Page 87 of A Bossy Surprise

“Two months is enough time for you to have been able to turn that place around.”

“I’ve been doing my best there.”

“Then apparently your best isn’t good enough.”

I bite down hard. “If you ask me, we are doing pretty well. Did you see the story we just broke about Senator Moorhead? We are doing good work.”

“Yes, I saw that. That’s some good journalism. However, if you want to survive in the news world, you’re going to have to be consistent with stories like that. Can you guarantee that you have another story of equal importance in a couple of days?” I am silent. So he adds, “Exactly.”

“Dad, it’s more complicated than that. Two months is not enough to turn around a fledgling news house. We’re only now starting to get traction. Because of that one story we’ve brought on two major advertisers.”

“I know you think that’s impressive, but it’s not.”

“It is, because I managed to do all that even with everything going on in my personal life.”

“I wasn’t going to bring that up, but since you have…”

“What?”

“I think you’ve let this whole business with your son and his mother distract you. You are not perfect by any means, but you are competent at your job. I am sure if you didn’t have this distraction, GNN would be doing better. However, here we are. Perhaps now is not the time to be taking on new major work commitments.”

“Kayla and Brady are not a distraction. The point I was trying to make is that even with all that has been going on, I’ve been able to start turning GNN around.”

“I see the work you’ve done, and I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s just not fast enough.”

“Dad, you’re being unrealistic. Two months is not long enough to assess the viability of any project.”

“Whether or not that is true, I’m shutting down that operation all the same. At the moment that place is barely generating enough money to keep the lights on.Grant Mediais footing all the bills. We are the ones paying salaries, paying for office space, and all fees necessary to run a news operation. I am making an executive decision. I do not see GNN being profitable anytime soon and I’m done wasting time on it.”

“But that’s not fair.”

He shrugs. “Life isn’t fair. You will tie up all your loose ends in Cleveland and get back here to resume your duties atGrant Media.

“I haven’t agreed to sell off GNN, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be coming back here.”

“And why not?” he asks as if the reason isn’t obvious.

“Because Kayla and Brady are based in Cleveland. I just found out I have a son, I’m not going to abandon him.”

“Move them here if you need to, but you’re getting rid of that company and moving back.”

“I can’t just move them here. They have a life in Cleveland, and Kayla is her own thinking person. I can’t just command her to move here.”

“Why not?” He asks, and looks genuinely confused.

“Because that’s not how the world works.”

“I actually don’t care about any of this. I need you back here. So do what you need to do to make that happen.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” I repeat.

“I am the CEO of this company and I am giving you a direct order. You will comply.”

“Yes Dad, you are the CEO ofGrant Media, but I am the Senior Vice President here. That means I am entitled to certain things. According to our bylaws, as an SVP, I am allowed the opportunity to bring other companies under our umbrella. The time to stop this was before I bought GNN. Now that the company is with us, the only way you can force me to sell is through a board vote.”