Chapter 4

Eliza

Before I left work on Friday, Marlene sent me a calendar invite for dinner with my family today. I’m not sure I understand why my father thinks I need a reminder. I’m quite motivated. He got an offer on the business, and it’s my job to make sure he doesn’t take it.

The alarm on my phone rings, telling me it’s time to head over to Laura and Dad’s house in West Vancouver. See? Motivated.

I make the drive across town. Their home sits high on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, with views of the Burrard Inlet, which stretches out before the house, its calm, blue waters reflecting the sky above. In the distance, the majestic peaks of the North Shore Mountains rise.

To the left is the busy port of Vancouver, with its towering cranes and cargo ships coming and going. The hustle and bustle of the port is a stark contrast to the serene beauty of the inlet, but somehow, it all seems to fit together perfectly .

From their front door, you can see the Lions Gate Bridge with its towering green pillars and suspension cables. It’s a stunning feat of engineering and design, and I always feel a sense of awe as I drive over it to get out of downtown and over the rocky shores of Stanley Park. With its lush forest and sandy beaches, the park is a haven of natural beauty in the midst of the city.

Mom and I lived above the Lions Gate Bridge when I grew up. Dad had a fancy apartment downtown. Now it’s the reverse. When I arrive, I plug in the code to the gate and park out front. As I ring the bell, Minni flings the door open and catapults herself into my arms.

“You’re finally here!”

“Were you waiting for me?” I ask. She nods and smiles, and immediately I see she’s lost her front tooth. “What is that in your mouth?”

Her eyes twinkle. “I lost my tooth.”

“Holy cow. It’s not possible. What did the Tooth Fairy give you?”

“A hundred dollars.”

My jaw drops. Wow, I used to think I was doing well with a Loonie—one whole dollar coin.

Before I can respond beyond that, I’m enveloped by my little brother’s arms around my leg, and my dad and Laura are right behind him. It’s a lot of people.

Dad comes over and squeezes me tight. “My oldest daughter has returned.”

“Hey, Dad.”

“What is this hey stuff? Hay is for horses.” He chortles.

Dad and I go through this all the time. Such the jokester, that one.

I take a deep breath and inhale the aroma of dinner. “Shrimp and scallops?” I ask Laura, my dad’s wife, as we walk into the kitchen.

She nods, and I find the table is already set. Minni starts telling me all about the day she’s spent helping her mommy get dinner ready.

“It wasn’t all day,” Laura whispers, giving me a warm hug. “I’m so glad you’re back from London. I love having you close.”

“Me too! Me too!” Minni bounces up and down.

My brother, Logan, fusses at Laura’s feet, begging to be picked up. I try to help out by keeping him entertained, and he plays hide and seek with me for a few minutes, not realizing I can see him when he covers his eyes. His mother laughs, and eventually, she sweeps him into his highchair.

Laura and I struggled when she and my dad got together. We were too close in age for my comfort, but she’s good for Dad, and she and I have found a way to be friendly. Laura and my mom are friendly as well. Remarkably so. Dad had two marriages between my mom and Laura, and they were really bad fits. I guess everyone is grateful this one finally worked out. At the very least, I can always remind myself of what’s worse than this.

Minni entertains us during dinner, and as we finish the last of the shrimp and scallops, we all lean back in our chairs, satisfied and content. Laura has Minni take our plates into the kitchen, and I help her clear the other items from the table.

When Laura picks up Logan and tells Minni it’s time to go upstairs, Dad stands. “Elizabeth, why don’t you join me in my office for an after-dinner drink?”

“Of course,” I answer. Butterflies flutter in my stomach. This is it . I’m ready to show him how prepared I am to take over the team. I have a business plan that I even had bound for him. He’s going to love it.

In his office, he points me to the couch near a gas fireplace. It takes the humidity out of the air. “Port or brandy?” he asks.

“Port would be fine,” I tell him.

He pulls out two glasses, which seem to be a cross between a water glass and a pilsner glass, and pours us each about three fingers. It’s going to be that kind of meeting .

“What did you bring with you?” He groans as he sits down in the chair next to me.

“I have my strategic plan for the team, which includes the reasons you shouldn’t sell to Donnie Cochran, and I have some notes about other things that will bring in more income.”

He holds out his palm, and I hand him the book.

He weighs it in his hand and flips through it. “There’s a lot here. Did you just do this this week?”

My shoulders relax. “No way. A part of this came from my graduate thesis. I’ve continued to update it and play with it since I’ve returned.”

He sets the book down on the table next to him and takes a sip of his drink. “You are so much like me.”

The corners of my mouth turn up. “Thank you. That is quite the compliment.”

“But it’s also a criticism.”

I tilt my head. “How so?”

“I broke your mother’s heart.”

I blanch. She and dad are still close, but mostly so they can deal with me. “She’s never shared that, and I’ve never asked.”

“She did enjoy my growing bank account as I worked my way through multiple mergers and acquisitions.”

“I can’t disagree with that. She’s spending some of it now in Italy.”

He smiles ruefully. “I wasn’t really home when we were married. I was off meeting with CEOs of companies I was buying or selling to. I didn’t have time for her or for you.”

“But I always knew you loved me,” I say, not sure where he’s going with this.

“The team needs more financing than I’m willing to put into it. I—”

“If you look at my plan, you’ll see I have all sorts of revenue-producing ideas for that.”

He places his drink on the bound plan, and I know immediately I’m not going to like this conversation .

“Donnie made a good offer. I’m going to take it.”

I jump up. “ You can’t. I’ve worked my entire life to prepare to run the team. You promised me when I was sixteen that I could have it.”

“Are you sure?”

I nod. “Absolutely.”

“What I’m trying to tell you is that until I met Laura and she insisted I stick around, I didn’t realize everything I was missing. I don’t want you to be like me and look back on your life and realize this dream team you want will never be there and you have nothing to show for all the work you’ve put into plans and focus groups. The team is a bottomless pit. Every year the salary cap increases, but the revenue has been flat.”

“I’m not ready to give up. The team is something I want. I want to show you it can be the most profitable business you have in your portfolio.”

“You’re not understanding what I’m saying.”

“Because you’re not saying it well,” Laura says from behind me. She walks in and sits next to me. “What your dad and I want you to see is that there is life outside of work. If you want to work, work in one of the family businesses, but don’t kill yourself working weekends and late into the night.”

“I like my job. Working those kinds of hours doesn’t bother me.”

“That’s my point,” Dad says. “If you had a husband and a few kids, you’d change your mind.”

“Daddy, I do want the house with a white picket fence. I just don’t want it now.”

“You’re going to have to force her,” Laura says to my father, as if I’m not standing right here.

“Force me to do what?”

He holds up his hand to stop what is sure to be a major bickering contest. “I’ll meet you in the middle. We all know Donnie is patient. He’ll wait six months.”

“I can show you how we can double our revenue in that time. ”

He sighs, shaking his head. “In exchange for that delay, you will need to find someone to marry. Before I consent to giving you the team, I want to know you have someone to support you at home, someone to force you to find some balance, rather than working twenty-hour days.”

“I don’t work twenty-hour days,” I say indignantly.

He tilts his head to the side and raises his brow. “I sent you the invite at the office, and I have the security logs.”

“Dad, I have a personal life.”

“Not enough. If you can find someone to settle down with that you truly love, I’ll let you have your way. But I don’t want you to jump into this with just anyone. I want to see that you’re in love.”

This is crazy . “In six months?”

“When I met your father, we knew within three dates,” Laura informs me.

That’s because you knew he was loaded. Fortunately, I’m able to keep that thought to myself. I shouldn’t be that way. Laura is a nice person, and I know she loves my father. I just wish she didn’t think of me and my mother as mistakes he made earlier in life.

“I’ve been seeing someone,” I tell them. “I like him.” Okay, I’m exaggerating, but maybe that’s enough to get him to back off on this. “I have a social life.”

“Well, if you’re not wild and crazy about him after you’ve been out a few times, he’s not the guy for you,” Laura says.

“Are you serious? I need to find someone and get engaged in six months or else you’re selling my team to that slimeball Donnie Cochran?”

“He’s not a slimeball,” Dad protests.

“He has an orange furry thing on his head that he combs over a bald spot,” I say dryly.

Laura giggles. “She isn’t wrong.”

My dad sits straight up in his chair. “Six months, and Charles and I will be checking up on you. ”

“I just need to have a life and be engaged?”

“Yes. And the fine print states that it needs to be someone I approve of,” Dad adds.

I sit back down. “You won’t like anyone. That will be your out.”

He holds up his hand. “Okay then. You’ll have to pass Laura’s sniff test.”

“Oh, I’m going to love this.” Laura claps her hands. “Lizzie, when I met your dad, he’d been three times divorced, and he had a long line of women looking to be the next Mrs. Rourke. He was dipping his fishing pole in a lot of ponds. I showed him what he’s trying to get you to see—a reason to come home. At some point you have enough money. You don’t need to be able to buy the world.”

I don’t have a good example of what she’s talking about. My parents never had that kind of relationship, and by the time Dad got together with Laura, I was at university. I sigh. “Fine. Tell Donnie to back off. Read my business plan, and we can talk again about this in six months.”

“I would expect that if you’re serious about someone, you’ll be coming here for dinner so we can meet him, and he can meet your brother and sister.”

“Half,” I say.

Laura waves that away. “Minni’s just like you. You may have different mothers, but your dad’s DNA is heavy in both of you. She’ll want approval on this guy.”

She’s six years old. Really ? “Great.” I finish my glass of port. “I want all the expectations written down so we both agree. I don’t want Donnie to sweeten the pot in another month and you sell the team without my consent.”

“Fine. I can have my lawyer draw up a contract.”

“That’s not necessary. We can just put it in writing, and we should both sign it.”

“I’ll work on it this week.” Dad pulls out his phone and opens the calendar app. “That means by the start of the new year, you need to be engaged. ”

Laura claps. “I love spring weddings.”

I close my eyes a moment. “I’d rather elope.”

“That’s going to be a requirement,” Dad says. “A big, splashy wedding. That will weed out the scammers—and make sure they know there will be a prenup.”

“Fine. Start writing this all down, and we’ll figure out how to move forward.” I stand. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” I know not to argue with him.

“Arnold will drive you home,” Dad says.

“I have my car.”

I walk out, and Minni is waiting in the hallway. “You’re going to get married? Can I be in your wedding?”

I ruffle her hair. “Of course. You’re a little big to be the flower girl. Maybe you could be a junior bridesmaid?”

“I want my dress to be purple.”

“Like Barney the Dinosaur?”

“Yes, but shiny.”

As she walks with me to the car, I reach for her hand. “I’ll see you again soon.”

I open the door to my car and pull her close.

“I can’t wait to meet your fiancé,” she says in a dreamy voice as I release her.

Too many Disney princess movies . I snicker to myself. “I can’t either.”

The entire ride back to my apartment, I think about what my dad said. Having a life is easy. I go out with Tanya all the time. But the other part may be more difficult. I either get engaged or he’s going to sell my team? Maybe I can find a nice-enough guy I can pay a million or so to get engaged to me. The question is, where do I find him?

He must be believable. Maybe I can call Thomas Klein from grad school? We had fun together, though admittedly, I have no idea what he’s up to now. And I think he’s still in London.

Still, I text him a simple “Hi” before I go to bed, but when I check in the morning, I haven’t gotten anything back.

I need to figure out my options.