Page 89 of Call It Home

His words drilled home.

“Why indeed,” I murmured. “Thanks for answering my question. It’s very insightful and something I’ll keep in mind when I think through my ideas.” It was time to lighten the subject. “Now, in celebration, why don’t you let me treat you to one of the best lunches in these mountains?” I suggested.

He stood and grabbed his suit coat. “On two conditions. One, I never let a lady pay. And two, as long as you understand that The Laurel will soon offerthe best lunch in these mountains.”

I knew my eyes sparkled. “Fair enough on your first term. We’ll have to wait and see about number two.”

“As you say, fair enough.”

* * *

After an amazing lunch that even Connor had to admit was incredible, I came back to my office.

“You look happy,” Sue commented. “The meeting went well?”

“Oh, I am,” I practically sang. “Great things are happening for Sterling Construction.”

“What things?” Will’s voice asked as he came into the office.

I beamed at him. “Come into the office. I have some things I need to share with you.”

“Okay,” he answered slowly, looking at Sue as if she might give him a clue. But she just smiled and went back to her computer.

“What’s going on?” Will asked as he sat in the chair across from my desk, folded his hands on his stomach, and hitched one leg over the other knee.

“We have a huge opportunity. I’ve just finished discussing the initial terms that will put Sterling Construction in charge of overseeing the renovation of The Laurel Ridge Hotel.” As I expected, my comment was met with stunned silence. But I at least thought I’d see a little glimmer of excitement.

“What do you mean?” he said. “We’re not equipped for that level of work.”

“But we will be. I’ll be expanding Sterling Construction.”

“You’re going to expand the company?”

“Yes. Featuring my design work will be a major lift to what this company needs to stay relevant. We need to be more than just a company that can build things. We need more creativity as part of the offering.”

“Now, hold on, missy. I know you and your grandpa had some ideas about that, but that was when he was still alive. How are you going to manage that and run the business as it already exists?”

“There will have to be some changes,” I acknowledged. “But I think I’ve proven I’m more than capable of running a businessandadding to it.”

“Are you talking about that show you went on?” Will asked. “Because that’s actually what I’m talking about. You just up and left so you could showcase your own talent. That’s not leading. That’s running away and leaving everything in someone else’s hands while you show off your design ideas. This is a construction company, not a design firm.”

I glared at him. “It can be both. We need to grow to survive and succeed. Have you looked at the number of job proposals that have come in?” I challenged. “Sterling Construction depends on those job opportunities. We have more requests now than Sue can filter through.”

“Yet now you’re proposing we add doing something that, at the risk of repeating myself, we’re not equipped for. So, you hire new people. You’re going to run off and oversee another project and, once again, not be here like a good owner.”

I threw up my hands. Nothing I did seemed good enough. If I was here, I didn’t know what I was doing. If I left to do something I thought would bring attention to our business so that it can grow, then I was running away.

“You’re just influenced by Mac, who obviously wants to keep moving up in the company. You’ve probably already got him picked out to help you. You’re not the cute little girl who clung to her granddaddy’s legs anymore. You need to run this company like he did.”

I weighed his words against what Connor had said to me this morning as I got up and walked around to look out the window behind my desk. I had a gorgeous view of the mountains. As I looked across them, I knew that just as much as the landscape before me was part of the fabric of the communities scattered throughout the mountains and the valley below, so, too, was Sterling Construction. It had started off building mills and work camps, then farmhouses, then some of the stores that still lined Main and Market streets. It had helped develop communities. None of that would have happened if the company had remained stagnate. It had grown and expanded as the area did.

I turned away from the window, glancing once again at the picture of my grandfather and his father-in-law as they stood with smiles in front of their new building because the old one couldn’t handle the growing needs of the business. My grandfather had entrusted that I would do what I thought was right to keep it going for the next generations.

“You know what, Will? You’re right. So, you’ll appreciate my next statement.” I drew in a deep breath and looked him right in the eyes. “You’re fired.”

His face paled. “What?”

“My granddaddy would have never let anyone talk to him like that. And further, you would have never talked to him like that because he was a man. I’m not that cute little girl that used to run around here. I’ve grown up. I’m more than capable of making the decisionsIthink are best for this company. It was entrusted to me by my grandfather. Not to Mac. Not to you. Me.”

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