His Forever Girl

“So why didn’t you come to me and discuss the issues you had? Instead of doing that, you went behind my back. In fact, you interviewed him on the day I took Granny B to the doctor so you could hide it. I suppose you swore Billie to silence, too?”

“Billie doesn’t know everything that goes on in this company.”

“Ha.” Tess sank back into the chair. “Well, the solution to all this is simple—tell Graham you were wrong. Tell him thanks, but no thanks. I’m totally prepared to run Frank Ullo Float Builders, and you can do a step-down retirement over the next several months. This is what I’ve been preparing for over the past seven years—an Ullo running our company. I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say the company belongs to you.”

“But it does.”

“Technically, but it’s ours. Our family’s.”

“I’m not firing Graham. He signed the contracts this morning.”

Her gaze went feral. “What I say doesn’t matter?”

Frank closed his eyes. Knowing that telling Tess would be hard was way different from actually doing it. He hadn’t told his children about his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, except for his son Joseph who’d been his consult during the whole process. Frank still wanted to talk to Maggie about how to handle telling them. Hell, he still hadn’t come to terms with the thought of not making it to next Christmas.

But he wouldn’t use his illness to make Tess relent. He knew he wasn’t the best father in the world, but he’d never resorted to manipulation with his children. He ignored the small voice that said he’d tricked Tess to get his way in the first place. “You matter to me more than you know, but in this instance I will stand firm. You’re not ready to run the company. Plain and simple.”

“But why? If you knew you were going to retire this soon, you should have brought me in and prepared me. You should have taught me what you do. None of this makes sense. You were always so proud I followed in your footsteps. I just thought...” Tess covered her face again with her hands.

For a few moments neither of them said anything.

“I’m not staying if you hire him.” Tess dropped her hands, her gaze resolute.

“So you’ll quit?” Frank had never even contemplated the possibility his daughter would leave if he didn’t give her the wheel. “Like a child taking her toys and going home, huh?”

“No. I’m not being unreasonable in leaving a place where I have little respect.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Doesn’t feel like it, Dad.” Tess swallowed hard. “I refuse to remain where there is no future for me.”

“Tess, there’s always a place for you here. This is your home, your family.”

“No. This isn’t how family feels. Instead it feels like I don’t matter at all. Feels like you gave me some shell of a job to keep me in New Orleans, to keep me under your control.”

Now Frank felt as if he’d been slapped. “You love what you do.”

“Yeah, I do. I love this company, but I’m not staying while you wrap it in a bow and give it to some jerk a headhunter found for you. Really, Dad? It’s like a frickin’ nightmare, that’s what this is.” She rose. “But that’s the way it’s going to be. As you pointed out, this is your company and you can do what you want with it, but you might as well have disowned me.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Tess.”

“Call it what you want, but I don’t work here any longer.”

“Tess,” he said her name like a prayer. Never had he wanted to hurt her. Why couldn’t she see that?

Because she didn’t know his reasons. She didn’t know he had one foot in the grave and the other in quicksand.

“Consider this my notice. I’ll finish out the day and gather my stuff.”

“Don’t do this. You’re in the middle of designing for Bacchus and we’ve got props in bay that need your direction. What about the meetings you have this week? What about our customers?”

Tess shook her head. “Dave will see the designs through, and you now have Graham to figure out the rest.”

Like a soldier, his daughter squared her shoulders and marched to the door.

“Tess, don’t do this. Everything will be the same as yesterday. I promise. Graham is a good man.”

She paused, her hand on the doorknob. “You’re wrong, Dad. It’ll never be the same again because you don’t trust me. Good luck with Graham. In my experience he’s not so much a man of his word.”

She gave him a sad, sad smile. And then she walked out.

CHAPTER FIVE

TESS STALKED OUT of her father’s office feeling like she’d entered a boxing ring with a world champion. One punch and she was out. Her mind couldn’t wrap around what had happened moments ago.

How had her Tuesday gone so wrong?

It had started well with new bodywash in her shower, a good coffee from Cuppa Joe’s and the sun on her shoulders as she biked through the awakening French Quarter. Fog had burned off the river by the time she’d reached the warehouse, and every line on her sketches that morning had been true. It had been a banner morning that had turned to hell in the blink of an eye.

Graham Naquin.

Bastard. Usurper.

The irony of the man she’d thought her forever guy being the person taking the helm of Ullo was like someone shoving a spoonful of crap into her mouth and expecting her to say “mmm.” But this was one spoonful she wasn’t going to swallow.

How dare her old man hire him? Him. The very person who had almost broken her heart. Okay. Had broken her heart. Which sounded strange since she’d known him for such a brief time, yet for a while it had felt every bit as real as what her parents had.

She’d eaten a lot of ice cream trying to get over the false start with Graham. In fact, she’d wolfed down a half gallon in twenty-four hours. That’s how much cream and sugar she’d needed to soothe the hurt of rejection.

And now this. She would have to run to California to work off what was likely about to be spooned down in mourning of the thing she loved most about each day—her job.

Dear God, she was no longer employed at Ullo.

As Tess pushed through the metal door into the stairwell, her knees gave way. Sinking against the cold cement steps, she struggled for a breath.

This wasn’t happening.

No way.

She was an Ullo. She’d grown up skipping through the phantom floats hulking like huge freighters bobbing at a wharf. Tess had worked summers perfecting sculpting foam, schlepping papier-m?chе onto props and wiring fiber optics. She’d taken extensive art lessons, chosen a major in industrial art and ignored the tryouts for the Junior U.S. Soccer team...all so she could work for her family’s business. All because she wanted to be the one child who pleased their father by caring more for Frank Ullo Float Builders than for herself. She’d sacrificed so she could do what was right, what would be best for their family business.

And it had been for nothing.

Unshed tears gathered in her throat. She wanted to cry, wanted to lie down right in the dusty stairwell and sob until she ran dry. But she wouldn’t give the world the satisfaction of knowing her disappointment. Of the betrayal.

Her father didn’t think she was good enough.

“Damn it,” she whispered into the air around her.