Yet I had no clue who she was.
“The last item on today's agenda is the influencer social media campaign. We’ve already had an impressive number of influencers sign on—”
I cut in. "I thought we decided to table that idea so we could test organic promotion before moving forward with paid."
“Well.” Jonathan sucked his teeth. “The majority voted to pursue this paid strategy to increase revenue this quarter.”
I understood that, but in my mind, that money could be used for raises for our pickers and factory workers—the people who were the backbone of this company. What happened to the days when it was enough to send a box of swag and a bunch of free rolling papers?
Was I really that out of touch?
“Alright, then. If we think it’ll increase revenue,” I said with a sigh. “Must have missed the memo on that while I was gone.”
“Don’t worry, Al. Change is scary, but this will really benefit the company.” He walked around the table, stopping behind me and clasping one of his hands on my shoulder. “We’ll do lunch soon, and I’ll bring you up to speed on everything.”
What in the actual fuck?
Who was this condescending prick, and what had he done with Jonathan?
I seethed through the rest of the meeting, letting each word that came out of Jonathan’s mouth go in one ear and out the other. Instead of making small talk with everyone on the board or joining them for lunch, I retreated to my office, slamming the door shut behind me as I went.
“That motherfucker,” I hissed and plopped down in my chair.
Was this some sort of power play? I thought that alpha male posturing had gone out of style.
As I massaged the base of my ears and contemplated my choice in business partners, and hell, my life in general, my phone vibrated with a text message.
It was like she knew I needed something to pull me out of my funk.
Pam: Look what I did today!
She followed the message with a picture of her Leviathan Fitness membership card. Her smiling face beamed at the camera, her glasses catching the glare from the flash. She was so beautiful, and even though she couldn’t see me, I couldn’t help but smile back.
Me: Look at you, pretty lady! When’s your first class?
I was glad Pam had taken this step. I wanted her to pursue anything that interested her, to do something for herself. It’s hard prioritizing yourself when you’re a parent, but now that her kids were grown and Don wasn’t around, there was nothing holding her back except her own self-perceived limits.
While I waited for her to respond, a phone call notification flashed over the screen.
Chai.
My daughter rarely called me, preferring text messages to keep in touch.
Fuck.
Was everything alright?
“Hey, kid. Everything alright?” I asked, my pulse hammering. I was doing my best to steel my emotions and seem chill, but there was still a slight tremble in my voice.
She sighed, the same ‘I’m sick of you worrying about me’ sigh she’d given me for the past few months. “Dad. Can you stop? I’m fine. I called to tell you something exciting, and you totally killed my vibe.”
Could I stop?
When you had a kid, there was no stopping. It was like a piece of your heart lived outside of your chest. No matter how old they were, how far away, you’d always love them fiercely, worrying about them until you took your last breath.
“Alright, alright,” I huffed. “I’m sorry for killing the vibe. What’s up?”
“I just met Pam,” she said slyly.
