
“Ladies.”
“Rocco, have you met Caroline?”
