Page 10 of Meet Stan

“I don’t really sound like that,” she said, miffed.

The door swung open, bringing with it a welcome blast of fresh air, and Dad walked in.

“Actually, you sort of do.”

Time had bent my father’s back some and scared the hair off the top of his head to run down to his back, but his eyes were still merry, his mouth still pulled into a smile.

“How ya doing, Ivy?” He gave me a big hug, and I sighed into his massive barrel chest.

“I’m good, Dad. Actually, I’ve got some good news.”

I wanted to avoid any more conflict with my mother and father over the business. Fortunately, my ruse worked.

“Oh yeah?” Dad settled into the chair beside me, his big belly smooshed against the table. “I love good news. It’s my favorite kind.”

“You didn’t tell me you had good news.” Mom said, clearly miffed.

“Ma, come on,” I gave her a power shrug. “I mean, seriously, I was a little bit distracted here.”

Dad put his hand on top of my own for a moment to get my attention.

“You were saying about the good news?”

“It’s about my job. Remember how I told you about my finding that million-dollar accounting error?”

“Yeah, I remember.” Dad burst into laughter, his cheeks getting red. “I don’t pretend like I understand it, but I remember it.”

“Well, I got called into my boss’s office today, and he made me a project manager for Mastercraft beer.”

“Mastercraft beer?” Dad perked right up. “I love Mastercraft beer. It might be my third favorite kind.”

“Well, you’d better start telling people it’s your favorite, because we’re going to be taking this brand to the stars.” I sighed. “Or so I hope. To tell you the truth, there’s a huge amount of pressure on me. If I fail in this, then I can kiss any kind of promotion goodbye.”

“On the other hand,” Dad said, taking a sip from his beer, “if you do a kick-ass job of things, they’ll hand you the keys to the city. As it were.”

Soon my sisters and their families joined us, and we all sat down at two tables set next to each other. With over a dozen people sitting at the table, things got pretty noisy.

However, everyone made sure to congratulate me on my possible promotion at the firm. My family is like that. No matter how much was going on at any given time, we always found time to support each other.

I just wished I could return the favor. My family’s business was in jeopardy. Not just the business, but the dynasty as well.

My bonus for project management, and my salary were generous, but not enough to bail out the business. I couldn’t just reach into my bank account and make this problem go away.

I hate feeling helpless, and that’s just how it was. Long after dinner ended and I sat in my bed at home, staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t stop trying to scheme. I had to find a way to save my family’s home and business.

I just didn’t know how I was going to do that.

Chapter Five

Stan

Ivy was stuck in my mind, but I had a surefire cure. It involved me, my bros, and a shit ton of alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, fate is a fickle bitch, and she had other ideas about how my evening was to go.

First, I hit up Jonathon. I figured he’d been married with children the longest, he’d be the most likely to want to break free. I popped into his office, finding him on his headset talking to wifey while packing up to leave.

“Just a second, hon, Stan the Man wants something.” He tapped the side of his headset and cocked an eyebrow my way. “What is it, Stan? I don’t know if you can tell or not, but I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”

“Amelia can wait. What can’t wait is ladies' night at Gentleman Jack’s.”

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