Chapter 29 #2
It hits me when I send yet another email about the operations audit: None of this shit matters.
Audits and inventory counts and planograms and reports—none of it matters.
My god. None of it matters. And what my father thinks of me—whether he sees me as a success, an asset to his damn company, or not—that doesn’t matter, either.
Sam’s right. Andre’s right. Even Jeremy.
I don’t want my own store. Yes, I’d be good at it.
But Sam’s also right that I’m miserable.
That’s partly because I miss Abbey so much, and it’s partly, I realize now, because I’m not happy.
I don’t want to stay in retail, spinning my wheels, bending over backward to please my father.
What matters is the feeling I get when Liam’s at bat and connects with the ball, when Charming outbowls us and pops a wheelie in his chair. When Howie runs across the park to give me one of his bear hugs.
And Abbey. Her smile, her laugh. I want to make her happy every single day of her life. But I’ve fucked that up, putting my career at Hometown—and hers—before everything else. And it’s too late to fix it.
I can hardly catch my breath at the truth of it all.
Dino comes into the Dugout and sits down at the other computer, completely clueless to my epiphany.
“Hey, question for you. I was on the district merch call today since Jennifer’s on vacation and Marina’s off.
Honestly, I should have had you on the call instead, since I know jack shit about merchandising. ”
“Hmm,” I reply.
He laughs. “Any other AGM would suck up and tell me how that’s not true.
It’s refreshing that you don’t. Anyway, I don’t know if you heard this, but some movie producer stopped into Riverview the other day and they were so impressed, they’re thinking about filming there.
I guess it’s, like, Career Opportunities meets Beautiful Girls. ”
“That doesn’t even make sense.” Cesar must be beside himself, already seeing his name in lights. “Have you seen those movies?”
Dino shrugs. “Of course not. But what really doesn’t make sense is that they went to Riverview.
Here’s what I need you to do, Mr. Jefferson Wilshire the eighteenth or whatever the hell you are.
Figure out who set this up at corporate, like, who that producer talked to, and get them here.
Then, work with Marina and whoever else to get the store in tip-top shape.
I want that film crew here, not Riverview. ”
Whoever else? He doesn’t even know who he’d talk to in order to get the store in “tip-top shape.” What a tool.
“I’m not going to use my last name to throw my weight around at corporate and get this info,” I say. “If you want this so badly, call Felix and have him do the legwork.”
Dino’s eyebrows shoot up. “Wait, hold on, it sounds like you just told me no.”
“Actually, I didn’t say the exact word, but here you go: No. I’m not going to do that.”
Now he narrows his eyes at me. “You do know that I’m holding the strings, right?”
I laugh. Another fucking Master of Puppets reference. Not to mix my metaphors, but I’m taking over the reins. “Are you threatening me, Dino?”
“Kind of sounds that way, doesn’t it? The road to your own store goes through me, Wil, and without my sign-off, you got nothing.
And another thing. I heard how the media TC over at Woodlake’s been applying to other stores and she’s been turned down for every single job.
I also heard that you had something to do with that.
So, unless you want me to make a call to HR and let them know that you’ve been disreputably blocking her promotions, you’ll make that call, Wil. ”
Disreputably. That’s a pretty big word for Dino. I cannot for the life of me understand why he thinks I’m the one who’s blocking those promotions. It doesn’t make any sense.
“Go right ahead,” I say calmly. I log out of my email and stand.
“You want to accuse me of something I didn’t do, be my guest. It’ll be your reputation on the line, not mine.
Same as when they find out that you’re trying to blackmail me to get a film crew at your store.
A film crew, Dino. Is it worth it? You want to show up Riverview and everyone else that badly?
Go right ahead. I don’t want anything to do with it. ”
I am done with this bullshit. I can quit, right here, right now. I’ve got enough in my savings to hold me for a while, and I could get a smaller apartment. And I’ll figure out what I’m supposed to do next. What’s going to make me happy.
I twist the Ridgehill store keys off my keychain and drop them on the desk in front of Dino.
“Are you fucking serious?” he blurts, loud enough that everyone at customer service can hear.
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.” As I say it, I know it’s not true. The one thing that I’m more serious about is Abbey. I’m in love with Abbey Rhodes, and I need to do whatever it takes to get her back.
I’m not even halfway across the parking lot when my cell phone rings.
“Well, this is a surprise.” My words are laced with a thick layer of sarcasm.
“Wil!” Dad barks. “Dino called me.”
“I’m sure he did.”
“He said you left the store keys and walked out. I told him he must be mistaken, because there’s no way you’d throw your career away like that.”
“Consider it thrown,” I say.
“It’s true?” he yells.
“I’m sure that most of what Dino told you isn’t true, but yes, I left my keys.”
“What were you thinking?”
“Oh, I’ll tell you. First, that you should take a good, hard look at some of your key players.
Someone’s been blocking Abbey’s promotions, but to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that you’re behind it, and that you found someone desperate enough for your approval to do your dirty work.
Or maybe you threatened that person like you threatened me.
My money’s on Felix. And you’ve got Dino trained, it seems, because he threatened me, too. ”
Dad huffs but I plow on. “I’m also thinking that I’m tired of your bullshit, and honestly, the BS from everyone else in this company, too. It’s time for me to figure out what I’m really supposed to be doing with my life.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!” he blusters. “You’re throwing away a great career.”
“That’s your opinion,” I say calmly, “and for what may be the first time in my life, your opinion doesn’t matter.”
He huffs. “Is that right? And what about our deal? You’ll owe me for four years of tuition.”
“Send me the bill.” I end the call.
I’m halfway home when Andre calls.
“Hell, yeah, dude! Jeff just called. You really stepped in it, didn’t you? I’m so stoked, man!”
I laugh. “Glad somebody is. Did he ask you to convince me not to quit?
“Yeah, but fuck that. I’ll tell Austin to expect your application. Obviously, it comes down to a board vote, but it’s looking good, my friend.”
“I don’t know, Andre. I’m not sure about the nonprofit.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” he says. “Kelsey says congratulations, by the way.”
“Kelsey knows already? Word travels fast.”
“She’s right here. Just had another ultrasound.”
“Everything good?” Even though I’m still pissed at Kels—and probably will be for a long time—I’m not a monster. She’s still my sister and I want her and my niece to be healthy.
“Everything’s cool. I can already tell this kid is a genius.”
I feel lighter than I did when I walked out of Ridge, but still, my heart’s heavy.
I’ve fucked up a lot of things lately—things with Abbey, things with Mom.
I glance at my watch and calculate what time it is in Angola.
Late evening. This is going to be an expensive call, but sometimes, you need your mom.
I take a beer out of the fridge, pop the cap off, and sit down on the cloud couch.
Mom answers on the first ring. “Wil? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m calling to apologize… and to ask for advice.”
She’s quiet for so long, I think we might have lost the connection. Then, she says, “Let me call you back so this doesn’t cost you a fortune.”
My phone rings seconds later. “How can I help, love?” she asks when I pick up.
“First,” I say, “I’m sorry I walked out on the family vacation. You went to all that trouble to get everyone together and I acted like a jerk.”
“Oh, Wil. I know things haven’t been easy for you. Water under the bridge, sweetheart. Tell me what’s going on.”