After my tour with Jason, I’m happy with what they’ve done so far with the renovations, but also concerned that some things are not progressing as quickly as I’d like. I look at the time, and it’s after seven in San Francisco, but I call Jackson on his phone.
“Hey,” he answers. “How did it go today?”
“Not bad. I may move a little bit more money over. The designer has gone over budget because of some structural work that needed to be done. They didn’t realize a wall was load-bearing.”
“Whatever you need.”
“I may have walked Leilani into a request today.”
“What was it?”
I talk him through promoting her to majordomo, and he seems open to the idea.
“What do you think?” he asks when I’ve finished explaining.
“I’m not sure yet. I have three interviews, but if you’re really not going to be here often, we need to conserve money. Promoting her would take at least seventy thousand dollars off the top line. Plus, I think Leilani’s looking for some job security.”
“I agree with you. Meet the other candidates and see if you feel the same after that. On another subject, I was wondering…when we saw Mia on Saturday, we joked about moving the poker game to the estate. What do you think? It would be roughly ten or twelve couples for a weekend, plus security and increased staff.”
“You’d need to wait until the renovations are done, but we could probably make that work. Leilani would definitely need some help. Let me do some research, and I’ll get back to you.”
“I was thinking about sometime in May.”
“I don’t know much about organizing a poker tournament.”
“I’ll send you Jonathan Best’s contact info, and he can talk you through it. Maybe find out if he, his dealers, and Gillian Reece, his manager of guest relations, can come to manage the game that night. Gillian would be great with bar recommendations and possibly food and entertainment.”
“I can work on that. Did your afternoon get any better?”
He sighs. “Not in the slightest, and the temp left at four.”
Ouch. That’s not good. Jackson’s just hitting his stride about four and usually needs help making and fielding phone calls.
“I spoke with HR, and she won’t be back tomorrow,” I assure him. “I increased the allowable cost, so maybe we can find someone more professional.”
“God, I hope so. I can’t take six weeks of this.”
“Hopefully they have someone. If that agency doesn’t, we’ll call around. I can also put a push out to several of your friends and see who they know.”
“But they won’t be temporary.”
I’m quiet a moment. “You mentioned that if I came back, I wouldn’t be answering the phones anymore.”
He takes a deep breath. “I know I did. You’re right. I’m just reacting to having a bad day, and you aren’t even here to come home to.”
“Six weeks will fly by.”
“I’ll fly out before then.”
That sounds good, but then I start wondering if it’s wise. I honestly don’t know what to do with this man—or myself where he’s concerned.
I try to regroup. “How was your meeting with Dillon and Cheryl to go over the P&Ls?”
“He was surprisingly not upset. I was prepared to have to write a check and return their investment. Cheryl went back over the records, and it seems like Jeremy was writing the checks to himself and keeping them just under the point where I might notice. But it was over a million dollars in total.”
“Holy crap. Can you chase Jeremy for it?”
“SHN’s attorney is working with Cheryl, and we may prosecute.”
“I know he didn’t like me very much, so understand I might be biased, but I think you should. It sends a message that you’re generous, but those who take advantage will be held accountable.”
“You’re hardcore,” he teases.
“Maybe. I always missed my mom, but her alcoholism would make her forget she had plans with me. I always want people to follow through on what they’ve promised or are supposed to do.”
“You’re a major stockholder in the company, so I will defer to you.”
“I’m your assistant with an opinion,” I remind him.
“An opinion I agree with,” he counters.
“I need to run,” I tell him. “Dinner is about to be served, and I get to meet Brian’s family and the staff that lives on the property.”
“Absolutely,” he says. “Enjoy.”
Chapter 26
Jackson
The office is quiet. Everyone else has gone. I pause to rub my hands over my face. Today completely sucked, and I can’t even get it to end. I didn’t get half as much done as I do when Corrine is here. She’s the person in front of me, fending off the unnecessary, and the person behind me cheering me on. Right now, I feel abandoned, and it’s all my fault.
One of the things that makes me a strong entrepreneur is that I go for what I want. Once I get it, I sometimes realize it’s not the shiny object I thought it was, but maybe even better.
I pour myself a glass of bourbon from my office liquor stash, sit back in my chair, and look out over the East Bay. Corrine has been working for me for a little over a year. I remember when I hired her. She’d been working for a startup that went under. She was definitely hungry for challenging work, and she worked hard. At the time we were only a company of maybe a hundred people. She came in and created systems and structures where we had none. She was a godsend.
My mind turns to the women I’ve dated in that time period, which Corrine has dealt with. There’ve been several. I haven’t slept
