He looked at me curiously. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m going to like whatever you are obviously about to spring on me.”
I laughed, “You’ll like it, Dad. I promise.”
He closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair. “You have the floor.”
I rubbed my hands together and began pacing back and forth. “I was thinking that it’s a shame to let all those buildings on the farm property sit empty, especially when they can be used to do good things for the people of Croftridge. For example, there’s an entire barn and dairy farm set up just sitting there, not being used. Coincidentally, there are a bunch of people that are looking for work, but have a very new criminal record. A lot of those people have kids, who now don’t have food, water, or shelter.”
My dad was smiling at me. Not his fake smile. No, this was a real one, reaching his eyes and lighting up his face. “You want me to take the fake farm and make it a real farm, hire the forced workers as legit employees, and provide them with living quarters. Correct?”
“That’s the gist of it, though I don’t think it should be another dairy farm. I don’t think that would be profitable since we currently have a good balance of supply and demand. I was thinking maybe horses and organics.”
“Horses and organics? I’m not sure I’m following you, baby girl.”
I shrugged, “I like horses. I thought maybe we could breed them or train them, maybe have riding lessons for kids or a camp or something.”
“And the organics?” he asked, his head was cocked to the side with the strangest look on his face. I wasn’t sure if I should continue or not, but he gestured for me to go on.
“Uh, like organic fruits and vegetables. People are all over organic food and clean eating. If it turns out to be a flop, it wouldn’t be a huge monetary loss. If it turns out to be a big hit, then we could possibly invest in the equipment needed to yield larger crops.”
He was still smiling with that same look on his face. “Sounds good. You’ll need this and this. Oh, and these.” He slid a stack of papers over to me, his credit card on top of the pile. Wait. What just happened?
“What’s that?” I pointed to the pile.
“New hire paperwork for the employees, a list of all buildings on the property, a log of who is currently living in what building and where, and my credit card. Hire the people, assign them rooms, start ordering the shit you need for your horses and your yuppie food.” I stood there completely dumbfounded. He said yes? “Well, take this stuff and get a move on it. Businesses don’t start themselves.”
I squealed and ran around the desk. He stood in time to catch me. I hugged him as tight as I could. “Thanks, Dad. I love you!”
He grunted and set my feet back on the floor, “Careful kid. I’m not completely healed yet.”
I gasped, “Oh crap. I forgot. Did I hurt you?”
He laughed, “Tiny little thing like you? No way.”
I pointed my finger at him and narrowed my eyes, “Hey now, we both know I could if I wanted to.”
He scoffed, “You might be able to take Dash down, but there’s no way you can take me.”
“Want to bet?”
“Hell no. I will not get in the ring and fight my daughter. Now get out of here and go make dreams come true.”
“Nice try. I’m on to your distraction techniques. We’ll revisit this when you’re completely healed.” I grabbed the stack of papers and his credit card from his desk. “Thanks, Dad! See you later!” I said as I hurriedly left his office.
I was almost to the common room when I heard Dad call my name. “Yeah?” I answered.
“Don’t forget about the party tonight,” he reminded me.
“Thanks! I had forgotten. I’ll be back in time. Do you need me to make anything?”
“Nope. We’re doing the cookout thing tonight.”
“Okay, see you then. Love you.”
“Love you, too, baby girl.”
Dash
I dropped into my designated seat and waited for Phoenix to begin church. This was an impromptu meeting, which had me a little on edge since I had no idea what Phoenix may hit us with.
