“Family affects everything.”
“You understand that makes my job harder.”
“Yes.”
“The job you hired me to do.”
“I’m aware of that,” I say simply.
She studies me for a moment.
“You won’t make this easy,” she says.
“No.”
“At least you’re honest about it.”
“Would you prefer easy?”
“No.”
The answer is immediate.
My attention settles more fully on her, and she realizes it a second later.
Color rises beneath her skin. Just a touch of warmth at her throat. She looks down at her notes and draws a short line beneath something she has written.
I want to know what.
I want to know too many things.
Her perfume reaches me faintly across the desk. Clean, subtle. Not chosen to announce itself.
“I’ll also need to understand decision-making authority,” she says, voice steady again. “Formal and informal.”
“I told you yesterday. I am the chief executive.”
“That’s formal authority,” she says. “I’m talking about informal authority.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes lift.
“Across all divisions?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Even those managed by your brothers?”
“My brothers have authority.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“No.”
This time, her mouth does curve.
She makes a note. “All right.”
