She looks over the paper, carefully reading. Her mouth parts as she looks up at me. “That’s the salary?”
“Yes, if you have any issues, I can discuss with Huck, but you will also need to consider dividends from your shares.”
“No, this is far more than I anticipated.”
“Should we bring it down then?” I ask. She blinks at me a few times before smiling and shaking her head.
“No, this… this is good.”
“Take the evening to look over it and bring it in tomorrow. For now, would you like a tour and rundown of the company?”
She smiles and it’s odd, when I first saw her I didn’t think she looked much like Collin. But when she smiles, I can definitely see it. Collin was an optimist, a dreamer, and a friend. I sigh as I look at his daughter and remember the man who treated me like a son of his own. I rub my jaw and nod my head. “You’ve already been around the office, let’s go to the warehouse.”
She stands up straight, rubbing her face before following me out the door to my car. “The warehouse is only ten minutes away.” She nods and I have to temper the urge to get her car door for her. She’s quiet and contemplative as silence fills the cab of the car. I’m not sure what to say besides things that pertain to the company. I have to push back this nagging feeling that wants me to ask her if she’s okay. It’s honestly not a question even worth asking, of course she’s not okay. I don’t think anyone would be in her situation, so I bite my tongue as we pull up to the warehouse.
“Kemper’s is a wholesaler, so we basically provide sports equipment, merchandise, and memorabilia to retailers, schools, and a few professional teams.”
“So you don’t have any chain stores?” she asks, and I realize she’s taking notes on her phone.
“We have two in Florida, but other than that, it’s all wholesale.” She makes a noise of agreement and continues following me through the warehouse. “We deal with manufactures across the world to get the gear made and we distribute it.”
“What about large chain stores?”
“Those would be our biggest competition, we will never be able to compete with Nike or Under Armour. That’s why our main focus has been on the athletic equipment itself and offering American made products.”
“What are some of the things you make in house?”
“Baseball bats, skateboards, surfboards, and water bottles are the biggest ones we can manufacture.”
“So you started this company with Collin?” she asks, and I keep my face blank as she references him by his first name.
“No, Collin already had the company up and running, but it wasn’t growing as he wanted. I had money to spare and wanted to stay in athletics so it worked out for the both of us.” She tilts her head like she wants me to continue, but I don’t. Mostly because I don’t know how much I want to give her in reference to my history.
“You cared about him?” she says softly and I clear my throat.
“Collin and I were close.” I almost say he felt like a second father to me, but swallow that down really fucking quick.
She sighs, but doesn’t ask me any more questions as we walk through the warehouse and I show her different goods. “We would be looking for you to possibly do some re-branding on our USA line, as well as emails to our current clients and marketing to potential clients.”
“I can definitely do that.”
“On top of that, I may have some administrative tasks throughout the day, so you will report directly to me.” She nods, her thumbs still moving as she keeps notes in her phone. “Do you have any sports you enjoy?” I ask, shifting the conversation.
“I played field hockey in high school,” she says, shrugging her shoulders.
I walk her down the hall to where we keep the hockey sticks, baseball bats, and field hockey sticks. “Here’s our selection.”
She picks one up and touches the handle before putting it back. She doesn’t comment as we continue throughout the warehouse. Warehouse workers introduce themselves, and it’s clear they know who she is. Jessa seems uncomfortable, but takes it in stride. It’s nearly the end of the day, so I drive us back to the office.
It’s only when we’re a minute away that she speaks. “So everyone in the entire company knows I’m Collin Kemper’s bastard child from a one night stand.”
I swallow and sigh. “They just know that Collin had another child. They don’t know the details.”
“But you do?”
“Collin told me some things before he passed.”
“He didn’t reach out to me when he was sick,” she says sadly. It’s confusing, matching up the man I looked up to for over a decade with his actions. It’s a tough pill to swallow, and really there’s nothing for me to say, so I stay quiet. Jessa breaks the silence, “I would have come, had he called.”
