Page 14 of Bad Luck Club

“Ain’t nothing wrong with your hearing.”

“What was the previous income ratio?”

Phil snorted. “My job is outside sales. The rest is up to your sister.”

That wasn’t how it should work at all—not in a business with multiple moving parts. Every revenue stream was part of a living organism: the company. When one part lagged or failed, it dragged everything else down with it.

“Okay,” Lee said with a sigh. “So where do we start?”

Phil smirked. “You’regonna spend the morning watchin’ me make a ton of calls.”

Phil hadn’t been exaggerating. In addition to the Rolodex, he had a notebook recording which products clients had last purchased.

By lunchtime, Lee was aghast. “Why don’t you use a computer or spreadsheets?”

Phil wrinkled his nose. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“Seems like it’s pretty broken to me,” Lee said before he could stop himself.

Phil gave him a look of contempt. “You’re just like the rest of ’em,” he said in disgust. “You Buchanans think you can waltz in here from your fancy city life and do things better than they’d been before. Beau was my friend, God rest his soul, but he was a sentimental old fool to leave this place to y’all. We’d have been better off withLurchbehind the wheel.”

A surge of defensiveness rose in Lee’s chest. “Looks to me like my sisters and Jack have done nothing but try to correct the problems dragging this place down.”

Phil’s brows arched. “And you thinkyoucan right this sinking ship? Is that right?” His voice rose as he stood. “This job is about people skills, and as anyone who’s been around you for more than five minutes knows, you don’t have any.” He grabbed up a coffee mug proclaiming him “World’s Greatest Grandpa” and dumped the pens and pencils it had held out onto the desk. “Well, have at it, boy. More power to you.” He started for the door, then doubled back and snatched up the Rolodex and notebook from the desk. “You won’t be needing my antiquated system, now will you? Not with your fancy laptops and spreadsheets.”

He marched out the door and stomped to Georgie’s office, and Lee followed, wondering how things had escalated so quickly. It had taken him significantly longer to screw up his other assignments.

Phil stopped in Georgie’s doorway, announcing, “I’ve moved my retirement up to immediately.”

He didn’t give her any time to respond before heading for the exit.

Georgie stared at Lee, her eyes wide in shock. “What happened?”

“I didn’tmakehim quit, if that’s what you’re implying,” Lee snapped, starting to get pissed. “I asked him why he didn’t use technology, and then he threw a temper tantrum and walked out.”

Georgie cringed. “Phil hates technology of any kind. He hates even the mention of it.”

“That would have been helpful information at 8:59 this morning!” Lee shouted.

River sprinted around a corner, his face flushed, looking very much ready to fight him.

“Calm down,” Lee sneered as he cast a glare at River. “She’s fine.”

“Then why the hell are you shouting at her?”

Georgie got out of her chair and walked around her desk to stand in the doorway. “River, I’m fine.”

River just shook his head, his attention still focused on Lee. “You’re supposed to be some uber professional. I don’t know how they handle things up in your precious New York City, but this kind of abuse isn’t tolerated here. Your grandfather would never have allowed it.”

“River,” Georgie admonished, looking dazed, not that Lee was surprised. River was supposed to be the laid-back one. He almost never lost his cool.

River shifted his gaze to her, his expression softening slightly. “I’m only saying what everyone else has been thinking.”

While Lee agreed on principle, he wasn’t about to admit he was in the wrong. “If Phil hates technology so much that he’d walk out at the first mention of it, someone should have warned me. Not to mention it doesn’t seem wise to put a Luddite in charge of your outside sales.”

River’s face went blank. “Phil walked out?”

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” Lee ran a hand over his head.

---