Charlotte
“Chris said he’s parking and will be right here.” I look up from my phone to see Callan staring out the window of the first floor of my father’s office building.
He turns to look at me, the smile growing on his face. “You sure you don’t want me to go up there with you, Princess?”
The last few days have been everything I could’ve hoped for.
Callan got the call from his agent, officially requesting a contract restructuring with the Stallions.
We celebrated that night with Chris, Kim, and Marlee.
And I swear my ovaries almost exploded when Callan offered to put Marlee to bed while the rest of us chatted.
I shake my head, pressing onto my toes to give him a kiss.
“Gross. No one wants to see that,” Chris whines from behind us.
I push away from Callan, but am quickly pulled back as he tucks me under his arm. “Get used to it,” I tell my brother.
Chris and Callan shake hands; their relationship still caught between professional and personal.
“Ready?” Chris finally asks.
Am I ready to hear whatever my dad has summoned us for?
No. Not really. But at the same time, the radio silence from Dad since everything went down with Hugo has been wearing on me.
Luckily, Callan is very good at taking my mind off things.
Usually by driving my body into things… like big tables…
and small tables… and mirrors… and our bed.
Callan squeezes my shoulders slightly, pulling me back to the present. I nod. “Let’s get this over with.”
“I’ll wait here,” Callan reminds me before giving me a quick kiss on the forehead.
“You really don’t have to,” I tell him for the fifth time today.
He sits in one of the reception area chairs. “See you soon!” Waving happily, he watches as Chris and I make our way to the elevator.
“So,” my brother says as soon as the doors close, “things seem to be going well between the two of you.”
I glare at him, unsure whether he’s teasing me or not. “They are.”
He bangs his shoulder against mine. “Good. No need to be so skeptical. I’m happy for you two.”
Unable to stop it, a wide smile stretches across my face. “I’m happy for us, too.”
“What do you think Dad’s going to say?” Chris asks.
I pop one of my knuckles. Chris has asked me this about seventeen times since I called him for help with the Hugo/Callan situation. My answer remains the same. “That he’s giving the company to you.”
“We’ll make it work,” Chris promises. “Even if he does put me in charge, I promise I won’t micromanage the entertainment side. I’ve learned over the last six months just how much more you know about it than I do.”
Unless Dad kicks me out on my ass. Not that I think he will. Honestly, my father may be a lot of things, but he’s never been one to overreact. And a full disinheritance would assuredly be overreacting.
“You’re good to go in.” Ulysses doesn’t even look up from his computer as Chris and I make our way toward Dad’s office.
“Game time,” Chris murmurs.
I walk into Dad’s office first, the familiarity of the man sitting in front of the Denver view in strange contrast to the unease in my stomach. “Hey, Dad.” I give him a quick hug before taking my seat next to Chris.
Dad clasps his hands in front of him. “Thank you both for coming in.”
I want to say something along the lines of We didn’t really have a choice, did we? But decide poking the bear probably isn’t the best decision here.
Instead of small talk, Dad jumps right into it, “I called you both here today because I owe you an apology.”
My chin hits the ground, and when I glance at Chris, his eyes are wide.
Unaware of, or potentially unwilling to acknowledge, our shock, Dad continues, “It seems I was a bit hasty in changing my mind about the future of the business.” He runs his hands through his hair as my mind races to process what he’s saying, as well as all the possible ramifications.
“As you both know, I’ve always considered Hugo a good friend as well as an employee. When Chris informed me of what was going on at the Stallions, I started to reevaluate a number of things.”
I shoot my brother a quick glance. We hadn’t discussed bringing Dad in on everything with Hugo, not that we’d discussed hiding it from him, either.
He’s just been more hands-off with the team since Chris joined the organization almost ten years ago.
I guess I should’ve put more thought into what Chris has been up to over the last few days.
“Your mother and I were at breakfast yesterday, and I was using her brilliant brain to help me think through what to do about Hugo’s mistakes.
In addition to strongly pushing that I should be able to trust those I work with, she reminded me it was also Hugo who first questioned splitting the company in two.
” He clicks the end of his pen before sighing.
“I suppose it was her way of reminding me she hasn’t been fully on board with the plan.
Though I’m not sure why she didn’t say no. ”
Certainly not because Dad has a way of steamrolling any conversation to get exactly what he wants out of it, making it futile to argue with him, in most cases—a truth my mother has potentially learned too well.
“Based on Chris’ recommendation, the Stallions will be looking for a new general manager. And I want to be clear, this isn’t only because of the way he chose to structure the contracts and the bets he made: GMs are paid to make those calls. It’s also because of the way he treated you, Charlotte.”
I meet my dad’s gaze, though I’m unclear what he means.
“I saw the way he belittled you in meetings and had no use for your input. I have quietly been asking around for the past few days. It appears there was a pattern of him disregarding the opinions of all our female employees. And that, I will not stand for. His contract has been terminated, and we will be hiring someone new soon.”
He nods to Chris as he says it. I have to assume my brother already has someone on the search. I wonder how much of what Dad is saying Chris already knows about. But I suppose it makes sense if he’s going to be leading the company soon.
Honestly, yes, Hugo was a dick, and I’m very aware that part of it was because I’m a woman who had an opinion that was different from his.
But, on the other hand, it’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.
Sit down with any woman in power, and I bet she can tell you her exact strategy for dealing with men like that.
For better or worse, we have to have one.
“That said, being more involved with both businesses as you each learned to run them has made me realize I’m not ready to retire. I know your mother is ready for me to stop being at the office so much, but I’m not ready to be done completely.”
My heart sinks. So, not only am I not getting the company, but neither is Chris.
I want to say I’m surprised, but the truth is, what did I really expect?
Dad’s entire life’s worth is wrapped up in this company.
It’s why he works so hard. It’s why he pushes Chris and me so hard.
It’s why Mom wants him to be done with it for good.
But that was never going to work.
The man will likely still be hanging around the office when he’s one hundred years old, throwing out his opinion from a wheelchair.
“So, we’re going back to the way things were?” I ask as Chris straightens his shirt sleeves, a gesture I know he does when he’s annoyed.
Dad shakes his head. “Not quite.”
He pauses, and I swear it’s purely for dramatic effect.
“I’m going to officially form a holding company for Langford, of which I will be the chair.
I will slowly roll on a board of two to three independent members who, upon my retirement, will have authority over large capital decisions as well as the hiring and firing of each of the subordinate companies’ CEOs.
I, and later they, will also play a role in any conflict resolution.
You will each be named the CEO of the companies you lead—the ones you actually want to lead. ”
I smile. It’s essentially what we’re doing now, but it’s making it clearer from a legal perspective. It’s a little like taking a step back, but it does give me slightly more authority and the CEO title I’ve always wanted on the entertainment side of the business. The entertainment business now.
“That sounds great, Dad,” Chris starts, but Dad cuts him off.
“One last thing. Based on that conversation with your mother, I’m also going to structure the ownership of the holding company a little differently. I’m planning to give each of you thirty percent.”
I quickly calculate what that means, coming to the shocking conclusion before my dad says, “So you each, alone, cannot overrule my decisions, but, like in the situation with Hugo, if you agree with each other, you can override my vote.”
Chris and I look at each other, shock covering our faces for the second time today.
“Oh, don’t look like that,” Dad says, a halfhearted look of annoyance on his face.
Chris smiles. “We won’t let you down.”
“You’re going to be so impressed with us,” I agree.
“I’m always impressed with you two. Speaking of which, Charlotte, I got a call from Preston Hale today. He told me you convinced him to sponsor the team. Almost cried when I told him Devine would still be a Stallion, too.”
I let out a little shriek before pausing. “Wait, he agreed before he knew we were keeping Callan?”
The proud grin that crosses my dad’s face is one I’ve only seen a few times in my life. I both hate how badly I long for it and feel so happy to finally have earned it. “He did. Told me your lecture really made him rethink where he was putting his money.”
I’m dancing on the inside. All backflips and low drops that I’ve never once been able to do anywhere but in my mind.
“Good work, Char,” Chris chimes in, shooting me a proud grin. “And thanks for the assist.”
I look between the two of them. “I get to go back to working in entertainment now, though, right? Because now that I’ve girl-bossed the Stallions, I’d really like to get back to booking musicians.”
My dad laughs as Chris rolls his eyes and says, “Frannie is frantic to have you back.”