Page 19 of One Last Time?
I hated that he spoke so calmly when all I wanted to do was rip into him.
“Fine. I’ll look over it.”
“I’ll leave you to do that. If you need me, I’ll be in my office.”
I looked away from him. I wouldn’t need him. Not for anything. I was going to work alone today and stay in here, away from everyone.
He left, and I started the laborious procedure of looking through the first hundred suppliers he’d recommended of the five hundred he’d made on the list.
At five, when there was a knock at the door, I thought it was him again, but it was Dad.
It was Dad, and he had that deep frown set on his face.
I instantly stopped what I was doing to give him my full attention.
“Taylor, I’m on my way out. I just wanted to talk to you quick. Dylan said you only spent five minutes with him today. Why is that?” Dad furrowed his brows.
“I’m looking over the stuff he gave me. I wanted to do it on my own today.”
“Taylor, look, to be honest, this isn’t looking very good at all. I didn’t know there was so much to be addressed, and I’m not happy about it. If I didn’t want you to work with me or have the chance to run the company, I wouldn’t have hired this guy. Now I see there’s more I need to worry about because you aren’t ready.”
My heart stilled, and my chest tightened. How the hell had I gone from where I was to this?
Not ready? How could he say that to me?
“I’m ready. I’m more than ready,” I answered.
“Then damn well act like it. I push you hard because I don’t believe in handing my kids everything easily. You all already have it easy. You want the company? Then stop being so damn stubborn and open your mind.” He tapped the side of his head and grimaced. “Taylor, don’t let me have to have this kind of talk with you again. If the next few weeks pass and I’m not happy, don’t expect me to hand you the company like your uncles did with their kids. I won’t do it.”
He didn’t give me the option to agree; he left me after dropping that bomb.
So, now I was stubborn. Wonderful. This was the second Monday in a row that I’d been made to feel like shit, and in the two areas of my life that I thought I had a handle on. I’d never thought I had to worry about work, and I thought I’d finally gotten the guy when I found Brody. Everything that had happened in such a short space of time had flipped me backwards, and my world with it.
I went home with a heavy heart deciding to try again tomorrow.
As I met with Dylan, I allowed him to talk while I made notes. I didn’t comment or anything; I just made notes. I’d come to the conclusion that I was going to do as I was told. I’d do that, and once I was running the company, I’d add my own spin on things. The problem was clearly that my ideas and skills weren’t appreciated, and what I needed to do was save them for myself.
Dylan closed our meeting at five, and it was as I was packing up to go home that I got a phone call from Luxa, our event organizer.
“Hey, Luxa,” I said, trying to sound like my usual self.
“Hi, Taylor, I got the notification this morning that you were canceling our services, and I just wondered if I could get some feedback if it doesn’t take too much time.”
My mouth dropped. No one I knew would dare cancel Luxa. She’d organized the events for the company for the last eight years and was booked in advance by up to two years from other businesses.
“Luxa, are you sure you got a notification like that?” I didn’t know why I bothered to ask. It was a foolish question that I knew the answer to. It was just shock that made me ask.
“Yes, do you think it was made in error?” she clarified.
I took a moment to think about how I was going to answer that. Was it stubborn to stand my ground? Stubborn if I reinstated her services?
I was in charge, and I’d used this woman’s services for the whole time I’d been here. Dylan couldn’t just pitch up, undermine me the way he had and go usurping my authority.
“Yes,” I answered, balling my fists. “Yes, it has to be. Leave this with me, and I’ll call you in the morning to discuss it further.”
“Okay, if you have any questions or anything, I’ll be in the office for another hour.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
