Page 46 of Reclaimed Dreams

Frankie looked at him blankly, as if the possibility hadn’t even occurred to her. “Excuse me?”

Dom still hadn’t spoken, but his attention bounced between them as quickly as their words. He wanted to see how she handled herself. If she was going to run things, she had to be able to stand up for herself during confrontations.

“Hey, let’s invest half a million dollars in a project run by a twenty-six-year-old woman with no track record. It’ll be fine. Is that what you want me to sell my executives?” Sarcasm dripped from the younger man’s voice.

Dom didn’t appreciate it. Neither, it seemed, did Frankie.

“I don’t give a flying fuck what your executives—”

Jake stood and cut her off, slapping a hand on Dom’s desk, getting in her face. “Yes, you do. If you didn’t care about the show being a success, you wouldn’t be in here fighting to lead it.”

“Of course I want it to succeed. Why would I want anything with the Valenti name on it to flop? I just don’t care that your network doesn't think I can handle it. Or is it really that you don't think I can handle it?”

Jake dodged the jab and leaned in even farther. “Where is the money coming from? Their approval is the only way this show gets green-lit and funded. If you want the money and exposure from this, you need to get them on board, baby. Cold selling the class clown as the project leader is going to be damn near impossible. Give me something to work with.”

“And whose idea was it to make me the clown in the first place?”

“You wanted a bigger role—”

Dom cleared his throat, breaking through their bickering. While they’d been arguing, he’d been figuring out the angles. She was right. He had to give her a chance sometime, and it was now or never. But she also needed to feel the weight of ownership. He also had to juggle the needs and responsibilities of the rest of the crew. And, despite her protests, they needed the network backing to make any of it work.

“Frankie, you will be head contractor on the show. All designs will go through Sofia and will be done before the baby comes. Adrian will help with the local builds off camera so he can be flexible for Fi. Our architects will approve any structural changes. You will run the build crews. Enzo's crews will handle the outdoor design as we’ve already agreed on a timeline that works around the twins. Jake, you will tell the network that she has my full support and oversight. And if we fail to hit production deadlines, we will pay back twenty percent of their seed money.”

“Dad! That’s a hundred grand!” Frankie blanched, but he stood firm.

“I know, and you’ll be the one covering it. You want to run the business for real, you’ve got to have skin in the game.”

“I can sell that.” Jake was quick to agree, which meant Dom had found the right path through the negotiation.

See? He hadn’t needed a babysitter after all. Sometimes going with his gut was the right decision.

“I’ll do it.” Frankie shook hands with Jake to seal the deal.

“It’s a deal.” He left to adjust the contracts to reflect what they’d agreed on, leaving Frankie and Dom alone in the office.

"Dad, I promise you won’t regret this.”

“I hope you won’t regret it. This is a big step, baby.”

“Dad, how could I regret chasing the dream I’ve had for so long? I would regret not stepping up more than trying and failing.” Frankie edged toward the door. So confident. So sure she wouldn’t fail.

He couldn’t deny that she knew how to work hard, but as the baby of the family, things had always come easier for her, it seemed to him. He needed her to see the realities here. “I want you to remember that if you end up working for free for a few years to pay down the debt.”

That stopped her in her tracks. Turning back to him with her hands on her hips, she stared. “Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad. You really think I’m going to fail?”

Dom pushed back in his chair and met her annoyed glare steadily, calm now that he'd settled everything to his liking. “I didn’t say that. But I’ve been in this business long enough to know that sometimes things don’t go according to plan. You’ve never held all of the cards before. I think it’s going to be more challenging than you expect.”

“And I know I am up to the challenge. In fact, I’m going to clear a few things with Sofia so we can hit the ground running.”

Frankie turned once more to leave, but Dom stopped her again, this time with a gentle hand on her wrist, his voice low and thick with concern. He had to make her understand. “Francesca, you know I love you. It’s hard not to want to protect you from the ugliness of the world, especially now.”

“Playing it safe doesn’t get you anywhere good. Did you and Zio Tony play it safe when you built this place? Or did you make sacrifices along the way to grow and thrive?”

He thought back over the years of sacrifices, the years he’d gone without so the kids could have what they needed, the marriage he’d nearly lost, the compromises along the way, and sighed. “I did those things so you wouldn’t have to.” He turned his hand into hers and squeezed three times.

“But what if I want to, Dad? After all, I learned from the best.” She squeezed back four times, kissed his forehead and left.

One more project, one more risk and sacrifice to take, and then things would be better. He just hoped Jo could hold out until it was done. He prayed what was left of their marriage was strong enough to last until he could fix it.

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