Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Who is this man, and what has he done with my dad?
“So, let me get this straight. Because you didn’t put your family first, you want to make the business more family oriented, which means not hiring your own flesh and blood?”
“I’m trying to right my wrongs.”
“By pushing me away?!”
“That’s not what I’m doing, Anastasia. I have no doubt you’re capable of running the company, but I don’t think you’re in the right position to run Kingston. I see so much of me in you.”
“You barely know me!”
“Just because I haven’t seen you doesn’t mean I don’t know you,” he says. “You’re just as business and power driven as I was.”
Did he seriously just say was, as if he’s no longer that way?
“Do you even date?” he asks. “When’s the last time you did anything for yourself? I’m sorry, Anastasia, but I don’t feel like hiring you would be what’s best for the company. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you and want a better relationship with you.”
“I gotta go,” I choke out, unable to listen to another word he has to say.
I vaguely hear him say my name as I click End and fling my phone across the table.
“He won’t hire you because you don’t have a family?” Paige’s brows furrow in confusion.
“He’s decided that to fix the mistakes of his past, he’s going to reinvent Kingston, starting with hiring a family man … or woman, I guess.”
I pace my office, my brain and emotions running wild. I’ve been in this state ever since my dad and I hung up last night. I never thought I’d be so upset over him not wanting me to work there.
Dad wasn’t lying when he said it destroyed our family. It might’ve been his decisions that landed us where we are, but it was his love of that company that made it so easy for him to choose business over his family. And I’ve spent the better part of my adulthood resenting both him and the company because of it.
But knowing that the spot is available—that he thinks I’m so power hungry, I’d make the same horrible mistakes he’s made regarding his family—is driving me insane and making me want to prove him wrong.
And if I’m honest, a part of me wants him to see that I’m capable and make him proud.
“If I were married, I wouldn’t need to reinvent the company,” I scoff. “Unlike my father, I know how to manage my time. I could easily be a wife and a mom and run the company, and I wouldn’t destroy everyone in my wake.”
But even as I say the words out loud, I wonder if I’m telling the truth. I’ve worked sixty-plus-hour workweeks for as long as I can remember. Could I have accomplished what I have if I’d had to cut back the hours? If I’d had a husband and child who needed my attention?
I swallow thickly, suddenly questioning if I’ve been too hard on my dad. Could he have built his company to be just as successful if he had cut his hours in half? I’m not so sure. But what I do know is that it doesn’t matter because what’s done is done and I’m not married, nor am I having children anytime soon—if ever. And I’m definitely capable of being CEO, even as a single woman. We live in the twenty-first century, for crying out loud. I don’t need a husband and two-point-five kids to successfully run a company. The problem is, once my dad is set in his ways, there’s no changing his mind. Which means—
“Too bad you aren’t married,” Paige says with a laugh, bringing me back into the now. “Or a mom. Then, you could show him how it’s done.”
My eyes snap to hers. “But what if I was?”
“A mom?”
“No.” I shake my head. “A wife.” The craziest idea hits me. “What if I fell in love and got married? Then, he’d be forced to consider me for the position.” And then I could show him that I’m capable of being the face of Kingston despite not being a family woman.
“You’re not even dating anyone though,” she points out. “And have you ever been in love?”
Ignoring her question, my brain formulates a plan. “What was that site that Ronald in advertising mentioned? The one where wealthy men can find themselves a trophy wife?”
Paige laughs. “Um, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re not exactly trophy-wife material. I mean, you’re gorgeous, but I’m pretty sure they’re also supposed to be brainless and docile.”
“True, but that site has men who are used to dealing with wealth, who wouldn’t blink twice at a prenup. If I could score myself one of those men, I could use him to get in the running for CEO, the same way he’d be using me.” And then it hits me. “What if nobody picked me?”