Page 55 of My Book Boyfriend
“And the Fell family situation was completely different.”
“Tom is never going to let you win. He’s worked too hard to allow the company not go to Rowena. His whole life has been devoted to it.”
“Exactly. And neither Rowena nor I want that.”
“You can’t trust him. I trusted Tom. He told me we were going to be co-CEOs, and he totally backstabbed me, stealing the company from right under me. I’m telling you—you cannot be paranoid enough.”
Is Dad also to blame? How was Tom going to finagle co-CEOs when Grandpa has always been dead set against that? All this time, he’s been blaming Tom.
I shake my head, frustrated.
“Why don’t you become CEO and then you can appoint Rowena as co-CEO if that’s what you really want?” Dad asks. “Although, that gets Tom back in the mix. He’ll scheme to push you out.”
“I don’t trust Tom a bit, but I do trust Rowena,” I say. “I’m sure she’s having the same conversation with Tom that I’m having with you.”Or not.Rowena is not as close with her dad as I am with my parents, primarily because her dad worked all the time when she was growing up. She’s close to her mom.
The door opens again, and a white furball races to greet me. I sit on the bottom step of the staircase to let Freckles, my parents’ white terrier mix, greet me.
“Okay, okay,” I say as I pet him.
“He misses you.” Mom hangs up her coat next to mine. She kisses me on the cheek and my dad on the lips. “Rough day at work?”
“Yes,” I say in unison with Dad.
“What happened at your work?” she asks.
“Client hated the marketing campaign,” my dad says. “But I think I figured out how to fix it while kneading.”
“And you?” my mom asks. “I saw some of the coverage of the protest outside headquarters. Cute kids. And pretty feisty retirees. Can’t you save that garden?”
“I’d like to save the garden.” I follow my mom into our dining room, behind which is the kitchen.
“You want to save the garden?” my dad asks. The timer beeps, and my dad hastens into the kitchen to pull out his tray of bread.
My mom and I follow.
“But I know Grandpa is opposed,” I say. “He met with Percy Anderson yesterday.”
“He met with Percy Anderson?” my dad asks. “Way to bury the lede. So, he’s considering letting an outsider run the company?”
“There’s no way your grandfather would let an outsider run the company,” my mom says. “Nor would your uncle. No way.”
“If Dad gets to keep control, he would,” my dad says. “And this way, the company still provides for his family, and he doesn’t risk what happened in the Fell family company.”
Dad’s right. Maybe talking to him wasn’t the best idea. He’s getting me more stressed.
“Does Rowena support keeping the garden?” my mom asks. She hands me the glasses to set the table as she puts the plates on the kitchen counter.
“She is supportive,” I say, “but not at the cost of our not being co-CEOs. She came up with a kick-ass design, though.”
My dad turns to my mom. “What if Rowena is playing him the way Tom played me with this whole co-CEO crap?”
“Rowena is not Tom,” my mom says. The doorbell rings. “I ordered Thai. I’ll get it.”
Rowena isn’t playing me because she’s told me becoming co-CEOs comes first. She’s not telling me she can make us co-CEOs.
As my mom leaves, my dad removes his apron and leans against the sink. “A kick-ass design, huh? Still, Tom sacrificed so much for the company.”
“You also never thought Tom would retire, and now he is. He’s mellowed since his health scare. I think Tom might realize that co-CEOs would be best for us. It’s mostly Grandpa and this Fell family history that has created a total block in Grandpa’s mind on even considering co-CEOs.”
