Risky Business

Kyleigh screams silently, her hands curled up by her face as she nods wildly. “I know, right! I can’t believe it! This is like my dream come true!”

I think we just witnessed the two young women truly becoming best friends.

“Yours and mine both, girl,” Toni agrees. “I’ve got that whole routine down, perfection from one to done.”

Carson clears his throat, garnering everyone’s attention again. “Everything’s fine, Dad. We’ve got it all under control.”

Spencer leans forward, breaking in before tension can possibly rise again. “Yep, as we said in our status update, we’ve got it all ready, Mr. Steen.” Her confirmation is directed solely to Carson and highlights that we were in the middle of something important when Ben walked up.

I think Spencer is my new favorite person. Not that I’ll tell Carson . . . or Taya . . . that. Carson is the orgasm dealer, and Taya . . . is Taya.

“Thank you, Spencer,” Carson answers firmly, dipping his chin toward her.

Ben tries a different tact, addressing me. “Ms. Rice, I understand we have you to thank for this festival idea?”

“Actually, it was born from a team meeting. Everyone was doing such a great job implementing the strategies I suggested that we were able to brainstorm even more innovative ideas to bring Americana Land into the Twenty-First Century.” I’m walking a fine line, wanting to highlight Carson and his teams’ strengths while reminding Ben that he might be the CEO, but Americana Land wasn’t perfect before this incident.

Ben makes a harrumph noise, catching the slight dig. “Traditions create a foundation upon which Americana Land is built.”

“Yes, but every foundation cracks eventually and has to brought up to current codes.” I smile gently, softening the blow by degrees. “But that’s why you brought me in. It’s exactly what I specialize in—reframing reputations and images for the now, and more importantly, for the future. I think you’d agree that it seems to be working quite well.”

I incline my head, my eyes questioning. He can’t disagree, and we all know it. Not when the daily Find Freddy Freebird is trending, analytics show searches for the park are up by eighty percent, photo engagement is rising with every post, and presale tickets for the festival are sold out.

“It does seem to be,” Ben allows.

Carson grins victoriously. “Was it that hard to admit, Dad?”

“No,” he says, looking at Carson in frustration. “I’m truly happy things are going so well.” If he stopped there, I think things would be okay, but he adds, “If only we hadn’t needed to recover from that unfortunate incident.”

Enough of this. I swear, these two are so used to their battle of wills, of coming from opposite sides of every issue, that they don’t even recognize that they’re hurting themselves and the company.

And I’m done with it. I’m well aware of the nuances of these difficult relationships, both personally and most definitely professionally, especially with clients. But at some point, it’s worth the pain to rip the Band-Aid off. It’s necessary to get to a place of healing.

And that’s what Americana Land needs, as well as Ben and Carson. But it’s risky, jumping in the middle of their relationship. It has the potential to blow up in a major way, especially on the eve of an event.

Even riskier, I have a vested interest in Carson’s feelings, and interfering in his relationship with his father is not my place. Except it is. Their relationship is key to their reputations, and that’s my responsibility.

“Spencer, Kyleigh, could you give us a moment, please?” I tell them stiffly, knowing that this is not a conversation to be had in front of others. If I do that, Ben and Carson are both going to be defensive and likely tune me out. Not on my watch.

Spencer gathers Kyleigh and leads her away, while Izzy apparently senses an impending ‘business conversation’ and leads Toni away too. Just the three of us now. I turn on them, prepared to put them on blast. “That was . . . unprofessional at best, and damaging to the reputations I’m working my ass off to save for certain,” I begin, holding up a hand when they both open their mouths. “Uh-uh. Not now, not until I’ve said my piece. Ben, Carson, both of you need to stow this dick measuring contest you’ve got going on. Especially here, in the middle of the park. Your interpersonal issues are hurting your company, your family, and yourselves.”

“I . . .” Carson starts, but I shake my head.

“No, you’ve both had your chance. It’s mine turn now. I’ll start here, in the park. You both need to recognize the basics. Americana Land was a dying park stuck in the eighties, dependent on seniors and families for a falling profit margin and out of touch with the disposable income of a huge segment of the population, which it desperately needed. Moving into the future, using the resources and ideas of staff to be more relevant, innovative, and profitable will be key. It’s going to hurt.” I count out one on my finger, then add a second. “It’s going to be awkward, and it’s going to require the two of you to work together.” Holding up my three fingers, I focus on Carson. “I’m here to fix your professional stuff, but if it requires fixing your personal relationship, I’ll do my best, though I’m not a therapist.”