Page 4 of A Little Christmas 4: Teller
I grinned. “To be honest, I wouldn’t give a care if they showed up in their pajamas, but let’s keep it somewhat professional, and yes, of course, jeans are allowed unless they’re meeting with clients. Will you send a company email to everyone in this office? I’ll worry about the other offices another day. Thank you, Madeline.”
She took her jar, along with my garment bag and credit card, before leaving, so I reviewed contracts for the other offices, signing off on some and making notes for the others to be reviewed by the agents handling the property in each location.
Once I was done with the contracts, I returned to reviewing the MLS website for the properties located on the outskirtsof St. Louis County. There were a lot of properties on bigger lots outside the immediate county limits, where I was leaning toward living. York Tower had a helicopter pad on the roof, in case traffic was so bad that I couldn’t drive, which was what I preferred.
I grew up in Belleville, Illinois, where my mother and stepfather still live. Jakob Stein was a wonderful guy who married a woman with a twelve-year-old son. My biological father didn’t stick around after getting my mother pregnant, and Jake was the man who saved us both.
He gave me a perfect example of how great a father could be, and I loved him for it. He treated my mother like a queen, and he supported me in everything I tried to do, lifting me up during my failures and applauding all my successes.
My appreciation for Jake was unending, and being in the area for a year would give me plenty of time to spend with the two of them. They weren’t getting any younger, unfortunately, and they were my touchstones. I wouldn’t take them for granted.
Chez Remy’s was a quaint French restaurant in the Central West End of St. Louis. The neighborhood was nice, and there were a lot of bars and restaurants that hadn’t been there when I was growing up across the river. I hadn’t gone back to the West End since I’d rolled into town, but I loved what I saw as I was looking for parking.
I walked into the restaurant and up to the host stand. “I’m here to meet Barrett Tarry.”
The young woman glanced at the list and smiled. “Mr. Tarry and his companion are waiting at the bar. If you’ll follow me, we’ll collect them and seat your party.”
I followed her into the bar where Barrett was sitting with a beautiful young woman next to him. The host walked over to them and touched the young woman’s shoulder. She pointed toward me, and when Barrett turned, he laughed.
He tossed money on the bar and took the young woman’s hand to help her off the stool. She was cute, and it was easy to see Barrett was completely in love with her. I was damn happy for him.
“Briggs York, this is my girlfriend, Maizie Brown. Baby girl, this is my good friend from the Stone Age, Briggs.” I took her hand and kissed it, hearing her giggle, which was sweet.
“Maizie, it’s a pleasure to meet you. It seems you’re good for Barrett. He’s picked up some manners,” I responded, winking at her to let her know I was joking.
She glanced at my friend, and he nodded. “Daddy Barrett is good for me too. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
The wordDaddyrolled off her tongue and took me back in time. I’d met Barrett in Seoul, South Korea, where we were working on a real estate deal for me to buy a three-hundred-unit apartment complex. Barrett had been representing the seller, and after the deal was signed, I hired him and made him the head of the Seoul office. He’d moved back to the States three years ago and was as happy as I’d ever seen.
We were seated at a table near the fireplace in the main dining room. Barrett pulled out the chair across from me for Maizie, and she blushed as she sat. It was sweet to witness.
During dinner, Barrett and I caught up on what had happened since the last time we’d seen each other. When the server came over with the dessert menu, I ordered a cognac and coffee while Barrett and Maizie ordered a dessert to split and two coffees.
Maizie turned to Barrett and whispered to him. He smiled. “Sure, baby girl. You know where it is. Do you need me to walk with you?”
She shook her head and stood, kissing his cheek before hurrying from the table to the hallway where the sign pointed to the restrooms.
Once she was gone, Barrett turned to me. “Are you still in the lifestyle?” The lifestyle being that of a Daddy Dom and little boy or girl relationship.
I sighed, thinking about that part of my life. “I haven’t had a boy in years. When Riley left me, I had to take some time to analyze where I went wrong because I thought he was my future, but obviously, it wasn’t meant to be. I’m leery of trying again because of the mistakes I made back then, but it’s nice to see how good she is for you.” It was the truth, though there was a tiny piece of me that envied his happiness when I was so damn lonely.
Time to change the subject. “Barrett, I want you to come on board of York Properties, LLC as my chief financial officer. I’d like you to perform a critical assessment of the portfolio and the employees at the company to objectively determine where we can consolidate and divest some of the underperforming properties. Maybe get rid of some of the overseas properties? The tax implications have become less lucrative since the new administration took over.”
Barrett’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
“It’s too much for me to handle alone, and if you quote me on this, I’ll deny it, but I’m tired of moving every year to keep up with the business. The company is making good money, but it’s grown faster than I thought it would, and I need help running it.” It wasn’t easy to admit to needing more hands on the wheel, but I was sure my friend would understand.
“Look, Barrett, I trust you. I want you to help me find good people in each office to make crucial decisions without one of us having to fly to that place to make the decision for them. I don’t want us to miss great opportunities if we’re unavailable.
“I’ll give you a twenty-five percent share in the profits, plus a salary, and we’ll allot a percentage of shares to the new vice presidents we name in each office. We can base the percentageson the size of their market and assess their staffing needs based on maintaining the properties we already hold, without adding new properties to the portfolio—unless there’s something we can’t walk away from. I’ll depend on you to help me determine the viability of any properties we hold or any new ones we acquire.” I meant every word I said.
Barrett appeared to be a bit staggered by my comment. “Okay. When did you decide this?”
“I’ve thought about this for a couple of years, Barrett, and I could only seeyouin this role, even after you left York Properties. What do you say?”
Maizie returned to the table and glanced between us. “I don’t want to interrupt if you’re discussing something important. I can go wait in the bar if you’d prefer.”
Barrett reached for her hand. “You stay right here, baby girl. I have nothing to hide from you.”
