18. Sloane Nonperformance
sloane: nonperformance
I ROLLED MY EYES WHEN the text came through:
We have an emergency at the house.
“The house itself is the emergency,” I said to no one.
I looked over at my list on the breakfast room table in Mom’s guesthouse that was serving as my desk for the moment.
I longed for the painting studio that would, one day, eventually, God and Caroline willing, be in my new house.
For now, my brushes sat dried in the sink.
I had a Zoom call in thirty minutes with Jackie, our new franchise owner.
I had somehow become the hand-holder of all these plucky women.
I liked them. I did. But what started as a list of practical questions generally turned into full-on grown-woman whining.
It was a lot. But Caroline didn’t have the patience, Emerson didn’t know enough about the stores, and Mom didn’t have the time.
So I had somehow become Sloane Emerson United’s head of human resources.
It paid great money, but paid poorly in serving my creativity and my soul.
I was a painter. And a mother. I wasn’t really made for business.
But I wouldn’t dream of telling my sister that.
Plus, in theory, I loved the idea of the all-for-one-and-one-for-all family business we had created.
I loved that I was a part of this woman-owned company that was taking the world by storm.
And I loved it when people praised me for how well it was going and how successful we had been.
I just didn’t love when it took me away from my art.
And my children. Like, you know, a real job does. I knew I was being kind of childish.
When we started growing Sloane Emerson and opening the new stores we were running, all the art was mine.
And to be fair, I didn’t love that either.
Yes, it was creative, and yes, I was doing what I loved, but some days, I felt like I had turned into a one-woman painting factory just to keep up with the demand from our three stores.
Suffice it to say, doing all this plus building a house was a bad, bad, bad idea for a woman who needs peace and quiet.
But Adam was at work. Mom was at work. And, besides, I couldn’t bother her with this.
I hadn’t broached the subject with her of what Jack said about the whole dock situation.
And she hadn’t offered the information, which made me think…
she hadn’t asked him. Which I found kind of odd.
But I would delve into that later. Caroline was in New York—with Chase Aarons, if Page Six was to be believed. I was on my own.
I hoisted my tired, pregnant self up—reminded myself to be so grateful for my slightly swollen ankles—and walked down the steps then to the street corner, where—lo and behold—people were working. Steve, our contractor, was standing at the back door looking annoyed.
I smiled sunnily even though I too was annoyed. “So, what’s the big emergency today?”
He gestured toward the house. “These aren’t my guys.”
I squinted at him. “I’m not following.”
“All the sanding and staining and painting and hammering going on in there? Those aren’t my guys.”
I peeked my head inside, which was, just as it sounded, crawling with men and women doing things. I shrieked. “The quarter round! Finally! I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for that quarter round! It’s a miracle!”
“Um, excuse me, Sloane. I need some answers here.”
I spotted Hippie Hal, wearing knee pads right past the kitchen, in the living room of the open-concept house. He was hand-staining our reclaimed hardwood floors, and no one has ever loved anyone as much as I loved him in that moment. I didn’t want to stop progress, so I said, “Wait here,” to Steve.
“Hey, Hal,” I said. He looked up, smiled, and stood.
“Pretty good, right?”
I laughed. “I haven’t seen this kind of action here in months!”
“I hope it’s okay. I talked to your mom this morning. She brought all the light fixtures over, so they’re starting to hang them upstairs.”
I gasped and felt my eyes fill with tears. “Hal! This is amazing! How did you do all of this?”
He shrugged. “Caroline said you needed to be in before the baby came, so I got some friends together. The plumber and electrician are both old, retired guys like me, the carpenter is a neighbor friend, and these ladies just started their own painting business, and I thought it would be nice to support them.”
I nodded in agreement, awestruck at the crisp, fresh paint. No streaks, no smudges.
“Everything might not be in the exact right order, but it was such a mess in here, Sloane. We just decided to get it cleaned up and roll.”
I hugged him, realizing that floor fumes probably weren’t good for the baby.
I was about to call Caroline. She could handle Steve. But then I waved at one of the women up on a ladder and I thought, Nope. I am a grown woman about to bring her third child into the world. I don’t need anyone else to do my dirty work.
So I walked back outside. “So, uh, Steve, if these aren’t your guys, where are your guys?”
“Oh, uh, they’re at another project down the street.”
“So, not here,” I said, crossing my arms.
He planted his feet and said, “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but we have a contract.”
I laughed. Heartily. And loud. So loud I shocked myself. So loud the baby kicked. “Yes, Steve. We do indeed have a contract. A contract that says we would be in this house five months ago. You are over time, over budget, and I am so happy to say, you are fired.”
My heart was racing. Who even was I? Was Adam going to kill me? Did I just fire our contractor? What if Hal couldn’t pull this off? But, well, no, it felt good. This wasn’t working. I had to move ahead no matter what that meant. Mom would help me if I was in a pinch. We would get this done.
He laughed now. “I’m sorry. What? You can’t fire me. The job isn’t finished.”
“Exactly. The job isn’t finished. But it should be.” I pointed to my stomach. “And, if you can’t tell, I’ve got a ticking-clock situation here, and I can’t wait around for your incompetence anymore.”
It was like I was the star of my own children’s book, Sloane Speaks Her Mind. Had this ever happened before? I was so proud of myself.
He glared at me. “That’s fine. I will see you in court.”
“I can’t wait!” I said. I took a step closer to him.
“Every cent we were overcharged, every time you had to do something two or three times and snuck it in our bill. I cannot wait to get all that money back. I’m going to sue you so hard for nonperformance of contract that you’ll be back in Missouri living with your mom.
In fact, I’m calling my attorney right now!
Not sure if you’ve heard, but I’m an owner of what Forbes just named one of the fifty most influential all-female businesses in America.
So we have people like that on staff. At all times.
They just sit around and wait for someone to sue.
They’ll be so happy! And it won’t cost me one extra cent! ”
Nonperformance of contract. Where had that even come from? Man, look at me. I was basically a lawyer now in addition to everything else. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Zoom call with one of my franchise owners.”
“Wait, wait!” Steve said. “Let’s talk about this, Sloane.”
I turned and called over my shoulder: “All you have done for months is talk, Steve. I’m ready for some action.”
I wasn’t going to sue him. I didn’t have the time or energy. But he didn’t know that. And I was so thrilled at the idea that he would wallow in that uncertainty for a bit, just like we have been wallowing in it for eighteen months.
I called Caroline. She answered, sounding groggy. “I just stood up for myself!” I trilled. “With Steve! I told him I’d see him in court. You would have been so proud. I was going to call you to handle him, but instead, nope, I channeled my inner Caroline Murphy and just went for the jugular!”
She laughed. “You go, girl!”
“That’s right,” I said. “Go me. I’m done being pushed around.”
She laughed again. “I have rarely seen this side of you. I think I like it.”
She sounded weird. “Where are you? You sound kind of, I don’t know, asleep.”
Which was impossible because Caroline got up at five thirty every morning even if we’d been out half the night before.
“Well, I sort of was.”
I looked at my watch. “It’s nine fifteen. Are you sick or something?”
She made this happy little noise. “Nah. It’s just super hard to get out of bed when there’s a movie star all wrapped around you.”
My jaw dropped, and it was my turn to laugh. Caroline was in bed with a movie star. And I had the feeling she didn’t mean our sister.