Something to Prove

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Four days later, she’d conducted eleven interviews and hired two new managers. They were set to start the following day. Between the two people she’d hired, Gary and Mike, she’d be spending only slightly more than Mitch was being paid. Now all she had to do was fire Mitch. It was probably the worst part of her job.

She waited until closing, yet another endless night for her. When the last drunk left, she called him into the office. “We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“I’m letting you go.”

“What?”

“You’re fired. The books don’t add up, and while I believe you’ve been skimming, I have no proof. I’ll give you two weeks’ severance so you have time to find a new job.”

He stood in the middle of the cramped office with his mouth hanging open. The creases on his face appeared to deepen. His eyes weren’t quite focused, and she wondered how much he’d drunk.

“You can’t fire me.”

“I can and I did.”

He wasn’t the first person she’d had to fire, so this conversation was nothing new.

“Keith hired me. I’ll call him and straighten this out.” He pulled a phone from his dirty jeans.

She hadn’t counted on that. She stood and held up a hand. The last thing she needed was Keith getting involved. She wasn’t ready for him to know she was prying into his business. “First, he won’t answer his phone at this hour. Florida is an hour later than here, and he’s an early-to-bed kind of guy. Second, if you make that call in an attempt to go over my head, the severance is off the table. I will bring in a forensic accountant to find out exactly how much money you’ve stolen and I’ll prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.” She was totally talking out her a*s, and she prayed he wouldn’t call her on it. Given that he didn’t seem too bright, it appeared her threat might work.

“Three weeks’ pay.”

Maybe he wasn’t as dumb or drunk as he looked; he wanted to negotiate. “Two and a half and you don’t try to collect unemployment.”

“Fine. I’ll have a job by tomorrow. You have no idea what you’re getting into. My guess, you’re gone inside a week.”

He had no idea how tenacious she could be. She wasn’t leaving until she’d accomplished her goals. She pulled out the checkbook and wrote his check.

He snatched it from her hand, turned on his heel, and left.

“Nice doing business with you,” she called after him. She dragged herself to the front door and locked up. Tomorrow would be a fresh start. Both of the men she had coming in were experienced bar managers. It had to be an improvement over Mitch.

She looked back over the darkened room and wondered what she was doing. She’d made employment decisions for other jobs, but this felt different. Doing it on her own made the difference. She really had no backup here, and preventing Mitch from calling her brother was the deciding moment. She was going to do this.

Early the next morning, her phone rang. Groggy, her blurry eyes attempted to focus on the screen. Dad. She’d known this call would come; she’d hoped it would’ve taken longer, though. She had to make a quick decision about what to tell him. She knew she wouldn’t be able to disappear without being noticed.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart. Where are you? I haven’t seen you for days, and I don’t remember sending you to a job.”

“I’m in Chicago. I’m visiting with Janie. You remember her, don’t you? I was feeling burned out from all the work travel, so I decided to take a break.” It was only a partial lie. She was burned out; she really did want a break. Unfortunately, Dad never truly heard her desire to take over the company and stay at home. He was always more focused on her social life.

“Oh. Why didn’t you say something?”

“It was spur-of-the-moment.” She sat up and scrubbed her hand over her face and waited to be busted for that. Spontaneous wasn’t her style. Dad didn’t seem to notice her lapse.

“When do you plan to come home?”

“I’m not sure.” She knew what was coming next, and her stomach turned.

“I have a new property I’m considering. If I get it, it’ll be ready for takeover within two months.”

Two months? Too bad this wasn’t really a vacation. She didn’t want to head to another job, in another city. “Can’t Keith do this one?”

She heard fumbling on the other end. She’d caught him off guard since she’d never turned down a job before, but she had a feeling about this bar. This project would surprise her father. She would prove that she had the ambition and initiative to take over his spot. She could be him.

“Well, if that’s what you want. But you know I try not to send him out of town for too long. The kids miss him. It’s hard on a family.”

She flopped back on her pillow. And there it was, the accusation beneath it all. Didn’t she know how hard it was on a family to have a dad who traveled? She’d lived it. It was hard on her nieces when Keith was gone, which was why Dad leaned toward giving the company to Keith. But she shouldn’t be knocked out of the running because she didn’t have a family.

“We’ll see how it goes. If you get the property, send me a timeline.” She hesitated and then pushed forward. What was a little more truth stretching? “I’m actually looking into some options here myself.”

“You are?” More shock.

“Yeah. I’m pretty tired, Dad. I was out late and I’m an hour earlier than you.”

“Sure, honey, go back to sleep.”

“Give Mom my love. I’ll call you soon.” She turned over with the intention of getting more sleep, but her mind wouldn’t cooperate. She hated lying to her dad. That wasn’t the kind of relationship they had. She picked up the phone again and brushed her fingers over the buttons, but didn’t engage a call.

No, she’d started this and she’d see it through. If she didn’t make significant progress within a couple of weeks, she’d tell Dad the truth. All she had to do now was dodge Keith. He’d see right through her and ruin her plans.

With that settled, she rose and took a shower. Her brain was fuzzy, but she intended to use the extra time wisely. She needed to make improvements quickly.