The news
1012 Words
Chapter Three
"It's so good to have you back home after such a very long time. So, how have you been?" Her father asked, biting on the toasts in his hands.
"Pretty good, I guess." She said in-between meals, munching on the crispy drumsticks before her. Her mother glanced at her giving her a soft squeeze on her hands.
"I'm so glad you're here Pam. You don't know how happy seeing you here makes me." Her mother said, looking intently at her.
"Why aren't you eating?" Pamela asked, noticing that her mom hadn't eaten anything since she came. "Now don't start with the 'just-watching-you-like-this-fills-me' tale," Pamela added, causing her mother to smile.
"What have you been up to? What is your plan now that you're back here?" Her father asked, switching to the all-business mode. Her father had different looks for different occasions. He switched very fast from one to the other. One moment, he looked very friendly, another moment, he was all business. If there was something she admired about him, it's how he perfectly switches whenever he wants to.
"Well, I'd say that I still haven't figured that out yet for now. There's still plenty of time to think about that. Not that it isn't among my priorities, I just want to settle in pretty well first." She replied.
"By the way, how is Fallon Corporation? How is the company doing? I'm sure you're handling it pretty well." She said, glancing at her mother.
Her father reached for the serviette, wiping clean his mouth before proceeding.
"Pamela, do you know why I insisted that you come back to town? It's Fallon Corporation." He said pointedly, placing his elbows on the table and his chin on his intertwined fingers.
"I don't understand. What is going on with the company dad? Has Fallon gone bankrupt or something?" She asked, her eyes widening in shock.
"Relax Pam. Nothing is wrong with Fallon, but something will surely happen to the company if my successor doesn't mount the chair as the CEO of the company. Pamela, given your qualifications, experience and profound exposure in the business field, especially since you just had your Master's degree in Business Administration at The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, I want you to become the new CEO of the company." He said, seriousness evident in his voice.
"Me?" She asked, not hiding her surprise as she blinked more than it was necessary.
"There couldn't have been any better option other than you, baby." Her mother added, holding her hands tightly, her promising eyes searching Pamela's.
"I- I-" She stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"Shhh, darling. That's why we are here for you." She said, glancing at her husband who nodded in approval.
"Pamela, if there's anything I'm very sure of, it is your unique strength and ability to make something work perfectly. I believe in you baby." She said, still holding her hands.
"I'd need some time to think we'll and hard about this." She said blinking and rolling her eyes.
"Of course. Take your time. However, don't take too long, the company is waiting for her new successor." Her father said, giving her hand a little squeeze. She'd always known her father as one who does not take no for an answer. Even now, he'd made what he wanted from her clear.
That was how her father was. He would make up his mind about something before asking about it, leaving the person with no choice, even when he made it seem as though there was.
"So, what about your love life?" Her father asked out of the blue. "Is there something you haven't told me yet?" He asked, taking a sip of the Pierre Zerō Rosé in his front.
Pamela was almost taken aback by her father's question, even though she suspected that he would ask her something like that.
"That's the last thing on my mind now dad."
"So, you weren't in any relationship back in Texas? I thought you'd have gotten over Steve by now." He added.
Pamela immediately stopped eating. "This has nothing to do with Steve, dad. It's just a matter of me not being ready to commit to any relationship yet. By the way, I haven't found anyone that has piqued my interest." She added.
"You didn't see anyone at all you liked in Texas all through the six years?"
"I had a list of priorities back at Texas and that was not on the list." She said, matter-of-factly.
"I think it's about time you started thinking of it, Pam." He said, raising his brows.
She rolled her eyes in response and continued eating.
Pamela spent the rest of the night thinking about what her father said concerning her becoming the next CEO of Fallon's Corporation. She wasn't sure if she was ready to do this. She just thought that the timing was wrong, especially now that she found out that she still hadn't been able to forget about her past. She just hoped that it wouldn't affect her commitment to the company.
She knew that she needed something to distract her from thinking about her past. She just wasn't sure if it would be right for her to use work, especially Fallon Corporation as a distraction.
She understood how much time, money and hard work her father had invested in the company. While growing up, she'd watched her father have sleepless nights, sleepovers at the company and almost no time for himself. She knew how tasking it had been for him to bring the company to how it was now. She was proud of her father and wanted to make him proud of her also. It wasn't as though her father had never been proud of her he'd been on many occasions, especially her academic excellence.
He'd however never witnessed any of her wins. He was always attending to matters in the company. She wanted something that he wouldn't have to hear first from a third party - something that he would witness all by himself.
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