3. charlee
THREE
charlee
I walked through the front door of one of five resorts around the lake that were owned by my father. This one, Taughannock Falls, was by far my favorite. It had the feel of a bed-and-breakfast but also a small resort at the same time. Situated right on the lake as it was, in a few weeks when the leaves turned it would be a spectacular sight.
Not spectacular, however?
My state of mind.
My heart had been racing since Saturday night, thoughts of Lucas consuming me. I’d thought maybe coming to work might distract me a bit. Instead, as I greeted everyone while making my way to my office, it was more like. . . same feelings, different location.
On top of my jittery nerves, the very last person I needed to see in the world was the exact one standing in my office.
“Morning, Dad,” I said to the well-dressed owner of Lakeside Properties, the largest chain of resorts on all of the Finger Lakes, this one included.
“Morning, sweetie,” he said, handing me a coffee from my favorite local coffee shop, despite the fact that I had a coffee maker in my office. When he was playing nice, he could honestly be nominated as father of the year. When he wasn’t?
Well, that was a whole other story.
“Thanks,” I said, dropping my stuff on the desk. “What brings you here?”
My father sat in one of the two seats at my desk.
“Cameron is resigning.”
I sank into my own seat. Knowing this had been coming didn’t lessen its impact. I jumped right in on offense.
“Dad, I have no interest—”
“Before you say anything, hear me out.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, now in position to give it his best.
“My turn first,” I said, knowing it was futile. This was the same man who’d pitched such an onslaught that I agreed to change my graphic design major to a minor and then ended up in hotel management, leading to this job.
The same man that convinced me to break up with Lucas all those years ago.
“I already know what you’re going to say,” my father forged ahead. “That you don’t want to be VP. You don’t want to be married to the job and want to have time for your art stuff.”
My art stuff. Just the one thing I loved to do. Sure, at this point I was relegated to some odd jobs online, but at least I was designing things. Creating. A dirty word in his business-obsessed mind.
“So, at least you get where I’m coming from,” I said. Of course, he didn’t pick up on my sarcasm.
“You are a perfect fit. No one knows the properties like you do, Charlee. People like and respect you.”
The praise always got to me. Of course, my father knew that.
“The fact that I have no interest in the job?”
“So this is what you want?” He waved his hand at my desk. “To manage Taughannock Falls. . . and that’s it? VP is the advancement to your position, Charlee.”
“I didn’t take this position looking for advancement. I took it because. . .” Because you pushed me into hotel management like you push me into or out of everything in my life. “Because it was the next logical step after graduation.”
I put my purse in a drawer and flipped open my laptop. Taking the coffee my father had brought, I sat back. And thought of Lucas in that bar last night.
“Fair enough. But what’s next for you?”
As if I knew.
Most likely, when I tried to talk to him, Lucas would push me away. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t try anyway.
Dad certainly didn’t want to hear about that “troubled kid from the west side of town and his drunk father” that I’d been daydreaming about.
“Not the VP job,” I said firmly.
His eyes narrowed. I could do this. Stand firm, Charlee. You are a thirty-year-old woman. Independent. You do what you want, when you want it, and do not need permission from your father.
Except. . . he could be very persuasive.
“Not even for double Cameron’s salary?”
My hand froze halfway to my mouth. “Double?”
He was playing hardball. “Double.”
That wasn’t possible. “How could you—”
“Cameron agrees selling Ridge Point is the right call. We spread ourselves too thin there and will stay on Seneca Lake for the foreseeable future. With the funds from the sale and what we’ll be saving there, your salary won’t be an issue. It was Cameron’s idea. He knows how important fulfilling his role with the right person will be for Lakeside’s future.”
“Dad.”
“Charlee.”
He said it so playfully, for a second, I forgot he was manipulating me. The man wasn’t all bad. He honestly wanted what was best for me. Or at least, what he thought was best for me.
“That’s a lot of money.”
“It’s a big job.” He stood. “It won’t happen quickly. Cameron isn’t leaving until spring, but we’d like to have his replacement chosen in the next four to six weeks. If it were up to me, there’d be no question. No interviews. The job is yours. Think about it.”
What started as a no became. . . maybe? He knew that was a lot of money. I could use it in so many ways, not the least of which was another controversial decision in my family. I wasn’t getting any younger, and with no serious boyfriend and a strong desire for children, the idea of freezing my eggs had been something I’d considered. My parents, as usual, had freaked out.
Anything out of the ordinary, and the pair of them lost their shit.
“Mom wants to know if you’re coming over Friday night for dinner. Tori will be home.”
“Of course,” I said. My baby sister home from law school was all the reason I needed to head to the homestead for dinner. “I’ll be there.”
“Great, we can talk more then.” With a farewell half wave, my father left. I simply stared at the door he’d gone through wondering what the hell had just happened.
I’d been steamrolled, that’s what happened.
It was a huge decision. Almost as big as changing majors and taking this one. Which meant, there was only one way to go about this.
I took out my phone and texted Natalie.
Drinks tonight?
On a Monday?
Necessary
Say no more. KC’s? 7:00?
Sounds good. See u there.
Thank God for friends and alcohol, that’s all I had to say.