of the job had become too much for Dorothy to manage under the oppression of chronic pain. As much as she didn’t want to see her go, Jewel knew that her leaving would create an opportunity for her own advancement. Surely, her father wouldn’t just give her the chief operations officer title, but perhaps he’d move her into the vice president slot, which had been unfilled for months.
Jewel knew she’d invite a new level of scrutiny from Bobby Dale when she expressed her desire for the promotion. She had to convince him she was worthy of the position. And she was ready.
Jewel hit the mouse on her laptop, waking up the computer. She tapped the Word icon, opened a blank page and began chronicling her most recent accomplishments. She was going to have to make her case. Starting with the recent work overseeing the operations aspects of the new accounts they’d secured, Jewel noted all the projects she managed. Since their father had each of them spend time in various departments to assess their strengths, Jewel also made note of other areas she excelled in and how those positions helped her develop transferable skills. She sat back proudly, took a deep breath and smiled at the fact that she’d truly accomplished a lot. Dorothy had also been instrumental in her becoming such an effective manager of operations.
Jewel looked up after hearing a light tap on her door. Chris stuck his head in. “Are you going out for lunch?”
Jewel looked at the glass clock on her desk and realized how much time had passed. “Yeah. What about you?”
“Just running to get a sandwich and coming back. Wanna ride?”
“Sure.” Jewel retrieved her purse from her bottom desk drawer and followed Chris through the office.
During the short ride to the deli, she contemplated telling Chris her plans for pursuing the promotion. Jewel looked out the window, but didn’t seem to notice the scenery as they headed back.
“What’s on your mind?” Chris maneuvered the car perfectly between the parking lines and put it in park before tuning to Jewel.
“What makes you ask?”
“I asked if you wanted to come so I could have company. You hardly spoke a word since we left the office. You’re never this quiet.”
Chris still hadn’t made a move to exit the car. Jewel put her hand on the door handle and thought about keeping the idea scattering across her mind to herself. She took a deep breath, blew the air out and frowned.
“Upset about Dorothy leaving?”
“More than that.”
“You want that VP position?”
Jewel turned to Chris. “Yes. I really want that VP position. I wanted it when Dorothy was first promoted to chief operations officer leaving it open, but dad didn’t believe I was ready for it.”
“Have you spoken to Dad yet?”
“I kind of feel like it’s too soon. They just made the announcement this morning.”
“So what? Let him know now. This way, Dorothy can teach you everything she knows before she leaves.”
“You’ve got a point. I’ll speak with him today.”
“Good luck!”
“Thanks, lil brother.” She pursed her lips. “He can’t turn me down this time. I have the right qualifications, more experience and I work my behind off. I deserve that job.”
“You’re heading to the reunion tonight, right?” Stephan stood in the door to Sterling’s office with his arms folded.
“I have my ticket but I’m still working on a few RFPs I wanted to finish this week.”
“You’re thinking about skipping it?” Stephan entered, sat down and rested his elbow on Sterling’s glass desk.
Sterling shrugged. “Maybe.”
Stephan looked at his watch. “We can get those in on Monday. You haven’t seen some of those people in ten years.”
“I’m sure it’s going to be nice, but...”
“Think of them as a room full of potential customers.”
Sterling raised his brow. That made the effort worth it. Otherwise, he wasn’t pressed to mingle with his former classmates from Oxford Preparatory School. Many of them were way too pretentious. He chose to drive a luxury vehicle because he liked the car, not because he needed to flaunt his wealth.
“Maybe.” He finally responded to his brother, still not sounding convinced.
“Dude! Think Business. Those are wealthy people and great potential clients. If you don’t go, I will.”
“Your reunion isn’t until next year.”
“And we could have several more clients by then, if you go to yours this year. Besides, why waste the ticket? Is Noah going?”
“Of course.” Sterling chuckled when Stephan mentioned his best friend since high school. “You know he’s not going to miss a party.”
“Then you have to go. Remember how the girls were all over you two in high school. Captain and co-captain of the basketball team.” Stephan sat back, folded his arms and smiled. “Those were the days.”
“Yeah, until some of them found out I was a scholarship student. I wasn’t so attractive when they realized Dad wasn’t paying forty thousand dollars in tuition a year. That was so ridiculous to me.”
“It was, but that didn’t stop you from being popular. The ladies loved Sterling Bishop! You need to go. Take plenty of business cards and treat it like a networking event.”
“I guess it would be nice to see a few old friends.” Sterling looked down at the proposal he’d been working on.”
Stephan slipped the document from under him and flipped it back to the first page. “We’ll get on these first thing Monday morning. Both of us could use the break after the hectic week we’ve had.”
Sterling rubbed his eyes. “You’re right. The words were starting to blur anyway. My eyes must be tired of reading.”
Stephan stood. “Have fun. I’ve got a date to get ready for. Let me know how it goes.”
Sterling looked at his brother sideways. Without asking, he knew Stephan’s date wasn’t with anyone he’d already met. Not even the one he was with last weekend. He would have called her by name.
“What? A single man can’t enjoy himself?” Stephan held his hands out and snickered before leaving Sterling’s office. Stephan’s question confirmed Sterling’s assumption.
Sterling replied with a chuckle. “Have fun, brother,” he said to his back. Stephan waved without turning around.
Sterling had enjoyed several years of frivolous dating before Raven
