Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
GAbrIEL
The city lights blurred past as I drove Samantha home from the game, the hum of traffic a low backdrop to the sound of her voice spilling over with excitement. She hadn’t stopped talking since we’d buckled in, words tumbling over each other in a way I hadn’t heard from her in months.
I kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting uselessly on the gearshift, playing it cool but listening like a man starved for the sound.
“And then when I asked Charlotte what she does when she walks into a room, and she knows some men might think she’s not qualified as the boss because she’s a woman, she answered that if she spent her energy trying to change minds, she’d have nothing left for her job.
That she can’t control their preconceived notions, only how well she does her work. So that’s what she focuses on.”
I glanced over at Samantha, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. My daughter, usually locked behind one-word answers, was glowing. “I’m glad you got what you needed for your paper.”
They hadn’t taken a break until the seventh-inning stretch when Samantha had left Charlotte to go off with Austin to get dessert from a cart outside.
“Thank you so much, Dad. Charlotte’s whole philosophy about leading with empathy and valuing people who have a growth mindset is so inspiring.”
“Talk to me about this growth mindset,” I prompted, unable to hide my curiosity. The truth was Charlotte had quickly become my favorite subject, too.
Samantha straightened in her seat like a professor ready to deliver a lecture.
“It’s about never thinking you’re done learning.
About staying open to new ideas even when you think you already know the answer.
She said the best leaders never close themselves off because the moment you stop listening, you stop growing and getting better. ”
“Sounds like you’ve got a lot to write about.”
Samantha nodded, clutching her pink notebook to her chest. “Yeah. But it doesn’t feel like homework anymore. It feels…like I want to be in leadership someday. Charlotte is such a great role model.”
“Yes, I can definitely see how young people would look up to her.”
Samantha’s smile brightened, her braces catching the passing glow of a streetlight.
“Thank you for saying young people instead of just women. I mean, yeah, she’s inspiring because she’s a woman who’s broken through glass ceilings and had to work harder than a man would have to for her position. But she’s a leader for everyone.”
Her words hit me harder than she could have realized.
I stared at the road, the question gnawing at me before I could stop it.
Had Charlotte really had to fight harder to get where she was?
Harder than I ever had to fight? The thought unsettled me, not because I doubted her, but because I wasn’t sure I liked the answer.
As if her words about leadership hadn’t unsettled me enough, another image crept into my mind, one from earlier in the day. Charlotte walking into the suite in jeans and a sweater, her hair down, loose and soft around her shoulders. She’d looked approachable in her weekend casual clothes.
Then there was Austin. Bright, quick-witted, easy to like. It had been a revelation to see how respectful he was to his mother while still teasing her like any teenage son would. His behavior spoke volumes about the kind of parent Charlotte was.
And the way she’d navigated Samantha’s endless questions with patience and warmth left me with the uncomfortable realization that I was running out of reasons not to admire her.
Hell, “admire” was only one of the verbs I was thinking about. Still, I needed to remember she was my boss and the one person standing between me and the CEO chair.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I’d built my whole career on keeping emotions cleanly severed from ambition, on making sure nothing detracted from my goals.
But the lines were blurring, when it was the most important to keep them clear.
All I could do was grasp tightly to the idea that the last thing I should do was act on any of my current reckless feelings.