Page 21 of Swiped By My Dad's Best Friend
I wished I could give him better answers. The truth was, I wanted to graduate and get the hell out of this purgatory I’d found myself in—but every time I thought I was getting my shit together, I fucked something up. I’d bomb a quiz or become overwhelmed by a large project, and I’d just freeze up.
I should probably just give up and walk away, but I’d stayed on campus for Dad, unable to abandon him the way my mom had. The way she’d abandoned us all. But it never felt like enough.
A heavy weight descended on me as I walked across campus, and I slipped out my phone for a distraction. But like a missile seeking more misery, my fingers navigated straight to the Thrust app, where Trace still hadn’t answered my message.
Like a glutton for punishment, I sent another one.
* * *
TRACE
I scoured the report in front of me, glasses perched on my nose, but no matter how hard I stared, I couldn’t change the stark reality staring up at me. The business was in trouble—and it had been for some time. I’d spent weeks trying to move numbers from one column to another, to shave a few expenses here and there—but it wasn’t enough.
That was no magic trick to keeping Laurie & Sons Landscaping in the black.
“Damn,” I muttered.
“Something wrong, boss?”
I glanced up to see LeRoy Collins in the doorway. He was my newest hire—not yet a year on the payroll—and I was already cutting back. Had I gotten ahead of myself, thinking I could expand the crew and give myself more office hours? Was LeRoy going to pay for my mistake?
I shook my head, sighing. No. Business had been strong for three years before I even considered expansion. And when LeRoy first came on, it’d been great. I’d gotten to devote more time to the landscape design, while my guys handled the labor. I’d been able to take on more challenging projects, really push myself.
But a flashy corporate landscaping company had moved in at the same time the economy tanked. A lot of people were cutting what they considered luxuries, and those who weren’t seemed to be infatuated with the slicker Legacy Landscapes, complete with its billboards and cars wrapped in gaudy advertisements. I still had some of the bread and butter of landscape maintenance jobs to keep my company alive, but the more extravagant projects? They’d slowed to a trickle.
“Everything’s fine,” I told LeRoy. I wasn’t about to lay off anyone yet. I wanted to be one hundred percent sure I couldn’t find a solution.
Or maybe I was just putting off the inevitable.
“What can I do for you?” I asked.
He came farther into the office, smiling nervously. “Sally is due to deliver in two weeks.”
“That’s right,” I said, mentally groaning. I’d forgotten his wife had a baby on the way. There was no way I could cut him from the crew with a clear conscience. But who then? My other guys had been around twice as long.
“I wanted to put in my request now, for paternity leave,” he said. “Sally says there’s a federal family act or something that allows me to take some time off?”
I nodded. This might actually be a blessing in disguise. If LeRoy wasn’t working for a while, I could buy myself some time to find a solution before cutting crew. “That time off is generally unpaid.”
“That’s what I figured,” he said.
“I’m prepared to pay you half-pay though for your average hours worked per week,” I said, even though the last thing I could afford was paying someone not to work. But, Christ. The man was having a child, and I wasn’t some corporate bastard without a heart. “How’s that sound?”
A huge grin broke out over his face. “Thanks, Boss. That’d be great.” I hadn’t even realized he was tense until he exhaled a huge breath. “I wasn’t sure you’d be too happy with me taking time off.”
I waved a hand. “You should bond with your baby. Congratulations again. Give Sally my best.”
“Will do,” he said, taking his cue to leave.
I turned back to my numbers, working in the small discount that LeRoy’s family leave would afford me. I wouldn’t have to worry about filling his shoes—business was slow enough my other guys could handle it. I wouldn’t even have to sacrifice my office time, though I was coming to hate it now that it consisted mostly of staring at dwindling financials.
By the time I got home that evening, my brain felt like Swiss cheese, and I went directly to the fridge to retrieve a beer. I forced myself to pull out some sausage and cheese too—lest I give in to the temptation to drink my dinner. Piling everything onto a cutting board, I settled on the sofa in front of the TV, slicing and eating methodically while my brain worried over the problem at work.
The crew would be out getting beers together. Sometimes I joined them. Tonight, I couldn’t imagine drinking and joking with them when I might very well have to cut one loose. LeRoy’s request had bought me a little time, but not much.
Restless, I opened my Thrust app for the first time since I got home. Maybe I should look for some stress relief. The idea hadn’t appealed before; Cooper took up too much of my head space.
But I was desperate for a distraction.
