“Not in person.”
“Where is that again?”
“Outside Pittsburgh.”
“A five hour drive to see a house? We build houses. I don’t need to see any others. Especially not an old one. That sounds like a you-and-Jeremy thing.
“But what about the three of us? A little family trip. We haven’t done something like that in?—”
“Come on, Ruby. You know how busy I am. I’m not going to take off just to see some old house.”
I turned away, disappointed. He was always busy when it was convenient to him. I thought about all the times I did something because I thought it would make him happy. All the concerts and things he wanted to do that I had no interest in, but went anyway.
I opened my mouth to say something more about why we should all go together. To push for him to realize how much seeing Fallingwater would mean to me. Instead, I stuffed it down.
The limo reached the front of the Cipriani and stopped at the curb. Oscar got out from his side, and as I grabbed my purse, my door opened. I looked up, expecting to see Oscar, but instead it was the limo driver. Behind him, Oscar was greeting some other people. I took the driver’s hand to help me out of the car.
“Thank you, Alan,” I said.
“My pleasure, ma’am.”
As the limo left, I stood alone as Oscar entered the building in a flurry of smiles and handshakes.Would he look for me? Would he notice I wasn’t there?I lost sight of him as he got further intothe building. I didn’t need the answer to my questions. These events had been like this for years. I knew the answer was no.
I took a deep breath, tossed my shoulders back, and held my head high as I reminded myself that this would only be for a few hours.
Chapter 2
Oscar
Jubilee was my favorite night of the year. It was the only night where everyone in the company, from the college kid answering phones at the front desk to my executive team, was in the same room, dressed the same, eating the same food. No hierarchy, no corner offices, no org chart. Just the people who built something together, celebrating their hard work.
The company might have my name on it, but to me, we were family. I made a point of talking to everyone. Not a handshake-and-move-on circuit. Actually talking.
I found John Gillespie from our acquisitions team near the entrance, deep in conversation with his wife, Sarah. John had closed three deals this quarter that I wasn't sure were closeable, and I told him so. His wife smiled at him with pride and looked at me as though she had been waiting for someone to notice all of John’s hard work. I made a mental note to give Marcus more visibility in the new year.
Two of our project managers, Diane and Rob, were arguing good-naturedly near the appetizer table about whose team had the better quarter. They'd been having this argument for six years. I settled it the way I always did, by telling them both they were wrong, that the real answer was the accountingdepartment, and watching them immediately unite against me instead. It worked every time.
Near the far end of the bar, I found Tommy Briggs, who had been with us the full twenty-two years. He was nursing the one drink he’d allow himself. Events like these weren’t Tommy’s thing. I knew he was already itching to leave, but he knew how important I felt it was for everyone to attend.
"Tommy."
"Mr. Harding."
"How many times…”
"At least one more, Mr. Harding,” he said with a grin.
I laughed. It was the same exchange we had every year. "How's the knee?"
"Doctors say I need to take it easier." He shrugged. "Doctors say a lot of things."
"Listen to the doctors, Tommy."
"Yes, sir."
I moved on, stopping twice more, making my way around the bar, before Adam caught up with me.
Adam Santiago and I met back in college, more than twenty-five years ago. He was taller than me by a couple of inches, making his six-foot-five frame stand out. Adam had more grey than I did, but we looked enough alike that people usually thought we were brothers. He was also my Executive Vice President.
