Another

Jake took that moment to walk in, stealing my father’s attention.

“Did you know about this?” My father asked not bothering to greet Jake.

Jake looked to me, and I continued to stand tall, I would not cower. This was my chance to force my father to hear me, and I wasn’t letting it go another second without him acknowledging what an asset I was for this company.

He moved to look over the paper still lying at the edge of the desk and didn’t allow any emotion to show.

“Yes, sir,” he answered easily. “Carina brought it to me.”

“Did you check it?”

Two things make Jake the go-to guy for my father: he’s fifty-percent owner since his father died, and he has a penis, making him supreme. Which he laughed about constantly because he claimed I was the more supreme worker any day of the week.

“I didn’t find a need to. She ran it through the proper legal channels before bringing it to me. I trust Carina and the work she does.”

Stupid hormones. That was the only excuse for the lump of emotion currently working its way up my throat. Jake was on my side at work, but I was missing it in my personal life, and having my father continuously question me didn’t help the despairing doubt. Before, I’d had Jake in both personal and business, but since our breakup, there’d been no one.

“Jesus,” my father’s head fell back. “We’re probably losing money.”

It’s like he didn’t hear a word me or Jake said.

Time to slap him with facts he couldn’t ignore.

“This is one of three projects I’ve taken on this past year.” He opened his mouth to interject, but I spoke over him. “Just this month, I’ve increased our revenue by thirty-two percent. All by myself, by offering only marketing projects.”

“Carina, you can’t just use our company’s name to take on solo projects without consulting the team.”

“I can, and I will.” My tone dropped into dangerous territory. He knew me well enough to know the signs of my patience thinning. “I didn’t consult the team because I didn’t need to. I utilized the correct resources to make smart decisions because I’m damn good at them.” Peanut chose that moment to kick, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. This past year, I’d lost part of myself. I did these projects behind my father’s back where before I’d have been strong and stood my ground, but here in his office, I was reclaiming a bit of myself. “I’ve tried talking to you about this, but you always shut me down.”

“Because it’s silly.”

My blood pressure spiked. Sorry, Peanut. “It’s not. We’re missing out on a whole market that has already established business techniques and just needs marketing. I want to create a branch for that.”

“Now isn’t the time.” He gestured to my stomach like that justified everything. “Give it a couple of months. Maybe Jake and I can sit down with Owen and figure out if it’s worth it.”

“Of course it’s worth it,” I shouted, throwing my arms wide. “Look at the numbers.”

“Carina,” his soft, pleading tone was the only warning I needed, to know I wasn’t going to like what I heard. “You know how the business world works.”

“That it’s a man’s world,” I repeated his words back to him that I’d heard since high school. “But you raised me to hold my own in it, and it’s about damn time you realized I can. It’s time you realized that they should be scared of me.”

It was time I reminded myself of it. It was time I remembered I wasn’t just being a strong woman for myself, but for my child too.

“Carina…”

I looked back to Jake, and he remained stoic at my side, only giving me a minute nod of support. It was all I needed.

“I will not negotiate. I can submit my already-made business plan or my resignation, but I’m done with this.”

His jaw clenched tight, and his eyes sparked with hurt, but I ignored it. He pushed me here, and I was done waiting for him to come to my side.

“I need time to think about it.”

“Be fast, because I’m a hell of an adversary, and I don’t think you want me on the opposite side.”

I didn’t wait for a response. Instead, I stormed out and didn’t stop until I’d made it to my office.

“You okay?” Jake asked. I hadn’t realized he’d followed.

“Yeah, yeah.” I dragged trembling hands through my hair, the energy of the fight, leaving me weak. “Thank you for that.”

“Any time. You know I trust you and agree with moving the business forward. He just doesn’t want people walking all over his daughter.”

“Then he can come to meetings and watch me crush them like the tiny men they are.”

He laughed at my passion. “I always said you’re the real shark on this team.”